Jerry Garcia-Steven Marcus Interview 10/14/1986 @ GDTS 

When the idea came up to do this interview (for Night of The Living Deadheads at Wolfgangs some days later) I said that David Gans would do the interview and I would run the camera and Jerry responded "You do the interview and let David run the camera." I got to know Jerry better later in 1987 and on...I'm glad you enjoyed the interview, I had fun doing it!

I always be grateful that i got the chance to see the dead play live in concert numerous times. RIP JG

Jerry had such a lightness and joy about him. His sense of humor was infectious. He seemed fun to hang out with. Best soul ever.

Maybe the most down to earth 'Rock God' ever.

Take it for what it was, don't be sad. Jerry doesn't want us to be sad, that is why people who never got to see him are rabid fans even today. I was lucky enough to see him a few times, but the Dead will live forever. The family keeps on growing.

Jerry is such a wonderful story teller and my biggest influence not only in music but everyday life.. Miss you Jer Bear..

I loved Jerry digging the get well card art after the interview, he was truly a curious cat, and an artist in his own right

Plenty of Jerry interviews have circulated in recent years; this is a truly good one. Comes off with a nice mellow energy and natural flow. Seems like it was such fun just to talk shop with Jerry. THANKS FOR POSTING IT

He signed the hotel message from Merl Saunders that was left under my door that morning. Merl hooked us up with the passes, talk about a Sweetheart, Merl was an amazing person. I posted a scan of the signed message on Merl's Facebook page. Jerry was a genuine rock star but spoke to me with such interest and energy it was like I was just hanging at the local club and talking with my friend. He was playing Broadway the next week or so and remarked how surprised he was it had sold out. Crazy.

This is no doubt my 100th time watching this and it still hasn’t got old yet.

I had the very good fortune to meet Jerry when he was clean, so that is the only impression I have of him. The effects of drug abuse were all to obvious in his physical appearance and he sure enjoyed talking about using. But I was a guest and he was more then gracious, even asking me questions, so I focus on the positive. It might be a cautionary tale, one that shows the devastation some addicts seem to welcome. But at its core was a sweetheart, a student of music, and a genius guitarist.

"He's like 10 years ahead of me" I love that haha

Ha! with the bad quality of the video, it looks like young jerry interviewing old jerry! great video, thanks for posting it.

Would have loved to have a few beers & tokes with Garcia,an excellent conversationist pity the boys didn't come downunder,sorely missed,the music keeps him alive.

Great interview. I'd never seen this. Jerry was such a character and fascinating to listen to. Thanks for making it available!

This video breaks my heart, because he's just so CLEAR...I love '86 & '87 Dead and that's because of the same exact reason. He sounds like a completely different person than the Jer who did interviews sounding like he always had a horrible ever-present awful flu (the smoked heroin, freebase and pall malls would ravage anyone's voice). Love ya Jerome!

and thank you Steven for hosting this very memorable interview, one of the most "iconic" interviews in Dead history, as its been written about thoroughly. thisll be 27 years old in 4 days

I envy you soo much man getting to meet and talk to Jerry and see the shows. I was only 10 in '95 l wish I had cool people like you in my fam to sneak me to shows back then. Thanks for putting stuff like this out!

I absolutely adore this. Thanks for posting.

The most interesting rock musician in interviews ever. He talks about music and the music experience not fame drugs or personal minuiae

This is such a great interview, thanks for sharing. Jerry was one of my hero's growing up.

Thank you so much for sharing this. I miss Papa Jerry.

Honestly, this was an epic interview!!! One of the best I've seen/heard.

This is Great. Thanks for uploading this. I find myself grateful to what I have learned and experienced through Jerry's art and his interviews and the live shows I've seen...I also find a loss for his presence and find a lot of solace in videos like these.

Thanks for saving this material and uploading it! History! Thank you!

". . . a carrot on the stick in front of the mule of consciousness . . ." What a great line!!! He just kinda slipped that in there . . .

Thank you for sharing this with us Steve ! How Fun !

Without a doubt, my favorite interview by far. Just seems so real and personal.

This is great. Thanks for posting. I especially like how the deadhead scholars were able to remind Jerry of the number of times Here Comes Sunshine was played. And indeed, they brought that one back along with some other gems in '89.

Garcia knew how to say NO without saying NO,Genius.

