furthur_newbus

THIS INFORMATION IS NO LONGER VALID Due TO THE PRANKSTERS PULLING OUT OF THE EVENT AND QUESTIONABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES BY THE PROMOTER BEING INVESTIGATED. YOU CAN READ IT FOR LAUGHS BUT THAT’S ABOUT ALL… I will DEFINITELY NOT be there or participate in any way. SEVERAL ARTISTS THAT THE PROMOTER LISTED AS CONFIRMED HAVE SAID ON THEIR PERSONAL FB PAGES THAT THEY WILL NOT BE THERE.

I’d like to start this off by saying, I am the Creator of The Official Home of Unofficial Grateful Dead and Music News. I don’t speak for anyone other than myself. I’m not sure what makes an individual an Official Prankster or an Official anything for all that matters. I never had The Magic Wings of Kindness pinned on me in a parking lot after some random good natured act. Nobody ever snuck up on me and gave me a loud jacket and dropped a clown nose on me and invited me for a ride on the Magic Bus, christening me as an Official anything. I’m more like The Lone Ranger except I don’t even have a fuckin horse or an Indian friend… I act on my own and no camp is claiming me as their official voice. I say this in order to say, stop sending me messages and asking me so many questions like I know somebody or something. I don’t know a damn thing about anything except the things I know something about.  I have zero connections and am doing all of this on my own dime just like most of you.

That being said, here is a highly informative piece full of insider information about what you can expect from the Merry Prankster’s 50th Anniversary Acoustic Acid Test!

There’s going to be a HUGE party that will be running nonstop in Chicago 4th of July Weekend, beginning on the 2nd of July and lasting until the 6th. Music and entertainment will be running 24 hours a day during the entire event.  The first gig the Grateful Dead played officially, once their name was changed to the Grateful Dead, coincided with the very first public Acid Test on December 4, 1965. These 2 groups have been arm in arm since the beginning and both represent everything that was great about the scene since its inception. The Merry Pranksters are pulling all the rabbits out of the hat for this event and this event alone is worth making the trip to Chicago. According to organizers, they’re not at liberty to tell you a damn thing about what’s going on or who is coming but highly recommend that one of the people that should definitely plan on coming is YOU! Here’s the deal, $299 gets you full access to the the event that will be hosting most of the Big Musical Acts and an assload of complete Fuckery! EVERYBODY will be performing there… EVERYBODY! Before you ask again, EVERYBODY will be playing there. It’s located 15 minutes from Soldier Field and my connectons have told me it’s right about here (Told ya I have no connections already)
ch-local

Camping will be available about an hour away and transportation to and from Soldier Field is included for $500 for the week. Up to 4 people can camp and that deal comes with one pass to the Acid Test location nearest to Soldier Field as well.  Just in case you don’t score tickets to The Dead, they will be streaming the festivities from Soldier Field at the camp as well! From what I’ve gathered using my keen sense of intuition accompanied with an inside informational leak, That site is located right here. Chicagoonmap

All your questions can be answered more completely by visiting the Official Facebook Page that is located here 50th Anniversary Acid Tests

There’s been some early banter from people about the costs associated with attending the event. My question is this, Do people live in the woods? Where the hell can you go for a vacation that offers endless entertainment for almost a week for $500? Do any of you ever need a plumber? I have a 3 and a 6 year old, every time one of them flushes a pair of their pants or a stuffed animal in the toilet, it costs me $150 for Santos, my plumber, to come here and rectify the problem. I get no live music at all and the only entertainment I get is Santos, telling me his life story, over and over and over again. He’s happy and I love him but it’s no Prankster event that’s for sure.

We all have different lots in life and it’s all cool wherever you may be along that path. The biggest problem I’ve noticed since January is that people totally forgot how to be broke and stay cool at the same time. Because of my overwhelming compassion for humanity, I’m offering everybody lessons on How to Stay Cool through the 50th Anniversary Events and Beyond… ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!

Lesson #1 How to stay cool when you’re broke…

Don’t complain about the prices of everything, it makes you sound like a crotchety Senior citizen. I remember Grandma every time they raised the price of stamps by a penny. The next 3 months of her life were spent complaining to anyone that would listen. In order to avoid being like my grandma, here’s some other options:

Make up some shit like, “I’d like to go but I’m fully committed for that weekend.” That makes you sound important instead of broke. Maybe try, “I’d Love to make it but my cousin is graduating from a program with NASA and his Astronaut Induction Ceremony is that weekend.” Something like that makes you sound smart as well as sounding like you’re abundantly more significant than you actually are while leading the reader to believe your family is well connected in the Space World. That’s cool!

Lesson #2 Don’t pretend to know what Jerry would think or say.

Jerry wouldn’t say shit, he’d just pay for it. You think when he checked in at the Ritz-Carlton Jerry said, “Holy Shit man, a grand a night for this room!?!?! I’m Jerry Garcia, shouldn’t this be free??? This room should really come with Broadway Tickets and a Limo for that kinda money!!! $25 for a Cheeseburger??? I remember when Cheeseburgers were 75 cents!!!!”
Garcia just slapped down a Black Amex and moved along without saying a damn thing other than, “Thanks! Catch ya later!” Like a BOSS!!! I’ll bet he never even checked his bill to ensure it was accurate. Try that shit on if you wanna do what Jerry would do, THAT is some cool shit!!! Otherwise, leave Garcia out of it…

