EP 15 Onward and Upward!!
Hey there, I hope; everyone is well. It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks and I am glad to be home for more than a few days right now. With the style of touring we have to do at the moment, it is a lot of fly out-3 days gone-fly home-3 days home-flyout and that gets to be a bit taxing. Not complaining, in fact feeling very blessed to be able to work again, but a little break is nice. It’s not quite as easy as when were a bit younger and with being home for the better part of a year, I got “comfortable”.
We had a great time in South Carolina, but dealt with one of the hardest rainstorms I can remember. Luckily, it was in the afternoon, but the stage was exposed and it got SOAKED! Everything was saturated. Carpets ruined, but we needed to replace them anyway. It was impossible to get everything dry, so when you put wet cymbals in a case for a week, they come out a nice shade of green at the next tour stop. I leave it that way. I don’t like to clean my cymbals. I believe the dirt in the grooves adds to the character of the sound, over time. I haven’t cleaned my road cymbals in decades and I know firsthand that if I shined them up, they would sound completely different. It showered most of the night, but the fans did not seem to mind and gave us plenty of great energy to feed off.
This last weekend in Chicago was great, as well. As many of you know, we got our start here and it was a chance to see some very old friends who have been with us since the beginning. We played in the parking lot at Soldier Field, which will probably be the closest I ever get to playing Soldier Field. It was strange to think this was the same lot where I hung out before the Fare Thee Well shows a few years back. A different look, but that same energy of music loving fans coming though. With the bit of relaxation on restrictions, the pod system was loose, at best and you can feel the difference for sure. The community is getting closer together and closer to us and the energy is picking up.
We were able to have some meetings while we were together and kind of plot the near future and how we will gradually ease back into normal concert settings. Indoor venues are opening and bands are starting to book, sooooo. The way the industry is running right now is so crazy. In “normal”times, we would be booking 8-10 months out and right now we are booking 8-10 weeks out. As things settle down and (hopefully) numbers keep trending in the right direction, we will be able to solidify touring plans more easily.
In the meantime: Without divulging too much, it looks like we will keep on the weekend warrior/outdoors only path through September. Then we plan to take a nice long break, probably 4-6 weeks and then get back to a more traditional tour model in early fall. Of course, this all depends on the health of the nation.
BIG EPISODE THIS WEEK
This week’s episode is a big one. Longest yet. Not by design, but that is how it worked out. When I started this, I had it in my mind that each episode would be about 60 minutes. I quickly found out that would not be the case. Most run over by 10-15 minutes and that is after I edit the conversations. There is so much good stuff coming from my guests, that I don’t want to cut things. That was the case with my bandmate, Jeff Mattson. He is so knowledgeable and has been at this for so long that he had quite the story to tell. When I edited, it was hard to decide what to cut, so I left most of it. You can hear the outtakes with a subscription to my patreon site:
and find out more about Jeff at
https://www.facebook.com/jeffmattsonandfriends
The other reason for the additional length is the direction the SMS Breakdown is taking for the near future. Brad Sarno and I are in the process of putting together a whole bunch more conversations, but for the time being I will be highlighting my interview with Rick Turner. Rick is a legend in the music world. He is a master guitar builder who has built for some of the biggest stars in the world. He designed many instruments for Phil and Jerry. He founded both Alembic and Modulus guitars AND he help create the Wall of Sound PA system for the Dead in the early 70s. Our conversation went on for over an hour and there is so much stuff there, that I am going to give it to you in bits and pieces over the next 3 or 4 episodes. Really fascinating man with stories that you won’t want to miss.
It was also great to hear from Billy Melv of KC’s Better Off Dead. His band has some funky instrumentation and put a nice twist on the Grateful Dead canon.
https://www.facebook.com/betteroffdeadtheband/
SO, I hope you enjoy the episode and I ask you kindly to “like, rate and review” the podcast wherever you happen to listen to it. Also, please consider financial support to keep the podcast running. A one time contribution is so appreciated and if you want even more content than you are already getting, please consider a Patreon subscription. A PORTION OF ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE REX FOUNDATION
You can find info about all of this and much more here at the website.
I am going to take 2 weeks off from the podcast over the July 4th holiday. Lots of travel and a BIG show at Red Rocks. I will be back with episode 16 on July 15th.
Have a great , fun, safe holiday and as always, I can’t thank you all enough for your support. Hearing people tell me they enjoy the podcast makes it all worthwhile and your feedback is most welcome as I try to improve the podcast for you.
PEACE