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Garcia: A Signpost To New Space
Loser, Deal, The Wheel, Late for Supper, Sugaree, Bird Song, To Lay Me Down
- GenresMusicNonfictionBiography
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
18 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Garcia
129Ìýbooks52ÌýfollowersJerome John "Jerry" GarcÃa was an American musician, songwriter, artist, and lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead. GarcÃa was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group.
Performing with the Grateful Dead for its entire three-decade career (which spanned from 1965 to 1995), GarcÃa participated in a variety of side projects, including the Jerry GarcÃa Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, and Legion of Mary. GarcÃa co-founded the New Riders of the Purple Sage with John Dawson and David Nelson. He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known by many for his distinctive guitar playing and was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" cover story.
Later in life, GarcÃa was sometimes ill because of his unstable weight, and in 1986 experienced a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin addiction, and was residing in a drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995.
Performing with the Grateful Dead for its entire three-decade career (which spanned from 1965 to 1995), GarcÃa participated in a variety of side projects, including the Jerry GarcÃa Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, and Legion of Mary. GarcÃa co-founded the New Riders of the Purple Sage with John Dawson and David Nelson. He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known by many for his distinctive guitar playing and was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" cover story.
Later in life, GarcÃa was sometimes ill because of his unstable weight, and in 1986 experienced a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin addiction, and was residing in a drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 11, 2016
The first section was worth the time and cash put out to purchase it. Very interesting and informative. But the second part was severely lacking, and I felt if it was really worthwhile reading the entire "stoned" interview then the publisher should have edited it and put the best parts first. No way was I going to spend the next several days joining Jerry, the mad professor from Yale, and Mountain Girl while they expounded on the wonders of their world on high. And too much use by Jerry of the word "like", which was a warning sign that he was perhaps too stoned to listen to, or for me to enlist much deference to his words.
August 24, 2021
Normally I would just be like....
But this book is like, a serious like....like waste of paper, man. You know what I mean? Like a total bummer trip man....You know what I mean?...like far out!...right?...man think of all those trees!...those poor, sad, trees that got turned into this book?....bummer trip for sure man....
This book didn't need to be transcribed word for word. The entire second half didn't need to be published at all.
This will be the worst book I read all year.
But this book is like, a serious like....like waste of paper, man. You know what I mean? Like a total bummer trip man....You know what I mean?...like far out!...right?...man think of all those trees!...those poor, sad, trees that got turned into this book?....bummer trip for sure man....
This book didn't need to be transcribed word for word. The entire second half didn't need to be published at all.
This will be the worst book I read all year.
January 15, 2021
Interesting trip. Jerry Garcia interviewed by a Charles Reich, a Yale Law School Prof who had clerked for Justice William O. Douglas and had been an associate at Cravath Swaine and Moore, one of the whitest of the white shoe law firms. The interviews were bestwhen Jerry reminisced about his origins in music, dropping out of HS at 15, and finding his way through music, particularly his days playing for the Merry Pranksters.
The Palo Alto scene was particularly interesting and how there was this undercurrent of hustlers mixing with Stanford students. Jerry’s insights into Neal Cassady, who he considered the more interesting of the pranksters, as opposed to Ken Kesey, were noteworthy because Cassady was in some ways a far more extreme version of Garcia’s trip. Both Cassady and Garcia left school early, but Cassady hooked up with Ginsburg and Kerouac while Jerry learned music, much like his father before him. Jerry created a viable artistic and business ethos, something that Cassady, who principally relied upon charisma and seduction, did not achieve.
There was an undercurrent of philosophy and ideas in these interviews and Jerry more than held his own in conversations with an admiring but intellectually formidable interlocutor. Charles Reich was after all the author of ground breaking legal scholarship on the “new property,� whose ideas would inform Supreme Court decisions like Goldberg V Kelly, and was by no means an intellectual lightweight. The discussion of form reminded me of Plato’s Republic.
The “stoned interview� was marked by the use of pharmaceuticals by the interlocutors and it was amusing when the Yale Law Prof � though an intellectual architect of the counter culture in his own right � would try to talk “cool� with the most recognizable member of the Grateful Dead. It was also cool and funny when Mountain Girl was part of the conversation.
The Palo Alto scene was particularly interesting and how there was this undercurrent of hustlers mixing with Stanford students. Jerry’s insights into Neal Cassady, who he considered the more interesting of the pranksters, as opposed to Ken Kesey, were noteworthy because Cassady was in some ways a far more extreme version of Garcia’s trip. Both Cassady and Garcia left school early, but Cassady hooked up with Ginsburg and Kerouac while Jerry learned music, much like his father before him. Jerry created a viable artistic and business ethos, something that Cassady, who principally relied upon charisma and seduction, did not achieve.
