Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast - BEAR DROPS #1

[@stephentmarksberry4484]

March 1971,the Rhode Island Auditorium after they take my ticket I walk through the doors to the side of the stage and up to Garcia,he is sitting on the edge with his feet hanging over and we are face to face. I stick my hand out and we shake. I have known about the band for years but this was my first chance to see a show. I say,”Would you let me sit behind the amps? He started standing up to start the show and looks over at Ramrod and nods his head my way and Ramrod moves a stack of equipment cases and I head through and I go around the amp and run into Bear. He was absorbed in dropping liquid from an eye drops bottle onto the back of a person’s hand.They licked it off. He then looks up at me and says,”you want some.” I stick out my hand,get 4 drops and lick it off. I sit behind Pigeon for the entire show, I was a fan of Lighting Hopkins and Pig did a cover,which I liked.After the first set,on their break,Jerry came over to where I was now standing and hands me a fat joint. We pass it back and forth until people notice what’s up and so he passed it on,I thanked him as he walked over to speak to someone else. The show got going again. Bear was set up close to my spot,so I kept an eye on him throughout the evening. At the end of the show,after the last song before the encore the band came through an opening between the amps and I found myself in a circle shoulder to shoulder with Pig on the right and Bob on the left. The combination of energy from the fans,the energy coming off the guys and Bear’s secret sauce,had me peaking again. After the last song as they start to break down the gear,I asked Bear how to get more and he gives me his card. The next thing I know Phil sits down next to me on an amp. I say”that music is all I need to make me happy for life.”He says “”that’s exactly how I feel “ as I shake his hand. I love Phil. So I get in touch with Bear’s dealer in Philadelphia and started spreading Bear’s goods,which at this point was the White Light tabs. The mission was always about getting money for the bands gear but also Bear’s “Wall Of Sound.” My friends and I would go to shows and pass out Acid at no charge.We sold it for as little we could,people were getting,a seriously rare substance,for almost nothing. I told Bob Weir this story on another occasion that we met.I said “you guys never even blinked that I was standing in the circle with you.He said “it’s no mystery,we knew you were home.” The Grateful Dead family changed my life in so many positive ways, I have stopped counting. I met my wife at a 3 show run in 1987 in Providence RI. Not many knew about the band early on but we imagined a world of sisters and brothers on the journey and now my wife and I have family members that are on the bus themselves. For the record, I have smoked buds almost daily since 1970 and taken Acid,starting from that year and every year since. I have maintained that lifestyle my entire life and while living that lifestyle became a first class welder, an offshore lobsterman, ran a small town wastewater facility,drove heavy equipment,had a commercial truck license,helped in training show horses,owned Harleys,anAlfa Romeo,a Hobby Cat,sailed the entire Narragansett Bay,owned and operated a state licensed daycare with my wife in a small town that knew we were heads and let us care for their kids anyway.We sold our business and moved to a barrier island near Vero Beach Fl. around 2000 ,we were done with New England weather. I stopped learning new trades ,the last 3 jobs finally started breaking my joints down. My wife took a job in a high end restaurant serving classic French cooking. I really enjoyed cooking,did it since I was a kid and even did the cooking on all the lobster boats I worked on.Just to buy the food I enjoyed. The boat captains loved my food, I never had trouble getting a job on a new boat.So being a line cook involved with French cooking techniques and a Temperamental chef, was really a young mans game and I was past fifty. I stayed 2 years until I found the myself ready to move on. I took that skill set and had the opportunity to run the cheese department in a huge Italian deli. I learned how to break down a 100lb wheel of cheese into 1 or 2 pound prices. That lasted less than a year when they closed down. I have always worked on my own rides but took a job with a car dealer in their repair shop. Busting tires caused more back trouble,but I just moved on to industrial painting at the local wastewater plant. I wanted to become a decent spray painter so I could paint cars,houses,sculptures etc. This was a totally physical job which led to the discs in my neck blowing out.End of physical long term jobs. My wife began a nursing career and became a cancer infusion specialist and turned those skills into becoming the nurse navigator for a nearby hospitals cancer services.Two of the doctors she works with are lifelong Deadheads. I was one of the Dead’s shock troops and to much everything was my lifestyle then and now. I have a dozen high end guitars,amps,pedals and put the band on the wide screen and play along. So much for drugs rotting your brain people. I had my dream come true and it was more fantastic than I could have ever imagined . I know I made the right choice of putting my faith and trust in the Dead family. I want to say to one and all,you made theright decision also. I recently met Bear’s nephew online,he had never met him. He wondered if I could tell him something about his uncle. He is a musician and a sweet guy.If anyone wants to get in touch with me,leave a comment here and let’s communicate.Thanks again everyone,my wife the nurse says wear a mask,get vaccinated and avoid crowds. I got the virus last March, and came close to dying. It was the worst illness I have ever had. 13 days of living a nightmare. I could not walk at all when I was discharged. I still can’t walk outside without a walking stick and around the house I have to put my hand on things to avoid falling. You don’t want this virus ,believe me. Keep reaching for the brass ring,sisters and brothers,cause that’s how it’s done. Hopefully somebody got something out of this tale of power. ⚡️🎸⚡️ Roll Away The Dew⚡️🖖🏽⚡️

