John Mayer on Sirius XM

[John A]

I heard John Mayer doing a guest DJ appearance on Sirius XM Grateful Dead channel yesterday.  It was a "Days Between" event, and I don't know if this is a one off or he does a more regular gig there.

 

Anyway, he was presenting "9 of his favorite Grateful Dead songs" in specific shows. Between each song, he would make a reasonably fully fleshed introduction into the cut he was playing next and why. It was good stuff. Whatever anyone's preconception is with Dead & Co, he speaks with wisdom like a (man) child.

 

I was in and out of the car, but I caught all or parts of China Cat 5-19-74 Portland, Jack Straw from 11-26-72 San Antonio, Here Comes Sunshine from 12-19-73 Tampa, Harder The Come from Garcia Saunders Keystone '73 sessions, Althea from 5-16-80 Nassau, and his closer Sugaree 5-19-77 Atlanta.  That final cut is one of of favorite renditions of any Dead song ever.

 

Did anyone else catch this?  There are some gems in his intros that I'll post soon.

[sml]

I did - Was real nice, and I felt a great selection.

 

I got to hear an interview with him (on maybe Gan's show) when they were first getting started - I had yet to even hear D&Co, but was very impressed by the way he was able to talk about the music and his approach to it.  All my confusion as to why on earth they picked this guy dissipated - It seemed in good hands.

I get annoyed when people pretend he's anything like Jerry or act like they're the real Dead - But I think he's pretty fuckin' great, and yeah, love hearing him speak.

[Rude]

Driving back from a 50% successful jerry birthday weekend yesterday, I caught it. Of course we are all familiar with that HCS. When dicks picks came out it was an amazing thing. I had no taper friends. Was new to the scene and it just died. And dicks picks let me hear all this great live stuff and number 1 got worn out and HCS especially as track one. I was trying to guess the show before he said it based on hints. I guessed that 89/90 Althea from without a net but he wasn’t around the music in the early 90s to have limited live CDs and that was one of the few or only live Altheas on CD. Id guess I played that version 800x. That Althea seemed to ring true to me at that point in my life. On the sugaree I knew he was going one of that spring 77. 

[John A]

Some tidbits I remember about Mayer's intros:

 

China Cat '74 - He said if he had to pick one thing to play for people wondering what the Dead were about it would be this.  He said the clarity of every musician, and the their interplay, was of particular note, in a cut "where everyone in the band is an MVP. But if I had to pick one MVP it would be Bill Kreuztmann because of how he uses his high hat to drive everything."  Sure enough, especially in the Wall of Sound era and via the recently remastered reels, this is a tour de force to hearing everyone as clear as a bell.

 

Jack Straw '72 - He said one of the best things about the Dead was to follow a song from its genesis and see how it expands over time.  But, he opined, sometimes it's also great to catch a song in its nascent early stages when it's paired down to its bare bones. Then, he introduced this as a, "regale, stately Jack Straw." Nice!

 

Althea '80 - He said the story is well known how he came to the Dead's music somewhat by accident when he was listening to Pandora one day and Althea came on.  This is how he began to play Dead songs on his own guitar, how he came to be in a room at an LA studio with Don Was, Bobby, and Mickey, and how he finally came to play the music in front of crowds. But he then remarked that, "people don't know what version of Althea that was.  Well, I do."  And so he played it.

 

Sugaree '77 - He posited that this may be the most epic guitar work in the instrument's history (I'm paraphrasing that, but it was a comment closely along those line).  He said the lyrical quality to the soloing was incredible, and to listen for Jerry playing his successive solos further down the neck each time until he finally runs out of room during the final explosion. Anybody ending a Dead DJ session with this bad boy is OK by me!

 

[Rude]

We enjoyed it. He did throw in the caveat 9 of his favorites among so many. He kept saying that so he’s definitely learned. No deadhead could pick 9 songs, so that caveat lent credibility. I think that Althea was like Nassau in 80 from the live CD. That was the only one where he did his 1st vs his favorite as I didn’t think it would be on many top 20 Althea lists besides the fact it’s an official release. (Heady version has it as 2nd. Shows what it know but it got mass listens, thus skewing the curve). 
 

