Archive for the ‘amusing’ Category

Garcia Songbook Live in Berkeley tonight (early show!)

Sunday, April 16th, 2023

Joe Craven, David Gans, Lorna Kollmeyer, Jeff Hobbs, Joe Kyle, Jr and special guest Mookie Siegel – telling the story in our own voice!

Sunday 4/16. Doors at 6, show at 6:30
Art House Gallery and Cultural Center
2905 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley

Tickets are available here

Click here to hear our new studio recording of “Attics of My Life

SFAS interview with John Curl

Monday, April 12th, 2021

The San Francisco Audiophile Society asked me to interview John Curl about his work on the Grateful Dead’s sound systems over the years. The conversation took place via Zoom on Saturday, April 3, 2021. SFAS posted the video here.

This was actually my second interview with Curl for SFAS. The first one, on October 20, 2018, wasn’t recorded; they asked us to do it again for the archive. Here is SFAS’s writeup of the first one.

Rare 1975 JG poster for KPFA

Saturday, February 20th, 2021

Jerry Garcia 1975. Photo by Frank Moffett

Tom Stack has donated five more copies of this rare poster for KPFA’s benefit.
Were asking $100 for the poster, and Tom will pay for shipping.

First five people to contact me (david@trufun.com) can have ’em.

This picture was taken at Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California by the late Frank Moffett. Though originally booked as “Jerry Garcia and Friends,” it eventually morphed into a full scale Grateful Dead show, right in the middle of their “retirement year,” 1975. This was one of only 3 impromptu shows that year.

Taken side stage via special access, it shows Jerry in the midst of a contemplative solo.

Printed on thick stock, and measuring 14” x 20 ½”, this incredibly rare poster is one of a few left from an edition of roughly 500, and was personally approved for licensing by Jerry himself. All copies are out of circulation and in sole possession of a local collector, also an ex-employee of the band. This will serve as a beautiful addition to any Dead Head’s collection.

Festival Express promo kit

Monday, July 6th, 2020



In 2003, I received two copies of the promo kit for Festival Express, a wonderful musical documentary of the June 1970 Canadian tour that inspired the Hunter-Garcia song “Might As Well.”

If I recall correctly, the press kit included a screener DVD, bio and other info about the film, probably a few photos. Each package also included several bags of guitar picks and a case of Hempire rolling papers that had nothing that indicated a link to the film.

The guitar picks had the film’s logo stamped on them – a 100-count bag each of three different thicknesses of Jim Dunlop Tortex picks, the kind I like. The purple ones were the gauge I prefer, so I gave away the other four bags and used nothing but those purple Festival Express picks for the next ten years or more. When my supply ran low, I ordered a thousand white Tortex picks with my own logo and web site stamped on ’em in purple.

The Hempire papers were also very much to my liking, the popular 1.25 size. The two cases of papers lasted seventeen years. The last two packs are nearly depleted. I bought new papers for the first time since 2003.

It’s the end of an era, and that’s what this post is about.

Interview transcripts on Medium

Monday, April 16th, 2018

I am going to post a bunch of interview transcripts on medium.com – first up are Ozzy Osbourne (January 1982), Tom Petty (November 1981), and Joe Walsh (June 1981). More to come!

My mistake

Tuesday, November 4th, 2014

I fucked up.

In the liner notes for GarciaLive vol 5, just released, I stated that “God Save the Queen” is known Stateside as “America the Beautiful.” I am getting notes from all over the place, calling attention to this blunder.

I regret the error.

Thought for the day

Sunday, June 22nd, 2014

It’s okay for you to brake for hallucinations, but you have to let the other drivers pass.

Photos from Peru

Sunday, November 10th, 2013

Rita and I “won” a pair of round-trip tickets to anywhere LAN Airlines flies in South America. It was a promotion, I think because they had just opened the San Francisco market.  It happened at a favorite restaurant, Bocanova – a “Pan-American” restaurant in Oakland’s Jack London Square – a perfect place for them to do this promotion! Every single diner AND every single employee working that that night got a voucher. We had two weeks to book and we had til the end of the year to take the trip, so we sat down with our friends (who had joined us that night) to make plans. We looked at Argentina, too, but our friends had some excellent connections in Peru so that tipped the scales.  I have always wanted to see Machu Picchu.

This link will take you to my photos and Rita’s, too. We’re both adding more images to our collections, so check back again in a few days.

After visiting Sillustani (near Lake Titicaca), our tour group stopped for a photo op.

After visiting Sillustani (near Lake Titicaca), our tour group stopped for a photo op.

“The Narcotic Problem”

Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

Jon Carroll’s column in today’s Chronicle is (yet again) about the insanity of our drug laws.

