Anybody know this "Aces back to back" guy?

[John A]

I'm not on Facebook, but a friend forwards me some of this stuff.  Cat's name is Scott, and apparently he's written a couple books on The Dead.

 

Today's post:
 

Quote

 

We will all forever remember Brent as forever young.
 

The 1980s were a period of ascension for Brent, culminating in his domination of the Grateful Dead during the years 1988-90. He was able to harness the same confidence and cockiness as Pigpen and turn that energy loose on Deadheads nightly. Brent became a presence onstage as large and important as Jerry.

Mydland has grown in stature and legend since his passing in 1990 and deservedly so. Time has certified the Grateful Dead as great and Brent as a major contributor to that greatness despite not being properly acknowledged in the Long Strange Trip documentary.

The longest-tenured keyboardist in the history of the Dead took a while to progress to the forefront of the band. As his voice developed a soulful, smoky timbre, Brent grew into his role, slowly winning over Deadheads by covering blues and r’n’b favorites such as Jimmy Reed’s “Baby What You Want Me to Do,” “Louie, Louie” and “The Devil in the Blue Dress” medley while splitting vocal duties on Weir-sung tunes such as “Little Red Rooster,” “Good Lovin’” and “Man Smart, Woman Smarter.”

In 1988, the band began to perform five new Mydland compositions, all co-written with Barlow in a single sitting.

“Writing songs with him was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life — it just had a real prodigious flow to it,” said Barlow. “It was like cracking a fire hydrant every time we got together. Brent could take something and turn it into a fully-scored, well-thought out, harmonically-structured masterpiece in no time.”

One of those tunes, "Blow Away," became as powerful in concert as any song performed by the band during Mydland's final two-and-a-half years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc-dBDw0NX0

Sometime in the late 1980s as his marriage woes and family issues grew, Brent turned to cocaine and speed. The members of the Grateful Dead held several interventions, never once threatening to dismiss Brent from the band, but rehab never worked. After his arrest on felony DUI charges, Brent's life spiraled out of control until his untimely and sad passing in July 1990.

Brent's death left the Grateful Dead mortally wounded.
 

His passing was also the first in a number of incidents and issues over the next five years that led to Jerry's disillusionment with being in the Grateful Dead.

In August 1990 at a Grateful Dead Ticket Sales party being held for his birthday, Garcia admitted to long-time GDTS employee Steven Marcus, "I dread going onstage without Brent."

 

— Scott
January 10, 2022

 

 10, 2

Decent enough stuff overall, but my eyes popped when I got to the "Brent became a presence onstage as large and important as Jerry" part.  I'm all for a bit of hyperbole to make a point, and I'm a huge Brent fan, but come on, man! What band were you watching?!? 🙄

 

Might be time to give his keyboard a time out.  😆

[DesertDead]

A Dead show without Brent would be not nearly as good (as we saw).

 

A Dead show without Jerry does not occur.

 

 

Hyperbole, indeed.

[Greg from Chestertown]

We got a lot of shows without Jerry towards the end. That’s the problem. He was a shell of his former self. Still larger than life for that one song somewhere in there that kept us going back. I liked Brent. Blow away in JFK stadium in Philly, ‘89? Left us just as in awe as a Jerry ballad. I was thinking earlier today how the dead was falling apart yet some of the best Jerry I witnessed was Jerry Garcia Band after Brent’s passing. Go figure. My opinion. 

[LangeradoSoul]

That guy is long known for his own hot takes being less than hot

[John A]

3 hours ago, LangeradoSoul said:

That guy is long known for his own hot takes being less than hot

 

Now that's gold!  Well played. 😄