Dead Heads

[Wewus432]

Ever meet any Dead Heads? What a weird group of people. They seemed a little too much like cult members to me, which is basically what they were. Hey let's all take acid and spin around till everything get's all fuzzy. I wonder if Jerry Garcia ever came out before a show and said "Hey good to see you here....... again, why don't some of you people get a life?" Where have all the Dead Heads gone? long time passing.

[Franknputer]

They're funny, but they make the BEST Kool-Aid... :freak:

[whitefang]

I often wondered what the Dead really thought of them. Probably got a lot of laughs out of them all. They(deadheads)seemed to be glomming onto the stereotype of what straight guys thought hippies were, which was never the case. I have a couple of nephews who crack me up this way. No, they aren't deadheads, just that they have no concept of what really made one a "hippie". Got it from their Mom, no doubt, who in spite of being a teen in those times, thought the whole hippie thing was about the clothes. These nephews are under the impression that ALL hippies had: 1. Long hair. It just wasn't true. 2. Headbands. 3. Grannie glasses 4. Sandles. 5. Beards, or at least moustaches. 6. Bell-bottomed trousers. 7. Leather vests with fringe. Oh, yes! And that all hippies took lots and lots of drugs! Well, if you were aware of anything back then, you were aware that not all of that was true. But, the deadheads certainly think so! Which makes them aptly named! Whitefang

[Bunny Knutson]

I thought this was gonna be a thread about the need to buy new Remos for your drums! :freak:

[Super 8]

[quote]Originally posted by whitefang: [b]Well, if you were aware of anything back then, you were aware that not all of that was true.[/b][/quote]If you can [i]'remember'[/i] the sixties -you weren't there...

[Brakka]

[quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b] I wonder if Jerry Garcia ever came out before a show and said "Hey good to see you here....... again, why don't some of you people get a life?" [/b][/quote]Oh yeah- that was a Saturday Night Live skit, I remember it. Only it was Shatner instead of Garcia. They could redo that skit with other people, too. The Simpsons did it with Mark Hamill. How about McCartney, or Arnold (say it, Arnold) or Shaq. Or Michael Jackson- imagine the irony! :freak:

[wildplum]

so, oh great one, just what were the hippies?

[Alndln]

[quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b]Ever meet any Dead Heads? What a weird group of people. [/b][/quote]Funny,I sorta had you pegged for one! :D

[Hanshananigan]

[quote]Originally posted by wildplum: [b]so, oh great one, just what were the hippies?[/b][/quote]The "hippies" were invented by William F. Buckley in the 70s to differentiate the depraved, long-haired leftists from the depraved, hedonic disco dancers.

[whitefang]

[quote]Originally posted by wildplum: [b]so, oh great one, just what were the hippies?[/b][/quote]Being a "hippie" was more frame of mind than any set standards of appearance. You could have short hair and still be a hippie. You could wear cordoroy slacks and still be a hippie. You could choose not to do dope, and still be a hippie. As long as all that was based on being your personal, honest choice, instead of conforming to any particular standards of some societal segment. It was the acceptance of people for WHO they were, not what they were. And there was a level of hypocracy to that, as well. It's hard to make pronouncements of a belief in any particular concept and still remain true to yourself. Non-conformity can be the strictest type of conformity there is. Like everything else, there are usually a dozen or so who are into whatever it is just for the kicks for every two or three who are into it for real. As for hippies, the ones who were into it for real never felt the need to shamelessly display it outwardly. And that "If you remember the '60's, you weren't really there" is about the tiredest cliche I can think of! Whitefang

[whitefang]

Oh, yeah! And it was in San Fransisco, I think, back in 1967, that the folks who referred to themselves as "hippies" held a mock funeral for the name due to the media's overuse and generalization of it. Whitefang

[zele]

Yeah '67---the Hippie was declared dead.....And I do remember the 60's >>> attended a few Dead shows---sure wish I could jam in a band, freestyle and make a few million a year,,,,the Dead really created their own institution,,,,No Enron there>>>>...under a 100 people ran that whole corporation, for 30 years,,and all were well compensated .... Live Head cjogo

[Jotown]

The "Dead Heads" are probably following the new band now. "The Other Ones". Saw them on Conan the other day. The new guitar player is seriously slamin'. Long live the "Other Heads".

[midispaceho]

I though all the dead heads became phish heads when Garcia died.

[The Bear Jew]

Dead heads... Phish heads... Dave Matthews heads... Moe heads... Jam band heads... I have an irrational dislike of this whole subculture. This is probably because lots of people think I'm a deadhead/hippie/whatever (must be the dreads). They always ask if I'm going "Phishing" or if I have tix for the DMB show (or drugs). I usually respond to these questions with a baleful stare. Then, I ask them if today seems like a good day to feel extreme pain. I tell them I used to fuck people like them in prison. Can we get all of these people in one place and flood it so they all can finally get a fuckin bath? Whoever decided that pachouli, sweat and dirt was the official aroma of this crowd oughta be stabbed with an icepick repeatedly. I hate hackey sacks and hemp clothing. Tie dyed clothing hurts my eyes. Birkenstock sandals suck. "Free love" isn't. UGH. DIE HIPPIES, DIE!

