"In the attics of my life, full of cloudy dreams unreal."

It has been eighteen years today since Jerry Garcia passed on. His thirty year legacy of music is still as relevant now as it was back in 1995. For the hundreds of thousands who lives crossed with Jerry's musical life it became a life changing experience. Whether it was through the many Grateful Dead and solo project records or the different projects he collaborated on and contributed to with the many like minded artists ranging from the Jefferson Airplane, he played on Today, to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, with Jerry's classic pedal steel guitar on Teach Your Children.

What clearly was the greatest force of grass root exposure for his music was the cassette tape. More specifically the cassette tapes of live Grateful Dead concerts. All through the  1970's, 1980's and 1990's the Grateful Dead performed hundreds of concerts and many of these were recorded by their  fans, as well as the band. A practice that as time moved on was "allowed" and by 1984, eventually endorsed by the band  as they created a  section behind the sound board for tapers.

You could say the Dead were "Occupying" the record industry as their libertarian take on the music  business led them to even " leak" sound board recordings of many shows. Some of these  boards  had legendary status with Dead Heads, such as ones that their early sound man Bear recorded or the "Betty" Cantor- Jackson  boards from 1977 to the Wall of Sound shows from 1974.  These were coveted and what was the most important detail was what generation it was?

You might be wondering what that meant but back in the days of analog recordings the  more you copied a cassette tape the more the  sound quality could, or more likely would, deteriorate. This could be a result of the equipment used, the type of tape and if it was normal or high bias, or whether  noise reduction;most notably Dolby, was  used or not used on multiple generations of copies of the tape. Tapers wanted " crispy" boards and 1st or 2nd generation audience recordings.Many of us  had "hissy" boards from 1972 or 1973 but it was still acceptable to listen to. Actually it was required listening.

Generally if you wanted high quality cassette tapes of Dead shows you had to  know a taper or start trading.
The majority of us were traders. We would slowly build our collections trying to find the best sounding copies that were out in circulation first in our home towns trading with our  friends or the older heads in town. Next it was the neighboring towns and then entire state. We would network with other traders at shows and and more than likely some older taper with hundreds of tapes would throw you a bone and ask for your list and give you his mailing address. This would  create much excitement in the hearts of young Dead Heads. Eventually we would type up our tape list and rate the sound quality, you had to be  very honest in this regard as if you tried to misrepresent what you actually had you were violating taper edict. Finally you had to list  all the tapes in chronological order in your collection.

If you had an address from a head from the last show you saw you would drop your list in the mail and wait. The day that this older heads  tape list arrived in your mail box was like Christmas day. Words from this taper's list would jump out at you like golden beams of light. Shows from 1969, 1972, 1974, or 1977. Legendary locations  such as Veneta, the Filmore West, the Warfield, or the Greek held mystical status. Or simply descriptions such as sound quality excellent or a 2nd generation sound board. You would be quickly over whelmed and overjoyed. Which ones should I choose? Back in the days before Dead Base. It was the lore spoken  by fellow heads of the must have shows from the past. Places like Winterland , to run down coliseums in the northeast or Red Rocks these where the pantheons of our culture. Plus the Dead made sacred ground where ever they played so choosing was not always easy. The other condition was if the other person only wanted 3 or 4 tapes from your list, then that is all  you could ask for in exchange. This was the perfect barter system. Another condition was the tape of choice preferred by the majority of all tapers the Maxell XLII-S.

The other aspect of  being a taper is  you needed two tape  decks to make copies so you would reel off the copies of what your new buddy asked for as quickly as you could, this might mean running your  tape decks for hours on end and into the wee hours of the morning. Then you would drop in a short note of thanks and package them and drop them in the mail.

Within in a couple weeks you would get your  new tapes and begin making  copies for all your friends who were not traders. That was also the other rule of tapers, they always made copies for their friends.
Granted it was a pain in the ass sometimes but you did it none the less. You  had a responsibility to share the magic.

