Tune into Hell's Kitchen Radio, with John Hell, every Monday night 8-10PM (Pacific), on Radio Valencia (https://radiovalencia.fm) in San Francisco. You can find my playlists and links to the podcasts right here.
Stream new sounds going down, HERE! Download quality art, HERE! Listen into all my shows here, or just scroll down
Such a super fun show tonight. Two things I love to do on the radio: interview talented musicians, and share rare music I search high and low for. Tonight you get the best of both worlds.
In the first half hour I had the pleasure to interview a very talented musician and songwriter, Manny Manriquez. Manny graced the airwaves on my show many moons ago, when I was on San Francisco Liberation Radio, while he was fronting SF's Ludovico's Technique, a great local rock band. Manny (or Manslice, as I like to recall him) moved out to Washington D.C. a few years ago, and has slowly been making his way back into the music scene. His new solo project, Outland Warrior, has some serious promise to it. The track he shares on the show tonight was inspired by author Neil Gaiman, one of my all-time favorite authors; so I'm not bias or anything. Really though, once you hear the tune, you'll agree it takes you on a journey. This should be the beginning of something big for Manslice and Outland Warrior.
To close out the show, and the year (I'm taking next Monday off to see Dead and Co.), AND to give one final celebratory farewell to the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead, I chose some brilliant live Dead performances over the years to share with you all. Eight tunes in 90 minutes. Hey, that's a lot for this band. I have the dates and locations posted in the playlist below.
Thanks for tuning in this year. Ever since I was five years old, listening to the family radio at home, I knew I wanted to be a radio DJ. I've been doing a radio show in the SF Bay Area since I started interning at KCSM in San Mateo in the fall of 1988. My nine glorious years at KFJC (88-97) was the most exceptional musical and broadcasting experience my young self could have asked for. Being involved in numerous underground/micro/internet stations has continued to challenge me to make the most of my art. And radio is indeed an artform. I don't know what those clowns in commercial radio think they're doing to benefit anyone, but I can tell you that the fine folks at Radio Valencia really understand what it means to take an empty two-hour canvas and fill it with aural colors that enhance the senses in a myriad of ways. I'm lucky to be here.
Upon my January return, I'll have local club DJ RasCue in the studio to funk it WAY up. You are not going to want to miss this.
Stream the Best of my Best, HERE! Download the Best of 2015, HERE! Listen into all my shows here, or just scroll down
Tonight it's my BEST OF 2015 show! I don't really trust these shows. It's really what the DJ enjoyed the most throughout the year. But isn't that the idea? You don't want to hear what the major media publications think was the best of the year. You want a seasoned DJ veteran, who has over 25 years of underground, eclectic radio experience to tell you what's best. Yes you do. And then you're going to go out and purchase all that music and go see those artists live in concert. Yes you are. You're going to share this list with your friends, and tell them how much better you are than them, because you know what's really the best, since you tune into such a hip and happening underground radio station, run by the DJs who are truly in the know. Yes we are!
Really though, this was an excellent year in music. Ty Segall had at least four releases, Wand had two; Dungen came out with their first release in seven years. Sleater Kinney came out with a great new record, their first in eight years. Swervedriver released their first LP in 17 years! There was some tasty local cuts that found room in the record stacks too. Queen Crescent, Shannon and the Clams, and Golden Void all graced the airwaves with new cuts in 2015.
This show nowhere scratches the surface of the best of the year, but it's a start. Tune into Radio Valencia throughout the month of December to hear what our many other fine, and experienced DJs have to offer up as their BEST OF 2015. Put it all together and you may just have the best of the best collection of what music was hot in a year that is quickly fading away.
Next Monday night will be my last show for the year. I'm taking December 28th off to go check out Dead and Co. at the Bill Graham Civic. The tour has sounded great. John Mayer doesn't suck as much as I thought he would. Huh, what do you think of that? I look forward to hearing what they have in store. I saw the Grateful Dead perform at the Civic a few times, between 1987-1988. After that, they got too big to perform in venues of that size. Too bad. So next Monday, being my last show of the year, I thought it wise and apropos to wrap up my celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead by playing two hours of LIVE DEAD!!! I know you want to hear that. and who could blame you, really? I've got plenty to play, so tune in 8-10PM (PDST) next Monday night, December 21st.
The Grateful Dead have consumed me on and off over the years. I can honestly say when I'm not listening to the Dead, all is well. If you've listened to my weekly radio show, Monday's on Radio Valencia, then you know I have a diverse interest in many genres of music. But when I'm deep in it with the Dead then all is BEST.
