Jerry Garcia on The Acid Tests | Blank on Blank 

jerry has one of the most calming voices i’ve ever heard

Note to self: don’t drink tap water at Jerry Garcia’s

Jerry literally lived to have fun. Playing was his joy and he was never going to stop. In the end he lived on his own terms and died doing what he loved . Having fun. How many of us will ever get the chance to say that, and leave a legacy of recreating American music by mixing rock, folk, blue grass, jazz, and other various forms of "Americana" music into timeless masterpieces. In my humble opinion, Jerry is in the top three for the most important and influential American musicians of all time and yeah....acid was a major factor in his spiritual logistics.

so good to hear your voice, Jerry. love from a deadhead household.

"Everybody there was as much performer as audience." Sounds like every Grateful Dead show I ever went to. "If you get confused, listen to the music play."

2:26 "Luckily the following week we got fired."

Magic is what we do, music is how we do it - Jerry Garcia

Whenever I listen to the dead home alone I feel like I’m momentarily escaping all the bad in the world:)

"We just set up the equipment. Everybody got high. And stuff would happen" - Jerry Garcia on the Acid Tests. Our latest in full, groovy color.

Jerry Garcia always gave a solid interview. He had a very bright mind. I'm sure he did not regret how he lived.

jerry's got such a good vibe

Preserving the history of American art and culture is a very important undertaking. Thank you for also making it fun.

Miss you Jerry, miss your wit and ever so cool chuckle! Damned glad I made my way to all those shows, magic, magic!

I'm so glad I joined the caravan and got to experience 8th wonder of the world dead show 93-95. Rest easy Jerry and rest in peace you did more for the world then anyone could ever do.

These tests came back in the 90’s on the Portland Homeless Youth, which was a homeless crisis at the time. Just did a vid on that subject. Some of it made it into rock music history in popular songs, so it’s the stories behind those songs, for those interested. Also GD were cool guys. Very kind. Saw them once live when young. Super nice. We helped promote Cherries Garcia back then when it came out. On opening day kids lined up across ice cream shops everywhere. Fun day.

Grateful Dead, the acid tests, the Palo Alto and Laurel Canyon scenes, the "summer of love," Manson family, the People's Temple/Jim Jones cult (and the murders of Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk which tie into that), Hell's Angels, the stuff that went on at the Stanford Research Institute back then, the work that people like Andrija Puharich and Jim Parsons were doing, the *flood* of LSD that appeared in the mid-1960's and then dried up almost completely in the early 1970's etc etc - It was all a large joint military research and development operation between the Department of Defense, secret intelligence services, "Hollywood," and a myriad group of post-modernist, existentialist, moral relativist scientists and researchers. People either directly related to and/or operating on behalf of the super rich, elite "powers that be" (for lack of a better term). Certainly no coincidence that almost all of the Hollywood studio lots and sound stages were built in "former" military installations and buildings. For anyone not glibly rolling their eyes and might be interested, I'd reccomend the book "Weird Scenes Inside The Canyon" by David McGowan as a light starting point/introduction. I'd also recommend the movie "Inherent Vice" which although doesn't outright *explain* what was going on, gives a good glimpse for those who pay attention. Look into almost any celebrity actor, musician, writer, politician or notorious murderer from any time in American history but *especially* back then and you start finding all kinds of family connections to the military and/or secret intelligence. Truth is stranger than fiction and all the world's a stage.

Followed the Dead from Maine to Sacramento in Summer of 91’....My favorite “Jerry” bumper sticker read: “It ain’t over till the fat man melts”!

The most magical eccentric time of the 20th century ✌

So I am responding to JG saying many times there was no “pressure to play” at the acid tests. This made it the player’s choice, they were feeling it. That totally changes things. I get it now.

Hey was always so humble, and I love that about him. I love when he talks about the forming of the band and dude asks "how did it sound?", and Jerry replies "it sounded like hell".😀

thanks PBS

Very cool. I remember Kesey's house in La Honda. Its still there.

Damn, If i could just go back into time and jam it out with Jerry, that would be everything!

blank on blank does the BEST interviews.. started on Hunter Thompson about 2hrs ago and just kept going... brilliant!!!!