[Hippie]

Hippy is an establishment label for a profound, invisible, underground, evolutionary process. For every visible hippy, barefoot, beflowered, beaded, there are a thousand invisible members of the turned-on underground. Persons whose lives are [b]tuned in to their inner vision[/b] , who are dropping out of the TV comedy of American Life. -Timothy Leary (The Politics of Ecstasy) 1967

[Kendrix]

At a few shows in the past few years I've noticed a definate morphing of that subculture. (Im not a deadhead - tho I've been to several shows over the years - some poor some great) Anyway, what i see is the pot smoking, acid dropping, light hearted, peaceful cummunal thing of the 60's 70's morphing into a community of ecstacy dropping sullen, unappealing, scary folks who I cant figure out at all. I do think the change of drugs has allot to do with it.

[Magpel]

Why would Garcia&co. mock or feel contempt for the community that made them rich, and let them do it by playing whatever the F#ck they wanted? The dead had a 300+ song repetoire that they could mix and match any night, to the delight of the audience. Contrast this to Townsend, and how sick he is of playing the same 12 songs. If he tried to throw in something from "All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes," the faithful would step out for a beer break. Their stance on bootlegging was damn prophetic, don't you think? I've never been a deadhead but I've been a longtime defender of the dead as, you know, a good band, not a cultural phenomenon. I love them circa American Beauty and Europe '72. Great Americana with a strange, sometimes out of place proggy edge that dates back to Anthem of the Sun. I have younger friends that despise the "Dead and everything they stand for," but who love Blues Traveler. Makes no sense. Deaheads come in many colors. I know a lot of 20+ year veterans of the scene. Most of them have short hair and good jobs, and only get high at the shows. And plus the splinter scene--jam bands and whatnot--have adopted John Scofield, which means he plays plenty of shows and makes plenty of records. That's got to be a good thing.

[Throatsinger]

How many deadheads does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Deadheads don't screw in lightbulbs, they screw in VW vans. What did the deadhead say when he ran out of drugs? Hey....this band sucks! ;) Steve Sklar/Big Sky

[JLsound]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but Hanshananigan, when I saw that avatar I had to respond. I thought Crazy Eddie was a Local NY,CT thing. I remember going to those stores. I used to have a T-shirt. Those commercials were "Insane"

[Abnorm]

There also seemed to be different types of Hippies: you had your peace/love types, your born-again Christian type hippies, and even your intellectual/atheist type hippies. So what was the common thread? Well, we liked the pop/rock music of the 60's (though everyone has different tastes), we were anti-tradition and pro-rebellion (but that's just a young-person thing), we were for expanding our experiences, etc. How do you define Hippie? I don't know, but there certainly isn't just one simple definition. :cool:

[Wewus432]

[quote]Originally posted by Alndla la la la la: [b] [quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b]Ever meet any Dead Heads? What a weird group of people. [/b][/quote]Funny,I sorta had you pegged for one! :D [/b][/quote]Ya know Alndla I can hang with some hippies but it gets to a certain point and I just have to say [b]"hippie please"[/b] I think a lot of people aspire to stereotypes but being a hippie to me really means abandoning stereotypes so by that definition I am a hippie.

[Dogfur]

Interesting seeing how easily alot of you glom on the stereotypes associated with the "Deadheads". I can tell you from experience that the crowd was more diverse, educated, and polite than ANY show or event of that size I have ever attended. It seems the more "earthy" of the crowd are more visible ( like a painted guy at the ballgame )and have given some of you a very twisted interpretation of the scene as a whole. The music, as always, is a matter of personal taste... The band in interviews was very supportive and thankful of the Deadheads, knowing full-well they would not exist without them.

[Tedster]

[quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b] [quote]Originally posted by Alndla la la la la: [b] [quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b]Ever meet any Dead Heads? What a weird group of people. [/b][/quote]Funny,I sorta had you pegged for one! :D [/b][/quote]Ya know Alndla I can hang with some hippies but it gets to a certain point and I just have to say [b]"hippie please"[/b] I think a lot of people aspire to stereotypes but being a hippie to me really means abandoning stereotypes so by that definition I am a hippie.[/b][/quote]Ya hippie. Get a job. :D :D :D

[Sylver]

I've been to a few Dead shows, and they were ok. The thing that kept me coming back was the freaky people. It was just amazing to think of an entire city of people, just following a band around. I've known people that basically, bought a whole bunch of pot, or shrooms, or acid or hacky sacks, or NO2 tanks and balloons and just followed them around for a while. Favorite dead head momemnt: A Dead head came up to me at a show, put a smiley face sticker on me and said, "Happy Monday, dude!". Of course, it was a Saturday. I Shot him on the spot. (Just kidding!) My friend says I should have licked the sticker. Yeah, right!

