“The Family Dog Presents The Art That Defined a Generation”

A large selection of lithographic posters created by Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, Rick Griffin, Wes Wilson and Victor Moscoso as part of the Family Dog collective, are on display at Jack Gallery (6333 W. 3rd St. and 14th Los Angeles.) They herald the early performances of Big Brother, Quicksilver, Jefferson Airplane and the Dead. Rhino Entertainment, the artists, and S2 Editions are mounting the exhibit, which runs through July 14.

Productions celebrate the spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Chelsea on the Rocks, Abel Ferrara’s new film (which debuted at this year’s Festival de Cannes) chronicles the Chelsea Hotel, New York’s legendary residential hotel through vintage archive footage, re-enactments, and interviews with current and recent residents (including R. Crumb who was once a local resident around our region.) Those who’ve seen this film say its most wondrous moments involve Janis jamming with the Grateful Dead. And then there is Tom Stoppard’s play Rock’N’Roll directed by Trevor Nunn which continues to be touted as “dazzling,” “passionate,” and “epic.” It sweeps from Cambridge in 1968 to Prague in 1990, and songs from Pink Floyd, the Stones, and the Grateful Dead (“Chinatown Shuffle”) underlie and support emotional performances from the cast.

All Graceful Instruments

All Graceful Instruments: The Contexts of the Grateful Dead Phenomenon by Nicholas G. Meriwether and other contributors (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007) got a great review in The Journal of Popular Culture (see volume 41, Issue 2, pps 352-353.) The book, a compilation of essays in areas of literary criticism, musicology, sociology, philosophy, and business theory explores “the meaning and significance of the music of the Grateful Dead, the implications of their artistic and commercial success, and the social dimensions of their following, the Deadheads.” Scott MacFarlane, writing in The Journal of Popular Culture notes the book “provides analysis into, not only the band and its music, but also the way the Dead’s phenomenon engendered a sociospiritual microculture of Deadheads that evolved into the most intriguing fan base in rock history.” MacFarlane touts the work’s breath and comprehensiveness, and praises All Graceful Instruments as “compelling.”

Dead Symphony No. 6

In tribute to the Grateful Dead and appropriately on Jerry’s birthday August 1st, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will perform the world premiere of composer Lee Johnson's "Dead Symphony No. 6.” The Symphony has orchestral arrangements of "Saint Stephen," "China Doll," "Stella Blue," and other songs. For the premiere at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore Grateful Dead memorabilia will be shown, including Amalie Rothschild’s photos of the Band performing at the Fillmore East. For more info. see:
http://72.32.5.27/Articles/14187/Baltimore-Symphony-Plays-Dead

Dawg at UCSC

David Grisman, long time collaborator of Jerry Garcia, leads this year’s “Mandolin Symposium” along with Mike Marshall at the UCSC campus June 23-28th. The Symposium now in its 5th year exposes students of mandolin to “the diversity of music and technique that has developed over the past few hundred years throughout the world and here in America.”
http://www.mandolinsymposium.com/

Slugs & Roses (....we love the name!)

Slugs & Roses, Santa Cruz’s Grateful Dead cover band publicly debuts this Friday, June 13th at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center (320-2 Cedar St.Santa Cruz) Band members Larry Graff, Doug Greenfield, Mike Sammet, Dave Faulkner, August West, Brett Packer, and Covey Potter, explore the Dead’s vast catalog of songs at this renowned venue.

Dead as business pioneers

Some people have said that everything they know about business, they learned from the Grateful Dead. New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman writes about "Bits, Bands, and Books", and the Dead as business pioneers in the June 6th issue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/opinion/06krugman.html