Happy birthday, Jerry!

Tell them about the time you guys dosed the whole floor at Winterland in May, 1971. I was right in the middle of it. First time I'd done acid and the first time I saw the Dead. Oh Boy, what a night.

Some of that acid is made for reunion... it's so beautiful it makes you cry.....

groovy

I learned the other day how their tours would be like a river of LSD to replenish all of Americas nooks and cranny's. It's a good read. I wish I had the link. Some story about getting a "thumb print"

Well done. This will become popular.

You guys should do one with Geddy Lee or one of the other members of Rush.

The most humble rockstar that has ever existed.

Good work .. Jerry will always be missed !

Miss Jerry 😢🙏🏼🕯✨

I'm just old enough to have caught 2 Dead shows when I was 18 before Jerry died. I wish I could have gotten to more, but am thankful for those two shows. My generation picked up where they left off with Phish. I've been to something like 50 of their shows now. Mostly in the late 90s, but I still go occasionally. It's a similar experience, but different in some fundamental ways too.

Jerry was the best

Jerry sounds like Jerry, he sounds like a nobody, like a friend or just a voice I need not to focus on, as if there is no threat or any worry. Truly he was peace at heart.

There was a similar scene going on in Woodstock, NY. And down the road in New Paltz, at the college.

Thank you Jerry. And Grateful Dead. For changing my life. And. pointing me in the right direction.

I enjoy their music i love playing guitar And i really appreciate their contributions to the music industry

I want to hug Jerry.

Jerry is such a blessing

All the beautiful people’s sentiments in these comments make me real happy. Thank you Jer, it’s incredible to think how many lives you & the dead contributed an immense amount of good to(~);}

These interviews helped me through college

Thanks Jerry

Great stuff, thanks for the creation and upload.

Phil's playing on "Friend of the Devil" is STILL phenomenal.

I read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Still have vivid images of La Honda, but that’s because of Tom Wolfe’s writing. I can well imagine myself being zonked out and wandering around the place.

sounds like an absolute blast

these are all awesome, i am addicted...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!! i love these interviews!!! MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE...

What a wonderful interview! Funny how Jerry talks about having adventures. I love that band. I was out riding the rails hopping freight trains and going to Festivals where the Dead played back in the day. Life was hard -running from railroad bulls, cops and starving- but the music was awesome. 15 years later in the mid ‘80s Deadheads had it easy but the music was awful-hard drugs killed that band.

Could listen to Jerry talk all day long.

“Stuff happened” THAT WAS A MOMENT FOR A GOOD FOLLOW UP QUESTION

I so love the Grateful Dead, been a deadhead since the 70s...

2:15, actual footage of the gig that night hahaha.

There's a lot of wonderful music being made out there. In someways, better than ever. But there is something that grows out of 6 nights a week/5 sets a night thing that could be missing today.

Awesome band, awesome animator. This series is great.

O hell yeah! Now you got us on The Bus, mofos! Warlocks, cartoons, & dictionaries changing societies.... Pranksters, Acid & The Grateful Dead's space-age military nightmare stuff.... Jerry Garcia's On The Phone & He's telling this story.... Crazy stuff I'm seeing on PBS these days! Y'all got me hooked!

thank you guys!

Daawww, Jerry

The very first Acid Test was a party at Ken Babbs' house on 27th November 1965. That may be the moment the Sixties began.

Why does the drawing of Jerry have 5 fingers? :/

the acid tests sound like the house that my step brother and I rented out for about 7 years, at this time in my life i was taking L almost every night, I would have 3 "sometimes 4" nights off a week, and every Saturday night we would have a few friends over and of course I would dose them, and then about an hour later there would be like 2- to 30 people at my house who either my Step brother or I would dose. Everyone would be chilling outside, or in the house somewhere and we never had an issue with our neighbors or the cops because everyone would just be either relaxing, talking quiet, zoning out on something, or in the basement playing video games quietly or playing music which was at a level where it wasn't too loud, you couldn't hear it upstairs that well and you couldn't hear it outside at all. these were some of the best nights of my life. My S. brother and I would sometimes leave with a couple of friends and take a ride downtown along the lakefront on LSD, so we be on LSD driving down LSD "Lake Shore Drive" in Chicago, and yes, everyone calls it LSD which is kinda funny

These animations are awesome.