Thank you for posting this and for the audio resynch....I had a baaaad beta copy of this for years and this is a welcome upgrade! What I find ironic is every old song you suggested reviving, Jerry buries. Fast forward 28 years later and Phil has revived all of them :)

Steve, Thank you for this man, There are so few interviews out there and being able to listen to Jerry talk about things and not just walk on stage play walk off stage. I got back stage three times and got thrown out three time because I wasn't really supposed to be there..La De Da...Just kinds walked right in man. Any way Thanks.

The rapport between me and Jerry is very simple, he was one of my bosses and we had some conversations about comics and Laserdiscs and mostly old movies. Family history is that in 1964 my sister took guitar lessons from him at Guitars Unlimited (where I also took drum lessons...)

Don't fade out yet 🙁

the white fade out really hit me hard. i miss Jerry man, fuck! the worst part is that technically he's still young enough to have been alive today, but as i say everytime i hit this bummer trip,i remember it was his life to live, who are we to judge or say anything? thanks for keepin it alive Jerry.

this was highly enjoyable, boss. Thank you.

I'm glad I think to watch this every so often, I may not be objective about this but I think it's one of the best interviews with Jerry out there. He's relaxed and Steve's asking the interesting questions. Also it's not being shown within any sort of time limit nor filmed in a formal setting w/ Gans running the camera and it being shot in the ticket office (after "engaging.") Love this.

Kshoe83, that is what Jerry was like when he was clean...a real joy to talk with. You have to understand that I was a Deadhead when I got hired to run Grateful Dead Ticket Sales. And while I answered to the band managers, the band members were my bosses. It was very strange separating the "idol" from the human...

Well Jerry I dont know why you and others made so many videos showing so much about your self. But if you think we needed that many videos they are appreciated. If you watch enough its almost like we get to hang out with you! I am glad you were around, glad you liked all the fans and the fans really liked you. Also heard you were a music teacher for a while. Wish you were still around! I think everyone misses you. You should of seen what they did in the future it was a real bummer! Take car Jerry and wish you, your family and friends much luck!!!

Thank you Kati, this is the interview you told me about..nice..i like what he said about little video cameras...wish that attitude was more universal..

"side stepping is an art" lololololol

Shit, Jerry should still be here. It pisses me off in a way that he left us so early. 53 is incredibly young, especially these days. He should still be here right now... still playing music, gotten the chance to enjoy his "golden years" taken some time for himself, wrote more tunes, maybe even written his memoirs, etc. I know there is no one to blame, obviously. Some will say the demands of the band/organization, the scene, etc. but it's well known that when the Dead weren't touring, Jerry would go out with the JGB for shows... he just wanted to play, but I think the demands of it... HAVING to do it, etc. Some will blame him alone for the lifestyle, his choices, not taking care of himself, the drugs, etc. So many reasons for that... Jerry liked to have a good time. I don't know. It's just sad because he was such a talented and giving dude and it obvious he was a very thoughtful, intelligent... a kind and fun person... he should've been able to really enjoy his life's work, his family, maybe grandkids and his status as an elder statesman of rock and of his scene. I wonder what he'd make of the world today. So much has changed since 95. I guess we can just be happy that Jerry was here for 53 years and he made so much incredible music (and so much of it recorded and available, thankfully!) and art and put out so much joy and thoughtfulness into the world. Maybe Jerry would be (or is) content with knowing he lived his life his way, doing what he loved.

I see this & it seems like he’s still alive , I love this !

Every time I listen to an interview with Jerry starting way back from the early days up until this one he always is the same in that he never ceases to astound me with his wonderful way of thinking. He always teaches me something without ever meaning to. Just a beautiful person...so enlightening and helpful and unimposing. I like what David Crosby said: If there could be one person who could speak for all musicians, it's Jerry

Best Jerry interview

That would be me interviewing Jerry...

"Alligator" was Pigpen's theme song in the early days . . . even more than "Love Light" and the other blues covers he did (he wrote "Alligator," after all, and it fit his persona to a T) -- I can certainly see why neither Jerry nor any of the others had the heart to even try to resurrect it (let alone try to do it justice) after Pig died...

After Coma, Jerry Doing Very, Very Great , Super Well !!!! R.I.P. To The Big Man !!!!

yeah, it was heart-breaking to see an exhausted JG constantly pushed to do more. But it was his path and, man, what a bounty of love and blessings Jerry bestowed upon us.

