I’m pretty sure it was shut doors with heroin smoking, hagan daas, Fritos, scales/modes, with a show peppered in. The dude lived guitar and breathed heroin, not much else to it.
"Breaker breaker, come in earth.This is rocket ship 27. Aliens fucked over the carbonater in engine #4. I'm gonna try to refuckulate it and land on Juniper. Hopefully they got some space weed. Over."
A lot of us on here live in the same trailer park called Sunnyvale in Nova Scotia. There is this fat fucker named Randy, a real cheeseburger walrus who runs around the park with a shirt off causing problems. He has been known to prostitute himself out for cheeseburgers and is the mate of the trailer park supervisor, the captain of the Shitliner. A fuckin drunk.
Anyways that's about it you don't happen to have any smokes on ya?
Soory about that bud, sometimes my brain short circulates and I can't get these goddamn brain compartments and departments to work together for fucks sakes
Anyways a lot of the Reddit users on this sub live in the same trailer park in canda called Sunnyvale trailer park.
You know what Julian you can go to college and get your little PFD or whatever the fuck it's called, I don't care. I'm gonna get drunk and eat chicken fingers.
For sure, man. I don’t know what you’re talking about or if you’re referencing something or what. So this is just all going over my head. I don’t believe you all live in a trailer park. But I also don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.
This perfectly describes my life right before I got sober, just substitute "show" with "crappy day job". It was a horrible, horrible way to live, and it's not something to romanticize. Slow suicide and nothing more. RIP Jerry--wish you could have seen the light earlier.
Not necessarily. It can for those that lose everything via addiction, at which its a choice between dope or food - and the dope always wins so the user loses weight. For those that have the money resources to get both food and dope you ain’t gonna lose weight like you’re thinking.
I’d add that - while there’s no way to know for certain - the way Jerry was purportedly eating during this time he’d have ballooned up big time if not for the drugs. He’s still got a bit of weight on him, but in 83/84 he’s got that frail, used up look about him that junkies so often acquire.
Sorry you're getting downloaded for this; it's a good question. The media creates this portrait of the junkie as some emaciated model-type, and it frustrates me to no end. I gained a ton of weight when I was using because I was working from home, not exercising, and stuffing my face with junk food. Downers and weight gain are pretty common.
You know, it’s fine. I should have considered that people deep into addiction and low on cash would take the smack over food. You don’t think about rich vs poor opioid addicts.
It's true, and that's why I had such a hard time getting help. My vision of an "addict" never matched the reflection in the mirror. Even today, my mental picture of August West is a scraggly, rail-thin street urchin, and not a chubby guy who might look a lot like Jerry Garcia.
Yeah I loved that show Dopesick because it put a human face on all levels of the opioid epidemic. It’s an absolutely brutal condition. Glad you’re doing better now brother.
If you're that deep that it's between a cheeseburger and a shot...it's the shot. But he had the money and the means so in that case I would have been binging junk food too. H made me crave junk food, especially sweets
Opiates constipate the fuck out of you. Just look at Herman Goering the Nazi head of the Luftwaffe. He was severely addicted to morphine and a complete whale. Pics of him during WWI he’s all skinny and healthy looking pre- accident.
I can’t stop thinking about this… “Here’s my gig day fit, I’m going with the black pocket t shirt and the black pants. These glasses at the end of my nose really tie the whole thing together”
There are details on his drug use and unhealthy habits (poor diet, chain smoking, poor hygiene, etc.) in the various books, especially those more inclined to the sordid stuff (like Rock Scully’s). Junkies go into withdrawal and get quite ill when they stop using, so it’s safe to assume he was using, well, very consistently. For instance, Jerry was nervous to tour in Europe in 1981 because he knew he’d get sick if he didn’t have any dope. Ultimately, though, I don’t think any level of detail about his behavior offstage is going to be particularly illuminating in terms of how it affected the music - most folks who listen closely can hear that, although he plays brilliantly at times, he’s often quite lackadaisical, particularly with lyrics and singing, when he’s strung out.
His voice really changed in 1978 - he blew it out twice that year on 1/6/78 and 11/24/78. Although he sang very well at times thereafter, it was never really the same IMHO.
I don’t begrudge you your curiosity about this angle, but I’ll gently suggest that there may not be much to be gained from this sort of analysis. He was sick, he acted like it, it’s pretty obvious, and that’s that.
FWIW, 11/24/78 in Passaic Jerry was sick with cold and/or flu or at least that is what was told and how it appeared (I was there). Dope sick? Maybe, but it did appear to be a respiratory thing. And the next night in New Haven they canceled about an hour after show time due to his illness. The New Haven Col was packed and we were all dosed to the gills and then Bob came out and said Jer was too sick. They turned us loose on the town with everyone just getting off. Would have taken more a whole pail to cool that shit down. Was an interesting night to say the least.
Just getting out of the building was a historic adventure. I drove down the circular parking ramp while hallucinating heavily. Not proud of that but no one was hurt!
I was one of those kids that used to camp out all the time at the Coliseum and get great tickets to all the good shows. Can't even fathom it now. Camping out on that concrete for tix to get the best seats, to walk up to a ticket window and buy tickets in the first 5 rows for face value with no charges at all...for like $7.50 or $8.50?. Not to mention, when camping out for Dead tix in particular, were some of the most fun nights I've ever had. Merry little band of misfits, blasting tapes, dropping acid, smoking actual good weed back then. A joy.
I remember getting tickets for 5 nights at Radio City and having the bank broken, and commenting what a rip-off it was to have to pay a whopping $87.50 for the 5 shows. Can you imagine? $17.50 a show (this included the outrageous $2.50 Ticketron charge).
I paid 87.50 plus Ticketmaster for blood nose seats at Citi (total 120) I walked down to front floor int the 100’s from the 300’s with no view.
I do this with every show I go too, there is always an empty seat or standing. I did it for Floyd, billy Joel, Paul, Ringo(I didn’t have to move more then a row or two for Ringo), Green Day, etc. I’m forced to either buy months in advance for a good ticket at an actual price or buy on the day of and just run around till I get a good seat.
You don’t know how much I want to stand in line for a Grateful Dead ticket and pay 87.50 for five nights, it would cost me a grand + to do that for phish rn at msg.
# 1978-11-24 Passaic, NJ @ Capitol Theatre
**Set 1:** Jack Straw, Sugaree, Me and My Uncle > Big River, Stagger Lee, Passenger, Candyman, New Minglewood Blues, From The Heart Of Me, Loser, The Promised Land
**Set 2:** I Need A Miracle > Good Lovin', Friend Of The Devil, Estimated Prophet > Shakedown Street > Drums > Ollin Arrageed > Fire On The Mountain > Sugar Magnolia
**Encore:** Johnny B. Goode
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1978-11-24)
I have a story abut that same night in New Haven. My friends and I call it "The night Jerry got old". We were up close and had a friend backstage who was relaying that Garcia was real sick and Bob might do all the singing that night (Thanks but no thanks Bob). We already knew he was sick because the Capitol show on the 24th was broadcast on the radio and you could tell he was croaking like a frog.
When they cancelled, myself and two friends (very dosed) snuck into the Park Plaza and right on to their floor. No one stopped us. We walked down the hall and there was an open door, we went in...and there was Garcia! Lying in bed on oxygen with doctors all around him! Keith saw us and rushed over "You can't be here, maaan" and shooed us out. It was stupid and crazy but an indelible memory.