I had a few LPs under my belt, including some live one's by the time I purchased (yes purchased. I was too green to understand that one does not purchase a bootleg of the Grateful Dead, EVER!) my first Dead bootleg, while walking Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley some sunny weekend afternoon. I'll never forget it. I had heard enough about bootlegs, but had no clue where to locate any. I was about 12-13 at this time, and was just now starting to figure out the world of the lumpenproletariat. Maybe it's the Dead that got me so interested in the excitement of the goings on in the underworld? Hmm...
The tape (which I no longer have (that story comes later), was an audience recording of their October 8, 1981 show from Copenhagen, Denmark. It wasn't the entire show, and the audience quality is distant, but that didn't matter at all to me. What mattered was that I finally had in my 12 year old possession was a real Grateful Dead bootleg. This was way better than baseball cards.
Living in San Mateo, starting in 1985, I became keenly aware of the Bootleg Bible that was under the counter at The Record Man in Burlingame, one town to the north. I recall walking in there really nervous, not wanting to get into trouble, to ask the owner to see the binder, which had hundreds of typed pages, each with a different band and a different show, set list included. I was wide-eyed! I remember purchasing Pink Floyd, Boston Garden, June 18, 1975. Audience again, but the sound quality was really listenable. I'm a stickler for a quality soundboard, but if the audience recording is just right (which has a lot to do with where in the venue they recorded from, which mics they used, the recording deck, etc.), then I'm happy to oblige. I visited The Record Man often, but I don't think I ever purchased a Dead boot from him. I did buy a few on vinyl from Tommy at Vinyl Solution in San Mateo. I bought some classic Trademark Of Quality boots from him, including a rare Bob Dylan"John Birch Society Blues", which in bootlegger lore, is a serious collectors item. I have lots of Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Dylan, Doors, and Led Zeppelin boots on vinyl. At the time I was purchasing them, between 1985-1987, it was geekdom paradise. This was before I got deeper into the cassette trading. Clinton Heylin published a book in 1996: "Bootleg: The History of the Other Recording Industry", which I highly recommend for more information about labels like TMQ. Great stuff there.
In the fall of 1985, KZSU out of Stanford had a Wednesday afternoon show, where the hosts would play live Grateful Dead from their summer 1985 east coast tour. I took whichever cassette I could find, blank or otherwise, and recorded those shows. This is what set me off on growing my Dead tape collection.
I even taped over a tape I had recorded from my childhood, around the age of five, from a Saturday morning family time, watching cartoons. I really wish I hadn't taped over that one. Dang.
I then discovered David Gans' weekly radio show on KFOG radio "The KFOG Deadhead Hour", in 1986. I taped that religiously. Gans went on to host "Dead to the World" on KPFA, and hosts an annual fundraiser, where he plays live Dead and does interviews for over twelve hours, every February. Living in the Bay Area was the best thing for this Deadhead. There was so much Grateful Dead all around me. I attended my first Dead show on December 30, 1985, which I wrote some about in part one. The next night, New Years Eve, was live on KFOG, and the 2nd set was broadcast live on KQED-TV. Thus began my video taping of the band as well.
Now I was armed with trading material. Relix Magazine offered space in their classified section for traders to offer their wares. I wrote to a couple of people, included my very meager collection list and requested theirs. After about 10-15 days I would receive a reply, which often had their list included and which of my shows they wanted to trade for. I would buy a brick of Maxell XLIIs and dub 10 cassettes-worth of shows and send them on their way, eagerly awaiting my package in the mail, filled with my request. Can you imaging the joy on my face when a delivery of a brick of tapes hit my front door. There is nothing like that feeling. I miss it. I always dubbed at real-time. I never sped it up. I was a stickler for that, as I knew that was the expectation in the trader community. I also am very OCD about source information. I want to know the generation of the recording, and if it's audience then you have to offer all the information that you know. If it's a soundboard, are their any audience patches, etc?
That's how things went for a while until I ended up in a band with a serious Deadhead. He was almost a bit too serious and uptight to be honest. Nice guy, and a stellar guitarist. He hired me to work for him and his roommate, to be there gofer. They had hundreds of tapes, and to be honest, that's the only reason I wanted to work for them. They let me take a box of ten tapes home at a time to tape them. Kid in a candy store, indeed. That is, until the internet. They used to also record audio-only shows on hi-fi VHS tapes. That way you could hear the entire show without the need to flip a tape over. This is even better than CDs. It reminds me of the days of reel-to-reel.
I was working at Tower Records in San Mateo at this time, and they had a penchant for promoting from within. I have no memory of how this happened, but they made me the blank-tape buyer for the store. How apropos. The venders used to come in and schmooze me into putting their tapes in a better display. In return they would give me a brick of tapes. HA! Can you imagine how many blanks I had in my possession? So many. Too many crappy Memorex to mention. Blech. At least the TDK and Maxell guys came through too. I was growing my collection leaps and bounds by this time. I found a nice local trading group, and even went to some fun listening nights in Palo Alto and SF. And soon CD recording was becoming affordable and not so time-consuming.