Another fun and rewarding way of connecting with other traders was to go through the classifieds of fan mags like Dupree's Diamond Blues or Relix's and mail your tape list to some other head hundreds or thousand miles from you in the hope that he or she, the majority of tapers were male, would be interested in your list. This was also a  way you could meet these people at shows if you or they traveled. You might be juggling two or three other trader's requests at one  time and running  your decks 15 hours a day. You would start doing five, six, or ten tapes at a time for these new  friends and very quickly  your collection would blossom to 100 or 200 tapes or more.

You also had to start buying your Maxell tapes in bulk as the  traditional retail store was too expensive.  It was very common to buy them by the case, or "brick", through the mail from Terrapin Tapes.  As your collection went beyond 200 tapes you would  become much more selective in what you wanted and particularity the sound quality. You would  go through folks list with a fine tooth comb cherry picking their best and they would do the same with you. A tape a that six months  ago was rated very good, but was actually a  good, was no longer acceptable. Tapers always want to up grade the quality of a killer show, and since cassette tapes  could be taped over it was easy to do.

Then there were the tape covers you could make or buy on tour to personalize your collection. Next you needed storage racks, if you had a  girl friend this was always a problem, and you wanted them on full display in the living room. So that you  could easily access them any time your wanted. This of coarse included organizing them in chronological order and constantly rearranging sections of your collection to accommodate the newest tapes you collected.

By this point you could  have major issues with your relationship because  all of your free time was taken up making copies and then after a tour? It only  got worse...or better. It was a never ending cycle . Bay area shows at Chinese New Years. Spring tour in late March. Summer tour. Fall tour in September  I eventually joined a taping Co-Op out of California and  would real  off dozens of copies of FOB, front of the board, audience tapes as I would get first generation masters for my service.

To say it was a labor of love and that is an under statement. As Bob Weir sang " Too much of everything is just enough"

Then on August 9, 1995 it all  came to a crashing halt..well sort of.

Enter the 21st  century... everything changed the community of tapers/traders changed. We have the Archive now so you can stream almost any show you want, at any time, any where.
We now have Youtube where now all the " illegally" taped concert videos are popping up every day. Plus you get the killer official releases from deadnet too.
We also have couch tour in which the modern day tapers live stream shows they are taping through UStreams and  you can  join in from the comforts of your home.

It  has a created a new freedom for all us former traders but it is not the same.
We  have lost that community. A community in which we interacted in many ways that honored the  human condition more and the spirit of the counter culture movement.
We had a living culture that we helped document and shared. A culture that was one of the  funniest and most adventurous cultural oddities of the 20th century... The Grateful Dead and boy were we were head over heels in it.

Garcia's music in the 21st century continues to inspire a new and younger audience as well as a new generation of performers.
That is what is important.
No longer does the  love affair for documenting and enjoying live music need all the work that so many of us did 18 years ago.
All you need now is a Ipod, a lap top, and a good wifi connection.

So the next time you are in the attic or that forgotten closet remember all those millions of  feet of magnetic tape sitting in boxes collecting dust and as Jerry sang,
"Polished like a golden bowl
The finest ever seen
Hearts of summer held in trust
Still tender young and green
Left on shelves collecting dust
Not knowing what they mean"

Lucky for us we were blessed with Jerry's live music presence to know what "they  mean" and we are all still very grateful all these many years later.
God speed Jerry.

                                                             " So Many Roads" 9/28/93

" Honey the bridge done washed out!"

Williamstown Theatre Festival is currently hosting the world premier of the new Marsha Norman and Jason Robert Brown musical The Bridges of Madison County  which is slated to begin  it run on Broadway in January.
As the trend of reproducing iconic movies and novels continues on Broadway this may be one of the most highly anticipated new shows for 2014 but even more importantly one of the most challenging to adapt.

The Robert James Waller novel sold over 60 million copes and was on the New York Times best seller list for over three years. It was adapted into a very popular film directed by and staring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, who was nominated for an Oscar for her  role as Francesca, in 1995.The film  grossed over $71 million dollars domestically and worldwide took in over $110 millions is ticket sales.

