Tag Archives: Chicago

Trey

Announcements coming out of everywhere regarding who’s playing at Lockn in September are starting to raise a lot of eyebrows. I don’t know where folks get their info but I’d have to imagine they have some high level connections. Me, I don’t know anybody…(Total lie at this point) You’d think by now I’d get some inside information but I don’t get a damn thing. Since I’m still smarter than most however, I learned from “The Great One” that I don’t skate to where the puck is, I skate to where it’s going. I used the few folks I know to get me in touch with Trey. After digging him out of a pile of women in Texas, he came to the phone and I asked Trey if he had any plans for the weekend of September 10th-13th and he just said, “I don’t have jack shit going on that weekend”. I tried to ask him a few more questions but he said as kindly as one could say it, “I don’t have any idea who the fuck you are” and hung up. I think he really likes me. This caused me to start thinking… What’s developing over there in the middle of absolutely nowhere Virginia? Virginia has been home to some of life’s best Grateful Dead experiences. I wonder if they’ll have Hologram Chimenti again… You can see him but you sure as hell can’t hear him!

Rumors have been circulating around New York City that Peter Shapiro has been taking Tambourine lessons from none other than Stevie Nicks and plans to join several configurations of artists throughout the weekend of his event. While his dancing lessons from Snoop Dog never really “took” I’ve heard from inside sources that on Tambourine that brother is just like the one winged dove! Look for his debut as a performer at Lockn! Get ya Popcorn ready!!!

I went to see the Golden Gate Wingmen last night at The Watermark in NYC. I won some tickets through that contest they had. Apparently, I’m a pretty good promoter myself… I highly recommend that venue to any locals. It’s right on the East River with beautiful views of lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. A great time was had by all in attendance.

The life of a musician can be an interesting one. My cousin, Bobby Messano, is in the Blues Hall of Fame. Sounds pretty impressive and it really is. He’s had some great gigs throughout the years. The lick that was a Hallmark of MTV for decades was his. We all heard that a million times growing up. He did several tours as Steve Winwood’s guitarist, was one of the guitarists for the Blues Brothers, played with Clapton… He’s had some great gigs. Nowadays, he’ll play a Blues Festival in the Midwest for 30,000 people on a Saturday and then play an Elks Lodge the next week. Crazy how that goes…

I thought about Jeff Chimenti the same way last night. A few weeks ago he was part of the biggest stage of the Summer and here he was barely a month later on a stage that was about the size of his keyboard platform at Levi’s and Soldier Field. What a dramatic difference playing for 70,000 last month and less than 700 now. That’s about the population of Arrington, VA, home of Lockn.

Regardless, the mind and make of a musician can find those moments of magic anywhere. The opportunity to connect to the music and people you’re making it with is available regardless of the size of the stage or audience. A group of people making music can come across the key that unlocks parts of the Soul previously undiscovered without any audience at all. I’ve watched my cousin create some incredible moments in church basements that have never before and will never again experience his level of talent. It’s all about connecting and that can happen anywhere, any time and any place.

The show was a lot of fun and I had a blast. Jeff and Reed both seem to have an undeniable X Factor. There’s a little more of that extra something within them. I have a tip however for anyone that plays Grateful Dead Music. Even if you think it’s a good idea to play something other than Franklin’s after Help On The Way and Slipknot, it just about never is. The jams that drove Help and Slip were great and provided this absolutely raging musical hard on that is always prepared for the first notes of Franklin’s like a breeding stud is prepared for his mare. Then all of a sudden… Touch of Grey instead… Total blue balls moment. Touch is a great tune but I’d wager to say that pretty much nobody was hoping to hear it in that space…

Regardless, I recommend you check out The Golden Gate Wingmen. They’re a great time and the tunes were excellent. While you’re at it, go check out Phish on their Summer Tour. Trey is in unbelievable form and is obviously having the Summer of his life. I may have to start an Official Home of Unofficial Phish News site to cover them because the coverage I find elsewhere is pretty awful. If somebody had some sense, they’d bring me on board to provide some material that isn’t boring as shit. Somebody that looks and listens to the music like a lot of US do. I might even be willing to stop swearing.