When they came back in January, it was, well, different. Jerry's hair had more noticeable grey and from that point forward his "Young Man" voice was pretty much a thing of the past. Not to say he couldn't sing sweet and high, but not nearly as often or as well.
I/We followed the band pretty closely from '77 through about '83/'84 (maybe 60ish shows, about 10-12 a year) and to see the difference over those 6-7 years was truly hard to watch.
If this had happened in 2023, there would have been a band of younger heads set up out in the parking lot and they would have made 3000 new fans before the police shut everything down.
Good answer. Anyone familiar with how opiate addiction works can probably picture it quite clearly. First it feels good, it makes playing music feel easy and fun, but then you get hooked and it becomes just about getting that fix multiple times a day so you can live your life somewhat normally.
That’s kind of my theory on why Jerry (and therefore, the band) was playing so well in 76-77. He was in the honeymoon stage of opiates. In time, they started to turn on him, as they often do.
I caught an interview of Jerry talking about his habit. He liked to catch a buzz on dope, then do some coke so he wouldn’t crash. So he kept doing this regularly and it snowballed into a huge habit, as it kept taking more and more to get to the same place.
And that thing you're hearing is only the sound
Of the low spark of high-heeled boys* ...
* Traffic borrowed the street term for speedballing at the time, with coke being 'girl' and heroin being 'boy' and the combo a high-heeled boy. The low spark was the buzz taking off. Great song!
Well, I’m not finding the interview at the moment. It was after Built To Last had released because he said if Built To Last was as successful as In The Dark was, it would have destroyed the band.
Find the interview saying that, and it’ll be the interview discussing his heroin/cocaine usage.
YouTube is transcribing their videos, but I can’t find a way to search transcribed text or I’d look for the Built To Last quote.
In Big Steve’s book, he said Jerry called the combo “rat”. Steve tried it once, felt like absolute garbage, and never did it again. Apparently Keith liked it too and it ultimately got him fired.
A truly miserable experience. 10 years sober. Life can still be difficult but nothing like the depths of my alcohol, heroin, and Xanax addiction. I don't know that it's possible to experience that kind of pain sober.
That’s all that matters. Having enough so you don’t get sick. By that point any fun is long gone. It’s a terrible, terrible way to live.
And we don’t even need to get into the adventure of going to the bathroom when you’re a junkie, more horror.
It really is a pitiful existence. There's nothing cool or sexy about it. "Sorry guys, I gotta go to the washroom to use my drugs so I don't have aching joints, panic attacks and shit myself."
I agree...there's nothing to gain here....the man was a genius as a musician, could play anything with anybody....I choose to remember the greatness that was Jerry Garcia .... I'm not a perfect person so who am I to talk about someone else's issues .... Spread the joy!!!
A helpful, thoughtful response. Thank you!
Edit to add: My primary curiosity here is attempting to discern which live shortcomings came as a result of irreversible physical deterioration and which came from actively being intoxicated onstage, though it’s essentially a distinction without a difference.
>there may not be much to be gained from this sort of analysis.
Exactly. What's left of Jerry's personal daily details that hasn't already been written about will never be told, and that should be enough for everyone involved.
The OP seems slightly obsessed with "knowing" what level of H, etc, was coursing through Jerry's veins during all of his performances. The goal is "to cross reference how the performances themselves were potentially affected." Then what?
Someone needs to get a life.
Honestly, to take their obsession to this sub and ask around for more details seems weird, like maybe the OP suffers from being somewhere on the spectrum.
Easy, tiger - the person is curious about a relevant aspect of the band, one that is often discussed. There’s no need to flame anyone for it, and speculating that someone might have an ASD diagnosis is totally unnecessary and out of line. Remember the whole “please be kind” thing from a few years back? You’re not meeting the standard.
>You’re not meeting the standard.
You sound like a hothouse flower that can't stand to hear real thoughts from others reacting to a post. Or maybe you're the OP using a different account to make your little stand, not sure. Don't really care.
[Bobby on being Jerry's bagman on tour, etc](https://relix.com/news/detail/bob_weir_talks_carrying_jerry_garcias_dope_on_tour_dealing_with_painkillers_and_more_in_revealing_interview/)
It just seems so fitting that Bobby partook in heroin and thought it was “fun but not a place you want to live”
You don’t hear of many casual heroin users
Then again those that are successful and actively “chip” with their dope usage in moderation without catching a serious physical dependency usually don’t talk about it due to the stigma that usually comes with the drug. There are people out there who have hood and successful careers and use, but the reality is for many, what started as an occasional and moderated thing turns into it a full blown addiction and dependency.
With that said, there’s stories out there of often people with successful careers who manage to chip for many years. Some would be shocked to find some successful people on Wall Street and similar lines of careers keeping up with using in moderation in secret for long periods of time.thing is when it goes south it usually goes very bad due to deep pockets and the means to sustain a habit, not unlike a rock star.
That’s because you have not really done opiates buddy. Anyone that has would not stop without a long painful road. Maybe you tried an opiate once, but you didn’t do them
I continue doing things I enjoy doing. Out of the 2ish grams of heroin I have done in my life I did not enjoy it enough to continue doing it more. I did kind of enjoy oxy and to a lesser extent hydro in high school a few times. But the thing I did not enjoy about any of them is that they constrained my consciousness.
that was my experience with opiates and i have several close friends who did more or less the same. i wouldnt reccomend anyone try it, because its a huge gamble, but i was more willing to take those risks when i was younger and ended up figuring out i enjoyed opiates well enough, but not really as a frequent thing, and i dont seem to develop physical dependence easily, even after daily use for 5ish days. when i was younger, when someone would randomly mention they were getting oxies or whatever, id throw in for a few, do them for a few days, and then it would run out and that was that, just moved on with my life no problem. over the years i just kinda ran out of people who have connections for pain meds, so i dont really use pills at all anymore, but once a year i grow a small crop of opium poppy, enough for 10ish cups of tea. i just drink poppy tea for a week or so and then thats that. been that way for 15 years or so, never had an issue with it at all. its a nice drug but for me, its not some kind of crazy euphoric blissful thing. its just pretty nice. at some point i need to do other things besides lay around and its not really euphoric enough to make me want to do it for more than a few days at a time. personally i get MUCH more euphoria during the second half of an LSD experience where youre totally settled into things and can relax and whatnot.
Great article:
*”While Weir admitted that he never got into heroin, he did occasionally partake with Garcia. “Every now and again he would invite me to join him, and I would. But I never got into it. It was fun to go into his world on a given evening after a show, but it’s not a place I found I wanted to stay—or at least that part of his world. It was fun going into that little corner of his world where he didn’t let other folks in. A place to visit but you wouldn’t want to live there. He did.”*
I don’t know why this is such a sensitive topic. The band was completely different before and after Jerry started using the heavier stuff. The 1970s Dead are one thing, and the 80s and 90s Dead are something else entirely. In my opinion, the band struggled to reach their true potential in the second half because of Jerry’s drug addiction, but ironically that struggle was also part of the band’s allure - something about Jerry struggling for the right notes, and watching the ups and downs of his performances and health, makes watching and listening to a lot of the shows even more compelling. You find yourself really rooting for him.