[@ErnestLemmingway]

God bless you brother. I love these stories! I think people have forgotten that kind of lifestyle is even possible. My parents became heads in 87 and birthed me on 90. They did their best and balanced responsibility with their love for the dead. They say I was a well behaved kid so they took me to a few shows. We got some great Polaroid pics of those days. The scene changed my fathers life and eased his anger from his childhood and im eternally grateful for that and the mind opening affect on myself. despite all the new hippies that inevitably bring the " wolf in sheeps clothing" i carry myself with love and integrity but I'm not a pacifist... that keeps me on the right path and always in the right company. I'd really like to sit down and talk to you one day

[@stephentmarksberry4484]

Hey there Grateful sister, I have so many tales of power from my years of searching for the musical sounds I knew were out waiting for me to discover. When I first heard Bob Dylan during the early sixties because of his involvement in black civil rights movement, I knew I found a man I that would always try to uplift people with insights beautiful and harsh at all the same time. Saw him at the same venue where I saw my brother Bob Weir the rat pack. I was about 2 years ago, Palm Beach.. Being old texting people doesn’t work for me. If that works for you, Leave me an answer on this space and we can take it from there. Knowing your out there in the universe makes me happy. Roll Away The Dew my friend.☀️ ⚡️🖖🏽⚡️

[@toddstewart5613]

It's been 45 years - I'm still amazed at how good Old and In the Way (1975) sounds. Crystal clear, outstanding example of Bear's recording genius.

[@OsborneMcclintic]

im just here to get my baby outta jail...

[@erichanhauser3190]

I love lending that album to people.

[@ROOTRIOTWV]

I have been playin G dawg for the past few days...ARABIA IS THE TITS

[@SaltGrains_Fready]

Right on. ! ALSO NRPS 1st album is mostly studio and mixed in full consciousness phase using his ability.

[@patswayze7359]

long live the great OWLSLEY,its crazy there are grateful dead documentaries that never mention BEAR,God rest his soul

[@cwmbran-city]

Please do Betty Cantor-Jackson. Lady is, was and always shall be a sound recording legend.

[@theblueangel1973]

And as soon as Brent Mydland was done with her, she was viewed as an “X old lady” and thrown out like garbage. She had been “family” for 20 years and was responsible for most of their best recordings that we almost lost to an unpaid storage container! Shameful....

[@dominic6967]

@@theblueangel1973 hey so whats the full story on this? Can't find it. What exactly did Brent do to her ?

[@nataliezementbeisser1492]

Owsley was the man! Love him

[@Zanniroxwell]

YAY Love Bear and his taste in music! Every year at Christmas.. I break out our dancing Bears Christmas lights to help brighten up the celebration! 🤎🌲🐻🌲🤎

[@doodahdavesrecords4319]

I got a good Bear story Don Fagen like Elvis Costello is a Dead Head at heart. So I was emailing him in the 90’s about Kid Charlemagne Which was written about Bear He said he did not like steely Dan or that type of music He was busy at the time mixing Janis Joplin live at the Carousel in 68 I could not believe he would not like such a great jazzy rock song about himself! But that was Bear 🐻

[@daveseidnergd]

Great episode! For those interested in a deeper dive, check out the book "Bear: The Life and Times of Augustus Owsley Stanley III"

[@ROOTRIOTWV]

I have it and have not read it ...i will do that now sir. Ty

[@lefjasernbla5000]

What a treat this is to hear. Thank you so much for assembling this podcast. Forever Grateful!! 💖🤍💙

[@cactaceous]

Man, this episode is golden!! Thank you for this!

