RTP-area local music and culture

[grady AT ibiblio.org]

naught AT nil.com wrote:

> I think that's where I might disagree.  Cultural icons and events can 
> leave a stamp on a city for a a very long time, centuries, even.  Rock has 
> been around long enough now to have a timeline that contains plenty of 
> thngs past that are still very relevant to the genre.

Well, OK, although I'd argue that a lot of what's currently going on in 
SF, while undoubtedly "influenced" by the long shadow of 60s 
psychedelia, wouldn't necessarily cite it as an influence, nor 
particularly agree that including "Grateful Dead" in a shorthand list of 
descriptors for how they "rock" would make much sense, any more than 
listing James Taylor & John Coltrane (or, for that matter, Ben Folds 
Five) would make much sense for getting a handle on the central NC rock 
scene.

In that sense, the lists read more like a quickie brainstorm session the 
night before deadline, rather than a comprehensive attempt to chart the 
history of the regions, and specifically that portion of the history 
that feeds into the current Rock scene in each region. Specifically, 
there's too much inconsistency in game-plan from city to city--some seem 
to skew pretty current, others don't.

And I'm sorry, but any Minneapolis list that includes Honeydogs and Soul 
Asylum while ignoring Husker Du can't really claim authority over either 
current-state-of-rock *or* history.

I'm not gonna touch Better Than Ezra for New Orleans, either.

> I actually only saw the Dead once, in 90, and was really impressed.  
> Garcia really was some sort of genius, though I'm not sure what it was 
> about him that makes me think that.

Given my age (33) I guess it goes without saying that I couldn't have 
seen them much earlier than that era, and in fact it was, shit, '87 and 
then '89, or thereabouts. '87 involved a friend's bad trip that resulted 
in finding out the next day that he'd taken a dive off a freeway 
overpass in downtown Atlanta near the Omni [so FYI, y'all, if you want 
to know why I don't take drugs, that's one reason]. I have no memory of 
the actual show.

'89 I was like 15th row, and I experienced the classic deadhead 
sensation of feeling them working towards the next song & thus knowing 
what it'd be before there was much/any clear melodic indication. Plus 
they were just fucking *on* that night. And yes, Garcia was some kind of 
genius, both in his ability to wander far afield and then drag the rest 
of that bunch of slackasses back in line without any seeming effort 
(although honestly, that was largely Phil Lesh's job, and if you're 
going to cite geniuses in the band, he deserves some credit as well), 
and in his sympathy & affinity for American musical forms/traditions. I 
think part of his mission was similar to Eugene Chadbourne's, to 
commingle country/bluegrass and jazz & see what emerged, although they 
wound up working in opposite directions much of the time.

Bob Weir, on the other hand, always seemed like a smugly slumming frat-boy.

All my punkrock friends may now mock me mercilessly, but honestly, it's 
not like I was blowing off a Fugazi show down the street to go see the 
Grateful Dead. Oh fuck, at least I hope I wasn't, because that would've 
been really fucking stupid.

Ross