That’s what I miss in 80’s and 90’s shows. Well said. I crave that undulled acidic landscape that just… vanished. Just my opinion, but it feels like it clicked over in ‘79. Again, just this dude’s opinion.
Scully’s book described living with Jerry around ‘83-84 particularly as Jerry rarely getting off the couch when home from tour, living off ice cream & m&ms, smoking heroin and cigs, watching old movies and noodling with guitar books. Very dark sad shit.
He was also refusing to shower or put on clean clothes and stank like shit which he would aggressively dismiss if brought to his attention, resulting in the other band members refusing to travel with him.
I have always been morbidly curious as to what drugs were being consumed when, and how that affected the music produced; for not only Jerry, but many/most of the music that I love. Hell, I am nosy about the drug and alcohol problems of most artists (writers, painters, sculptors, actors, directors, singers) who I listen to.
I forget where I read it but there's stories about how when he flew hed lock himself in the restroom and smoke heroin the whole flight and refuse to come out.
Soft White Underbelly on YouTube has some chilling interviews with addicts. It's a good place to get some insight into the mind and behavior of people in the grip of serious drug use. Take those stories, and filter them through fame and money to get a glimpse into Jerry's challenges.
Read or rather listen to the audible book while driving in the car “ home before daylight” by Steve parish
It addresses a decent amount of Jerry’s using and how things went from being used by all in the open and pretty quickly changed to being behind closed doors .
I won’t ruin the stories, but there’s a story that paints a picture of how things went sometimes, when Jerry was too high right before getting on stage for a JGB show and what they did to get him up and moving from backstage.
Worth the read or listen, it’s a good audible books
If anyone is interested, here is a pdf link to the book via Annas Archive.
https://momot.rs/d1/y/1689849100/93/u/annas-archive-ia-2023-06-lcpdf/h/homebeforedaylig0000pari.pdf~/rDrkFzysxSDIkOkqA6kMxg/home-before-daylight-my-life-on-the-road-with-the--annas-archive.pdf
Definitely worth checking out and reading. If you’re someone who doesn’t usually read or have the time, but spend a lot of time driving or commuting in one way or another the audible (or any audiobook app) is a great way to get through it and so many other awesome books, both dead and not dead related.
All the many hours spent in a car, I’ve listened to an absurdly unbelievable amount of hours in audiobooks. Use to only listen to music on drives, but now mostly audiobooks. I would never have been able to read so many great books in an entire lifetime.
If the narrator is good, it makes it super enjoyable !
Completely agree about audiobooks - but while I can’t afford actual audiobooks just because of the sheer amount of driving I do for work, I am able to download a shit ton of pdf’s or epub files for free so I just highlight a chapter at a time and have my iPhone read them to me.
No, its not quite as good as actual human read ebooks but you get used to the Siri girl reading to ya after awhile. It allows me to listen to endless books for free this way.
Oh and Audible does have a ton of free books and the options rotate regularly . You’ll be surprised what you can find for free on there at times. You’ll have a book that’s a 18$+ (or just 1 credit) and then randomly it’s free another month and you can download and add to your library permanently. Check out the list of free books, maybe you’ll find something of interest.
Not a bad way to do it, although like you said, it’s not going to have the great production so many audiobooks have these days. Some are produced so well, it’s like listening to a movie or something .
Audible can be expensive and I don’t want to even add up the $$$ spent on them since I started listening years ago. At the same time, I’ve listened to far more books than I would have ever read. All sorts of books from classics to philosophy, fiction to non fiction, auto/biographies . Literally all sorts of things , including some dense, but wonderful stuff I wouldn’t have gotten through otherwise by reading .
I don’t mind reading it it’s something that really captures my attention, but I was never a big reader, or rather never a person who could set aside the time to read enjoyably .
I spend lots of time driving over the years, especially being in the mountains which take long time to get anywhere .
I wouldn’t even want to share the total time listening to books, it sounds unbelievable, even to me!
I think Jerry referred to himself as a “maintenance user,” which seems like a pretty miserable existence.
Honestly, heroin gets all the headlines, but I think sugar was almost as harmful to his health as dope was. That’s my hot take on Jerry: sugar did more damage than heroin, and it’s ultimately what killed him (although the steady diet of heroin for 17 years certainly didn’t help).
78 Garcia band in the Bay Area, Jerry and Kahn would take all their earnings from those little venues they would play, and blow it on coke and heroin. The coke in the Bay Area was spectacular at the time, so it’s understandable.
I’m not sure you’ll find an exact accounting of his routine. Nobody knew that but him. There’s lots of peripheral accounts in all the books tho. It’s easily found.
Nothing can really be correlated to the stage tho with like, knowing that Jerry copped at X time and on X date and they played X song or whatever.
Would be fascinating to glean tho. Heroin sucks. Nearly ruined my life. Trauma + availability is a bad combo.
https://www.rukind.com/viewtopic.php?t=1028
This was a great dive in to it on the old rukind forum from years ago. God I miss that community, back when getting ahold of soundboards was still hard.
Are the hairnet stories true? Jerry would west a hairnet when smoking heroin to keep his hair from catching on fire. Every now and then he’d walk on stage still wearing it. I’ve been told this by a few people but not sure if it’s true or not.
All I know is that I saw Jerry headed south. I got off the bus in 81. I watched the fans. They didn't give fuck. The shows got exponentially worse. The lot scene turned into a homeless encampment selling nitrous balloons and cheese sandwiches.
What a clusterfuck pretending to be Woodstock.
It was an evolution. As the crowds grew, u were bound to see more that bothered u. The band put flyers out in the parking lots begging for people to b more respectful and leave less trash. Undercover cops were seeking drug users/dealers. I can see how it was a turnoff.
Then again, I heard Woodstock 69 was a sh!t show and not as warm as it appears on film
I saw how hard they tried to "help" the fans. They couldn't help themselves, but whatever.
Not really any heroin or coke kinda weekend in Woodstock 69, but whatever. False equivalencies I suppose.
The thing about active addiction - the supply of dope and the elasticity of reality to the ensuing neglect practiced while loaded being deterministic - for me was absence of routine and adoption of chaos.
That chaos mimicked creative chaos so closely that the two fused in my consciousness but the reality was not manifest except in illusory or hallucinogenic moments. Solved everything at 3am, or 5am, then crashed and it was lost so often it became a trope.
Sigh. Sure burned a lot of my youth and my relationships …
Whatever. It’s not easy describing the experience of regular and progressive drug use in the context of my identification as a deadhead. Maybe the drugs did it. Take it or leave it.
>But by ‘82 you could see that he was fully encompassed - barely able to project enough air to sing, hair matted and unwashed, forgetting lyrics, nearly statuesque on stage etc.
Your quote above is complete and utter bullshit! I saw Jerry at least 50 times in 1982 alone and there was never a time that he was "barely able to project enough air to sing", can you point out a specific example of this or have you never listened to any 1982 shows? Jerry surely had his demons and liked his poison but was definitely an extremely talented musician that was more productive and functional than most anyone that I have ever met despite his bad habits. In 1982 Jerry did not have his hair matted and unwashed, what the F are you talking about!!! Jerry did not forget lyrics in 1982 more than any other professional musician that I've seen either. Not sure I understand your statuesque comment either, he played amazing guitar and sang beautifuly, nobody was going to see Jerry for his dance moves! I'm not sure what you saw in 1982 or what videos or audio recordings you've listened to since but what you describe as Jerry Garcia circa 1982 is nonsense! I understand that you are seeking more info on a day in the life of Jerry at that time but whoever gave you that info that I quoted might be the one smoking crack.