The novel, which was initially scoffed at by critics and the publishing elite, became a pop phenomenon and was embraced by it's fans, who still consider it one of the most  passionate and compelling romance novels written in the late 20th century. So to say this is not an easy undertaking to adapt and  transform this work to a musical and Broadway is an understatement to say the least.

Staring Elena Shaddow as Francesca the Iowa housewife and Steven Pasquale as Robert the wandering Nation Geographic photographer, who is sent to Iowa to photograph covered  bridges. Their random meeting is the result of the Robert being lost and asking for directions. This begins the four day odyssey that will change the  both of them forever.

Is this housewife escapism fantasy? Yes and hardly no as Francesca was complex, strong, and intelligent in both the novel and the film. This is revealed in this quote about her feelings for Robert. " And in that moment everything I knew to be true about myself up until then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before" No shame or guilt in that realization.

Sadly this musical does not take, or even use, the source material to create a modern romantic, passionate and compelling feminist interpretation of this story. Instead Norman chooses to  desecrate the  romance of Francesca and Robert and reduce it to cliche gender stereotyping of the worst kind.  The wife with two bratty kids and a well intention husband who has willfully lost his spiritual and sexual connection to his wife years ago and only expects a well cooked dinner on the table.

She is over worked and under appreciated. Just another disappointed and stuck Midwestern woman.
The complete opposite of the literary and film versions of Francesca.

Robert, who abandon his young first wife,  is the artist and the wandering beatnik. He is the white knight in blue jeans and cowboy boots who comes to her "rescue".

Marsha Norman also injects a nosy neighbor and best friend, who is the traditional family moral consciousness of the show, but  who continually adds comic levity peppered with sexual innuendos that instead work to undermine the importance of why these two people make a connection in the story and sadly prevent it from being explored as Francesca and Robert do in the novel and film. These sub-characters and the amount of time spent telling " their" stories is both unnecessary and a complete distraction.

As for the music the first act does have some  beautiful orchestration written by Jason Robert Brown, who chooses to pull on many modern influences to try to create the depth and insight needed to understand and be drawn into Francesca and Robert's romance. You get a early Joni Mitchell inspired " Another" sung by Robert's ex-wife. Robert and Francesca's first number together is " Wondering" which is the seventh number of the show and is good but does not drawn you into their world. The lyrics are the weakness in many of the songs in this show, as many are rather simple and prevent any real emotional expression or depth for the characters. Norman's book only compounds this as the interactions between Francesca and Robert are often limited to surface only interactions. The intelligence and insights of the novel are neglected which prevents the audience from  understanding these characters' choices and feelings. Plus the lack of chemistry between Shaddow and Pasquale is also disappointing as well.

One of the best number is " You're Never Alone" which is sung by Bud, Francesca's husband played by Daniel Jenkins, and is  about the community they  live in but sadly does nothing to propel the story. "The World Inside a Frame" does a good job of providing details into Robert's passion for photography, light and noticing the moment. The nosy neighbor Marge, Cass Morgan sings a bluesy tune that is the soundtrack to Robert and Francesca's slow dancing which leads to their first  kiss is also quite good. " Falling Into You" is good but leaves you wanting more from this romance so far. Shaddow and  Pasquale do get to showcase their vocal prowess on this closing number.

The second act opens with the redundant " State Fair" with a  chorus of "Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh... at the state fair" repeated so  often I felt like I was in a episode of Glee. The romance of Francesca and Robert is almost complete abandoned in this act as we are continually forced feed back story that deludes the romance even more. The number that brings back together Francesca and Robert is " One Second and a  Million Miles" left me wondering why? " We are only one second with a million miles to go" If this is the pinnacle moment of their  romance please take me out to barn and shoot me now.

This is  followed by the worst and most unnecessary number in the show. " He Forgave Me"  It begins as a letter read by Francesca's fourteen year old daughter Carolyn, played by Caitlin Kinnunen, which was sent from Francesca's promiscuous sister Chaira back in Naples. This is simply the whore Madonna complex number of the show. As  men are reduced to boys with toys and woman are unapologetic adulterers who are in complete control of their far from equal partners. This  song  borders on misogyny and completely invalidated Francesca's experience as a woman who can explore her own sexual destiny on her terms.