Which other song was he talking about jerry and bobby on the same chord chasing each other around like rabbits. Unfortunately this car is the only car I’ve had where I didn’t install a nice aftermarket system as it’s integrated with climate control and can’t be altered.  Oh it’s bose...bose garbage mass produced speakers. So on that I couldn’t really hear bobby. Been desperate for 2 years to find a way to upgrade this Nissan’s system. Called crutchfield and they are like umm nothing for you. Could upgrade 6 of the 11 speakers but without proper amps and a full replace I won’t get the sound I want. 

[DesertDead]

Love seeing the support for Mayer.

 

Like all of us, he’s not perfect, but the guy is trying damn hard to continue to build on something that obviously resonated with him.

 

It’s hard to beat out time and experience as the best teacher, but he seems to be a diligent student of it all, and damn talented, to boot.

 

I will never completely understand haters of this guy.

[2muchfun]

And ....Next Time You See Me because Jerry could play blues too!

 

Killed 2 hrs of 8 hr drive listening on way back form my daughters successful wedding.

Well Aug 1 has 2 life changing events for me now.
 

Mayer had no particular love for Phil, Keith, Donna, Brent though. Calls tunes...tracks.

I don’t know which is stranger...Mayer playing Jerry, or imagining Jerry with Katy Perry or Jennifer Aniston.

[John A]

Rude - while stock car systems have come a very long way from the AM/FM Delco days, often with only one mono speaker in the front dash, I agree that only at the absolute top end will you see performance commiserate with good after market gear. The good news is that these systems will all have a degree of acoustic modeling relative to the interior space that only the highest end aftermarket systems can achieve.

 

Even in my 2 month old 330i, I wouldn't call the sound any better than respectable.  There is a "premium sound package" available though, and I'm guessing that would be quite satisfying.  But no one cares about anything better than standard, and that option is difficult to come by.  To the point where you basically need every bell and whistle BMW can throw at you in order to have that included.  So I reluctantly passed.

 

But as an example of what's possible when a manufacture goes full bore, the new Audio A8 has a Mark Levinson premium package that I've experienced and it's sensational. To the point where there are little round discs in the dashboard that look strange. Then when you turn on the car the discs rise up as little cylinders and you realize these are the front tweeters. The back side of the cylinder is the defraction surface that beams the sound just so. Try that at your local hi-way hi-fi!  😎

[Rude]

Mine has the premier sound system with 11 speakers and 2 subs. You can’t get the true high and low performance without investing 1500-3k in a car. I had some fantastic JL audios I got on clearance at crutchfield for like 150 a pair originally around 500. I like deals. Got a nice 10” for the trunk with clean power and it was beautiful. During some rain after DSO a few jubilees ago I invited some friends into that maxima and jammed Dark Side of the moon. Faces were melted. 
 

John!!!. Find your speakers and amps online and have a local guy install it in a few hours. 6 figures in the house and low 3 in the car?  Come on bro. Unless your car has climate control combined with the sound. Probably does as no one wants us to have good sound anymore. There is a workaround I found but it involves a display mounted over your factory one on my car as you can’t remove it or lose air lol. 

[Vic81]

I caught all of this. And as I wasn’t sure about Mayer when this all first started But  I can get down with him. Been to 6 dead and co. when Dso isn’t in the area or playing that night. 
I enjoyed all of his selections and his little intros to each song. Dude appreciates the Grateful Dead and the music he’s recreating. 
I always have channel 23 in my car but today/ tonight was excellent. I’m lucky to have it on at my job, so I drive to work with it then get it most of the night at work. Usually someone says ok Vic enough Dead and I have to be fair And give it a change ....lmao... I have Sirius In my car just for this reason....Best station on Sirius easily. 
.....very sad as asbury park, and one of my fav two nights at Hampton beach then Coney Island we’re approaching this weekend and next. Miss this shit bad 

[John A]

Rude - i hear you but the car is a lease. You don't want to own these things out of warranty.

