JERRY GARCIA: IN SEARCH OF THE X FACTOR MUSICIAN: You guys have probably put out more live albums than anyone I can think of - two double live releases this summer alone. Is the mysterious "x factor" that sometimes transforms a Grateful Dead concert impossible to capture in a studio situation?  GARCIA: I'm not sure if it can or can't be captured in the studio, though I agree that so far we've failed to capture it there. But we've never really been set up to perform in the studio. Our idea of performance is what we do live, and making records is more of a concession to the realities of ..read more

IN SEARCH OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD   He's a 35-year-old happily married father of four - the respected director of a research institute in Washington, D.C. But Jerry Toporovsky has a secret obsession, and on this cool All Hallows Eve he's about to drive six long hours to New York's Radio City Music Hall to indulge it.  "Sometimes I try to reason with myself," explains Toporovsky. "I'm pushing 40, I've got a family and a full-time job - I've gotta be crazy to be doing this. But then I think of the last time I saw them and realize it's going to be worth it. It always is." Yes, frien ..read more

2/4/66 THE TRIPS FESTIVAL  http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2013/02/january-1966-san-francisco-acid-tests.html  2/10/66 CAN YOU PASS THE ACID TEST?  http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2013/02/january-1966-san-francisco-acid-tests.html  * 2/24/66  BOB DYLAN'S T.B. AND ACID-ROCK (excerpt)  "The Family Dog presents a Tribute to Dr. Strange" was the title of the very first of the large rock and roll dance-concerts, with local rock and roll groups performing. It was conceived by a chick named Luria and some friends of hers. In this fast moving world of pop culture and ..read more

9/26/66   'WHATEVER IT IS' MIGHT EVEN HAPPEN "Whatever It Is," a 48-hour happening scheduled by the AS for Friday is apparently taking shape, with its organizers - whoever they are - hard at work to ensure its successful production, wherever it is.  Activities coordinator Bob Flynn described the event as "an attempt to transcend all of the factions on campus in order to involve the entire campus in a mutual experience."  AS president Jim Nixon, a member of the "Whatever It Is" steering committee, said that plans are firming up, with "final decisions being made as to the l ..read more

THE GREATEST SO FAR It's every few months you read here about the "best rock and roll concert ever," pardon my enthusiasm. Either I'm without critical discrimination, or else the shows keep getting better. We'll all hope it's the latter.  The latest greatest was a Thanksgiving Eve "Thank You" thrown at the Fillmore Auditorium by Bill Graham for the bands, the managers, the writers, the freaks, the friends and lovers of the rock and roll scene in San Francisco. It is fair in judgment to include everything I've ever seen, from the Rolling Stones and Mamas and Papas concerts to fraternity d ..read more

BIKE RACE TO ROOKIE  (excerpt)  PESCADERO - Mike Pickens chased the rabbit for 112 miles faster than anyone else in the Tour Del Mar bicycle race here Sunday, but didn't get his bunny.  Although winning the grueling race over the coastal hills around this small town, Pickens did not receive his winning trophy from a Playboy Club Bunny as advanced publicity billings had promised.  After showing up for Saturday's 25-mile criterium races, the Bunny did not appear Sunday for the Belmont Bicycle Club-sponsored affair, witnessed by a disappointing crowd of 350 spectators.  ..read more

THE GRATEFUL DEAD...THEY'RE ALIVE AND REALLY JUMPING (A Special Peninsula Teen Review)  Did you ever wonder exactly what goes into the making of a modern day rock band? True, there are virtually tons of electronic equipment; guitars, amplifiers, microphones, speakers, tape recorders, and various other complicated and expensive gadgets. But the men behind all this electricity are what makes a good band what it is.  The Grateful Dead is one example of a mixture of electronic technique and men with enough musical ability to stand behind that technique and really wail.  The person ..read more

Most articles from the Oregon State Daily Barometer. 11/1/68 ROCK GROUP WILL PERFORM AT COLISEUM Tickets for the Nov 15 concert featuring The Grateful Dead will go on sale today at 9 a.m. at the Student Activity Center ticket booth.  The Grateful Dead, one of the leading rock groups of the nation, are being brought to the OSU campus for a Gill Coliseum appearance by the Oregon State University Students For A Democratic Society.  Two top-selling albums have been released by The Grateful Dead - "Anthem of the Sun" and "The Grateful Dean." [sic] The best selling selections have be ..read more

All articles from the Oregon Daily Emerald.  11/8/68 STUDENT OPPOSITION RISES OVER 'NO DANCING' DECISION  (by Jaqi Thompson) Efforts to change the Grateful Dead concert Wednesday to a dance-concert will culminate in a University staff meeting today, but will probably be futile, as far as McArthur Court is concerned.  A new policy this year prohibits all dances in Mac Court fall and winter terms.  Speaking for Students for a Democratic Society, which is co-sponsoring the Grateful Dead's appearance, David Gwyther complained that the policy is too "inflexible." Gwyther s ..read more

All articles from the Daily Northwestern.  Student groups at Northwestern had tried to book the Grateful Dead a few times before they finally played there in 1973. Rumors started swirling in April 1970 that the Dead would be one of the bands playing at a free festival at the end of May. "The Grateful Dead...are reportedly reserving a spot here... If all goes as planned...the Fugs and the Dead will perform in free outdoor concerts." ("Fugs, Kesey, Zappa Coming, Rumor Says," 4/10/70)  The festival plans were outlined in a 4/13/70 article, "May Rock Festival Okayed" -  "The festi ..read more