The current state of affairs is something of a mess, although commerce is winning out in many areas. There’s gold in them thar buds, friends, and lots of people are aware of that and jumping on the bandwagon. If the Justice Department were to back off, we’d see a vigorous free market at work…. According to the folks at Harborside, Oakland’s upscale, perky-people, “have a nice day,” one-stop-shopping marijuana purveyors, the feds are now pressuring armored-car companies not to do business with the pot clubs, threatening possible prosecution for criminal conspiracy…. The Justice Department could decide unilaterally to just back the heck off. The pot clubs would be permitted to act like the shadowy companies they are, still technically illegal under federal law but otherwise OK. Tens of thousands of customers would be able to buy what they want to buy, and things would be messed up but a little less messed up than they are now….

I posted this column to Facebook and, prompted by the discussion that ensued there, I went and found my copy of “THE NARCOTIC PROBLEM,” a book “prepared by BUREAU OF NARCOTIC ENFORCEMENT” and distributed by the San Mateo Union High School District, where I was a student from 1966 to 1968 (Burlingame High School).

"The Narcotic Problem"

Here’s what the book had to say about “Marihuana”:

MARIHUANA–CANNABIS SATIVA

Marihuana (Cannabis sativa), a drug which contributes heavily to today’s narcotic problem, is a product of the hemp plant. This drug, most commonly known 1n the Western hemisphere as Cannabis Americana and Marihuana.. is generally known throughout the world as hemp and in the Asiatic countries as “Hashish, II “Hasheesh,” “Chara,” “Bhang,” “Ganjah” or “Gunjah.”

Cannabis sativa, or Indian Hemp, is a tall annual reaching to height of from four to twenty feet when mature. The leaves are alternate opposite with each leaf being made up of an odd number of coarse serrated blades with as many as eleven blades to the mature leaf. The hemp plant seems to have originated in Asia Minor, but is now cultivated in many parts of the temperate zone. This plant has considerable commercial value. The stalks and stems are used in the manufacture of rope and hemp cloth, similar to burlap. The fruit of this plant, which is often incorrectly called the seed, after sterilization, has been used extensively as a domestic bird food. The fruit also is valuable in industry as it is a source of a quick drying oil used in paint. It is believed that the hemp plant had its origin in the Central Asian area north of the Himalayas, but it is adaptable to a great variety of climates and is cultivated and grown wild in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia.

The cannabis habit has claimed its victims throughout the oriental countries for over a thousand years. In the last twenty to twenty-five years it has become a problem of great importance in the United States. In this country most individuals habituated to the use of this drug ingest it by smoking. Throughout the Orient the drug is most generally eaten. The leaves and flowering tops of the cannabis plant are covered with a gum or resin. This gum contains the active constituent cannabin, which is a glucoside of the drug. As morphine is to opium and cocaine is to the coca plant, so is cannabin to marihuana.

In the United States when the female plant is mature the leaves and flowering tops are dried in indirect heat, such as under the roof of a barn. The seeds are shaken from the flowering pod. All stalks and stems are removed and the leaves and flowers are crushed or “manicured” by rubbing between the palms of the hands. The resultant substance may be packed in a variety of ways. The most common of these ways are — compressed into bricks, each brick weighing approximately one kilogram (2.2 pounds), packed in an ordinary tobacco can, or loosely stuffed in a paper bag. To use the drug, it is rolled into cigarettes~-usually brown, or wheat straw, paper is used–the cigarettes are rolled in double papers, each paper being carefully pasted on the overlapping edge, and the ends tucked tightly in to avoid spillage. The double paper is to protect the cigarette against the possibility of breaking up as they are at times handled by many persons before they reach the consumer. Also, the double paper is necessary to hold the marihuana flakes which are harsh, dry, and sharp, having a tendency to puncture the paper when handled. The average marihuana cigarette, holding not more than four grains of the drug, may sell at prices ranging up to $1.25 each. In the Near East and in the oriental countries where marihuana is usually eaten, the leaves and flowering tops are gathered, the fruit stalks and stems removed, and the leaves placed on a long napped rug. This rug is rolled back and forth for hours. The gum from the leaves will adhere to the nap of the rug. After the rolling has been completed, the leaves and flowers are thrown away and the gums scraped up from the nap. This gelatinous mass is made into a type of candy and is eaten and chewed by the natives habituated to the use of the drug.

