Over the course of last summer, Dead & Company entered my regular rotation on Apple Music. I had never been a huge fan of Grateful Dead. In my youth, I maintained an unwarranted distaste for their music. I remember a visit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH, in my twenties and I skipped the visiting exhibit, which was dedicated to Grateful Dead. I now regret that I skipped the exhibit. I cannot actually put my finger on why I disliked the Dead’s music so much, but for whatever reason, I was not a fan.
Dead & Company entered my rotation due to the presence of John Mayer. I am aware that John Mayer has had a few controversies throughout his career, but I have always really enjoyed his music. His talent on the guitar is remarkable. When he started touring with Dead & Company, I read an interview with him on how he became obsessed with the music of Grateful Dead. Some of their music started playing on a Pandora radio station and he could not get the music out of his head. In a later interview, he suggested that if one was not a fan of Grateful Dead or did not like their music, that the time was not right. In other words, everyone will eventually come to like at least some of their catalog when the time was right for it in their life. I feel like this describes my relationship with Grateful Dead to a tee.
Dead & Company has only published live shows. There are no studio albums or EPs to their credit. They are a true jam band. This can make listening to their catalog a bit daunting. Where should one start? I do not have the answer to that. I simply picked a few shows and just started listening. I chose the first few shows based on location or album artwork. After a few months of this, I eventually found myself listening to the original works by the Dead. I came to appreciate the evolution of the music, the different styles. I came to appreciate both versions.
Grateful Dead is, of course, a jam band as well. Their concerts are epic. Their followers are legendarily devoted. There are so many live recordings of Grateful Dead. There are websites devoted to tracking fan opinions on which shows are noteworthy. Honestly, every one I hear is good. There are some, however, that do stand out. Typically, it’s the feeling of the music. Maybe the atmosphere you can hear through the recording, the audience response. You can just feel when the band is really grooving.
I have been dealing with lower back pain since early 2020. I do not recall a precursor to the pain. I just remember waking up one day and being in quite a bit of pain. Initially, I received a recommendation of rest with pain medication. After a few months, I found that the pain was still present. Then I received a physical therapy referral. After a few months of physical therapy, the pain was still present, but less severe if I followed through with the proposed exercise regimen. I tried a chiropractor, which did not yield any significant change to my situation. During this time, I had fallen out of regular exercise. I typically ran or walked for cardio, but that proved difficult. I did not trust myself with lifting weights. Instead, I had only been stretching and doing exercises prescribed to me by the physical therapist.
After a bit of research last year, I decided to try riding my bicycle as exercise. My bicycle had been collecting dust in my garage for months. After some light cleaning and maintenance, I started riding. I needed music for my rides. It was only natural that I turned to Grateful Dead and Dead & Company, which were heavy in my rotation. The Dead kept my rides enjoyable and kept me motivated to keep on Truckin'. I event invested in cycling attire, complete with a Grateful Dead cycling jersey (the eBay seller even threw in a pair of Fare Thee Well sunglasses too, which I now always wear on my bike).
In August, my father passed away after a short bout with pulmonary fibrosis. I was devastated. In my grief, I once again turned to Grateful Dead and Dead & Company. The meaning of He’s Gone did not quite fit my situation, but the chorus resonated with me deeply, in particular the Dead & Company version which comes across as more somber:
Now, he’s gone, now he’s gone, Lord, he’s gone He’s gone, like a steam locomotive Rolling down the track, he’s gone, he’s gone And nothing’s going to bring him back, he’s gone
I would occasionally listen to Touch of Grey and just cry. I feel that whenever we are grieving, we just want something to bring us comfort; for whatever reason, the Dead brought me comfort.
The last unexpected turn in my journey with the Dead happened at the rink. I’ve been an ice hockey goalie for many years. I usually listened to heavy metal or hair metal before playing. Last year, I noticed how angry I felt while playing. I still had the metal music stuck in my head and I felt aggressive and, unfortunately, this aggression was not translating into better play. On the contrary, it was actually taking away my enjoyment of the game. At some point, I changed my pregame routine and, you guessed it, started listening to the Dead. It completely changed how I play and, more importantly, how I feel when I play. I typically remain calmer and I am usually in a better mood for it.