[@The-11]

The show they are referencing is Veteran's Memorial Auditorium, Santa Rosa, Ca 6-27-69 The Auditorium still stands today and is a 10 min drive from Alembic guitars. The last Dead style show happened across the street at the fairgrounds where Phil Lesh and Friends played Cannabis Cup 6-2-18 with our departed brother Neal Casal on guitar. Here is Althea from that show kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4bGaa2Gft2enJI

[@noturnleftunstoned72]

R.I.P. Neal Casal. Depression is real and will envelope you completely unless you are cosmically armored to the teeth. I adore Circles Around The Sun, they have "it" in spades.

[@drewithcarlson7002]

I found an old picture of pops on stage as Bears assistant next to Brent Mydland hobbling on a crutch. He told be stories of Nightfall Fall of Diamonds CD NJ and how he lived with Buddy from NRPS in New London CT while I was a newborn & toddler. Brent would hold me and keelin around here and stroll New London CT looking for American Root. It's the city mentioned abouts Benedict Arnold near 1774yr. Pops doesn't talk much about his time with the guys from the band these days. He said 3/29/1990 I was in they're prayers while they played Uniondale NY and toured as The March of Andrew spring 1990 for Keelins new Brother, me. -Drew "Doodie" Carlson. -Be Kind.

[@kevichiking3563]

Cool story! I used to walk around New London when I played shows downtown.

[@johnorr8812]

A humble Genius. He just did what he did, and it was AMAZING!

[@mishima611]

He did what he did & was amazing at pretty much all of it, but i'm pretty sure that nobody that spent any time talking to him or around him would ever call him humble. lol. I forgive his lack of humbleness though.

[@sandraschools79]

I effing love this!! Bear was a pioneer of his time. His name alone is legendary!! Does a Bear drop in the woods¿¿¿¿?

[@brianstrohl2897]

Acoustic shows from 1970 are some of my favorite with occasional banter between the band and Owsley as they get things just exactly perfect.

[@TheSharipaula]

so many stories, so many senses. see, hear, feel, journey

[@unclejakemusic]

re: the bears...I was surprised in a record store one day to see little bears on the back of an Allan Sherman record (My Son, the Folk Singer) Warner Bros, 1962...one is exactly as shown in the original typeset slug, and others are tweaked to be doubled over in laughter. I know the original bear has been used commercially in advertising throughout the years, but to see it right on the back of another Warner Brothers album seems like a pretty strong coincidence...maybe another story in there somewhere?

[@DennisOconnorgratefuldad]

Such interesting pleasant memories...thanks

[@FoFrx]

Thank you for this! Long awaited. RIP Bear

[@richardfinlayson1524]

Thanks,very grateful for this podcast.....from a downunder deadhead

[@ryanmoore2779]

Absolutely Exquisite !!! Thank you Grateful Dead & Bear🤘🏽💀⚡️

[@McDabsIt]

was just talking owsley this weekend with a friend! NFA!

[@stevemurray6543]

Thank you. Very much appreciated.

[@karmicexperiment5034]

Great show!

[@aaronjschaefer]

This is fantastic!

[@jimything2212]

"A Little Goes A Long Way" 🧊🌹⚡

[@keithchapman7252]

Pete M from San Jose got Bears autograph on Bears Choice Cd @ the GreenPeace table. Bear usually always sat right there while a lotta folks never even knew it was him....

[@joseyjosey6101]

Owsley was a Cool Cat. I totally agree about the English record pressings being superior.

