Looking for Deadheads and interested Civilians

[August West]

A great audience recording is a beautiful thing. Rango's recordings of the Frost '82 shows (10/9 and 10/10) were in constant rotation back in my cassette trading/collecting days. I believe they were recorded with Sony ECM220T mics into a D5, front of board. I have also heard some fantastic recordings from Nak 700s.

I believe that anyone who taped the frost 82's all made the best tape of their careers.

 

[MAB]

Well recorded audience tapes to me sound like the actual concerts did. There are caveats: Back in day a Sony D5, good mics ie Nakamichi 700's and a spot on the floor between the stage and soundboard and you are back at the show. They have become my listening preference.

Indeed:

Occurs to me I should send the Sony to Amir for testing!

 

[Krusty09]

1985 20th anniversary shows I think was a great year. Also so of the best dat tapes made.

 

[Heatsink]

Thanks for starting this thread, I've enjoyed it!

The Dead have had a huge impact on my relationship with audio. I was a mid-80s central time zone high school kid at the record store in the mall, where I was expecting to buy a Cars or Van Halen album. Somehow, I walked out of the store with What a Long Strange Trip It's Been. At that point, the only thing I knew about the Dead was that their fans followed them around and saw show after show. I guess I wanted to know what that was about.

It took a couple years for it to completely win me over, but it did. That album turned into the soundtrack of every late night solo drive, and then I discovered bootleg cassettes. I think the two Americana albums (Workingman's Dead and American Beauty) are extremely well done, but in general, even a crap recording on a wobbly cassette of a live show was better than their other records. I moved far enough east for grad school to actually attend a few shows - the first was April Fool's Day 1990 at the Omni in Atlanta. I was hooked, and started really trading cassettes to build a collection.

Cassettes were the most economical format ever...and possibly the lowest sound quality. Age and frequent use really can make an already-sketchy recording sound like shite. Sometime in the mid (late?) 90s, I found out that people were trading digital copies on cd-rom. I'd never seen a need for me to have a computer before, but I learned how to build a PC specifically to score dead shows and started trading by mail. I ended up with maybe 120 shows, and that's enough...until somebody starts talking about another one I need to hear. I love anything 1968-1978, still have affection for 1979-85 or so, and only listen to anything from the last ten years on rare occasions.

So the first music I digitized and stored as bits on a drive and not on shiny discs was my Grateful Dead collection. Now the shiny discs are just backups for everything, but the Dead led the way.

I might go a month listening to everything BUT the Dead. But then I always want to hear a certain show (2/15/73 just turned 50, and is well worth a listen!) and get pulled back into the van. And when I do, I don't want to hear a song, or an album - I want to hear a show, from start to encore. That's why I still listen primarily to my own (1500 albums plus the bootlegs) collection via Roon instead of just streaming. You can't just stream 4/17/71 when you need some Pigpen, you have to own it. So that's still how I listen to music. If it weren't for the bootlegs, I'd have probably given up "owning" media by now.

I saw about 20 shows, but never saw one at Deer Creek in Noblesville, Indiana outside Indianapolis. So, I've got tickets to "the dead's" last tour this summer there with two of the guys I saw that first show with back in 1990. Just take one...just take one...just take one...just take one...

 

[August West]

Somebody should ask about the photos I posted.

A great audience recording is a beautiful thing. Rango's recordings of the Frost '82 shows (10/9 and 10/10) were in constant rotation back in my cassette trading/collecting days. I believe they were recorded with Sony ECM220T mics into a D5, front of board. I have also heard some fantastic recordings from Nak 700s.

A great audience recording is a beautiful thing. Rango's recordings of the Frost '82 shows (10/9 and 10/10) were in constant rotation back in my cassette trading/collecting days. I believe they were recorded with Sony ECM220T mics into a D5, front of board. I have also heard some fantastic recordings from Nak 700s.

If you know who Rango is, you've seen my real name out there as well. Care to guess?

 

[August West]

Thanks for starting this thread, I've enjoyed it!

