When I was about 15, chasing the Grateful Dead all around the country, I was outside the Warfield Theater once and Bill Graham just handed me $20. I was just on the sidewalk, and he gave me a high five and a 20 dollar bill, and then he kept on walking. $20 was a lot to me then. Thanks Bill.
He must have been in a really good mood that day. One time at the first show of the Garcia band run at the Lunt-Fontanne, during the first set he caught a girl smoking a cigarette in her seat. He was pissed. He really lit her up and then told her "Your outta here!" She was in tears crying out "Nooo, Nooo, I'm sorry...Pleeease Nooo! No sympathy though, he took her by the arm and personally walked her out. Then he came back and sat in her seat for almost the whole show. All of us who had seen that were extremely well behaved for the rest of the run after seeing that. I saw him spew forth his a few times at those shows, one of them was with a friend of mine but that's another story. Peace!
@@richardm4857 I was 15 when I saw Jerry on Broadway. Very nice theatre. Went downstairs during intermission to a small packed room. The smokiest room I've ever been in. There was a tank of nitrous, too. 3 sets. 1 acoustic, 2 electric. My one and very only Rosalie McFall. Good, good stuff.
Met Bill valet parking cars in Sausalito. He jumped out of back of limo and yelled we have VIPs here and they need to go in the back entrance... window comes down in back Bam! Rolling Stones!!! I got them in back door and he thanked me and handed me pair of tix Stones concert that weekend! Priceless!!!!
I was at a show in Sacramento at Cal Expo selling beer in the lot, and up comes Bill Graham on a 4 wheeler yelling and screaming at me and my friends. He was pissed off to say the least. I felt bad and ended up talking to him for a few minutes. He was just trying to clean up the lot seen so the band could continue to play there. Right before he was ready to leave my GF came over and had bought a counter fit ticket. Bill heard this and asked if she knew where this person was. She ended up taking Bill and a couple of his security guys over to the dude selling fake tickets, they then busted the guy. After that they took my GF inside the venue and hooked her up with a ticket and backstage pass for helping them bust the counter fitter. Bill did a lot for music and especially the Grateful Dead, but most of all he was a real human being, a good guy.
Off subject but I saw Phish at the Cal-Expo to open the 95 fall tour. They didn't finish Hood. 5 shows later during the 2nd night at the Seattle Center they absolutely destroyed the best one I ever saw. It's Ice>Sparkle>HH. Good times
TheTestingGrounds yes and it's a sad thing. I hope one day there will be but maybe not for many years or another place. it was a perfect storm that they came together and played and became the grateful dead. lol also bobby wants the Asian tour because he wants to hook up with some hot Asian women haha
***** I love led zeppelin but they are two different types of bands, and they also did not play as many shows as the dead, so it is hard to compare them two. I do not know of any band who toured as much as the dead did and had fans follow them everywhere. Zep was good at what they did and sounded good because they played the same show every night of the tour while the dead played a different show every night. The beatles were also very good but the live shows were not to great and again it was the same show every night. also the dead played for 3+ hours every night while other bands played such as Zeppelin only played a hour and a half. Zeppelin was a good studio band while the dead did something no other band did and stayed on tour and had great live music while playing different songs every night.goes the same for pink floyd, great band but pretty much the same show. the dead were about the fans while other bands were all about making the big money.
+Grateful aya I like what you said. It typifies the graciousness of Dead fans: they dig the Dead so deeply, but they don't put down other bands...there is no one-upmanship, as in "My band is better than yours". Cool.
The dead were always a dance band for me. Get down from start to the end of the encore. Even the ballads make me move with the visuals im seeing while my eyes are closed. That was the first thing that got me into the dead, the dancing. As a teen I was into a lot of music but mostly punk and metal and def not the dead and was always a head into psychs and what not but what got me into the dead was the fun dancing at the shows. Also a lot of women compared to punk and metal at the time. As a teen meeting girls was very much at the forefront of my mind and getting down to the dead was a great way to do that. Spent my whole late teens and 20s on the bus dancing with free spirited hippie girls.
Bill Graham paid dues in his life very few people have or can imagine. He always treated me with kindness and interest. He gave us so much. I love him for that. Thanks Bill.
When you say, "from the man himself" you're talking about Bill Graham, right? Because the guy who really said the profound stuff in that interview was Uncle Bobo.
This is Grate. Two old friends talking about the future of their industry...I’m sure if Bill was alive he would have a lot more to say. But he did predict pretty much everything about the scene. Rock is Dead - because people are materialistic. Especially, artists of my generation ( born 1994 ).
jimbo jones I no. Cut myself in a better mood today so you know I do care but I meant numbers peace brother just a weird internet misunderstanding this buds for you peace
They are working on one. And I’ve farted around on a few self made spec scripts scraps about the idea. His story is so brilliant. From his childhood to his time as the king promoter of San Francisco and west coast rock n roll to his untimely and totally heinous death in the helicopter crash/power-line electrocution. Incredible story. I hope whatever DOES get made, is really well done. Because I know how I’d tell the story but I’d also be curious to see how someone else would tell it too. It’s got such an myriad of layered arches and potential narratives within just BG’s story alone, not to mention the countless life’s of icons that he helped create throughout the mythology from the rock n roll pantheons of the 60s-70s.