About time I subscribed to Steven Marcus' youtube channel

This is a fantastic interview of the many that I have seen of Garcia. These are the type of questions I would personally ask him being an enormous fan of his and the Dead. Bringing back old songs, favorite places to play, drugs, aliens, various questions about deadheads, etc... He really gives a thoughtful answer to each question and one thing I take away from it is that he was clearly aware of his influence and who he was and was careful about how he never wanted to tell anyone what to do or how to live or things like that. Great interview

Jerry was the most far out awesome buddha of a man

The end was fabulous.

Steven Marcus, I loved the questions and the attitude. I think this is one of my favorite interviews with Jerry from a very poignant time. I remember that fall quite well. David Gans doing his best to keep the scene going while Jerry was recovering. It really felt like we all collectively as a community willed the Universe to give one last incredible run with our favorite beloved musician and from 87 to 90 we got it. What a truly cosmic time, an eternal moment. From the bottom of my heart, Thank you David and Steven!

We miss you Jerry. Thank you for all you gave.

People who knew Jerry well were actually worried because he insisted on doing freelance gigs when he should have still been taking it easy after recovering -- he also never canceled a Dead tour or gig, no matter how bad his health was (and there were times when he probably should have). It's also arguable that if he had taken some time off from work to really deal with his addiction), he might have prevailed and not died when he did. In a way, he worked himself to death as much as anything.

thankyou vince for everything but man for brining back hcss

Jerry must have been such a great guy to talk to/interview. I'd consider it an honor to smoke a j with Garcia anytime.

I sat next to Jerry about a week before this interview backstage at the Shoreline, the Dead's first night there. This interview reminds me what he was like that night, we talked almost the entire set break.

And Jerry was, to paraphrase one of his sayings, a fucking sweetheart.

Ok honey, I'm not busting on you, well maybe a little, but I did have a little chuckle when Jerry said that about how he's embarrassed when he hears his voice back on a recording. Because I thought about your "Thank you... and staaay in touch!" :-) I don't think I've watched this video since Santa Rosa - so what's that? like 16yrs? wow..... No, that can't be right. I'm sure I've watched it again since then. It really makes me miss him though. (and you of course :))

Great interview ! I really enjoyed it ! Seems like Jerry enjoyed it as well.

Although Jerry is polite and amiable throughout, and he didn't want to disrespect anyone's actions or opinions, you can tell that: #1, he didn't like it that one of his band members specifically asked the fans not to bring hard drugs around. And #2, he wasn't too enthused about the "parking lot" scene surrounding Dead concerts, particularly if they people didn't even care about the music itself. To him, the music was everything.

Coolness... awesome interview.

Okay, thanks for your reply Steven ! Must've been very cool to get to interview Garcia...I only saw him once in Boston 1994. I was 13 yrs old and smitten. he seemed in great sprit here with you that day

When Jerry responds to the alien question he mentions he is not even sure if the term 'alien' is even relevant. What a great mind!. He conversational abilities were on par with his musical abilities. I also can't think of any musician, or comedian, who had such wit. He was so funny at times....and never at the expense of another person. Not a mean bone in his body. Bless him.

Cool interview. Very interesting

“The thing to do is slug it out”. Jerry was One of a kind.

I was lucky enough to hang with him in the 80 s plus the other ones in the band !

Love the tracking come up.on screen ahhhh VHS. Love the GD.

… I recall getting in a limo and lunching with a group of Ladies on this day … it’s nice to re-visit it. Hope you’re doing well Steve … Stacye formerly known as Olive

To Sfwatcher, Jerry was talking about JGB "Cats Under the Stars". As he has said in the past, it was the record he was most happy about with the way it turned out. Thankyou Steven for posting this! Also, was that David Gans running camera? Hey David! Stick to Radio! Just kidding....maybe the best Jerry interview found on youtube (next to the frankenstein one)

Hey Steve nice to meet your aquaintence here. I had fortunately had seen the the vhs copy that was posted here a few years back...

I've heard Jerry say his fav record he made was Cats. Under the stars, so maybe that's what he's talking about at the end when he says, that's my favorite

He was certainly a charismatic fellow. The worship some fans heaped on him must have been a strange feeling (not many rabid fans of Canadian tradesmen). Once again, this is a really great interview.