The next couple of weeks will obviously be devoted to the memory of the Teller of Tales and Singer of Song that no human as ever come close to… The ONCE in a lifetime artist that changed US forever…

Dead To The Core,

Dean

First, Last, Everything

Just a heads up, Partial Refund info will be found on Dead.net today or tomorrow. If the window for returns is small, don’t come bitching to me. The window to mail them in was much smaller and you had no problems with that at all… I’ll be sure to stay engaged in the issue until everyone that wants their refund gets their refund… I foresee ZERO problems with any of it…

Well, The first Throwback Thursday following the Fare Thee Well Weekends… What better way to celebrate than revisiting the first piece that appeared on my blog on January 13th? This one started it all and it’s funny to remember how much shit I caught from various folks after I published it. I don’t quite remember exactly when a lot of those folks turned into friends but somewhere along the way, most of them did. I hadn’t looked at it since January and and it definitely brought back some memories… Enjoy!!! Love Y’all MUCHO!!! This is officially my final post related to GD 50. I like when things come full circle so it seemed best to make the first one the last one and TBT seemed to make it an incredibly appropriate opportunity. We’ll see what happens in the future. Maybe Weir will hire me to write his book or I’ll get a job with Phish… Maybe I’ll just play shuffleboard in Sarasota for the rest of my days eating at early bird specials and mediocre buffets… Who knows???

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Interwebs are aglow this week after sparks of a Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary Tour or set of shows were just looking for enough gasoline to create a fire. It seems as though the rumors were once again given the traction they needed when unofficial Grateful Dead writer, Scott Allen, was the first on the scene pretending to know something about the future. Scott, whose most recent publication, AB2B has sold nearly 2,000 copies, reported last year from The Capitol Theater, in Port Chester, NY, that Phil was the last member of the Band to sign a contract agreeing to play The Lockn’ Festival for the reunion. Interestingly enough, Lockn tickets were scheduled to go on sale within weeks. Apparently the talk backstage that night involved drummer, Joe Russo, saying to some of the guys after meeting a middle aged female fan, “I’ll be Lockin that ass in my room later.”

It’s also been rumored that Scott is receiving a five figure salary from the Grand Poobah of today’s psychedelic scene, Peter Shapiro, for sniffing the strychnine and Metamucil farts out of the seats in the balcony following Phil and Friends’ performances. To Furthur accelerate the anticipation of things to come, Bob Weir was overheard at one of Sammy Hagar’s holiday parties saying, “If she asks me to do one more damn project around the house, I’m going back on the road. Doesn’t she know I’m Bob fuckin’ Weir?”

In his most recent post, the anniversary shows are now headed to Soldier Field in Chicago on 4th of July weekend and will feature a longtime fan favorite on guitar, Ginger from Gilligan’s Island.

As the reports began to spread faster than venereal diseases at Rainbow Gatherings, social network moderators policing the band’s devout fan base were attempting to calm the insanity and maintain some semblance of order. It seems as though the rumor mill turned into a ferris wheel regarding the guitarist that would sit in with the band. The word on the street is that guitar players will be rotating through the band quicker than blowjobs in the 80s.

While everybody began to know somebody that knows somebody it seems as though nobody knows anybody including this somebody. When I attempted to contact Bill Kreutzmann regarding the rumors he answered briefly by saying, “Who the fuck are you and how did you get my number? Go Fuck yourself you nobody, I’m Bill Kreutzmann DAMMIT!!!”

I attempted to reach Mickey as well but his representatives told me he was putting an end to global hunger through drumming or some kind of shit like that. When I asked if she could be more specific she replied, “Sure, call back after you go fuck yourself.”

The news created a shakeup on Wall Street as cheese futures made a dramatic upturn. When asked why he failed to get on board, Warren Buffett, no relation to Jimmy, stated he was unsure of the “juice” the Core 4 had within the jamming community and feared that aging fans most likely developed varying sensitivities to products containing lactose. Sales of Coleman camping stoves rose in direct proportion to cheese futures.

Problems continue to circulate about insurance policies which seems to be a wonderful scapegoat for what promises to be high dollar tickets. A large portion of the fan base, still living in their now deceased parents’ basements and wearing the same concert T they purchased at Barton Hall in ’77 call this move “unkind.” They also find it totally uncool that their Barton Hall shirt can now be purchased new at Walmart for under $8. When Phil was asked about ticket prices he replied, “Brutha gotta eat! And Jill don’t wear no Payless shoes, you hear me, honky?!”

With all the guessing and speculation, only one thing is certain, Phish fan and rail rider, Antelope Greg is already waiting on line to get in as we speak. Three elderly women and a maintenance worker have been elbowed already for infringing on his “space.”

Highly opinionated Dead Heads are calling for the death of anyone who attempts to even think about playing guitar. Bob is… still resting. Phil continues to give his donor rap to the exact same 1,800 people from the past decade. Internet message board police are removing antagonistic members quicker than Lindane shampoo removes pubic lice and me, Dean Sottile, I don’t know shit. The only member of the entire fan base to readily admit, I have no connections at all. Not a single damn one.

Stay Grateful My Friends… Love You Forever!!!

Sincerely,
Dead Sottile (pronounced So Tilly)
Scott Allen’s Unofficial Biographer