The Dead have had a huge impact on my relationship with audio. I was a mid-80s central time zone high school kid at the record store in the mall, where I was expecting to buy a Cars or Van Halen album. Somehow, I walked out of the store with What a Long Strange Trip It's Been. At that point, the only thing I knew about the Dead was that their fans followed them around and saw show after show. I guess I wanted to know what that was about.

It took a couple years for it to completely win me over, but it did. That album turned into the soundtrack of every late night solo drive, and then I discovered bootleg cassettes. I think the two Americana albums (Workingman's Dead and American Beauty) are extremely well done, but in general, even a crap recording on a wobbly cassette of a live show was better than their other records. I moved far enough east for grad school to actually attend a few shows - the first was April Fool's Day 1990 at the Omni in Atlanta. I was hooked, and started really trading cassettes to build a collection.

Cassettes were the most economical format ever...and possibly the lowest sound quality. Age and frequent use really can make an already-sketchy recording sound like shite. Sometime in the mid (late?) 90s, I found out that people were trading digital copies on cd-rom. I'd never seen a need for me to have a computer before, but I learned how to build a PC specifically to score dead shows and started trading by mail. I ended up with maybe 120 shows, and that's enough...until somebody starts talking about another one I need to hear. I love anything 1968-1978, still have affection for 1979-85 or so, and only listen to anything from the last ten years on rare occasions.

So the first music I digitized and stored as bits on a drive and not on shiny discs was my Grateful Dead collection. Now the shiny discs are just backups for everything, but the Dead led the way.

I might go a month listening to everything BUT the Dead. But then I always want to hear a certain show (2/15/73 just turned 50, and is well worth a listen!) and get pulled back into the van. And when I do, I don't want to hear a song, or an album - I want to hear a show, from start to encore. That's why I still listen primarily to my own (1500 albums plus the bootlegs) collection via Roon instead of just streaming. You can't just stream 4/17/71 when you need some Pigpen, you have to own it. So that's still how I listen to music. If it weren't for the bootlegs, I'd have probably given up "owning" media by now.

I saw about 20 shows, but never saw one at Deer Creek in Noblesville, Indiana outside Indianapolis. So, I've got tickets to "the dead's" last tour this summer there with two of the guys I saw that first show with back in 1990. Just take one...just take one...just take one...just take one...

I'll say thanks to you and everyone who has participated so far. I really appreciate it!

 

[GD Fan]

Thanks for starting this thread, I've enjoyed it!

The Dead have had a huge impact on my relationship with audio. I was a mid-80s central time zone high school kid at the record store in the mall, where I was expecting to buy a Cars or Van Halen album. Somehow, I walked out of the store with What a Long Strange Trip It's Been. At that point, the only thing I knew about the Dead was that their fans followed them around and saw show after show. I guess I wanted to know what that was about.

It took a couple years for it to completely win me over, but it did. That album turned into the soundtrack of every late night solo drive, and then I discovered bootleg cassettes. I think the two Americana albums (Workingman's Dead and American Beauty) are extremely well done, but in general, even a crap recording on a wobbly cassette of a live show was better than their other records. I moved far enough east for grad school to actually attend a few shows - the first was April Fool's Day 1990 at the Omni in Atlanta. I was hooked, and started really trading cassettes to build a collection.

Cassettes were the most economical format ever...and possibly the lowest sound quality. Age and frequent use really can make an already-sketchy recording sound like shite. Sometime in the mid (late?) 90s, I found out that people were trading digital copies on cd-rom. I'd never seen a need for me to have a computer before, but I learned how to build a PC specifically to score dead shows and started trading by mail. I ended up with maybe 120 shows, and that's enough...until somebody starts talking about another one I need to hear. I love anything 1968-1978, still have affection for 1979-85 or so, and only listen to anything from the last ten years on rare occasions.

So the first music I digitized and stored as bits on a drive and not on shiny discs was my Grateful Dead collection. Now the shiny discs are just backups for everything, but the Dead led the way.