Talk about truly living in the NOW! Is/was, will their ever be a more humble group of musicians to grace a stage?

@hickeytom1, I loved the Frankenstein one too! I had a couple of nice conversations with Jerry at my desk about movies and especially Laser Discs (remember those?) He called them "Eye Candy"

"Go for it, hey!"

...when we tried to play back to video and found no audio, Jerry said, "I'm not doing this again!" and got up and left...David and I went to David's house got ripped and sync'd the audio to the video on the first try!

KSHOES83, the Grateful Dead didn't play Shoreline until 1987...after the 1986 Summer tour ended Jerry collapsed at home and went into a coma. His first show after that was at The Stone on 10/4/86...not Shoreline. And the album was talking about WAS Cats!

I love Jerry’s laugh

I wouldn't say Garcia was wrong about it. His view made sense at that time, when the Grateful Dead still existed. Furthur is not the GD. It's an entirely different context. The Grateful Dead has been gone for almost 20 years. Bob and Phil can play nostalgic songs from the early days with Furthur because it's ALL nostalgia now. But back when the GD was still alive and progressing (or trying to), I can see JG's point.

Amazing to hear the boss say that if a band has a big enough space like an empty theater or arenas that a band can have better results if able to work on their craft in a live setting minus the fans would allow for a better working environment to create records

man he looks and sounds great!

Same Catalog of music, Original performers of said catalog. I stand by what I said and the evidence fully supports my conclusion. Furthur is proving Jerrys reasoning for not playing the "oldies" mistaken. Fully Clued in, thank you very much.

I love you so much, Jerry. 💓💓💓

More interesting facts about this interview: I asked a lot of my Deadhead friends what question they would ask Jerry if the could, hence "Do you believe in aliens?" Video taping, old songs...In an effort to "save" the battery on the video camera microphone I turned it off before the interview...and forgot to turn it back on! David Gans had brought a WM-D6C to record the audio for The Grateful Dead Hour...(continuted on next post)

I'm so happy that when Jerry was in the mood to talk, he would TALK hahah

thanks

19:11 haha, he said "doo-doo".Great interview cheers

Could listen to him talk all day.

Enchanted

was it just me or was that fade out tough to see..miss you jerry....NOT FADE AWAY

Prophetic about the Dylan tours.

He sounds still a little frail but very sober. I just wish the doctors scared him out of starting to smoke cigarettes since he hadn’t for a number of days while in the coma and hospital. But probably nothing they could say wouldve stopped that especially while he was stopping two other massive habits. He was so great for the most part from 87-90. Had a lot of great sober times in there. Clear headed he was incredible. Especially his voice. His guitar always sounded good until 91-95 when he started to lose feelings in his hands. By the end losing almost total feeling in one hand. He was playing blind basically. And video reflects that in final months. He couldn’t feel the strings. It was just muscle memory of putting his fingers where they had gone possible a million times before. Jerry gave us such great music from 65-95. But can’t help but wonder what could’ve been if he stayed healthy. Especially since I just missed out. I was 14 when Jerry passed. So really I missed out on the great shows by a number of years. I saw Furthur in 96. First year I was allowed to leave town to see a show. Hard drugs suck.

I love how he asked specially about cream puff war!! I always wished they broke out during some show with it. It was like the dead’s punk song. I think hearing it like in spring 90 would’ve been fantastic. Or early 80’s. I mean Jerry is embarrassed by cream puff war? Yes it’s a very simple song but he would play some rocking 60’s guitar during it. Fast solos. I mean Viola Lee blues. Masons children. The interviewer had great points

"Yeah, go for it! Hey!...."

Yes, the tour was cancelled out of necessity -- Jerry was basically incapacitated at that point. But I'm not aware that Jerry, himself, ever said, at a time when he was feeling shaky (e.g., that tour where he was peeing into a garbage can offstage during his sets because his kidneys were so ravaged) "We can't do this tour or this gig because I'm not up to it." We can theorize about WHY he insisted on working (needed the money to feed his habit, etc.) -- but the fact is, he usually did.

5 months out of a coma and he was chain smoking. He lived life the way he pleased....that was Jerry, take him or leave him.

🌹🌹🌹🌹 amazing