My how time flies. Eleven years ago today, August 9th, 1995, Jerry Garcia died. At the risk of being melodramatic, it was one of those 'where were you' moments for me...I had been a Deadhead (one of the annoying WASP Touch Heads, actually) since high school (10/20/88, Houston Summitt). That year, 1995, I had caught the Vegas and Memphis shows, and was all set for an East coast swing in the fall.
Jerry, of course, was always dead or dying, so when reports began to filter in that morning on that new-fangled invention the internets, I treated them skeptically. I ran out to get lunch and, on a whim, stopped the Dead CD that was playing and listened to the radio to see if there was any truth to the rumors.
The radio switched on to the first chords of Touch of Grey and instantly I knew it was true. And yes, I cried. Forgive me my Wonder Years-ish moment, but even as it was happenening I knew that a big part of my youth was irrevocably gone, and I think I mourned that just as much as I did Jerry's passing. How sweet it was to be able to pack up and head out on a road trip for a few shows when work or life was getting a little too complicated...how nice it was to rush to my mailbox like a little kid waiting to see if my tickets or traded tapes had arrived during the day.
So anyway, I was just feeling a little nostalgic today, and would love to hear stories from all the Kossack Heads, not just on that day eleven years ago but tales from the road...
Fare you well, Jerry.