[@jamesfayette6307]

Thank you

[@jamesfayette6307]

I don't remember exactly when it was but I believe it was 1987 Irvine Meadows the green liquid ausley was so good and that was actually the first time I was able to have the pleasure I was trying some family crest and if I remember right I believe they were thousand mic hits oh what a weekend that was was also a great year we had the Anaheim show and I believe we had Ventura in Shoreline I was at the Coliseum dammit unfortunately I believe portions of that memory was on one of them brain cells that went pop

[@joeryan1369]

Years ago when the internet really hit the scene, 97 / 98 I wrote Owsley and answered me and told me to end the correspondence “Write me when you learn the English language”. We also saw him at the at a table at a dead related show back in 97 or 98.

[@seancaviston6217]

I'm Dead @ "write me when you learn the English language" 🐻⚡

[@Hippiekinkster]

Well, did you ever learn English? ☮ We emailed briefly back and forth two or three times around 2007 or so IIRC. The topic of conversation was William Leonard Pickard, about whom Bear had a few choice words. I also exchanged a couple of letters with Leonard, and contributed a few bucks to his commissary fund. I still have one of the letters. I've read parts of his book, "The Rose of Paracelsus", which is extremely well written and quite entertaining. I had a tab of Czech acid, given to me in Colorado by two German longhairs, but that's another story.

[@joeryan1369]

@@Hippiekinkster I can tell you that my puncuation is probably bad, I still use commas when I need a semi-colon. I hold no grudges. On another note I knew a guy who was older than me and everytime I saw him he always told me that he took "real" lsd, where my generation did not. All I know that when I took it something happened and even more so if the stuff was any good. Oh well.

[@joeryan1369]

@NLTDB3S I had to look up who is the host from T.F.TG.R. ouch.

[@joeryan1369]

@@seancaviston6217 okay...lol

[@richardfinlayson1524]

yeah, i love english pressings, i mean get some of those EMI sixties albums, they just radiate quality, the covers the labels the vinyl,even the inner sleeves

[@nellynuz42069]

Love this podcast is dope! Wish I had a vial of some Bear drops!

[@johnhoffman4785]

Love it!

[@lanerider7265]

You should do an entire episode about the song ~Dark Star~ top to bottom the whole complete story. Would be fascinating and the song is definitely!! Worthy💯

[@candycabbyphotography8384]

So GRAVY 🔥

[@restbythebeach]

Awesome

[@68PatrickC]

Loved this. Great episode.

[@bobdobs23]

Love and peace to bill walton and family (the world was his,our, family)

[@DennisCampbell777]

The ultimate renaissance man, responsible for the.Alembic.

[@jwm2352]

Can someone clarify what type of coffee bean Starfinder mentions at the end? He says the Papa New Guinea type of _______ coffee bean. ???

[@ROOTRIOTWV]

And 20 some years later we were still getting the Sandoz Lab. Czech needle point 😂😂💯💯💯👽👽👽

[@djwwjameson]

The fuck is this? This is such a cool surprise

[@JockomCares]

Between this and Gans, what more does a Head need. Thank you! 💓

[@JockomCares]

*Friend requesting Lily Heart! 😊👍

[@robertstringer8932]

Absolutely nothing amigo xoxo nfa

[@MrWayne-ec8jq]

, hey thanks for the great post

[@Frankenstein-sc8rc]

“Bear left behind more than tracks, he left trials” haha 💧🌈

[@chrisevans6163]

sweet!!!

[@joedavis4150]

I thought it was interesting that owsley Stanley called the DMT entities tinkertoy men. Terence McKenna called them machine elves, and Tykes.

[@jamesfayette6307]

1987 around there the green owsley was very very clean i hope you got to try it

[@atolman2828]

That's fucking interesting man!

[@TonyOneto]

So interesting!

[@TheRealForrestGeorge]

YAY!

[@TheRealForrestGeorge]

I really enjoyed that! Thank you!

[@billcrow3632]

Thanks 💕

[@JohnWilmerding]

Jerry's deadcasting 100% :-)

[@csargent7878]

Sweet.

[@DennisCampbell777]

Hey, this is terrific, Bear was the ultimate renaissance man. And he perfected everything he worked on. The relentless pursuit of perfection, the Alembic.... A joy to listen and learn. Thank you for this gift. 🌹

[@BushyHairedStranger]

6:44,-So why the uncertainty to which Lab(Spofa or Sandoz?)the LSD came from that Bear took after his first clandestine LSD dose given to him by George?

