I became a fan of the Grateful Dead later in life and marvel at the legacy of the group’s iconic co-founder, Jerry Garcia, who would have turned 80 on August 1. Obviously, I’m not alone. A California hippie enclave considers his actual birth date the beginning of the Age of Aquarius. While diehard admirers celebrate his musical and cultural contributions during The Days Between, which this year takes place August 5-7. What’s interesting about the Dead is that the group evolved from a rock band into like a spiritual movement with its own rituals, customs, mythology and even an economy featuring parking lot exchanges.
When the Grateful Dead wasn’t touring or recording, Jerry would immediately take to the road with the Jerry Garcia Band. He most definitely was not a mainstream guitar hero, yet Jerry is part of a pantheon of legendary rock artists like Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon. He would practice guitar, but the Dead wouldn’t play their songs over and over again to get them right. They just went out and jammed. Today’s festival culture was borne out of their freewheeling style, while the group’s bootlegs created a community-based sharing economy that was a forerunner to Napster.
Jerry never let ego get in the way, nor did he care about record sales. There were always ethereal feelings, vibes, sights and sounds that happened at Dead concerts, including something called ecstatic dancing that is actually a part of many retreats. But there was so much more to Jerry Garcia than meets the eye. Between his line of neckties and all the merch that the Dead sold through the years, he also was a brilliant businessman. His 1995 death at age 53 serves as a cautionary tale for a psychedelic culture whose energy and healing powers were sadly eclipsed by drug abuse.