A long strange trip...

So, I realize that many of us take our love for this band incredibly seriously. However, some of the comments in the last few days have really bummed me out. There are several groups of people that I find to be the antithesis of what the Dead was about…those groups are as follows:

1. The Self Righteous Head Who Makes Fun of Newbies:

This head is constantly making fun of the posters who are asking questions that seem silly to a lot of us, but wouldn’t seem weird at all if it was also our first introduction to the band ie: is there an opener, will they play “X” again tonight if they played it last night. No one came out of the womb with any knowledge of the band, it’s up to all of us to create a community that welcomes everyone and helps them grow in their journey to discover the music.

2) The King Wook: This head looks down on anyone who “looks professional” or different(which is super ironic) calling people who aren’t wearing patch pants “Chads” or “The Fraternity Crowd” the music is so powerful that it is able to connect with people from all walks of life, something that I’m not sure any other band in history has done as well as the Grateful Dead.

3) The “Dead and Co sucks”/“I saw Jerry” head:

I was in Middle School when Jerry died, I never got to see him, I wish I could have, I’m not sure my life will ever be fully complete knowing that I didn’t get the opportunity. HOWEVER, the music lives on, it still grabs you, it takes hold of you at the shows(the new sound system is INSANE) the journey of the music is still there,each show I’ve been to, be it Further, RatDog, DSO, JRAD, Billy& the kids, Bobby and the wolf bros etc etc etc still has the same effect. I’m up, moving, and most of all happy.

Let’s all try to keep with the spirit of the band and welcome all of the newcomers that have been introduced to the music that has given us all so much. Dead and Co have built a bridge that connects generations of fans to the Grateful Dead’s powerful, soul soothing music. The least we could do as fans is welcome them on the bus.

***I know this is the internet and people are general curmudgeons at time but I needed to say this!