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18 Jan 03 - 12:43 AM (#869290) Subject: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: katlaughing Say what you will about tv, this week the Encore True Stories channel has had some great documentaries. Tonight we watched "Grateful Dawg" which was directed by David Grisman's daughter and chronicled the friendship and music-making between her dad and Jerry Garcia. This video came out in 2001, but the copyright is 2000. Have any of you seen it? I was delighted to hear Jerry doing acoustic and trad music and David was fantastic on mando. I liked the Grateful Dead, but wasn't really into them so I never paid much attention to what Jerry was doing all these years. This video talks a lot about the last five years of his life, when he and David got together a lot at the Grisman home, just playing acoustic together. There's a lot of home video footage, as well as concert stuff. The way the home stuff looked and the way they described the comfortable way the Grisman's encouraged good music (and offered Jerry a respite from his Deadhead personna) made me think of the descriptions I've read of Rick and Heather Fielding's house by Mudcatters who've gone visited and been made so welcome. There were a couple of references to the lack of time Jerry had to get together and just have fun this way. It seemed really sad to hear, in retrospect, that he was always so busy doing the GD that he found it hard to find time to just jam with Grisman and learn more of the old trad stuff, etc. I had to wonder what might have been if he'd been able to slow down the schedule. There was great footage of them doing Jenny Jenkins, Off to Sea Once More and a few others. Some critics weren't very kind about this video, but we really enjoyed it and I would recommend it, highly. I'd be interested in what some of you thought of it, too. Thanks, kat |
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18 Jan 03 - 01:17 AM (#869302) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: michaelr Some discussion in this thread. I liked the film, but then I've always liked Jerry's playing. Even when he was less than spot-on, a very inquiring and playful musical intelligence came through his playing. Longtime Dead publicist Dennis McNally published his GD history last year, called (of course) "A Long Strange Trip". In it he gives the first account I've seen of Jerry's trip to the East Coast and his connections with the early NY folk scene. Cheers, Michael |
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18 Jan 03 - 01:20 AM (#869304) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: katlaughing Thanks, Michael. I did a search and didn't find that thread; not sure why as I'd put in "Grateful" and set the age filter to "all." Nice to see the other opinions as well. kat |
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18 Jan 03 - 03:03 AM (#869338) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: Mudlark I've seen this a couple of times and, along with Ghengis Blues, it's one of my favorite documentaries on music. It was really great to see those 2 enjoying music together... |
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18 Jan 03 - 03:16 AM (#869339) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: BlueJay Hey, Kat, this show has been on my TV system for about six months, and I just don't get tired of watching it. Fascinating. I've seen it six or seven times. 'Course, I'm an old Deadhead and also Grisman-head from way back. Actually met Grisman after Rockygrass in '01, where he played with Rowan, Vassar et al as "Old and in the Gray". My daughter Annie gave him a mini-mandolin she'd made, (like a jewelry pin thing), and Grisman accepted it, then did a double take and said, "that's a 4-point F-5, where'd you get the pattern"? Anyway, whenever I see "Grateful Dawg" on the schedule, I invariably click on it as a welcome respite from living in a virtual dictatorship under a shrub. |
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18 Jan 03 - 03:30 AM (#869343) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: BlueJay I have to say one more thing. David's Daughter Gillian Grisman has done many of us a huge favor by producing this thing. I am very grateful to her for this. Kat, you said it was panned by some reviewers. I can't imagine why, unless this type of music is not to their taste, in which case they probably shouldn't be reviewing it. I would never attempt to review an Emenem video. |
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18 Jan 03 - 09:57 AM (#869444) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: GUEST,van lingle Hey kat, I really enjoyed this as well. Garcia had been returning to his roots in his later years as he started out as a folk/ bluegrass player in the early sixties and this informed much of the Dead's music. Their Garcia/Grisman (acd-2 on Grisman's Acoustic Disc label) is a real gem,IMO, as are their two recordings with Old and in the Way from 1973, I think, which are available on CD.vl |
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19 Jan 03 - 05:43 AM (#869820) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: Rincon Roy Greatful Dawg documentary is available on DVD for those who don't want to wait for TV broadcast. |
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19 Jan 03 - 11:05 AM (#869894) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: Bee-dubya-ell I heard the radio interview with David & daughter on "World Cafe" when "Grateful Dawg" first came out. David said that one thing he absolutely insisted on in the film was that all songs be performed in their entirety. None of that 30 second excerpt stuff like we've seen in some musical documentaries. I guess some film makers don't realize that a people are watching the film for the music, and they want to see/hear the whole song. Seems like a no-brainer to me, but apparently not to everyone. Bruce |
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19 Jan 03 - 11:48 AM (#869927) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: WFDU - Ron Olesko This was one of the reasons I bought a DVD player! The DVD has some interesting commentary from David Grisman and a few extra performances. |
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20 Jan 03 - 03:13 AM (#870327) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: BlueJay So, Ron Alesko- Thanks for alerting me. The thought of even a snippet of David and Jerry's material that I haven't seen makes the price of the DVD seem small. Thanks, BlueJay |
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20 Jan 03 - 03:16 AM (#870328) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: BlueJay Ron- Sorry about the mispelling of your name. BJ |
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20 Jan 03 - 09:18 AM (#870484) Subject: RE: Grateful Dawg - Garcia & Grisman docu From: Ron Olesko No problem! I do it myself! :) Ron |