This is followed by the nail in the coffin of this show by the return of  Bud and the kids from the state fair in Indianapolis. They come home to a Francesca, who has now become a frantic housewife who forgets to make dinner for her returning family and is racked with guilt for her "sins" after romping around with Robert for the last four days.Any dramatic opportunity for a real exchange between this husband and wife is simply squandered as Bud quickly surrenders after he does sense something has occurred while the family was away and quietly goes off to bed.

The next two numbers fast track years of  ups and downs with her family as well as Robert's life in ways that are devoid of any really drama or feeling. Its  simply to tie up the very loose ends by reaffirming that being a a" good" mom and wife for the rest of her life was Francesca's destiny.
June Cleaver would have been proud.

Then you get the "convenient" death of Bud but then guess what? You get the neighbor Charlie, who also kicked the bucket, and Bud singing the clever " When I'm Gone" but it is too little too late.
Freedom for Francesca? Liberation to follow her heart?

First we need to hear from the beatnik cowboy...who is now full of regret wondering if Francesca ever called and is quitting his job,burning old photographs, and disappearing to who knows or rather who cares where.

The closing number " Always Better" could not come close to capturing that spark of spiritual love and mutual certainty that the novel granted Francesca and Robert with. A  brief deep sexual and spiritual connection, that both in the book and movie, enhanced these characters and was part of who they were and to become. It was a positive life changing experience and not a painful selfish mistake that was meant to haunt them for the rest of their lives with regret.

A far more effective approach would have been to dump the sub-characters and focus solely on Francesca and Robert using duets  between them to express their feelings and the depth of their brief and life changing connection.
Instead we are left with predictable and generic fare that carries no emotional weight at all.

Grateful Dead~Morning Dew 3/25/93

The spring of 1993 is often overlooked in Grateful Dead history. I do disagree with this view. Jerry was sober and back playing. His energy and voice were very clear and there was new material to boot.  On this tour there was also another major difference in the fan's reaction to Jerry' s recovery compared to the spring of 1987 return. On that tour Jerry was worshiped at every show and would give fist pumps during songs and fanned his guitar as well aka. like Pete Townsend.
It was quite special. On this tour people were very grateful but it was more business as usual in many ways. The Chapel Hill shows were noteworthy for the music as well as soundman Dan Healy throwing out a patch to the tapers, who were pleasantly shocked, and it was a  first. The music from both nights were the best nights of that tour.
The first night is most often spoke of, with the Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds , which is one of the best  version they ever did play, but the second night's second set is much longer and deeper and ends with this quintessential version of Morning Dew.
With clarity and conviction  Jerry's playing is simply majestic on this version. He is emotional and present in his  vocals and his playing is subtle as it is poetic and played with an intent and focus that is pure Garcia. With this  great camera shot you see all of it.
The bridge and the finale is very  sweet and beautiful as Jerry plays softly hitting every note he reaches for and perfectly builds it  up to a dramatic peak and even Jerry knows it. This reading is easily one of the best of the 1990's
So all you Jerry heads crank it up!

Visions Of Johanna, 2/21/95 ☮ Grateful Dead

It is always welcoming when  a soft steady mid-summer rain lulls to sleep. You enter that world of deeper sleep and dreams. With soft grey skies at dawn you are still very much in a deep  restful sleep, and at least for me, it was a morning when you  hit that snooze button a couple more times... maybe even three?

This beautiful song will help you stay in that dream like state all morning.

Mark Mulcahy's newest album: Ear candy for the soul

In today's music world the majority of music listeners now limit themselves to the one or two tracks of an artist they like or think are cool. They download one song and it quickly get lost in the shuffle of the hundreds already on their device of choice. The pleasures of listening to an artist's record in its entity has become a thing of the past... unless you are a fan of Mark Mulcahy.

Mark's solo records quickly become a sound track to the listener's life. Each track you listen to grows in fondness and familiarity for you.What separates him from his contemporaries is what  he can do with his voice, his music, and especially his lyrics. He is simple one of the best song writers out there.