Yeah I'm glad you said it Nak because I was about to name at least 10 82 shows that are mind blowing & have Jerry in spectacular voice ... I'll just say my favorite show of all time is 9/11/82 West Palm Beach & it has Jerry as great as he's ever been ... the drug stuff is over stated ... Jerry wasn't a fiend
# 1982-09-11 West Palm Beach, FL @ West Palm Beach Civic Center
**Set 1:** New Minglewood Blues, They Love Each Other, Me and My Uncle > Big River, Dupree's Diamond Blues > C.C. Rider, Loser, Looks Like Rain, Tennessee Jed > Let It Grow
**Set 2:** Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain > Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Truckin' > Stella Blue > Around And Around > One More Saturday Night
**Encore:** It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1982-09-11)
You and one other person pointed out that things weren’t quite so rough in 82, and going back to check, you were right. What I was referencing was closer to 1984. I linked the specific show in an edit. Appreciate you pointing that out!
You and one other person pointed out that things weren’t quite so rough in 82, and going back to check, you were right. What I was referencing was closer to 1984. I linked the specific show in an edit. Appreciate you pointing that out!
83 & 84 were also blistering ... I know it affected him but it's just not a blanket across the board thing because you listen to shows like 4/20/84, 3/31/84 + so so many more that are all time legend GD shows ... Charlie Miller was asked his favorite Dead & he said 83 going into 84 is his fav & I understand why ... they had a way of playing that in spite of Jerry's beard ... was absolutely mind blowing
Yeah, I can see how it sounds dismissive of everything from that time. Those sorts of generalizations usually aren’t the best way to go. For what it’s worth, I always thought a lot of Jerry most interesting guitar work emerged from that early-to-mid 80s period.
[1984-03-31](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1984-03-31) San Rafael, CA @ Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium
[1984-04-20](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1984-04-20) Philadelphia, PA @ Philadelphia Civic Center
# 1982-09-11 West Palm Beach, FL @ West Palm Beach Civic Center
**Set 1:** New Minglewood Blues, They Love Each Other, Me and My Uncle > Big River, Dupree's Diamond Blues > C.C. Rider, Loser, Looks Like Rain, Tennessee Jed > Let It Grow
**Set 2:** Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain > Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Truckin' > Stella Blue > Around And Around > One More Saturday Night
**Encore:** It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1982-09-11)
Pretty Fascinating stuff. More to say all the assholes who told me I “really missed something” in the 80s were full of shit and just jealous they weren’t around for the early shows when the legend was just building.
Wow. That’s some pretty harsh shit right there. I saw mid 70s through 90s and I’d give my right nut to relive a great number of shows from the 80s. But you do you. No real need to be calling people assholes is there? The GD has always been the most subjective of things.
89 & 90, after he briefly got clean and healthy after his coma, were very different from the 70s but still stellar and pretty consistent. IMHO at least.
I agree big time. Those particular years have some truly amazing & intricately played shows, Jer was beaming at most of those from what I recall. But yeah man, good freakin years, hey give a good listen to ‘88 as well. Some goodies there. I’m also big fan of 83-85, Jerry may sound ragged at times but his geetar playing is beyond stellar! Of course all the years have nuggets to offer! ☮️🔥
Even the summer of ‘88 was fucking spectacular. I was lucky enough to drop everything and hit the road for ‘89 so ‘89 will always be very special to me.
all weekend people were preaching the 80s 90s. I'd ask if they knew of the Watkins Glen Soundcheck or if they heard Venita 72 or cow palace 74. No.
Then again, a very good buddy, wicked smart, saw shows with me in 80s plus, travels selling merch on d&c tours... he listens to it all and won't commit to a decade.
That's why we love these guys!
Simple man, simple life. Angry woman, complicated life. Musical to the bone. Add junkie-ism.
Figuring out Jerry is fun and all, but go to a drug clinic, outside the clinic, and spend some damn time with a junkie. You got some time to hear a story?
If you want to see some suffering, at least talk to it face to face, is my approach. Go do something to dump you in jail for a month. Do some time. Lots of junkies in jail. Hell, I can't tell you how to go about it.
How do you find the people who live on the edge of the night?
By grasping that's not all is light. Be careful.
I’m pretty sure it was shut doors with heroin smoking, hagan daas, Fritos, scales/modes, with a show peppered in. The dude lived guitar and breathed heroin, not much else to it.
Scales/modes 😂😂😂😂😂
Lots of noodling and nodding.
Your forgetting cheeseburgers
[удалено]
Ma fuckas with guts like that are on the cheeseburgers
Whatyelookinatmegutfer
Look, everybody is lookin at your gut it's fuckin huge
We got a complaint that someone was getting high and drunk playing space in the middle of the street…..
"Breaker breaker, come in earth.This is rocket ship 27. Aliens fucked over the carbonater in engine #4. I'm gonna try to refuckulate it and land on Juniper. Hopefully they got some space weed. Over."
Gut Cassidy and the Sundance cheeseburger!
Barb, your scalloped potatoes are fucked!
Its just water under the fridge
Prostituting yourself out for cheeseburgers again aren't you randy?
Who the fuck is Randy? You’re the second person to make this joke and I’m so confused
A lot of us on here live in the same trailer park called Sunnyvale in Nova Scotia. There is this fat fucker named Randy, a real cheeseburger walrus who runs around the park with a shirt off causing problems. He has been known to prostitute himself out for cheeseburgers and is the mate of the trailer park supervisor, the captain of the Shitliner. A fuckin drunk. Anyways that's about it you don't happen to have any smokes on ya?
Huh?
Smokes. Let’s go.
You just confused me even more.
Soory about that bud, sometimes my brain short circulates and I can't get these goddamn brain compartments and departments to work together for fucks sakes Anyways a lot of the Reddit users on this sub live in the same trailer park in canda called Sunnyvale trailer park.
Ricky! Shut the fuck up!
You know what Julian you can go to college and get your little PFD or whatever the fuck it's called, I don't care. I'm gonna get drunk and eat chicken fingers.
Cigarettes & Dope & Mustard & Bologna
Can you please explain what you’re talking about? I feel so lost
It's a TV show dude. It's a joke.
For sure, man. I don’t know what you’re talking about or if you’re referencing something or what. So this is just all going over my head. I don’t believe you all live in a trailer park. But I also don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.
Not all of us bud!! If you are ever in Canada ding me a message and I'll give you some hash coins and show you around the park.
Yo while you’re there come down the crib nahm sayin’? We’ll spin some records like a lazy Susan from that ERRAH ERRAH
And his camels
What about the glizzys, did he slurp those down before a long dragon chase?
Look man, all I know is when I was fucked up off edibles and painkillers when I broke my elbow a few years ago, all I wanted was savory food
This perfectly describes my life right before I got sober, just substitute "show" with "crappy day job". It was a horrible, horrible way to live, and it's not something to romanticize. Slow suicide and nothing more. RIP Jerry--wish you could have seen the light earlier.
We’re all glad you did though!
❤️
praise God you saw the light, friend! a tragic way of living indeed.
and loathed the obligatory songwriting session - even though that's what he was best at.