.We would give bill a hard time from time to time over petty issues. After watching this it has become evident to me he really cared about us all not just the band who was performing but us fans also.
"...behind the mixer it's open free-form... open spirit. People want to know what was nice about the sixties. Most places where there was rock and roll were that way. Now you gotta find them..." Good luck in this century. Terrapin Xroads? Yep!
Bob mentioned about touring Asia, something the Dead never achieved, which reminds me back in 1996 Bob woke up from a dream and decided to take half of Jerry’s ashes to the River Ganges in India, some of Jerry’s family were unaware of this as Bobs excuse was he couldn’t get in touch with them before he went. Strange thing to do, but I’am sure at the time he had valid reasons to do it.
I remember Bill walking the line outside the Old Fillmore looking for guys he had kicked out before. When he found one he would give him the bums rush. He wasn't a softy.
i think the punk thing of 1976-1980 was a similar trip as the late 60's thing and it was funny because all the old hippies were threatened by it with the exception of Neil Young and Pete Townshend.
let yer bones feel like jelly rolls, and if that's not enough Imagine you are hanging from the wrists by chains in the kings dungeon, now smile, and let your bones loose. loose the joints, light up look around, Stan the Bear didn't spend all that time and money on moving air so you could stand around with your hands in your pockets waiting for the rest to give you room, Love is. ENJOY!
And it can get tight in the pit. Tai chi has a thing called 'the small circle', if you look around there's lots of happy people getting into polite happy inner dancing. Well, now it will be easy because everyone will get a 12' circle and tickets will cost 1,000.00... lol pit tickets will be 2,500.00 and include tie-dyed hazmat costumes.
Nice interview - this was Weir's period of wearing Purple Polo Shirts - quite the contrast from the rest of the slobbish band members. I believe it was Sam Cutler who recently said in a Reddit that Bill Graham ripped of the band.
Cutler is a mysterious figure, Idk how I feel about him. I was at a DSO show when that shooting happened in France, I think, at the eagles of death metal show. They stopped the show for a minute to pay respect to the dead. Anyway Cutler took the stage and got to talking, too long imo, about the incident. It didn't seem like his place to do it, but he did anyway. He always seems to rest his laurels on other people's accomplishments.
Brock Spore This interview is not 4/29/84..I saw the Dead on most of the east coast tour that spring which was 4/13-30, they had a show at Nassau 4/29 and they are clearly in California and talking bout Berkeley like they are local.
I Always do the dance, as the dance does 'me', and everyone there to see... can't stop the dance, why stop the dance? All the dancing bears ! Ghosts fleeing, into the light as the sun sets. Bears smiling. Women relaxing. That is one special one of a kind rainbow light rabbit holed up transformation vortex. The DEAD live on in the dance.... I took my dead friend Fred to a show, the Dead opened with Uncle John, then played Peggy Oh, Fred's favorite song, he was no trouble at all, a smiling happy bear asked me what I was on, "the Music", was all i could say as true. ! I drove home alone, in the zone. Passing the golden Mormon spires in the night.
Wayne McGuire I love that story because I understand it. That story embodies the whole thing bro! Why stop the dance? What....who says? I ain’t stopping the dance fa nobody!
@@Jason5000 Thanks bro LOVEISALLYOUNEED. I used to call it the kundalini cleanse, or the meltdown, exorcism works. That thang. It can pop up in the strangest of places if we listen just right. That vortex is the only place on earth i recognize besides the ocean, the rest is the rest. I know that ol thang works, it was proven too many times. When in any doubt about why, a rainbow might blast across the sky.
Wayne McGuire Yeah man it was so fun...& it still is sometimes! Like now I'm doing a super deep dive into JGB and playing piano to it. It's just the best and that's all there is to it. I forgot what was like. We need to be reminded sometimes 👍🏻
Right at 4:25 to 4:35 Bill is talking about no frills with the Dead. Bill actually says something that isn't exactly true. I am interested what people think isn't exactly true. Please quote and don't make things up thank you.
Tight shorts don’t count. The huge lightning rigs etc esp 80-90s must not count either. But that’s it. They were just normal scrappy looking dudes who reflected each decade imo as far as styles and looks and age
When i met him he came off like a conceited jerk.. After seeing this video I have new respect for him and what he did to become that jerk. God Bless Bill Graham and of course the Grateful Dead and family! Peace, Love, and Rock and Roll!!
@@liamtolen4216 Have a beauty too. A friend who was a rock star body guard said something like that to me once . Enjoy the art, the artist might burst your bubble.
@@MrCooperAnthony Hey thanks for the reply and you have a poetic way with words for sure. Ive met many, did some local roadie work for McManus Enterproses in the 70's. On my own time I met Bonnie Raitt has always been a sweetheart. She saw my daughter grow up but Not worth stating who what and when in this format but yes we are all human no matter what the status. And it s nice chatting with you!!
@@liamtolen4216 Yea its fun. I was up to my ears in it D'nunder through the 80's, like a strange dream that's hard to believe. Humans be-ing all sorts, what a trip eh?
I am soo glad I saw this! Bill Graham is nothing like I imgained him. I always thought of him as a serious no-nonsence businessman. Instead, he's someone who _really_ loves music and seems kind of like a regular guy. I always thought of him as suit and tie.