[@JamesSteven-mb8zf]

Ozzly right, you talk about good times baby. He knows it all babe, you wanna go. That's the way yes, Ashley. I loved you and Jerry and grateful. Dead, they bomb. They are one of the best bands in the whole world.zandos real best lsd. Then exotics exotics where is it!!!!!

[@TJB1510]

The Bears Are Marching - Not Dancing. He Was A VERY Hairy Guy..

[@sealevelbear]

I think they are dancing while marching 😅

[@josephferguson4507]

Erik Satie Blood Sweat Tears variations.....Stockhausen

[@v1ncepupp1o7]

⚡️

[@mariabryan2960]

13 🐻🙏💕

[@terrapinj1070]

⚡️🐻⚡️

[@bryanmeekins835]

I met Bear at a show once. He tried to sell me some jewelry that I couldn't afford, so he was gone as quickly as he appeared. 😂

[@bbbrewin]

Same here. At Shoreline, Mountain View. Beautiful jewelry, mighty expensive tho.

[@bryanmeekins835]

@@bbbrewin lol, yep, that was Bear. Such an interesting person. His grandfather was governor of Kentucky. I actually got to sample some of his product back in 1981. Somebody had it in his freezer for over a decade and shared it with 2 friends and myself. All I can say is wow! Best ever!

[@bbbrewin]

@@bryanmeekins835 I was a living in college dorms with Steve Brown's daughter, he went to work for the Dead in 1973, staying for several years in a variety of capacities until he left in 1978. She asked me to say Hello to Bear if I ran into him and to wish him well for her. So I did. All he said in return was, ' Oh Cat, she went downhill after the birth of her child." She did not. Weird experience.

[@lukefish9443]

BrianB I bet he was right. ✌️

[@cynlcole4649]

🐻

[@GratefulSam-et3ve]

#2???

[@monkwallace]

Whoever disliked this must have eaten some bunk tabs

[@josephferguson4507]

AutoSalvage Rick Turner Alembic

[@sinisablazic5873]

🍺😎👍

[@landontaylor2113]

Owsley will steal that face right off your head

[@flamindigo]

13 letters in grateful dead also

[@ryanmoore2779]

12 bro🫵😂

[@ericwid]

I don't remember

[@atolman2828]

That means you WERE there 😉

[@ericwid]

@@atolman2828 right on 👍

[@richardlevan7001]

No, no, no , no grateful dead bears. Leave it alone without the stupid bears.

[@nedsnark6479]

Who would Down Vote this? 🙄

[@janeeckardt6881]

Gentler I should say! (~);}❤️💀🌹⚡🐢🍄🎶

[@matthewgriffith1483]

SYF

[@janeeckardt6881]

Please go back to the old steal your face, it's so much prettier!!!(~);}❤️💀🌹⚡🐢🍄🎶

[@HolylandPirates]

Our Daddy if you were a taper.

[@DutcherDog]

Theres no video ? Or pictures ? You know that your on KZbin right ??

[@rmhanseniii]

That’s great... he was a drug dealer that had various interests... Who gives a shit

[@MarvinMonroe]

Near the end you say "amount of stories". Hate to be a downer but the correct phrase is "number of stories". It's just a pet peave of mine when people misuse the word "amount" It's basically if the thing is countable then use "number" So it's like "amount of food" "number of hot dogs" "Number of people" lotta people will say "amount of people" and that's wrong too

[@MyCleverHandle]

When you think of it, if any one person who cycled through the Grateful Dead experience had not been there exactly when they were, we would not have any of the richness we cherish. The whole scene was populated by bored but brilliant geniuses with unprecedented creativity and originality. Every single character drew their own lines, and frequently erased and crossed those boundaries. Sonic magic. Long live The Grateful Dead!

[@lukefish9443]

Shut it Marvin. 😂

[@JockomCares]

....LMAO! 😂

[@sealevelbear]

I’ll amount you until you just can’t take it anymore! 😅

[@gratefuldude7828]

Good stuff! Keep it up ✌🎵