Doesn’t heroin make you lose weight usually?
Not necessarily. It can for those that lose everything via addiction, at which its a choice between dope or food - and the dope always wins so the user loses weight. For those that have the money resources to get both food and dope you ain’t gonna lose weight like you’re thinking.
I’d add that - while there’s no way to know for certain - the way Jerry was purportedly eating during this time he’d have ballooned up big time if not for the drugs. He’s still got a bit of weight on him, but in 83/84 he’s got that frail, used up look about him that junkies so often acquire.
If you eat a load of crappy food, then nod off on h, you’re going to gain weight. It happens.
Sorry you're getting downloaded for this; it's a good question. The media creates this portrait of the junkie as some emaciated model-type, and it frustrates me to no end. I gained a ton of weight when I was using because I was working from home, not exercising, and stuffing my face with junk food. Downers and weight gain are pretty common.
You know, it’s fine. I should have considered that people deep into addiction and low on cash would take the smack over food. You don’t think about rich vs poor opioid addicts.
It's true, and that's why I had such a hard time getting help. My vision of an "addict" never matched the reflection in the mirror. Even today, my mental picture of August West is a scraggly, rail-thin street urchin, and not a chubby guy who might look a lot like Jerry Garcia.
Yeah I loved that show Dopesick because it put a human face on all levels of the opioid epidemic. It’s an absolutely brutal condition. Glad you’re doing better now brother.
If you're that deep that it's between a cheeseburger and a shot...it's the shot. But he had the money and the means so in that case I would have been binging junk food too. H made me crave junk food, especially sweets
Opiates constipate the fuck out of you. Just look at Herman Goering the Nazi head of the Luftwaffe. He was severely addicted to morphine and a complete whale. Pics of him during WWI he’s all skinny and healthy looking pre- accident.
Why did the first few sentences make me imagine Jerry as an Instagram influencer? “Okay so a lot of people have been asking about my daily routine…”
Lol. That'd be hilarious. A "get ready with me" style tik tok video with jer getting the foil, chili dogs and an AMC monster movie marathon queued up.
I can’t stop thinking about this… “Here’s my gig day fit, I’m going with the black pocket t shirt and the black pants. These glasses at the end of my nose really tie the whole thing together”
Thanks for completing that thought in a funnier way than I could have. High five 🙌
With AI, that’ll be possible soon.
There are details on his drug use and unhealthy habits (poor diet, chain smoking, poor hygiene, etc.) in the various books, especially those more inclined to the sordid stuff (like Rock Scully’s). Junkies go into withdrawal and get quite ill when they stop using, so it’s safe to assume he was using, well, very consistently. For instance, Jerry was nervous to tour in Europe in 1981 because he knew he’d get sick if he didn’t have any dope. Ultimately, though, I don’t think any level of detail about his behavior offstage is going to be particularly illuminating in terms of how it affected the music - most folks who listen closely can hear that, although he plays brilliantly at times, he’s often quite lackadaisical, particularly with lyrics and singing, when he’s strung out. His voice really changed in 1978 - he blew it out twice that year on 1/6/78 and 11/24/78. Although he sang very well at times thereafter, it was never really the same IMHO. I don’t begrudge you your curiosity about this angle, but I’ll gently suggest that there may not be much to be gained from this sort of analysis. He was sick, he acted like it, it’s pretty obvious, and that’s that.
FWIW, 11/24/78 in Passaic Jerry was sick with cold and/or flu or at least that is what was told and how it appeared (I was there). Dope sick? Maybe, but it did appear to be a respiratory thing. And the next night in New Haven they canceled about an hour after show time due to his illness. The New Haven Col was packed and we were all dosed to the gills and then Bob came out and said Jer was too sick. They turned us loose on the town with everyone just getting off. Would have taken more a whole pail to cool that shit down. Was an interesting night to say the least.
The chaos on the town that night, holy moly. A wild group of massive pupils needing to get that energy cookin, sheesh
Just getting out of the building was a historic adventure. I drove down the circular parking ramp while hallucinating heavily. Not proud of that but no one was hurt!
That parking garage was insane!
Insane Insane Insane
That parking garage was insane!
That parking garage was insane! Echo… Echo… Echo
I was yet to be a sperm in a nutsack in 16 years
I can’t freaking imagine, especially in 78 the antics that went down. A whole Yale experiment released on some college town Edit: it was funnier
It’s New Haven, so a Yale experiment.
I was one of those kids that used to camp out all the time at the Coliseum and get great tickets to all the good shows. Can't even fathom it now. Camping out on that concrete for tix to get the best seats, to walk up to a ticket window and buy tickets in the first 5 rows for face value with no charges at all...for like $7.50 or $8.50?. Not to mention, when camping out for Dead tix in particular, were some of the most fun nights I've ever had. Merry little band of misfits, blasting tapes, dropping acid, smoking actual good weed back then. A joy. I remember getting tickets for 5 nights at Radio City and having the bank broken, and commenting what a rip-off it was to have to pay a whopping $87.50 for the 5 shows. Can you imagine? $17.50 a show (this included the outrageous $2.50 Ticketron charge).
I paid 87.50 plus Ticketmaster for blood nose seats at Citi (total 120) I walked down to front floor int the 100’s from the 300’s with no view. I do this with every show I go too, there is always an empty seat or standing. I did it for Floyd, billy Joel, Paul, Ringo(I didn’t have to move more then a row or two for Ringo), Green Day, etc. I’m forced to either buy months in advance for a good ticket at an actual price or buy on the day of and just run around till I get a good seat. You don’t know how much I want to stand in line for a Grateful Dead ticket and pay 87.50 for five nights, it would cost me a grand + to do that for phish rn at msg.
# 1978-11-24 Passaic, NJ @ Capitol Theatre **Set 1:** Jack Straw, Sugaree, Me and My Uncle > Big River, Stagger Lee, Passenger, Candyman, New Minglewood Blues, From The Heart Of Me, Loser, The Promised Land **Set 2:** I Need A Miracle > Good Lovin', Friend Of The Devil, Estimated Prophet > Shakedown Street > Drums > Ollin Arrageed > Fire On The Mountain > Sugar Magnolia **Encore:** Johnny B. Goode [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1978-11-24)
Holy cow
I was under the impression that a certain promoter from NJ was a great hookup for blow and that’s why the Dead played so many shows there.
Did he *share*?
I have a story abut that same night in New Haven. My friends and I call it "The night Jerry got old". We were up close and had a friend backstage who was relaying that Garcia was real sick and Bob might do all the singing that night (Thanks but no thanks Bob). We already knew he was sick because the Capitol show on the 24th was broadcast on the radio and you could tell he was croaking like a frog. When they cancelled, myself and two friends (very dosed) snuck into the Park Plaza and right on to their floor. No one stopped us. We walked down the hall and there was an open door, we went in...and there was Garcia! Lying in bed on oxygen with doctors all around him! Keith saw us and rushed over "You can't be here, maaan" and shooed us out. It was stupid and crazy but an indelible memory. When they came back in January, it was, well, different. Jerry's hair had more noticeable grey and from that point forward his "Young Man" voice was pretty much a thing of the past. Not to say he couldn't sing sweet and high, but not nearly as often or as well. I/We followed the band pretty closely from '77 through about '83/'84 (maybe 60ish shows, about 10-12 a year) and to see the difference over those 6-7 years was truly hard to watch.
what a story man thanks for sharing!