Love this..wish I could've been there then...don't you?

You should make a LENNY BRUCE ONE, he was a ICON! {And basically a sacrificial Lamb -...on the lamb!-}

Jerry sounds like the most purely innocent person. You could never imagine him saying something mean.

The lampoonery in the visuals is off the hook hysterical. Hope they made it into LOC, for future generations to jive with.

I heard Jerry do some great riffs and Bob sang with his real serious look on his face we loved it when they played box of rain

I love that guy!

Nice video! Thanks for sharing it!

Just found this channel fucking brilliant mate cheers

Jerry was the prophet standen on the burnin shore. Jerry your gone but certainly not forgotten my friend.

makes me wanna drop! haha RIP Jerr Bear

ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT JERRY!!!

hell yes. love you jerry

You can definitely hop freight and hitchhike in America still. I've been doing it for years now.

Wish i could have heard more of this interview.

These vids are soooooo awesome!

I have to agree with Myron Buck, below, Jerry " had a certain pragmatism that was hard not to love". He had been through the wringer and had come out on the other side distilled but whole. He is missed sorely at least 3 or 4 times a week in my home. And I know this is just an animation, but you need to get Jerry's right hand fingers right, man...

Lived and died by drugs, miss you Jerry. Dumbass. ❤️

these drawings are fucking hysterical , this is some classic shit

“We played for about 5 minutes. The. We basically freaked out, you know”

Congrats ! Great stuff

Do a Tom Waits one! That would be awesome.

This was awesome! I was hoping for something from the Dead.

What I would do to go back in time and experience being a hippie :(

Thank you!

this was beautiful

This is so vry interesting, all of these Acid Test Stories amaze me!!

3:47 made me crack up. God, this is so good! :)

Awesome. Thank you.

They were taking some of Owsley's legendary pure LSD back then. That was the good stuff that would have you straight "Trippin'" like your shoe laces were tied together...

I meet jerry in 1989 at the UBC Vancouver outdoor venue, people were approachable somewhat in dem days(close enough to say hows it going "EH") I said, HI Jerry(thought he might tip his head of something) and he stopped and looked at me and said Hey man, how's it going, you look like you got some sun today haha ...and he walked off... he was all sweety and wet, looked pale and breathing heavy I remember that.

greatest story ever

Even when put into the context of a series as amazing as this one has been and especially given the almost mythical level of most of the interviewed, Jerry was: Fucking tremendous. He seems like he would be the most incredible human to trip with or just BE near. Or maybe not. Maybe all life and existence is a thin illusion draped over an Eldritch Abomination about to peel back and fuck our souls through all of our minds. Maybe both.

wish I could've got to hang out at ken kesey's with the merry pranksters.... bet it was a beautiful time to be alive... I was 30 years to late

Wish there was video of that acid test at Keseys

super vids, thanks B on B!

I was never a big Dead fan, but I never thought for a moment that they weren’t talented guys, and that they weren’t really intelligent. Maybe one of the secrets to their success, was that they really didn’t care about being successful; as Garcia mentions here, they were mainly just out to have a good time... and that was probably very liberating for them, allowing them to develop their own unique musical style, because if commercial success wasn’t their main motivation, then they didn’t need to adhere to the music business’s status quo of looking for artists/bands who were the “next big thing” that always seems to be based upon an already-existing “big thing”. That happened then, and it still happens now... Record execs saying to their label reps, “Give me another Elvis” in 1957, to label owners saying, “We need another Beatles” in 1964, to A&R people saying, “We need another Michael Jackson” in 1982, to both saying, “Give me another Nirvana” in 1990... ad infinitum. The Grateful Dead didn’t fit into any category, they didn’t feel the need to, and as a result, they became their own thing... which of course, ultimately made them hugely successful. IMHO.