His newest release in over eight years is Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You  and is available through the Mezzotint label. In many ways it is his best solo record to date. Unlike the celebrated, and cerebral, In Pursuit of Your Happiness . This record jumps out at  you. In the opening track  I Taketh Away Mark delivers a punchy get up and move anthem on the frustrations of avoidance and choices peppered with religious commentary that is equally sarcastic as it is  insightful.

This street level  insights continues with the next track Everybody Hustles Leo which begin with a shuffling drum beat that is sexed with the clangy guitar riff of Mark's rich sounding electric hallow body guitar. This song seduces you with the opening line "She tried to sell me some sky, she kept it in her wonder bra" is the song that places you on that seedy avenue on the wrong side of town where the protagonists Leo is a willing  participant at the  hands of street folk and happens to fall in  love with the dealer or is it the white stuff ?

This is  followed by the next track that deals out infatuation with an S & M twist with a woman who is in complete control of her man. She Makes The World Turn Backwards is hilarious as it is seducing. Who is she? Have you know her? Do you want to know her? Will she hurt you? In Mark's world when he sings

 " black and blue that is the way with you. The worse is yet to come. The crowds are yelling jump!  Its jump you fool" We all have a voyeuristic desire to be controlled by dominant and unforgiving sexual force of nature. In this song you are  more than willing to go for the ride.

Mark's fourth track is a funky Dada type number that is part Animal Farm and a late night cartoon and could also be an ode to the zoo animals of Forest Park in his hometown of Springfield. Let the Firesflies Fly Away is  lyrical gem, filled with wild metaphors on a cast of characters from the ark as Mark sings with conviction and power as he drives the tunes through with a gospel inspired passion for freedom. He ends it with a child  like fancy as the title reveals.

What will also strike you by now is the wonderful production on this record. Co-produced by both Mark and Henning Ohlenbusch  the sound is rich, bright and has an analog warmth to it. Henning is also a vital part of Mark's current band along with Ken Maiuri.

Mark continues to populate this record with characters that are obsessed with religion like with He's a Magnet with its soft core chorus. To friends who may be always be there to recharge our batteries in My Rose Colored Friend a song that  we can all relate to as Mark sings in the chorus " All we want is a straight story from somebody"

Bailing Out on Everything Again with its chop stick keyboards melody is as  beautiful as it is haunting as the singer  fall in love in things he hate and is not filled with rage  but instead with a romantic complacency.

Badly Madly is possibly the most bittersweet song Mark has every written on being in a love triad. With its lilting English country ballad music dancing  with an accompanying flute like syn sounds. Mark's poetic  lyrics illustrate both a plea and a warning for his love choosing the wrong man. Mark's rich and sweet voice is not demanding her affection, but instead using clever prose to express his heart " I don't believe you feel as badly. If he loved you madly... like I do, like I do"

This is juxtaposed with the poppy Posion Candy Heart, possibly an reaction to be dumped in the previous song? Or is she from that seedy avenue Leo inhabits? Once again Mark takes the role of a man done wrong but is more than a willing victim as he sings "Your serious but wonderful...reckless as a chainsaw...thrilling in the bedroom and I am average in so many ways"

This triad of love songs ends with the most amazing track on this record. The Rabbit. Once again Mark shows his brilliance as a lyricists as he displays such yearnings tempered with contempt for the predicament he  has once again placed his heart in ." Wilting willingly your too much to handle...and I am just a  Chinese candle on the window sill." In once sentence Mark's mastery of perception of two lovers is put on full display. Who can write such lyrics? Sadly not many these days. The music is both sad as it is is beautiful a lap steel guitar helps foster the sense of loss or is it acceptance?

The final track is Where's The Indifference Now?  is a powerful commentary on suicide and our celebrity obsessed society. One in which we want to know everything but honestly are not moved  emotionally to do anything about such tragedies. We just rubber neck or even worse are inconvenienced by such events as the unknown character declares " Don't interrupt my evening. I am on the phone and watching TV" upon finding out about the poor kid next store.