If this had happened in 2023, there would have been a band of younger heads set up out in the parking lot and they would have made 3000 new fans before the police shut everything down.
I caught the band, “Mums the word” in the Philly parking lot. They were quite funky and well worth the listen.
Good answer. Anyone familiar with how opiate addiction works can probably picture it quite clearly. First it feels good, it makes playing music feel easy and fun, but then you get hooked and it becomes just about getting that fix multiple times a day so you can live your life somewhat normally.
That’s kind of my theory on why Jerry (and therefore, the band) was playing so well in 76-77. He was in the honeymoon stage of opiates. In time, they started to turn on him, as they often do.
I caught an interview of Jerry talking about his habit. He liked to catch a buzz on dope, then do some coke so he wouldn’t crash. So he kept doing this regularly and it snowballed into a huge habit, as it kept taking more and more to get to the same place.
And that thing you're hearing is only the sound Of the low spark of high-heeled boys* ... * Traffic borrowed the street term for speedballing at the time, with coke being 'girl' and heroin being 'boy' and the combo a high-heeled boy. The low spark was the buzz taking off. Great song!
What an amazing song. I'm partial to the WSP version. My username checks out.
You found your comment, congrats hahah
LMAO (and crying for you inside) What r the odds u have that handle and find this post :p
Definitely a cool song and thanks for the background!
Read up on Steely Dan's song Kid Charlemagne for another great story (it's about Owsley!)
I love that Traffic album. Thanks for the cool trivia, I never even made a guess what it meant
Source? Never heard him discuss such things, ever.
It was an interview I saw on YouTube. He talks about the dead and drug history. I believe it was this one: https://youtu.be/mcT3Az70oqs
Yeah, he doesn't say that in that interview.
Well, I’m not finding the interview at the moment. It was after Built To Last had released because he said if Built To Last was as successful as In The Dark was, it would have destroyed the band. Find the interview saying that, and it’ll be the interview discussing his heroin/cocaine usage. YouTube is transcribing their videos, but I can’t find a way to search transcribed text or I’d look for the Built To Last quote.
In Big Steve’s book, he said Jerry called the combo “rat”. Steve tried it once, felt like absolute garbage, and never did it again. Apparently Keith liked it too and it ultimately got him fired.
*As they ALWAYS do
He started playing better after '77, so the narrative about dope hurting his guitar playing is just false.
I have always thought about this too. Opiates are great until they're not.
A truly miserable experience. 10 years sober. Life can still be difficult but nothing like the depths of my alcohol, heroin, and Xanax addiction. I don't know that it's possible to experience that kind of pain sober.
Hey congrats! I also have 10 years clean/sober. Glad you made it out too! Take care 🙏🏻
That’s all that matters. Having enough so you don’t get sick. By that point any fun is long gone. It’s a terrible, terrible way to live. And we don’t even need to get into the adventure of going to the bathroom when you’re a junkie, more horror.
It really is a pitiful existence. There's nothing cool or sexy about it. "Sorry guys, I gotta go to the washroom to use my drugs so I don't have aching joints, panic attacks and shit myself."
I agree...there's nothing to gain here....the man was a genius as a musician, could play anything with anybody....I choose to remember the greatness that was Jerry Garcia .... I'm not a perfect person so who am I to talk about someone else's issues .... Spread the joy!!!
A helpful, thoughtful response. Thank you! Edit to add: My primary curiosity here is attempting to discern which live shortcomings came as a result of irreversible physical deterioration and which came from actively being intoxicated onstage, though it’s essentially a distinction without a difference.
[1978-01-06](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1978-01-06) San Bernardino, CA @ Swing Auditorium [1978-11-24](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1978-11-24) Passaic, NJ @ Capitol Theatre
voice was still buttery on garcialive 1!!!
Of all the Dead books I’ve read, a shit ton, I have not read Skully’s and now that he’s passed, perhaps it’s time.
>there may not be much to be gained from this sort of analysis. Exactly. What's left of Jerry's personal daily details that hasn't already been written about will never be told, and that should be enough for everyone involved. The OP seems slightly obsessed with "knowing" what level of H, etc, was coursing through Jerry's veins during all of his performances. The goal is "to cross reference how the performances themselves were potentially affected." Then what? Someone needs to get a life. Honestly, to take their obsession to this sub and ask around for more details seems weird, like maybe the OP suffers from being somewhere on the spectrum.
Easy, tiger - the person is curious about a relevant aspect of the band, one that is often discussed. There’s no need to flame anyone for it, and speculating that someone might have an ASD diagnosis is totally unnecessary and out of line. Remember the whole “please be kind” thing from a few years back? You’re not meeting the standard.
>You’re not meeting the standard. You sound like a hothouse flower that can't stand to hear real thoughts from others reacting to a post. Or maybe you're the OP using a different account to make your little stand, not sure. Don't really care.
Cheers to your stand getting bigger! One day it’ll be Grand
Peace be with you
Try getting out more, maybe peace of mind will find you as well.
Sorry to hear about your condition. I hope you get out more.
Everybody wish him a happy birthday!!! or praise whateveRrr he likes
Did you ever get one? A life?
[Bobby on being Jerry's bagman on tour, etc](https://relix.com/news/detail/bob_weir_talks_carrying_jerry_garcias_dope_on_tour_dealing_with_painkillers_and_more_in_revealing_interview/)
It just seems so fitting that Bobby partook in heroin and thought it was “fun but not a place you want to live” You don’t hear of many casual heroin users
Then again those that are successful and actively “chip” with their dope usage in moderation without catching a serious physical dependency usually don’t talk about it due to the stigma that usually comes with the drug. There are people out there who have hood and successful careers and use, but the reality is for many, what started as an occasional and moderated thing turns into it a full blown addiction and dependency. With that said, there’s stories out there of often people with successful careers who manage to chip for many years. Some would be shocked to find some successful people on Wall Street and similar lines of careers keeping up with using in moderation in secret for long periods of time.thing is when it goes south it usually goes very bad due to deep pockets and the means to sustain a habit, not unlike a rock star.
I find opiates fairly boring. They dull my senses a bit too much for me to want to do them on a regular basis.
Not me, I love them. That warm feeling. It’s great. I have an addictive personality tho so I know not to mess with the shit anymore.
Yeh I like to go up, not down
That’s because you have not really done opiates buddy. Anyone that has would not stop without a long painful road. Maybe you tried an opiate once, but you didn’t do them
I continue doing things I enjoy doing. Out of the 2ish grams of heroin I have done in my life I did not enjoy it enough to continue doing it more. I did kind of enjoy oxy and to a lesser extent hydro in high school a few times. But the thing I did not enjoy about any of them is that they constrained my consciousness.
that was my experience with opiates and i have several close friends who did more or less the same. i wouldnt reccomend anyone try it, because its a huge gamble, but i was more willing to take those risks when i was younger and ended up figuring out i enjoyed opiates well enough, but not really as a frequent thing, and i dont seem to develop physical dependence easily, even after daily use for 5ish days. when i was younger, when someone would randomly mention they were getting oxies or whatever, id throw in for a few, do them for a few days, and then it would run out and that was that, just moved on with my life no problem. over the years i just kinda ran out of people who have connections for pain meds, so i dont really use pills at all anymore, but once a year i grow a small crop of opium poppy, enough for 10ish cups of tea. i just drink poppy tea for a week or so and then thats that. been that way for 15 years or so, never had an issue with it at all. its a nice drug but for me, its not some kind of crazy euphoric blissful thing. its just pretty nice. at some point i need to do other things besides lay around and its not really euphoric enough to make me want to do it for more than a few days at a time. personally i get MUCH more euphoria during the second half of an LSD experience where youre totally settled into things and can relax and whatnot.
