Jerry Day 2014

After celebrating the Kohl Mansion's 100th anniversary, I went up to McLaren Park in EssEff to catch the last band of the day at the 12th Annual Jerry Day in memory of the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia's birthday.  Tucked in between the Excelsior district and Visitacion Valley, this we a fun little find albeit foggy as expected even while B'game is beautiful.  Jerry would have been 72 yesterday and next Saturday is the anniversary of his passing. Here's Melvin Seals and JGB closing the festival.

 

Comments

[Anne]

I spent a little time on the mountain, I spent a little time on the hill.

Things went down we don't understand, but I think in time we will.

[Bing Day, May 3rd.]

Joe,

Huh, I didn't see you there. I was stage left. It was a blast, ran into another Burlingamer.

Reminisced the last Dead Show ever with Jerry at Soldier Field Chicago.

McLauren Park offers a beautiful panoramic view from sea to bay.

Is Burlingame ready for "Bing Day" on May 3rd, 2015?

http://bingcrosby.com/bing-bio/entertainer/bing-the-recording-star

[Joe]

Funny. I was stage left also just at the bottom of the stairs (same spot as the photo was taken from).

What can we do to make sure Bing Day is a bing success?

[Bing Bash]

Bing Bash could be a Burlingame Ave Bing Era costume party with various street performers and hosted parties at retailers. Classic cars of the era on Display, Burlingame Historic Society style.

Sam Malouf, Steve Karp and other Downtown BID members, what do you think?

[Erin]

We were there from san mateo. How sweet it was to make it to the promised land! Miss jerry...19 years now:( still dmilin in a cloudy sunshine daydream day!

[Jennifer]

Just Bing?? Can't we have Hank Williams, too?

What about each block: 1100-1200-1300-1400 is a different decade of music.

Bing and Hank can be the 1100 block, near the train station-

Elvis and friends in the 1200 block

Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead etc. in the 1300 block

And Talking Heads, Eagles, ELO, Duran Duran, etc. in the 1400 block, all with 'age appropriate' cars. Ooops, pardon me, I forgot Bruce's gang. In fact, maybe he likes the idea so much, he'll organize.

What say you, Bruce? Do we get more cowbell for creativity??

[Joe]

Jenn, we have to stay focussed on local, local, local. Jerry Day was held in the Jerry Garcia Amphitheatre near his old neighborhood (the Excelsior). We can definitely claim Bing and we can claim Phil Lesh from the Dead who lived in B'game while attending CSM. Beyond that we need to do some research. Danny Marona counts :-)

[Bruce Dickinson]

Joe and Jennifer, I agree we keep it local. And yes, you can claim Bruce Dickinson as one of Burlingame's Own, despite the fact that I was born in the Bronx and lived in LA, busy creating history, as it were, but nonetheless I chose Burlingame to live out my sunset years, as it offers globe-trotting airport access, with a cool climate and access to food, wine, sailing, golf, and in close proximity to the dynamite SF counter-culture that I always loved over the years, and TGD were a big part of that history.

Jennifer, I'll give you 3 cowbells for that one, creative yes, but maybe a little overwrought, as it were. Sometimes you gotta let the environment and setting dictate the sound rather than the other way around, if you will. One of my favorite things to do in the studio was just to let the tapes roll, all the time, even when the bands were just practicing/jamming; let things happen naturally, no need to force something that doesn't feel right. Some of the greatest material in Rock & Roll was born in the cradle of Columbia/CBS studios in Los Angeles, but whenever we'd hit a roadblock, sometimes we'd just change the venue, bringing in portable recording equipment to numerous places across the world. You wouldn't believe what a venue change could do to get the creative juices flowing.

As far as my "crowd", you better book 50 city blocks, as my career spanned nearly 5 decades and quite frankly, I have a not insubstantial discography, as it were. That other article of the Burlingame nightclub with the album wall, I think all my gold and platinum records could probably fill 75% of those album blocks. I would be remiss if I didn't say in your listing of bands, don't forget Dickinson-produced legends such as Dylan, Cheap Trick, Leonard Cohen, Mott the Hoople, Eddie Money, Loverboy, The Bangles, Patti Smith, Pat Benatar, Iggy & the Stooges, The Romantics, Ted Nugent, Quit Riot, Alice Cooper, Peter Tosh, Cyndi Lauper, Blue Oyster Cult, Psychedelic Furs, Meat Loaf, The Clash, the list goes on and on.

I have a lot of stories on TGD, some of which are quite interesting, as it were. They tried to self produce records under their own label for awhile, then realized its much easier to get the record companies to do it, especially ones who employed staff producers who were well renumerated and could allow enough creative artist liberty but pull things together quickly if there was a needed shift when things were stalled. On the other hand, they broke so many corporate record company conventions that actually ended up working quite well for them and their fans.

[Joe]

BD, please keep the stories coming. If we ever get together I will tell you about the cute little rocker babe who broke my heart at a Blue Oyster Cult show in the backwoods of upstate New York in '74 or '75. Were you there?

[Jennifer]

I gottcha, local....then what about Chris Kristofferson (not my fav., but local) Neil Young, is that close enough? He works extensively for the Bridge School in Hills.

[Jennifer]

Pardon me, I believe it's spelled KRIS with a "K".

[Joe]

Today is the official 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead first playing together as the Dead.They were the house band for Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters at a party in San Jose on 12/4/65. Nice run of a long, strange trip!!

[CRB and The Dead this month in SF.]

I'm probably going to have to see Chris Robinson Brotherhood again this weekend at The Fillmore (Friday, December 11th, 2015). Jam Band fans will like this reincarnation of The Black Crowes, but as always bring your ear plugs, as they're sometimes overamplified.

http://chrisrobinsonbrotherhood.com/tour-dates/

Or, check out "The Dead" with John Mayer in SF, Sunday, December 27th, 2015.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/Dead-Company-tickets/artist/2150235

Burlingame party bus from Steelhead?

[Jjoe]

Thanks for the heads ups (2). Not sure I am around for the John Mayer version of the Dead.....

[fred]

For the Dead fans, here's a link to 31 Days of Dead by Ed Martin:

http://www.phantasytour.com/bands/phish/threads/4108337/31-days-of-dead-vol-6-2015-edition#page/1

And the Grateful Dead's website 30 Days of Dead:

http://www.dead.net/30daysofdead

They contain free downloads of really good Dead tunes. The official one 30 Days of Dead will only be up for a few more days. The unofficial and much better one is up permanently and has archived the last six years of downloads. Merry Christmas!

[Joe]

Thanks, Fred!