Lucky for fans of Mark Mulcahy's music we are paying attention and do notice and appreciate the nuances , insights, and paradoxes in the worlds that Mark paints and we are very well rewarded for such efforts on this record.

You can be as well and  in less than thirty five minutes too.

Mark Mulcahy "The Rabbit"

It has been awhile since I was inspired to  create a new video but once you hear this new song from Mark Mulcahy's new album you will know why I had to do it. I think it may be the  first one up of this incredible tune too.
Enjoy.

Mark Mulcahy: The resurrection of the song writer's singer at Spaceland 7/12/2013

Mark Mulcahy has earned the reverence and adoration of fans, critics and fellow musicians for a career that has spanned over twenty five years.

A master story teller, who can wisp you off to a world of his own creating in less than four minutes,  his lyrics can be as introspective, raw, and funny as they are generous with developed metaphors that detail the beauties and nuances of life as well as dreams. Mark unites his writing in rich and organic ways with music featuring sweet melodic chords and his beautiful voice. It is a well deserved mantle of brilliance, that he wears with a soft and humble smile, after years of work with the seminal New Haven band Miracle Legion, Polaris and his amazing body of solo work. He and his two piece band, featuring  Henning Ohlenbusch and Ken Maiuri ventured in to familiar and welcomed territory last night at the Spaceland performance space in Hamden. 

Gliding in on the heels, and  dressed in angelic white, of his latest record release in eight years, " Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You" and playing his second Connecticut gig this year, since performing in April at the Meriden Daffodil Festival.

There was an air of welcomed and familiar anticipation of something very special to be witnessed by all in attendance.
Opening the show with of the best of his new tunes from the record. He went deep dealing out "The Rabbit" solo which begins " Wicked trickery...it must take a long time. You need two cups of extra desire. To be able to learn the tricks you learned to do"  The song is laced with contempt as it is filled with yearning.
He next went to the  first track of the new album  " I Taketh Away"  which  begins with compelling chords as Mark spits out frustration and sarcasm. He  even takes on JC with this swipe " He was so cool when first come around. Now all that love my brother shit...just make me mad, mad, mad" 

 By the fourth  song Mark was on fire possessed by frenetic  and  boundless energy, reminiscent of a Grotto gigs from days past, as the band laid down the sultry and provocative "She Makes the World Turn Around." Mark once again revealing his passion and confusion for the feminine mystique. 

A highlight of the night  followed as Mark erupted into a power  punk version of " I Have Patience" that had him and many in the crowd bopping up and down as he proclaimed in the chorus 
"The things I love don't bring me joy. The things I love, I want to destroy. I have patience, I have patience."

Mark continued to marry the new material with the old as he played a couple more track off In Pursuit of Your Happiness  then the closing track off the new record with the powerful and disturbing "Where's The Indifference Now?"
He continued to power on with a ripping version of "Saturine" and then went  soft with a tender " Love's the Only Thing That Shuts Me Up". The fun times continued with a sing-a-long version of a crowd favorite "Ladies From Town" followed by the garanimals portion of the show with the  band getting silly before striking out with powerful version of the funky "Let the Fireflies Fly Away" as Mark gets surreal painting the canvas with imagery of a donkey driving a Chevrolet among a few things.

Mark next  then sang " Quiet One" being both hilarious as it is sinister. He continued with the religious sarcasm with "He's a Magnet" with its soft porn chorus of " ooooo yeah oh no no no oh yeah he's a magnet baby"

The set closed with the one dedication of the night to man from New Haven who inspired the  sweeping "Bill Jocko."

Mark began the encore the way he began the night, alone with his music and his guitar. The stage  lights glistening off the chrome on his hallow body guitar as he pulled out a inspired and sweet reading of " Hey Self Defeater."

"Never mind overjoyed
Just start with happy
There’s no more silent nights
And no more horrid fights
Just got a new place
And put a thousand miles"

Musical guests Jeff " Baby Huey" Wiederschall and Richard "Doctor Managua" Brown joined for the joyous closing of "Mr. Mingo" and " The Backyard"

One of the best nights of live music all year for this fan.
Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, we love you...and thank you.

.