Once I began trading CDs and downloading shows from FTP sites and other sites like dimeadozen, etree, and Born Cross-Eyed (an invite only site), I had access to every Grateful Dead show that anyone could ever need. And with Archive.org making it possible to stream excellent soundboard and audience shows, the entire culture has changed. Sure, I still love "discovering" a show that's new to me, but it's not like it used to be, when the mailman would deliver that package to my front door, which I had been anxiously anticipating for a few weeks. Now I have the show in a matter of minutes. And I have so damn much of it! When am I ever going to listen to it all?
The CD shelves in my office are overflowing with bootleg CDs. Now I have external hard-drives that carry much of my collection. Perhaps one day I'll get to transferring over all of my CDs to a hard-drive. I highly doubt that will happen.
I divorced in 2006, and left my tape collection behind. Being in the digital world meant that I had no more need for all those cassettes. I wish I still had that first one from Copenhagen though. Dang.
I swear, if I didn't host a weekly radio show, I would never have time to listen to much of what I own.
I have made it a rule NEVER to purchase a bootleg, or download a show that is commercially released by the band. I like supporting bands by purchasing their music. The bootleg sites I use will take down any show from a band that does not approve of it being on there. I'm cool with that. Being in a band, I want my fans (read: my mother) to be able to download my shows as often as they wish. I go by the Jerry Garcia book: "once we're down with it, they can have it".
I don't trade anymore. I don't have a reason to. It's all available via download. I do sometimes give shows as gifts to friends. That's still a treat. My most recent downloads are Rocket From the Tombs, Eric McFadden, Can, and three Grateful Dead shows: 6-18-89 (which I attended), and two from a year that I haven't given much credence to, 1971: 4-21-71 and 7-31-71. Both are really great, high energy shows. Give them a listen.
As for some favorite Dead boots, I think it's easy to call out the popular one's: February 13/14, 1970 (I remember when the "secret" 2/12/70 show was finally making the rounds, and I was among a rare few who got an early copy. That made me popular in the trading circle for a while), Europe 1972 tour, Winterland in October 1974, the Great American Music Hall show from 1975, May 8, 1977December 31, 1978, the SF and NYC October run from 1980. Those are all excellent shows. I think they got to be so popular because these were the shows that became available so early. I prefer the May 7, 1977 show over the May 8th. I love the October 1972 run! I also love anything from 1968, especially the August run from Los Angeles. What a great and very raw year for the young band. The Boston run from December 1969 is epic! 1969 is epic! I mean really, you want primal, brilliant Grateful Dead, then you listen to all of 1969. My dream is that somewhere there is a crisp soundboard of the June 24, 1970 Port Chester show. Every Deadhead worth their weight in knowledge of the band wants this. Can you even imagine? August 27, 1972, Oregon, which was preserved in the film "Sunshine Daydream" is a must see. The film doesn't have the entire show, and is missing key tunes, but I'm so happy it's out there. That show deserves the hype it's given. I absolutely LOVE 1973 and 1974. The Dead entered into a more jazzy-jammed out direction with the addition of Keith Godchaux on keys and his wife, Donna Jean on vocals. Pigpen had passed away, and would be sorely missed, but the band hit some crazy highs during these two years. There are too many great show to mention, but I will mention a couple. June 10, 1973RFK Stadium. This is a four hour show, filled with everything you need: rock and roll, psychedelic jams, countrified Dead. Perfection on tape. The July 27, 1973 soundcheck jam is historic and brilliant. Look it up. The Playin-Uncle John's-Morning Dew-Uncle John's-Playin' on November 10, 1973 is a marathon of great playing. They only played this combination four times. Each one is excellent. Get them all. May 25, 1974 is an all-time brilliant show. There's a great matrix (soundboard/audience combo recording engineered by a fan).
I have all of what is available of the Blues for Allah recording and rehearsal sessions. There is some prime jamming going on in there. I also have all of the Dylan and the Dead rehearsal sessions. That makes for some hit-or-miss moments. I prefer pre-1975 for all of the obvious reasons, but there were some shining moments between 1987-1991, a time when I must have seen the band at least 100 times on the west coast. I love that there are some many live videos of the band available online now.
If you've read this far, (and why wouldn't you have?) then you might want to check out the online database where I post all of my shows. If you have some live shows, this is a great place to organize your collection. Go here to see my list. It's has a drop-down menu, with the artists alphabetized, and the number of shows I own next to their name. I have about 500+ shows from various artists that I still need to get up there. I don't put in the effort like I used to.
Coming up in my next chapter of My Life With The Grateful Dead, I'll share what it was like to run around the Henry J Kaiser at the tender age of 18, and being on the road with the Good ol' Grateful Dead.
To read Part One: My Life With The Grateful Dead, go here.
