Shakedown Street

WolfmansBrother · #1 07-31-2022, 06:19 AM

Welcome. You've made it. Glad you're here.

This is a place for discussing the music of the Grateful Dead that we play on our acoustic guitars.

Feel free to share your favorite songs to play, the chords to a new song you learned, or a Grateful Dead guitar related experience you have had. You get the idea.

I'll start off by talking about a few of the songs that I tend to play over and over when I pick up a guitar.

Deal

Wait until that deal come 'round, don't you let that deal go down.

My oh my is this a fun one to play, and the opening lick just sets the song off. This is a great one to play with others. It's a bouncy tune with a big pocket.

Touch of Grey

I am singer and a strummer, and this is a fun one to sing. It also has this little bass run that goes with the chorus, which is one of the coolest licks I know. It sounds really good on a tele bridge pickup. The solo is fun too, though I only approximate it by playing melodic arpeggios with the verse and chorus chords. Works well enough for me.

He's Gone

Similar to Deal, this one has a distinct opening lick that hits hard and sets the song in motion. I love playing this on my J-45/50 guitars with the low end thump. And it's such a fun song to sing.

egordon99 · #2 07-31-2022, 06:42 AM

My "claim to fame" was my dad grew up and was good friends with David Grisman through middle school growing up in Passaic, NJ.

They lost touch in high school (David went on to become a hippy, my dad took a different route)

I ended up becoming a Dead fan and reached out to David back in 1996 via email and he remembered my dad and offered us tickets to a show of his. We couldn't make it but that's my Grateful Dead connection.

I got into the Dead in high school but never got to see them live because I said to myself "I will see them in college because that's a thing college people do"

I graduated high school in 1995.

WolfmansBrother · #3 07-31-2022, 06:56 AM

Wow, interesting connection with your dad and David Grisman.

I have actually never seen the Dead either. I have always liked them, but I didn't really get deep into their music until the last few years.

Tytlynz · #4 07-31-2022, 07:54 AM

Relatively mew in my journey but I have Althea, Row Jimmy, Ripple, I know you Rider, Bertha and Friend down pretty well. Working on Brown Eyed Women.

Gee Man · #5 07-31-2022, 10:02 AM

My first Dead show was at SPAC in 1985, my last one was Giant's stadium 1995. I've also seen just about every post Jerry incarnation.

As much as I like playing Dead tunes, its really the JGB stuff that I find yself playing most often, as it consists of lots of traditional old timey music that floats my boat.

WolfmansBrother · #6 07-31-2022, 10:33 AM

I'll often put Jerry Garcia Band on while in the kitchen making dinner or doing dishes. It's such happy music. Puts me in a great mood.

SPAC is in my back yard. I didn't start going to concerts until Steve Miller in '96 though. Either way, I think the only thing I knew about the Dead back then was that "cool" video of theirs with the skeletons playing instruments.

RussellHawaii · #7 07-31-2022, 12:00 PM

I play quite a few Grateful songs acoustically. Besides some obvious greats in original keys (Ripple, Friend of the Devil, Cassidy, and others) I’ve adapted a few and hereby share my findings. Mostly I’ve transposed them into reasonable singing range, for me, and keys which work well on acoustic.
It’s much easier to sing and play acoustically: Sugar Mag in D; Cumberland in D; Sugaree in C (starts on G); Ship of Fools in A; Stella Blue in D; Brokedown Palace in D (starts in E!). Sorry, I like singing in D!
Thanks for the post, WolfmansBrother, and Happy Jerry Day!

egordon99 · #8 07-31-2022, 12:04 PM

I recently made an Apple Music playlist of all the official Dead live releases. It clocks in at about 14 days worth of music.

I love shuffling that mix while sitting out on my deck in the summer. Usually with a nice cool drink. Good times!

My other Dead "connection" is that I was born in May 1977.

Aahzz · #9 07-31-2022, 01:15 PM

I've got a couple I do regularly by myself - Ripple and Uncle John's Band. Have done Franklin's Tower with bands. Am considering learning Touch of Grey...

I frequently used Ripple as a lullaby for my daughter when she was a toddler

.

I'm lucky enough to have seen the Dead twice, in 88 and 89.

So I did this video to show the dispersion of my Peavey PA, but hey, it's me doing Ripple, so might as well post it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrGefdR7C6Q

egordon99 · #10 07-31-2022, 01:32 PM

Back on topic, I regularly play Uncle John's Band, Ripple, Standing on the Moon, and Black Muddy River.

raysachs · #11 07-31-2022, 07:03 PM

You should check out the threads of Grateful Dead covers that’s been floating around here for a couple of years.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...=Grateful+Dead

I first saw the Dead in 77 and kep on with them until Jerry took his leave. I’ve seen a few incarnations of the remains of the Dead, but didn’t like any of them enough to keep going back. I play about a zillion Dead tunes with various combinations of acoustic and electric guitars. I don’t do em all that well, but nobody has more fun trying….

-Ray

Italuke · #12 08-01-2022, 05:31 AM

Looks like rain, stella, dire wolf, eyes, brown eyed women, uncle John.

WolfmansBrother · #13 08-01-2022, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raysachs

You should check out the threads of Grateful Dead covers that’s been floating around here for a couple of years.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...=Grateful+Dead

I first saw the Dead in 77 and kep on with them until Jerry took his leave. I’ve seen a few incarnations of the remains of the Dead, but didn’t like any of them enough to keep going back. I play about a zillion Dead tunes with various combinations of acoustic and electric guitars. I don’t do em all that well, but nobody has more fun trying….

-Ray

Awesome. Thank you for the link.

Gee Man · #14 08-01-2022, 06:20 AM

Figured I'd leave these here.

https://www.rukind.com/gdpedia/titles

https://jerrygarciatabs.com/

Mandobart · #15 08-01-2022, 06:25 AM

I've been a fan of the Dead since high school in the 70's. Living in the US interior, far from population centers I didn't get a chance to see them until '83. Caught them as I could while in the USN.

I'm a big bluegrass fan and picker but I tell everyone the Dead were my bluegrass gateway drug. So my covers of a lot of trad songs are covers of Dead covers - Been All Around this World (C), I Know You Rider (D, sometimes A), Sittin' On Top of the World (G), of course a lot from Old and in the Way.

I just got back from a bluegrass festival in Shelton WA where my next door camping neighbors were big Dead fans - we jammed late after the shows to a lot of those great songs.

The Dead continue to have a big influence on the current generation of West Coast and Colorado bluegrass players. Its so fun to play their songs with people in their teens and 20's (and other old farts too).