I might go a month listening to everything BUT the Dead. But then I always want to hear a certain show (2/15/73 just turned 50, and is well worth a listen!) and get pulled back into the van. And when I do, I don't want to hear a song, or an album - I want to hear a show, from start to encore. That's why I still listen primarily to my own (1500 albums plus the bootlegs) collection via Roon instead of just streaming. You can't just stream 4/17/71 when you need some Pigpen, you have to own it. So that's still how I listen to music. If it weren't for the bootlegs, I'd have probably given up "owning" media by now.

I saw about 20 shows, but never saw one at Deer Creek in Noblesville, Indiana outside Indianapolis. So, I've got tickets to "the dead's" last tour this summer there with two of the guys I saw that first show with back in 1990. Just take one...just take one...just take one...just take one...

4.1.90. was an auspicious beginning! Love the spring of '90 stuff. While this sets me apart from most fans (or people in general) I've always really liked Victim or the Crime. Must be my misspent years as a metal head or something...

 

[617]

As I mentioned earlier, I've never liked any of the live stuff. Can someone recommend a live recording which has good performances and great audio quality?

 

[Krusty09]

As I mentioned earlier, I've never liked any of the live stuff. Can someone recommend a live recording which has good performances and great audio quality?

9 3 88

 

[Krusty09]

Also 6 15/16 1985

 

[billybuck]

As a young punker/indie-rock musician in the 80s-90s, I hated the Dead with a passion. I did understand the sense of community among their fans, and figured that must have been the real driver for the tapes, the tapes, the endless tapes that others whose musical tastes I otherwise respected were constantly passing my way. Then sometime in the 00's, I was browsing the archive.org Dead cache out of boredom and came across a "Playin'" interlude from the 70s that struck me as a dead ringer for a Bitches Brew outtake. There was definitely something going on here that I'd previously missed, even if it was sandwiched between some of the most horrific vocals and lyrics then known to man.

That led to a three-year rabbit-hole in which I exhausted the live archive up to 78, where I drew the line because Jerry's voice - IMO the only listenable one in the band - went to pieces due to dragon chasing. And beyond that era, there were the horrors of Brent Mydland, FM keyboard presets, and MIDI noodling. But within that 68-78 window, I discovered some of the most incredible musical moments I've ever experienced. A friend once described the Dead as your local single-A baseball team - you're always rooting for them, but sometimes there are long periods where it's all gone to shit. The many nights of free improv in front of a crowd definitely gave the guys a skill set like no other, but it unfortunately couldn't do anything about Bob's shrieking or Phil's horrible bleat on backing vocals.

Today, I rarely reach for those live tapes, but on the occasions I do, I'm able to appreciate the unusual Jerry journeys, and particularly, the Elvin Jones-ish drumming of Bill from the single-drummer era.

 

[khensu]

Somebody should ask about the photos I posted.


If you know who Rango is, you've seen my real name out there as well. Care to guess?

No way... Paul?

 

[August West]

No way... Paul?

Not Paul I never met him but I've got his audience tapes on my hard drives. Did you see my post about the Portland 1977 shows I taped?

 

[khensu]

Not Paul I never met him but I've got his audience tapes on my hard drives. Did you see my post about the Portland 1977 shows I taped?

My bad. Knew a Paul who went by "August West" elsewhere. My next best guess would be Sandy.

 

[August West]

My bad. Knew a Paul who went by "August West" elsewhere. My next best guess would be Sandy.

If you have Dave's Picks 45 (physical copy) look at the liner notes. I got mentioned in the notes, David's notes and on the "office chat" on youtube search for grateful dead office chat.

 

[khensu]

If you have Dave's Picks 45 (physical copy) look at the liner notes. I got mentioned in the notes, David's notes and on the "office chat" on youtube search for grateful dead office chat.

Roger that. I bow to you, sir.

 

[August West]

Roger that. I bow to you, sir.

so you know my name?

 

[August West]

I am looking to talk to folks about their favorite shows, favorite songs etc

 

[khensu]

so you know my name?

Hi, Bob

 

[August West]

Hi, Bob

Yes it's true.