All the Pages Are My Days - the first 12 years
the (archived) online world of Mike Rodriquez 2002-2012
So begins one of my favorite early Dead songs, Alligator. I mention that because today is the 35th anniversary of one of the Grateful Dead’s more famous shows: 4/29/71, Live at the Fillmore East. One of my favorites, it’s a fun show, featuring the last-ever performed Alligator as well as a very strong We Bid … Read more
A broken angel sings from a guitar. Jerry played the sweetest, most hypnotic and soulful guitar I’ve ever heard. He had what Miles Davis called the “tone”. Many could be called his technical better, but few his equal in terms of how deeply he was appreciated by his fans. His music spoke volumes to many … Read more
on a cold dark night, … oh wait, that’s another song. But it was 10 years ago, and it was night time. I haven’t shared this story before, but now seems as good a time as any. The real story begins a few days earlier. Sheryl and I were visiting relatives in Kansas, and she … Read more
I baked a cake today. Not really for Jerry, though it is his birthday today. I got to see Jerry play on his birthday one time, back in 1984 at the Stone, in SF. If it weren’t for my friend Jeff I don’t think I would have made it into the show that day, as … Read more
out of control. To some degree, those words from the song Tons of Steel, describe Brent Mydland‘s last troubled years. It was 15 years ago today that Grateful Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland died. He was only 38 years old and left behind a wife and child. Brent was the 3rd primary keyboard player for the … Read more
The title of this post, So Many Roads, aptly describes both our travels of the past 17 days as well as the path followed by Jerry Garcia’s adventuresome life. It’s somewhat hard to believe how much time has passed, but Jerry played his last concert with the Grateful Dead 10 years ago this evening. Chicago’s … Read more
Spinjunkies has released a new album, Jay-Z’s Dead, which “encompasses the entire Black Album by Jay-Z set to the music of the Grateful Dead”. It is a remix, similar to the Grey Album’s blending of Jay-Z and the Beatles. I personally find this variation more interesting and fun to listen to compared to the Grey … Read more
Powerful, inspirational lyrics from Bruce Cockburn’s song Waiting for a Miracle: You stand up proud You pretend you’re strong In the hope that you can be (I first came to know this song by hearing it performed live by the JGB. It’s a very nice, gospel-tinged song, and a fine performance is available on their … Read more
All Good Things is a fragment of a lyric from the Jerry Garcia song, Run for the Roses, and now it is the name of a spectacular new 6 CD box set featuring Jerry’s studio recordings. Most of these songs were performed with the then current arrangement of the Jerry Garcia Band or other musical … Read more
As usual, one thing led to another, and I ended up discovering a delightful online art museum, known simply as the webmuseum. It turns out they are hosted as one of many specialized sites that together comprise ibiblio, an organization that seeks to be “the public’s library and digital archive”. Based on a quick look … Read more