There was an undercurrent of philosophy and ideas in these interviews and Jerry more than held his own in conversations with an admiring but intellectually formidable interlocutor. Charles Reich was after all the author of ground breaking legal scholarship on the “new property,� whose ideas would inform Supreme Court decisions like Goldberg V Kelly, and was by no means an intellectual lightweight. The discussion of form reminded me of Plato’s Republic.
The “stoned interview� was marked by the use of pharmaceuticals by the interlocutors and it was amusing when the Yale Law Prof � though an intellectual architect of the counter culture in his own right � would try to talk “cool� with the most recognizable member of the Grateful Dead. It was also cool and funny when Mountain Girl was part of the conversation.
January 14, 2009
You almost definitely have to be at least somewhat of a Deadhead to dig this book, which is basically 200 pages of Jerry Garcia being very stoned and talking. And that's, like, pretty cool. Conducted in 1971, Garcia talks a lot--like, a *lot*--about being high. Most of the time, it's unclear if he means it literally or cosmically/metaphorically. One suspects it's a little both, but probably a lot of the former. In fact, Garcia's pretty goddamn incoherent for good stretches (as is his primary interviewer, a Yale law prof named Charles Reich, who was also quite the lightweight stoner). That is, unless just one rolls along with Jer and enjoys the ride, because the force of his personality carries it. A lot like his guitar playing, he's sweet, curious, befuddled, and long-winded. It's actually a testament to how much his music really is/was a perfect one-to-one expression of his self.
September 28, 2019
I would consider this essential reading for anyone who either enjoyed the Grateful Dead or hated them. The best thing about it is that it is Garcia talking, about his work and in his own era, and not some creature from the future come back to criticize and insult him over things Monsieur Critique hasn't but a clue on. The book deals with the formation of the band, the logistical problems of recording, touring and performing, and yes, little Charlie Reich gets to make an ass of himself in several very funny passages. Excellent companion to Lesh's book, in fact I'd recommend you read this beforehand. I read the interviews when they were published & found the "Stoned Sunday Rap" addition to be lively to say the least... despite Reich's agenda, you get a great hit of Garcia's sense of humor.
September 26, 2022
I've read a lot of non-fiction about the Grateful Dead & Garcia. This is one of the more unique ones out there.....as it's basically a long form interview with Charles Reich circa 1972. Quite a bit on the nature of consciousness, and the impact psychedelics had on their music. I started to get a little irritated with Reich by the end.......because he was plenty stoned by then and talking a lot about himself. Jerry clearly found it amusing, thus did I. I would point you to a couple dozen other books on these subjects if you're just recently on the bus......however, if you think you've exhausted the cache of interesting & unusual Dead/Garcia books......this one might surprise you. Sprawling by design, its rambling nature is definitely part of its charm. I broke out my highlighter about every 2-3 pages on average.......as some of Garcia's off the cuff asides are witty enough to full a closet of lot-shirts. Keep on Keepin' On!
January 21, 2022
This is a helluva trip, that's for sure. Broken down into two parts, this is (more or less) transcribed versions of first, an interview with Garcia for Rolling Stone by Jann Wenner and academic turned hippie Charles Reich, and second, possible more substantially, a stoned rap session between Reich and Jerry, with occasional appearances by Mountain Girl. So be prepared for a lot of tangents, diversions and jokes. But mixed in are some really provoking and deep insights from both Jerry, well into his own trip at this point, and Reich, a previously straight-laced law professor type positively enthralled with the San Francisco scene.
May 2, 2021
Well, this is a book I read. The first half is decent. It gives some good insight that’s probably not readily evident elsewhere but the second section is worth skipping. It reads like Charles Reich fan-girling over Garcia like it’s his first time being high. He spends most of the second half talking about himself to which Jerry seems magnanimous at best and bored at worst. Seems like a waste to spend that time with an American icon of music and culture jabbering about yourself. Certainly not up there with my favorite books about the Dead.
July 6, 2014
Back in the early 70s it was a different world. This book takes you there - to a West Coast trippy quarter of it - and gives it to you wholemeal, unedited.
The second part "A stoned Sunday rap" - is exactly what it says it is, and entirely unedited. I got a bit impatient with the endless trickle of deep thoughts, punctuated by faithfully quoted "Like"s and "you know"s and verbatim self-repetitions - yet I read it to the end, not in the vain hope of hearing some real wisdom but for the period charm of it all and also for the social comedy aspect of the conversation - essentially Garcia is manifestly, and very gently, humouring the "interviewer", Reich, who is over-earnest, uptight, naive, tedious, but harmless and well-meaning - Jerry's most common utterance is "Right, right, right", sometimes embellisehed with "I see that", or "You think so?". So there is a monotonous fascination here.