 

Plus if driving long distances the wife is likely with me, and in over 29 years I've ground her Grateful Dead tolerance down to the bone.  With apologies for the thread drift, anyone else been in that boat? 😟

[Rude]

2 hours ago, Vic81 said:

I caught all of this. And as I wasn’t sure about Mayer when this all first started But  I can get down with him. Been to 6 dead and co. when Dso isn’t in the area or playing that night. 
I enjoyed all of his selections and his little intros to each song. Dude appreciates the Grateful Dead and the music he’s recreating. 
I always have channel 23 in my car but today/ tonight was excellent. I’m lucky to have it on at my job, so I drive to work with it then get it most of the night at work. Usually someone says ok Vic enough Dead and I have to be fair And give it a change ....lmao... I have Sirius In my car just for this reason....Best station on Sirius easily. 
.....very sad as asbury park, and one of my fav two nights at Hampton beach then Coney Island we’re approaching this weekend and next. Miss this shit bad 

hope you are doing well bro. Know you are a 1st responder in New York. Hope you already have your antibodies   

[Vic81]

42 minutes ago, Rude said:

hope you are doing well bro. Know you are a 1st responder in New York. Hope you already have your antibodies   

What’s up brother, doing ok out here. No antibodies here man. Just keep truckin through this shit. Hope to catch you out there soon. Gonna try and make philly, I dunno about this whole car thing but I’m down for anything at this point. Miss the band and everyone 

[Rude]

Luckily we’ve been able to see some actual shows at outdoor venues. Travelled 3 of last 4 weekends for dead music. But we are getting pretty pregnant so this may be it for a while. I’d guess black mountain 2021 would be next possible show. We dodged Covid at the shows but it’s getting a bit more risk than we want at the pre-viability stage. I’m like please don’t come up and talk to us right now lol. Back slowly away. 

[Tea]

14 hours ago, John A said:

in over 29 years I've ground her Grateful Dead tolerance down to the bone.  With apologies for the thread drift, anyone else been in that boat? 😟

We are in the same boat.  Dead and DSO are both 4-letter words as far as my wife is concerned.  It's 100% my fault 😁

[Greg from Chestertown]

The mother of my children (AKA- my fucking ex wife) went to about four shows with me when we were dating, first married. I brought her along after a couple of years without any shows for her. At set break, she said, ‘I’m ready to go when you are’. I turned to her and said, ‘you’re not coming next time’. the next time Jerry and the boys swing past my house, I got a ticket. She says, What about me? I says, I told you weren’t going. After a while, she starts dating again. We’re still married, mind you. At that point, she would, again, be excited that the band was around and I was going. True story. 

[2muchfun]

5 hours ago, Tea said:

We are in the same boat.  Dead and DSO are both 4-letter words as far as my wife is concerned.  It's 100% my fault 😁

Before our first date 35 years ago (a blind one no less)I told what would be my wife 
that I smoke pot and see Grateful Dead concerts and if that’s a problem....

For all these years whenever she bitches I throw the unsportsmanlike like flag if she bitches.

[gr8fulpair]

19 hours ago, Tea said:

We are in the same boat.  Dead and DSO are both 4-letter words as far as my wife is concerned.  It's 100% my fault 😁

I'll take a little of that blame bro... My bad, but I'm not sorry.

[Ellen]

To bring this topic full circle.  The first DSO show I saw was in  2003 at the State Theater in Falls Church, VA.  They played that 1977 Atlanta show and the Sugaree made me so happy.  It was the first live GD related music I had seen in many years, and what a way to re-emerge.  

[acududeman]

13 hours ago, Ellen said:

To bring this topic full circle.  The first DSO show I saw was in  2003 at the State Theater in Falls Church, VA.  They played that 1977 Atlanta show and the Sugaree made me so happy.  It was the first live GD related music I had seen in many years, and what a way to re-emerge.  

 

I was undoubtedly there......I cherish my memories of all of my DSO shows at the State Theater.