Why does that seem *so* Bobby? Except for music, nothing else sticks to the guy.
You just answered the question. Nothing sticks to him, drug addiction included.
Great article: *”While Weir admitted that he never got into heroin, he did occasionally partake with Garcia. “Every now and again he would invite me to join him, and I would. But I never got into it. It was fun to go into his world on a given evening after a show, but it’s not a place I found I wanted to stay—or at least that part of his world. It was fun going into that little corner of his world where he didn’t let other folks in. A place to visit but you wouldn’t want to live there. He did.”*
I don’t know why this is such a sensitive topic. The band was completely different before and after Jerry started using the heavier stuff. The 1970s Dead are one thing, and the 80s and 90s Dead are something else entirely. In my opinion, the band struggled to reach their true potential in the second half because of Jerry’s drug addiction, but ironically that struggle was also part of the band’s allure - something about Jerry struggling for the right notes, and watching the ups and downs of his performances and health, makes watching and listening to a lot of the shows even more compelling. You find yourself really rooting for him.
Exactly. I perceived a weird kind of heroism in his struggles on stage.
Pun intended?
Ha! No, but that's a good one: "Heroinism"
That’s what I miss in 80’s and 90’s shows. Well said. I crave that undulled acidic landscape that just… vanished. Just my opinion, but it feels like it clicked over in ‘79. Again, just this dude’s opinion.
Scully’s book described living with Jerry around ‘83-84 particularly as Jerry rarely getting off the couch when home from tour, living off ice cream & m&ms, smoking heroin and cigs, watching old movies and noodling with guitar books. Very dark sad shit. He was also refusing to shower or put on clean clothes and stank like shit which he would aggressively dismiss if brought to his attention, resulting in the other band members refusing to travel with him.
Jerry’s story is honestly a super sad one, really seems like he couldn’t handle the fame that came with being the de facto face of the Dead.
I have always been morbidly curious as to what drugs were being consumed when, and how that affected the music produced; for not only Jerry, but many/most of the music that I love. Hell, I am nosy about the drug and alcohol problems of most artists (writers, painters, sculptors, actors, directors, singers) who I listen to.
I forget where I read it but there's stories about how when he flew hed lock himself in the restroom and smoke heroin the whole flight and refuse to come out.
Rock’s book maybe? Or the one from a few summers ago. I forget.
Soft White Underbelly on YouTube has some chilling interviews with addicts. It's a good place to get some insight into the mind and behavior of people in the grip of serious drug use. Take those stories, and filter them through fame and money to get a glimpse into Jerry's challenges.
Read or rather listen to the audible book while driving in the car “ home before daylight” by Steve parish It addresses a decent amount of Jerry’s using and how things went from being used by all in the open and pretty quickly changed to being behind closed doors . I won’t ruin the stories, but there’s a story that paints a picture of how things went sometimes, when Jerry was too high right before getting on stage for a JGB show and what they did to get him up and moving from backstage. Worth the read or listen, it’s a good audible books
If anyone is interested, here is a pdf link to the book via Annas Archive. https://momot.rs/d1/y/1689849100/93/u/annas-archive-ia-2023-06-lcpdf/h/homebeforedaylig0000pari.pdf~/rDrkFzysxSDIkOkqA6kMxg/home-before-daylight-my-life-on-the-road-with-the--annas-archive.pdf
Definitely worth checking out and reading. If you’re someone who doesn’t usually read or have the time, but spend a lot of time driving or commuting in one way or another the audible (or any audiobook app) is a great way to get through it and so many other awesome books, both dead and not dead related. All the many hours spent in a car, I’ve listened to an absurdly unbelievable amount of hours in audiobooks. Use to only listen to music on drives, but now mostly audiobooks. I would never have been able to read so many great books in an entire lifetime. If the narrator is good, it makes it super enjoyable !
Completely agree about audiobooks - but while I can’t afford actual audiobooks just because of the sheer amount of driving I do for work, I am able to download a shit ton of pdf’s or epub files for free so I just highlight a chapter at a time and have my iPhone read them to me. No, its not quite as good as actual human read ebooks but you get used to the Siri girl reading to ya after awhile. It allows me to listen to endless books for free this way.
Oh and Audible does have a ton of free books and the options rotate regularly . You’ll be surprised what you can find for free on there at times. You’ll have a book that’s a 18$+ (or just 1 credit) and then randomly it’s free another month and you can download and add to your library permanently. Check out the list of free books, maybe you’ll find something of interest.
Try your local library. They may have an app.
Libby is a free audiobook app that grants access to thousands of titles with a free library card.
Local libraries rule
Not a bad way to do it, although like you said, it’s not going to have the great production so many audiobooks have these days. Some are produced so well, it’s like listening to a movie or something . Audible can be expensive and I don’t want to even add up the $$$ spent on them since I started listening years ago. At the same time, I’ve listened to far more books than I would have ever read. All sorts of books from classics to philosophy, fiction to non fiction, auto/biographies . Literally all sorts of things , including some dense, but wonderful stuff I wouldn’t have gotten through otherwise by reading . I don’t mind reading it it’s something that really captures my attention, but I was never a big reader, or rather never a person who could set aside the time to read enjoyably . I spend lots of time driving over the years, especially being in the mountains which take long time to get anywhere . I wouldn’t even want to share the total time listening to books, it sounds unbelievable, even to me!
Totally agree. I’m listening to it now on the Libby app. Great book.
I think Jerry referred to himself as a “maintenance user,” which seems like a pretty miserable existence. Honestly, heroin gets all the headlines, but I think sugar was almost as harmful to his health as dope was. That’s my hot take on Jerry: sugar did more damage than heroin, and it’s ultimately what killed him (although the steady diet of heroin for 17 years certainly didn’t help).
Watch The Other One the Weir doc on prime he openly talks about it
78 Garcia band in the Bay Area, Jerry and Kahn would take all their earnings from those little venues they would play, and blow it on coke and heroin. The coke in the Bay Area was spectacular at the time, so it’s understandable.
I’m not sure you’ll find an exact accounting of his routine. Nobody knew that but him. There’s lots of peripheral accounts in all the books tho. It’s easily found. Nothing can really be correlated to the stage tho with like, knowing that Jerry copped at X time and on X date and they played X song or whatever. Would be fascinating to glean tho. Heroin sucks. Nearly ruined my life. Trauma + availability is a bad combo.
https://www.rukind.com/viewtopic.php?t=1028 This was a great dive in to it on the old rukind forum from years ago. God I miss that community, back when getting ahold of soundboards was still hard.
Are the hairnet stories true? Jerry would west a hairnet when smoking heroin to keep his hair from catching on fire. Every now and then he’d walk on stage still wearing it. I’ve been told this by a few people but not sure if it’s true or not.
He still could kick ass in 82.