All the same, more than 2 stars would be silly. Ars longa, vita brevis. In those days, compared to our superbusy present, everything was longa, including Sunday afternoons.
The second part "A stoned Sunday rap" - is exactly what it says it is, and entirely unedited. I got a bit impatient with the endless trickle of deep thoughts, punctuated by faithfully quoted "Like"s and "you know"s and verbatim self-repetitions - yet I read it to the end, not in the vain hope of hearing some real wisdom but for the period charm of it all and also for the social comedy aspect of the conversation - essentially Garcia is manifestly, and very gently, humouring the "interviewer", Reich, who is over-earnest, uptight, naive, tedious, but harmless and well-meaning - Jerry's most common utterance is "Right, right, right", sometimes embellisehed with "I see that", or "You think so?". So there is a monotonous fascination here.
All the same, more than 2 stars would be silly. Ars longa, vita brevis. In those days, compared to our superbusy present, everything was longa, including Sunday afternoons.
January 25, 2009
This book consists basically of a Rolling Stones interview around 1971 and a laid-back conversation with Jerry and a Yale Law school professor. This was fun, easy to read, and I felt that I learned a great deal about the early dead and the whole Haight-Ashbury scene without the romanticism. Jerry was so honest, modest and truthful in his words that I found this interview to be much more palatable and understanding than any of the biographies or Tom Wolfe's writings. From the horses mouth they would say --
more than anything, I had the belated realization that the early and mid-60s was just the perfect storm of consciousness, intellect and artistic freedom. Just timing -- that's about it.
I'm sure when they develop a space/time machine some folks will travel back to be a piece of the trip.
more than anything, I had the belated realization that the early and mid-60s was just the perfect storm of consciousness, intellect and artistic freedom. Just timing -- that's about it.
I'm sure when they develop a space/time machine some folks will travel back to be a piece of the trip.
January 20, 2023
I just read this book for the second time in a year, and I could see myself revisiting it many more times. A book-length interview -- all the digressions and stammers included, no cross-cuts or footnotes or other intervention -- is as close as you can come to hanging out with someone who's left the mortal plane. And this is Garcia in his absolute prime, unguarded in a "stoned Sunday rap" -- total immersion-worthy material.
Sure, Charles Reich, all wide-eyed naif, eager new convert to freakdom, poses cringeworthy questions to Garcia as a way to understand himself and share all kinds of obtuse "discoveries," but there's Jerry just "yes and"-ing it all, all "far out" and "fantastic" and willing to entertain the entire scene in the same generous spirit with which he approached musical collaboration. Who wouldn't want to go back to that happy place?
Sure, Charles Reich, all wide-eyed naif, eager new convert to freakdom, poses cringeworthy questions to Garcia as a way to understand himself and share all kinds of obtuse "discoveries," but there's Jerry just "yes and"-ing it all, all "far out" and "fantastic" and willing to entertain the entire scene in the same generous spirit with which he approached musical collaboration. Who wouldn't want to go back to that happy place?
May 13, 2020
Garcia: A Signpost To New Space by Jerry Garcia, Charles Reich, and Jann Wener (Da Capo Press 2003) (780.92). The title page of this volume lists as an informal sub-subtitle the following: “The Rolling Stone interview by Charles Reich and Jann Wenner, plus a Stoned Sunday Rap with Jerry, Charles, and Mountain Girl.� And that's the perfect review of this, a transcript of two long interviews circa 1972. Jerry seemed relaxed and open during both, though much of the discussions devolved into free-form nonsense. It's an important part of the record in a serious Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia library collection. My rating: 7/10, finished 2/3/15.
March 22, 2008
I got this book as a gift and I am so happy I did. It is really interesting reading a dialogue that was happening between an author and Jerry and Mountain Girl. I loved it. It's definitely out there though!
May 28, 2008
Jerry Garcia is famous for being in Grateful Dead which was band in the late 1960's that was known for the anti-war movement. In this book Jerry Garcia is interviewed and talks about his own experiences.
May 18, 2007
Stoned interview with a Yale Law prof. I read it during that downtime after finals and before graduation.
I'm just using this thing to waste time.
I'm just using this thing to waste time.
Want to read
September 10, 2008Get this book off of Dave.
December 17, 2008
Probably my first literary entry to the counterculture at a very early age. Always a great read to come back to.
October 14, 2009
Very interesting, the beginnings of Grateful Dead, their ambitions of being "signposts to a new space" pointing to possibilities, opening up the world for us.
June 5, 2010
1st half: insightful, inspiring, informative. 2nd half: merely insipid.
September 20, 2014
One of the books that shaped my worldview in junior high school... I never had a chance of a "normal life" after this!
July 10, 2015
I found the interview to be interesting but the Sunday rap was a bunch of rambling gibberish.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
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