[patrick_dont_fret]

Hmmm, hippies. I love the hackey sacks, tiedyed t-shirts, and used to have long hair. I love the music. I love the [i]stuff[/i] , but am I really a hippie? Not really, I don't think. I wear hemp and all that, but I've never been to a Dead concert, and have only seen Widespread Panic once, well twice, once Friday and once Saturday when they rolled through town last month. Other than that, I've only been to one other concert, that being the non-hippie scene of U2/Rage Against the Machine when I was 13. What a night. Anywho, people call me a hippie, but I'm a clean hippie at most. I do bathe everyday.

[wildplum]

"Being a "hippie" was more frame of mind than any set standards of appearance. You could have short hair and still be a hippie. You could wear cordoroy slacks and still be a hippie. You could choose not to do dope, and still be a hippie. As long as all that was based on being your personal, honest choice, instead of conforming to any particular standards of some societal segment." yup, that's a fair enough definition of hippie. it is also, i note, a good description of a deadhead. stereotypes aside, deadheads come in all flavors. there are phd university types (me for example), physicians, musicians, morticains, janitors, streetclears and streetwalker. and a few jerks. but it is my experience (and i've had considerable) that deadheads (one word) as a group are the nicest, kindest, most honest people i have ever met. far more so than the general population at large. and the percentage of jerks is far less than in the population at large. oh ya, and i am a hippie- been one for longer than most of you'll been alive. and i am a deadhead, been one for a little less long. and to this day, i prefer the company of hippies to all others. sure, some stink, but i've never met a business exec that didn't.

[The Bear Jew]

Blah. I will not be swayed on this one. In all reality, I mean no harm to anyone (except for an errant bus door or two), but I seriously can't stand the smell of pachouli. Nor can I tolerate abuse of the word "dude." I can't stand all the "organic," grooveless, sexless, wiggly dancing that happens at these "dead" events. Looks like a bunch of white people being electrocuted. Learn to dance, honkies. Above all, I really dislike the hippie pretentiousness that generally accompanies any of these jam-bands' followers. It seems there's a competition over who can be the biggest stereotyped "hippie" -- who has the grooviest VW van, who has the most crappy crystal necklaces, who has the most tie dye crap, who's got the "most kind" weed, who has the most Native American sundries, who has the oddest bong, who has the best whatever... For a subculture that's supposed to be based on acceptance and the shedding of earthly things, there sure seems to be a lot of focus on material wealth. UGH! UGH! UGH! Gimme a fucking break. Hippies smell like the dumpster behind a natural foods store. I hate the whole subculture. That's why I run away and hide whenever any of these bands are around -- I know that their arrival in my town is a harbinger that stinky hippies will also be along shortly. I'd rather fornicate with a rabid wildebeast than spend 20 wearing a tie dye. Have fun with your hackey sacks.

[AlanThomas]

Hey if it wasn't for the deadheads, Grateful Dead shows would've been [i]totally[/i] boring! I attended maybe a half dozen or so in the late 80's & all of them other than the first one were to watch the audience!

[PBBPaul]

As I sit here in my office in my suit, tie and professionally laundered white business shirt (with the Violent Femmes playing softly in the background no less), this thread brings back a lot of memories. The Dead used to play at Alpine Valley near here for a 2 or 3 show weekend every summer. Alpine Valley is a beautiful outdoor theatre in a wooded, hilly rural area and the Dead would easily sell out three shows in a row. Eventually the crowds became too much for the small town to handle (even though the cops used it as an opportunity for major fund raising) and they stopped booking the shows there. Anyway, I digress. For about a ten year period, I used to go to every Dead show every year. It was a great escape from reality. I am hardly a deadhead, refuse to engage in hero worship (not to be confused with respect) and have higher priorities in life than following a band around the country to hide from the real world. That being said, I have to agree with Wildplum. The shows at Alpine would draw something like 40,000 people each and until the last couple when it just got too popular, they were always completely peaceful events. The people were always friendly, polite and totally accepting of whoever you are. Everyone was cool until proven otherwise. On the flip side, Erik has a point. This "hippie one-up-man-ship" was just beginning when the Dead stopped playing our little neighborhood (somewhere around 1990 I think). The crowd was getting younger, more competitive and stupid. When you put 40,000 people who are dedicated to being nice to each other in the same place, no problem. But take 35,000 nice people, mix in 5000 assholes, add another 5000 assholes without tickets trying to climb the fence, add a bunch of small-town cops and see what happens.