12/23/2014

On this last day of Hanukkah and this 52nd jam of the year Deadstein is preparing for the end of 2014. Carroll's is also winding down for the year and they only had their typical piece of crap PA system waiting for us when we arrived. I shouldn't be so harsh on Carrolls, nor should we, as they certainly have been a wonderful respite for our weekly jams in 2014 and the years prior. So we got the technical difficulties put aside and I was ready with my recording equipment to capture the evening's music in 8-track fashion.

All six of us were here this week which will probably be a rare occasion in 2015 as Scott embarks on taking care of his other shoulder. Who will shoulder Scott's load if there is anyone shouldering his load still remains to be seen. In the meantime, Lee is going strong and heading feet-first into the new year, or is it head-first. Whatever it is, it's into it.

So for this evening to get us going on a long roll without too much of an interruption, I decided to start the nights music with an Uncle John's Band into the Playing in the Band then into Crazy Fingers and reprising with Playing in the Band. This was a nice big chunk of music that got us going into the night without wearing us down too much by taking too many breaks in between songs. While it was a long jam, The technical difficulties at the beginning of the night, coupled with the obligatory Halftime break, compounded by the need to clean up my recording equipment and then finalize by the relaxation that's taking place when you realize we played 52 jams during the previous year. It's a lot of music and what ever you do this night, or don't do this night, is not going make a much of the difference.

Case in point, we broke down during the second set, much like many of the New York Giants football games in this pretty depressing 2014 season. But with change, and continuity, and a desire to move the whole pile forward we too shall all ride into 2015, and maybe jest going along for the ride on whatever hope there is in the eternal optimist that is this type of music. Odell Beckham Junior of the Giants brings that spark to them and who knows, maybe we shall have such a spark at the turnover of the new year.

In that vein I note that I did just ordered the printing of the fourth packet which should probably be arriving for the beginning of 2015. So much as 2014 seems to of been marked by a lot of Grateful Dead stuff such as my new Jerry guitar the release of the Jerry Garcia Book version 9 and the new recording equipment, 2015 with the new packet may prove to have a bit more variety. Who knows? And with that I say, "Freak Out!"