Marihuana releases the inhibitions of the users, as does cocaine. It ordinarily produces a state of intoxication and a feeling of exaltation, stimulation and release. The user may begin giggling or laughing uproariously. His perception of time, space, and distance is distorted so that objects begin to appear larger or smaller than the actual size, seconds seem like hours. He may be driving 80 miles per hour and believe that he is only doing 20. Marihuana may produce greatly varying effects upon different individuals, ranging from mere excessive affability to maniacal frenzy, and on different occasions it may bring about greatly varying stages of intoxication from the same person. There is no physical dependence created by using marihuana but it does produce both tolerance and habituation. It is an addicting drug only in the sense that existing psychological factors in the individual may lead him to depend upon its use. Its greatest dangers are that the intoxication and hallucinations produced may lead to violent conduct, such as attacking a friend thinking that it is necessary for self-defense, and that it may lead to the use of other more addictive drugs.

Marihuana is used to a great extent in combination with alcohol, which produces an uncontrollable intoxication. The subject is very dangerous to handle, knows no fear, and may cause considerable difficulty in being placed under restraint. It is possible that repeated indulgence in the use of marihuana may produce mental deterioration. It has been reported that many of the mental institutions throughout the Near East and Far East attribute the condition of their insane patients to the over-indulgence of the drug hashish or bhang, as marihuana is known in those countries.

In California narcotic laws provide that marihuana may not be cultivated. However, California provides the proper climate and the fertile soil that is required in the growth of this drug. Marihuana requires a considerable amount of water for growth and in California where the rainfall is limited during the growing season, constant irrigation is necessary. Practically all marihuana found by Narcotic Agents comes from Mexico except for limited garden and flower box culture within the state. No very large scale production in California has ever been detected.

The user of marihuana is a dangerous individual and should definitely not be underestimated by police officers. Caution should be used at all times in taking any drug user into custody, but particularly individuals who are known users of either cocaine or marihuana. They may be dangerous, hard to handle, and might resort to any act of violence.

"The Tools of Addiction"

Kids holding signs

Monday, March 11th, 2013

I saw some kids at the Greek on my way to the show… you know how everyone’s out there holding signs, “I need a ticket?” Nowadays they don’t even need to hold up a sign – they just have to make believe they’re holding up a sign.

– Harry Popick, July 1984

“Ecology Blues”

Monday, July 19th, 2010

I was transferring some old reels today and found my very first recording session, made in my family’s living room in San Jose in May of 1970. I was 15 years old. So please be kind when you listen!

Ecology Blues

“My Improvised Life”

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

This afternoon I spoke to the Rotary Club in Oakland. My connection to the Grateful Dead was the hook, and my theme was “My Improvised Life.” I recorded it on my iPhone, if you’d care to hear it. It’s about 27 minutes.

Thanks to C.J. Hirschfield (executive director of Children’s Fairyland) for inviting me!

The drugs I need

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Church Sign Generator

Tuesday, June 13th, 2006

I’ve been seeing these things for a couple of years, and I should have figured out by now that they were artificial. Sent to me this morning by Ric Findlay:
churchsign_gans.jpg
And Ric also told me where he got it: The Church Sign Generator, of course!!

A dream I had

Thursday, May 4th, 2006

I’ve been sick in bed with a nasty intestinal thing, accompanied by a high fever. When I was a kid, I had high fevers, and they were always accompanied by really great hallucinations. I had a very intense dream the morning the fever hit, and this time I was able to write most of it down before it evaporated.

Rita and I were driving in Charleston SC, and lost. Arrived at an intersection where streets came together strangely, and there was a restaurant so we went inside to look at a map and get our bearings. There was a chef there who I recognized – a tall man who I’d met at Jon Carroll’s. I asked his name, and he told me but it was garbled. We talked for a while and then he disappeared back into the kitchen in mid-conversation.

There were a lot of people eating at big long tables, huge piles of golden fried chicken which was referred to as “the baked dinner.”

I kept waiting for the chef to came back out. Other chefs walked by on their way out of the kitchen.

A man walked in, and as I was thinking, “Isn’t that Elvin Bishop?” Then Michael Bloomfield walked in, accompanied by a couple of other guys. One of his companions recognized me and introduced me to Bloomfield, who was very big and had very big hands; when he shook my hand he only took a couple of my fingers. Nice man, tho.

“I guess we ought to eat here,” I said to Rita.

Still waiting for the chef to return.

I looked into another room and there was Blair Jackson, talking to a man I don’t know. I walked over and sat at his table. Blair said he was there for the wedding of (mumble), and I said, “Ah, so there will be a lot of us around.” The man sitting with Blair pulled a large television set in front of his face, and then the TV screen showed an amateur rocket launch of sorts that appeared to be the lifting of a large, rectangular concrete object a few feet into the air in a cloud of black smoke.

Feel free to post your interpretations!