Lesson #3 You don’t need to know how everything is gonna work out. Remember leaving for Fall Tour in 87??? I do… You remember having reservations, or tickets, or anything other than a car that would never make it, 1 bag with clothes and 6 bags with tapes to listen to and barely enough gas money to get to the first show? Guess what??? You made it!!! Saw every damn show!! Found a place to crash almost every night! You’re alive today to tell the tale.
What the hell is it that makes aging people always have to know exactly what the hell is gonna happen??? Old fuckers have Itineraries mapping out their plans for Chicago like it’s a damn Perillo Tour of Italy. Let’s go back in time and learn how to trust the process and just show up where Magic is happening knowing that some of The Magic is destined to happen to YOU! Sure, life has changed and so has our available options but the Dead Life taught us to trust the journey. Remember my favorite quote from Bill’s book? “We put more money on risky chances than sure bets, every time.” You only have to survive ONE weekend this time.  There is ONE more weekend of your entire life left with these guys to just let go and remember who you used to be and just take a risk and free yourself once again. Take the chance instead of being a public whiner. NOBODY appreciates whiners except other whiners and that makes for a sad circle of pitiful folks…

Lesson #4 It’s OK to just Shut The Hell Up

Saying nothing is often times more productive and a greater contribution than going on and on about how everything sucks. It’s OK to think everything sucks but here’s some confirmation that you can think everything sucks and say nothing. Most of us see your comments and think you’re an ass. We wanna believe that everyone is cool and do our best to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. There’s no need to have that benefit revoked.

It all rolls into one and nothing comes for free, (except my Lessons!) There’s nothing you can hold for very long… We have ONE last weekend to hold a piece of that, Make it count… Maybe I should just Shut the hell Up…

Dead To The Core,
Grateful Dean Sottile (pronounced So
Tilly)
Preparation for Soldier Field in full swing

#GD50
#GratefulDead
#MerryPranksters
#PhilLesh
#BillKreutzmann
#MickeyHart
#BobWeir
#Trey

11 thoughts on “The Officially Unofficial Guide To Acoustic Acid Tests In Chicago”

  2. Blake

    Just wanted to say how insightful I found your writing to be. I’m a noobie if you will, (a mere 24 years old with no dead shows under the belt and just around 20 phish shows) but I have really grown to understand and love the dead for what it was. Personally, what really hooked me was listening to the Brent years and I know I wasn’t there to experience it but if I was given a choice to see any dead show it would most certainly be with Brent, and probably 89 when they played in my home town of orchard park on the 4th. Keep on doing your thing man, and I will be sure to keep reading!

    1. gratefuldean Post author

      Thank you my brother! I appreciate it!!! It’s great to see young folks into the music!
      I was in attendance 7/4/89, Great Dew!

      1. John Earnest

        excellent dew! we where all younsters once, everyone has to start somewhere. With all the other stuff to catch kids attention these days, to have them be into our scene is pretty cool. If I have any advice to give kids these days would probably have to be along with what you said above, open your eyes and keep your mouth shut and just listen for a while, you will be amazed at what you hear!

  4. Michael

    I’m wondering if you plan on using all your connections and investigative skills to tell those of us going to Santa Clara if anything cool is happening in the Bay Area around the shows… btw you’re funny as shit and obviously spend way too much time writing this stuff.

  5. Erik

    As an old fucker trying to decide if this prankster campout/AT is too crazy to commit to let me say Thank You Dean. Your words have motivated me to cancel the posh hotel reservations and jump right in. As the kids say nowadays, YOLO!

    Ps if anything goes wrong its all your fault

  6. Mike Beahan

    What is your take on the Acid Tests as they currently stand?

    There seems to be a war of words between Groovy World Media (Normal Bean) and the Pranksters Zane Kesey, etc.). My opinion is, to quote Mercutio, “A pox on both your houses”. As a casual observer, I thought that the Pranksters were the promoters of this event rather than paid participants. Zane Kesey was hyping this event in his posts, the event carries the Acid Test and Merry Pranksters name.

    So why are you hyping an event with your name and father’s legacy if you are not committed to participating?

    As for the promoter, he obviously bit off more than he can chew. It’s good to have hopes and dreams and to be optimistic. But you SHOULD NOT sell tickets to hopes and dreams. You should only sell tickets to what you have nailed down and confirmed. The event is 4 weeks away and there is still no confirmed venue for the Acid Test.

    Despite the hype, there are no confirmed bands for this event either. A few bands that were mentioned have actually released statements saying they will NOT be appearing.

    It is unclear what promises were made to the Pranksters in exchange for their appearance (and the appearance of the Bus). They were either paid $9k or $10k (depending on whose version you believe) that was used to do repairs on The Bus. Neither side has stated what financial agreement was made between the two sides. The Promoter claims he is being extorted with demands of $50k. But if the parties agreed on this figure, then he is responsible for that number.

    If the Pranksters agreed to a smaller figure and later demanded more, then the promoter may have a point. Still, it is irresponsible and perhaps illegal to sell tickets promising something and not delivering.

    So what about the people who paid money for this event? If I were one of them, I would seek a refund immediately. Paypal and credit card companies will refund money and the burden of proof to deny a refund would be on the promoter. I feel bad for people that need to make other lodging arrangements at this late date. Personally, the lack of venue would have prevented me from spending money on this event.

    So what will happen now? It seems clear that Kesey and the Pranksters will not be participating despite all the hype they participated in. The promoter is in deep trouble. If I were advising him, I would say “Cut your losses. Forget about the 2nd venue. Get whatever bands you can to show up at the Campground (guess you can’t call it Pranksterland Campground any more). Refund money for the Acid Test but keep the Camping Only money and just make this a camping event”.

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