Welcomes and Greetings

Hello fellow fans of the Grateful Dead. My purpose in creating this blog comes from years of devotion to Grateful Dead tape/CD trading, and doing everything I could to share the music of the Grateful Dead with interested ears.

Times have changed in the world of our trading community, and some of the most apparent trends seem to be a deterioration or absence of what we once called the "community" and the explosion of availability of nearly every Dead recording ever at everyone's finger tips. It seems that the latter gave rise (or decline) to the former.

Most folks are no longer getting to know other traders, building lists of trading partners, exchanging lists, and mailing discs (or cassette tapes!) to each other, waiting anxiously at the mailbox for that next package of shows to arrive. Such is the price of the progress of technology. The bubble envelope has been replaced with the Bit Torrent and online archives. At the same time, there are more and more people "finding" the Dead and seeking out music to enjoy. Everyone wants to hear the best Grateful Dead show from 1973, after all. But which one is it?

The music is easy enough to find (http://www.archive.org/, etc..). Knowing where to start is more and more of a mystery.

When I started trading, I dreamed of having all tapes at my fingertips (and set about collecting thousands of hours on tape to get there). Now that everything is so widely within the reach of a clever mouse, it seems likely that a paralysis can set in, preventing someone from knowing where to step first. Knowing that the Dead have plenty of shows that lack quite the luster of others (a hugely debated topic as to which shows are, and are not, worthy of either distinction), it is easy to potentially mis-step and come out disappointed. With such a huge collection to choose from, this is one adventure where it can get frustrating looking for a needle in a haystack.

Disappointment would be somewhat avoidable if every Dead tape collecting newbie had a grizzled old deadhead living across the street who invited them over to listen to old recordings and walk back home with arms full of music to copy. Online, that's not something easily found. And that is just what I aim to bring to you. If you came over to my home to borrow shows, I know a number of them that I'd recommend over others, and I would gain as much joy in sharing as you might in being turned onto some of the greatest music out there. Figuring out what you might like, and guiding you to more, would be a pleasure.

So, here on this blog, you can listen to a deadhead who has walls of tapes and CDs rant and rave over this great show, and that great solo; this amazing transition from Truckin' to Other One, and that amazing tone hanging in the air of an outdoor arena (mostly of the audience recording variety - more on that later). Hopefully you'll come away all the more devoted to the band you already love. I will provide signposts and spotlights for you to get the most out of every moment you take in listening to the Grateful Dead.

Welcome.