All I know is that I saw Jerry headed south. I got off the bus in 81. I watched the fans. They didn't give fuck. The shows got exponentially worse. The lot scene turned into a homeless encampment selling nitrous balloons and cheese sandwiches. What a clusterfuck pretending to be Woodstock.
I paid for gas selling those cheese sandwiches.
Both types!
Of course you did.
It was an evolution. As the crowds grew, u were bound to see more that bothered u. The band put flyers out in the parking lots begging for people to b more respectful and leave less trash. Undercover cops were seeking drug users/dealers. I can see how it was a turnoff. Then again, I heard Woodstock 69 was a sh!t show and not as warm as it appears on film
I saw how hard they tried to "help" the fans. They couldn't help themselves, but whatever. Not really any heroin or coke kinda weekend in Woodstock 69, but whatever. False equivalencies I suppose.
The thing about active addiction - the supply of dope and the elasticity of reality to the ensuing neglect practiced while loaded being deterministic - for me was absence of routine and adoption of chaos. That chaos mimicked creative chaos so closely that the two fused in my consciousness but the reality was not manifest except in illusory or hallucinogenic moments. Solved everything at 3am, or 5am, then crashed and it was lost so often it became a trope. Sigh. Sure burned a lot of my youth and my relationships …
Had to reread this 3 or 4 times to make any sense of it. Word salad
Whatever. It’s not easy describing the experience of regular and progressive drug use in the context of my identification as a deadhead. Maybe the drugs did it. Take it or leave it.
>But by ‘82 you could see that he was fully encompassed - barely able to project enough air to sing, hair matted and unwashed, forgetting lyrics, nearly statuesque on stage etc. Your quote above is complete and utter bullshit! I saw Jerry at least 50 times in 1982 alone and there was never a time that he was "barely able to project enough air to sing", can you point out a specific example of this or have you never listened to any 1982 shows? Jerry surely had his demons and liked his poison but was definitely an extremely talented musician that was more productive and functional than most anyone that I have ever met despite his bad habits. In 1982 Jerry did not have his hair matted and unwashed, what the F are you talking about!!! Jerry did not forget lyrics in 1982 more than any other professional musician that I've seen either. Not sure I understand your statuesque comment either, he played amazing guitar and sang beautifuly, nobody was going to see Jerry for his dance moves! I'm not sure what you saw in 1982 or what videos or audio recordings you've listened to since but what you describe as Jerry Garcia circa 1982 is nonsense! I understand that you are seeking more info on a day in the life of Jerry at that time but whoever gave you that info that I quoted might be the one smoking crack.
Right on - thank you.
Yeah I'm glad you said it Nak because I was about to name at least 10 82 shows that are mind blowing & have Jerry in spectacular voice ... I'll just say my favorite show of all time is 9/11/82 West Palm Beach & it has Jerry as great as he's ever been ... the drug stuff is over stated ... Jerry wasn't a fiend
# 1982-09-11 West Palm Beach, FL @ West Palm Beach Civic Center **Set 1:** New Minglewood Blues, They Love Each Other, Me and My Uncle > Big River, Dupree's Diamond Blues > C.C. Rider, Loser, Looks Like Rain, Tennessee Jed > Let It Grow **Set 2:** Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain > Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Truckin' > Stella Blue > Around And Around > One More Saturday Night **Encore:** It's All Over Now, Baby Blue [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1982-09-11)
You and one other person pointed out that things weren’t quite so rough in 82, and going back to check, you were right. What I was referencing was closer to 1984. I linked the specific show in an edit. Appreciate you pointing that out!
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So Jerry just smoked heroin? He never shot up?
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You and one other person pointed out that things weren’t quite so rough in 82, and going back to check, you were right. What I was referencing was closer to 1984. I linked the specific show in an edit. Appreciate you pointing that out!
83 & 84 were also blistering ... I know it affected him but it's just not a blanket across the board thing because you listen to shows like 4/20/84, 3/31/84 + so so many more that are all time legend GD shows ... Charlie Miller was asked his favorite Dead & he said 83 going into 84 is his fav & I understand why ... they had a way of playing that in spite of Jerry's beard ... was absolutely mind blowing
Yeah, I can see how it sounds dismissive of everything from that time. Those sorts of generalizations usually aren’t the best way to go. For what it’s worth, I always thought a lot of Jerry most interesting guitar work emerged from that early-to-mid 80s period.
[1984-03-31](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1984-03-31) San Rafael, CA @ Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium [1984-04-20](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1984-04-20) Philadelphia, PA @ Philadelphia Civic Center
# 1982-09-11 West Palm Beach, FL @ West Palm Beach Civic Center **Set 1:** New Minglewood Blues, They Love Each Other, Me and My Uncle > Big River, Dupree's Diamond Blues > C.C. Rider, Loser, Looks Like Rain, Tennessee Jed > Let It Grow **Set 2:** Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain > Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Truckin' > Stella Blue > Around And Around > One More Saturday Night **Encore:** It's All Over Now, Baby Blue [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1982-09-11)
Pretty Fascinating stuff. More to say all the assholes who told me I “really missed something” in the 80s were full of shit and just jealous they weren’t around for the early shows when the legend was just building.
As someone who never saw Jerry, the 80s were good but never as consistent as the 70s, when they did peak tho, they peaaaaaked
Wow. That’s some pretty harsh shit right there. I saw mid 70s through 90s and I’d give my right nut to relive a great number of shows from the 80s. But you do you. No real need to be calling people assholes is there? The GD has always been the most subjective of things.
82 MIGHT be my favorite year for the band. I think someone calling the 80s “full of shit” is crazy!
I’m calling them assholes because they made feel like I did something wrong by not being born yet. So ya, I’m gonna stick with what I said.
The “dirty ‘80s” and the late ‘80s had some good shows, but never of the quality and consistency of earlier days.
89 & 90, after he briefly got clean and healthy after his coma, were very different from the 70s but still stellar and pretty consistent. IMHO at least.
I agree big time. Those particular years have some truly amazing & intricately played shows, Jer was beaming at most of those from what I recall. But yeah man, good freakin years, hey give a good listen to ‘88 as well. Some goodies there. I’m also big fan of 83-85, Jerry may sound ragged at times but his geetar playing is beyond stellar! Of course all the years have nuggets to offer! ☮️🔥
Even the summer of ‘88 was fucking spectacular. I was lucky enough to drop everything and hit the road for ‘89 so ‘89 will always be very special to me.
all weekend people were preaching the 80s 90s. I'd ask if they knew of the Watkins Glen Soundcheck or if they heard Venita 72 or cow palace 74. No. Then again, a very good buddy, wicked smart, saw shows with me in 80s plus, travels selling merch on d&c tours... he listens to it all and won't commit to a decade. That's why we love these guys!
Let the man rest
Read all the books that have come out.
Simple man, simple life. Angry woman, complicated life. Musical to the bone. Add junkie-ism. Figuring out Jerry is fun and all, but go to a drug clinic, outside the clinic, and spend some damn time with a junkie. You got some time to hear a story? If you want to see some suffering, at least talk to it face to face, is my approach. Go do something to dump you in jail for a month. Do some time. Lots of junkies in jail. Hell, I can't tell you how to go about it. How do you find the people who live on the edge of the night? By grasping that's not all is light. Be careful.
Ask Bobby. He was his bag man during this era.