The Amex presale was fun! Somebody, somewhere got something. It wasn’t me. We’re off again on the incredible journey that has been the resurrection of All Things Dead! The strategies employed by those in charge of strategies are always brilliant. First create and build a frenzy, then release some food a little at a time. In the case of Dead & Co, what better place to unleash the marketing machine than NYC? One show announced in the most visible city in the world to kick off the hysteria of this new adventure. We’re all sucked back into the vortex we escaped from 20 years ago.

I had some interesting conversations that came from unlikely sources located in unlikely places over the weekend. “Once in a while…” You know how it goes. I was told that Dead & Co have scheduled 21 shows across the country that wouldn’t be announced until after the on sales for MSG shows are completed. Maybe get ready for Hampton once again! Don’t hate on anybody for their strategies, just learn how to read them and don’t get too sucked into the madness that ensues. I was even told that Trey would be part of the Company for some of it. Not too hard to believe since his schedule is pretty open this Fall and he spent 6 months learning a ton of material recently. Trey obviously won’t be at Halloween since he’s playing at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas but we might see him again real soon. Phish is KILLIN IT on their Summer Tour! Trey is obviously having the Summer of his life. Only time will tell if the info is legit.

The interviews released regarding the upcoming shows have been great and it’s hard not to get excited about the renewal of the bonds between our favorite musicians minus Phil. I don’t blame our favorite bassist for having no desire to live on the road at this time in his life. He’s got his own thing happening and that’s just fine by me. While you’re coming to NYC anyway, you can catch Phil and Friends at the Cap on the 30th or the 1st of November. While some shows are sold out, I’ve never had a big problem securing tix and with the announcement of Dead & Co I’d imagine tickets will loosen up a bunch. He’s there the following weekend as well and the Cap is a great place to visit if you’ve never been.

Billboard’s interviews with the guys that make up Dead & Company were great. It’s great to think of how little things in life make such a huge difference. John Mayer is swimming in his pool and catches Garcia’s lick on Althea. That’s all it took… One lick from the Master was powerful enough to cause the brother to get out of the pool and investigate what he was hearing. Not only investigate, but go full blown obsession. A hundred other things could’ve distracted him from that moment but nothing did. That’s the kind of shit that may have passed right by someone else that simply wasn’t called by the universe for the duty. He heard the call and answered it in a BIG way. We can all learn from that. It made me wonder how many times in life I may have received a similar call and did nothing about it. It’s probably happened for you as well. Not that our calls involved being part of The Dead but the calls that are made throughout our lives in an attempt to guide our actions if we only could get quiet enough internally and listen then have the presence of mind to act accordingly. Interesting thought… Some folks seemed upset by Mayer because he’s said some dumbass things through the media in the past. I have a question. At this point in our lives, who hasn’t said some dumbass things? Some of y’all do that every damn day on Facebook or Twitter. We all know how guilty I am… Regardless, JM answered questions in his interview with statements that came from a much deeper place. Be sure to read that if you haven’t already.

Mickey’s comments amused me the most by far. While legions of fans call for Garcia clones to step into the role of guitarist, Mickey said he’d rather drink 5 gallons of Clorox than play with them. That was some funny shit! Our favorite musicians are well acquainted with selecting talent and judging the type of characters they’ll choose to associate with. They’ve been through enough the past 50 years to make wise choices in the present as well as the future. We should all know that by now. I absolutely trust the judgement of this community’s leadership at this point. Weir’s comments about it being a little late but they’ll “try to put something together” were just as funny. What a Poker face! This stuff has been booked for a long time. I couldn’t be more excited to have a home town show with all of our favorite Music Makers throughout the NYC area this Fall as well as revisiting many of our old stomping grounds!

Don’t sweat the tickets my friends! They’ll be plenty out there and even more once the complete Tour is announced. Next stop will be Jazz Is Dead in NJ followed by Lockn that’s only a month away! This will probably be the greatest Lockn in history and will most likely be talked about for decades. I know I’m making the trip, Hope to see ya there!!! < That's for you Michael Dead To The Core, Dean