Jerry Garcia explains why the Grateful Dead are so polarising
There are very few many outfits with as storied a history as the Grateful Dead. Led by the late Jerry Garcia, the Californian posse of hippies were the ultimate countercultural band. Preferring extended jams over the rigidity of the traditional set and prominent proponents of LSD, famously, the group had a penchant for enriching their undoubted musical ability with remarkable activities.
Whether it be embarking on a horrific acid trip worth $50,000 or establishing a core ethos significantly underpinned by the writings of Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac, there’s much to pick apart in the Grateful Dead’s extensive past. It’s a multi-dimensional tale that contains much substance, to the extent that almost none of their contemporaries can claim such a feat.
Despite Garcia, Bob Weir and the rest of the Dead earning a significant amount of kudos across their career, the band remain one of the most polarizing in rock music. For some listeners, the sunny Americana clicks straight away, while others are left wondering what all the fuss is about. Garcia approached this issue during an interview with Relix in 1980. The frontman and guitarist offered his opinion of why the group were musical marmite and likened them to pot. It’s a simple analogy but an appropriate choice of language.
The musician said: “Well, that seems pretty cut and dry (laughs). I’m aware of that phenomenon, I guess. What happens is that someone turns their friends on to us in the same spirit or sense that they would turn their friends on to pot. They turn them on because they have a good experience and they have a good time.”
“It used to be real frustrating. I’ve talked to fans about this who have said, ‘Jesus, I invited 20 of my friends to this, and you guys played awful!’ (laughs). That stuff used to happen to us all the time. We’ve gotten to be a lot more consistent. So now, those people can bring their friends and at the very worst, they’ll get a nice, professional show.”
He concluded: “But I’m aware of that mechanism. The thing is that it’s an ongoing process. Our audience now has a very large number of 15, 16 and 17-year-olds. They’re kids who are obviously not from our generation. But are every bit as enthusiastic about what we did as any of our audiences have ever been. Our audience is larger now than it’s ever been. It’s more vital now than it’s ever been, and we’re happenin’.”