Here's some fun live Dead on German TV on April 21, 1972.
Stream this storm of sonic thunder, HERE! Download end of the drought, HERE! Listen into all my shows here, or just scroll down
The weather is changing in San Francisco. If you live here then you know something is up. If you've only just visited here, or have never been near the city by the bay, then you probably figure that it being near winter, it's bound to be getting chilly in SF. I've lived in the Bay Area since 1982, and though the changing seasons can bring a change in the temp, over the past five years, or so, it's been pretty much 68 degrees, and no chance of rain, 12 months out of the year. Sounds blissful, doesn't it? Tell that to my yard.
Anyway, it's an El Nino year, and the rains have slowly begun to descend upon us folks in the bubble (we know how lucky we've had it, hence: "the bubble"), and I can't really think of anyone who's complaining. I like wearing sweaters. Mine are about five years out of date, but that being said, what was once old is new again!
The same can be said for my playlist. If you haven't heard it, then it's new to you! Lots of genres to choose from tonight, and a second hour full of tasty live cuts, including Ike and Tina Turner on Soul Train, Nina Simone in France, a rare Dead track they only touched upon a few times in their live shows.
Speaking of the Good ol' Grateful Dead, with the year coming to a close I'm considering hosting a full two-hour live Dead show on Monday, December 21st. That would be fun...for me. And I hope for you too. I'll post beforehand if I plan on doing it. There's too much to choose from.
Monday, December 14th will be my BEST OF 2015!!! What a great year for music. Tune in. I'm sure all of the Radio Valencia shows will be doing one form of a Best Of... over the next few weeks. Be sure to check in often.
I'm Jewish and You Know It: LMFAO
Pasties and a G-String: Tom Waits
Shadrach: Beastie Boys
Earth People: Dr. Octogon
Something Else: Cannonball Adderley
Fear of a Black Planet: Public Enemy
Storming the Death Star: Roots Radics band
Children Crying: The Congos
I Don't Want to be a Soldier, Mama: John Lennon
Every Grain of Sand: Giant Sand
Imagine: George W. Bush
Natbush City Limits: Ike and Tina Turner (Soul Train January 1975)
Long Time Gone: Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (Auditorium Theatre, Chicago IL, 12/13/69)
The Mob Rules: Black Sabbath (August 09, 1992 - Boston, MA)
Song Remains the Same/Rain Song: Led Zeppelin (Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC, Canada
March 19, 1975)
Playing In The Band/Stronger Than Dirt Or Milkin' The Turkey: Grateful Dead (7/16/76 Orpheum Theatre, SF, CA)
Working Man: Rush (01/26/80 Mid-Hudson Civic Center. Poughkeepsie, NY)
Black is the Color of my True Loves Hair: Nina Simone (08/09/2000 Jazz In Marciac, France)
For those of you who have no idea what El Nino is, take a look at this short tutorial.
It was on this date, December 4 in 1965, at Big Nig's house in San Jose that Ken Kesey hosted the San Jose Acid Test, and the Grateful Dead performed their first show under their new name. Can you even imagine what that must have been like?
Having seen countless bands perform live in small clubs in the Bay Area over the past 25+ years, I imagine that it was a colorful time. Considering the occasion was an Acid Test it must have been a really cOloRfuL time.
Regular listeners of my radio show know that I'm a dork of a Deadhead, and proud of it. I wrote part one, of what I really need to follow up on, my history with following the band. I've got over 1000 high quality bootlegs of their shows, and have been known as a walking encyclopedia when it comes to all-things-Grateful-Dead. And it still thrills me to no end.
There are certainly times when I take a step back, and another step back, and yet another step back; but I always come back. They're my musical heartbeat. My body lives on many genres, but this is the band that really keeps my blood flowing.
I was driving to the East Bay today in what has become the regular moderate-to-heavy traffic, before 3PM. I recently downloaded a few fan-curated comps of the Dead, following Dead.net annual "30 Days of the Dead". I like that some fans think they can do a better job then the Dead themselves in offering up quality live tunes for other Heads. That's fine by me. I have about 10 hours of live Dead material to catch up on over the holidays. Good for me.
Anyway, I was listening to this powerful Dark Star from 1969, and I thought about how I have listened to this song over the past 25+ years. When I was younger and this song was new to me, it was so mysterious. I just let it take me on an aural journey. At times I was imbibed, so it really took me places. Now I listen to it the way a musician listens to a jazz or classical arrangement. How are the musicians listening to one another? What are they each offering to the tune? Who is leading at which points in the song? Are there any stories being told through the instrumentation, that we won't hear in the lyrics?
I love this band for the stories they tell us without using any words at all.
Happy birthday to the best cover band in the land. You went from taking Top 10 hits, and rearranging them while on LSD, to creating a soulful sound that drew millions to your carnival ride.
