for fans of NRPS/Jerry Garcia

scott murray · From: Asheville, NC

new release from the archives of Owsley Stanley, Dawn of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. it's 5 discs of previously unreleased live recordings from various Bay Area venues spanning August '69 to June '70.

just got mine in the mail, the playing is about what you'd expect... Jerry was just getting serious about playing pedal steel and co-founded the New Riders for that reason. the enthusiasm is definitely there with Bob Weir sitting in on several songs. there's lots of country classics I hadn't heard them do before, and Jerry even explains how the pedal steel works on one of the tracks.

not for everyone, but a real treat for the hardcore heads Cool

https://owsleystanleyfoundation.org/bears-sonic-journals/dawn-of-the-new-riders-of-the-purple-sage/
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1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

I have heard a lot of very early underground unreleased NRPS stuff over the decades, much of it while Jerry was just getting started on the steel.. Early on, he used this band to get his steel chops up to snuff... NRPS is one of my all time favorite bands, but wow, that real early stuff was pretty hard to listen to much of the time.. Especially since the production quality wasn't usually very good.. Out of tune guitars, steel, and voices.. The band was a lot more polished by the time Garcia left and Cage arrived..

It was a win win for both .. Jerry became a much better steel player because of the band, and the band got a "real" pedal steel player that fit like a glove in Buddy Cage, and were a lot more polished themselves.
NRPS went on to bigger and better things, and jerry got to do some seriously high level studio work on steel with other top acts of the day, that got him some notice within the country rock steel guitar community.... bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!

no gear list for me.. you don't have the time......

Michael Kessel · From: South Carolina, USA

I know that most PSG junkies consider Garcia as a mediocre player, but most don't know that he purchased his rig in mid April 1969. Which means that he was out gigging with it less than FOUR months later! Not long after that, he was in the studio. According to his wife, he would put in hours upon hours of practice on the instrument - and that kind of dedication isn't something to just be shoved off as mediocre. What he lacked in terms of licks, he made up for in sonic ambience. (He learned some of those tricks from Pete Kleinow.)

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

scott murray · From: Asheville, NC

Jerry had a Fender pedal steel as early as '67, you can see it in film and photos from the house at 710 Ashbury. but it does appear that Sneaky Pete inspired Jerry to really dive into it after the Dead played a show with the Flying Burrito Bros in April '69.

while not the most technically proficient player, the parts Jerry added to the Workingmans and American Beauty albums and more were very well conceived and executed. just perfect for those records. ironically, the studio rather than the stage is where his steel playing really shined while the opposite could be said of his guitar playing and the Dead in general
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1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster

Ronald Ballister · From: New York, New York, USA

Alright Scott, you talked me in to it. Literally just put CD 1 on the player. Great sound quality. I'm obviously a fan of New Riders as this is not an inexpensive set. I wanted to see how Jerry was approaching pedal steel early on. Even at that stage was wondering how he learned. Was someone teaching him?

scott murray · From: Asheville, NC

I thought $40 was quite reasonable for a 5-disc set with nice packaging and liner notes.

I don't know much about Jerry's learning methods, only that everyone around him at that time says he was basically obsessed with pedal steel and spent many many hours with it.

I also know that he and Pete Grant were friends who both got bitten by the steel bug around the same time. pretty sure Pete is still a member here, perhaps he will chime in with some info Smile

here's a memorial to Jerry on Pete's website:
http://petegrant.com/garcia/
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1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster

Brooks Montgomery · From: Idaho, USA

That was cool. thanks for posting! I'll never forget seeing Jerry play both sets: pedal with NRPS and his 'darkstarness' with the Dead at the Hollywood bowl in, I think, 1971. . . .long time ago. . . .
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A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first.

Ronald Ballister · From: New York, New York, USA

Scott, lately I've become interested in a 2 man group called Mapache (means raccoon in Spanish). They're a sort of a cross between Brewer & Shipley, The Dead and New Riders. Look like a pair of young hippie deadheads. They're mostly acoustic based but one of the guitar players is perfectly capable of playing Jerry's lead style. They're also capable of extremely tight harmony singing. One of my favorite all time New Riders songs is "Lonesome LA Cowboy". They decided to cover it in a live (well maybe) sort of party atmosphere. What was interesting was they added a steel player. Some nice shots of an old Shobud single neck. The player was obviously at a very early stage and I'm just fine with that. But what is interesting to me is comparing this to Jerry at an early stage in his playing with New Riders. Jerry is already absolutely ripping it up!!! Many years ago someone made a funny but simultaneously accurate description of Jerry's tone on the steel. He said it somehow sounded like wading through warm oatmeal! Here is the link to that Mapache video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_q-ZJV6kQQ

Tucker Jackson · From: Portland, Oregon, USA

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

Jack Hanson · From: San Luis Valley, USA

Agree with Bob C. Chasing the sound of 40-50 year-old records with modern equipment is futile. Especially with all the gadgets, doodads, and bells and whistles many steel players seem convinced they need in their signal path nowadays. Often times, less is more. Especially if recreating that vintage sound is the ultimate objective.

Andy Henriksen · From: Michigan, USA

It appears to be on youtube, for those interested:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lvEndUGUD86B4R9ZRvXyTuHD5DTAKAIEI

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

Ronald Ballister · From: New York, New York, USA

Some of the performances are pretty rugged but still interesting to hear the performances evolve.
Taking Bob's point, if you want to sound like a pedal steel guitarist from 50 years
ago play through the same equipment they did. But there is something weirdly unique about Jerry's tone which he seemed to have from day one. I could pick him out from a crowd of his contemporaries immediately. Don't know what it is, maybe you guys do.

Rich Upright · From: Florida, USA

Always thought Jerry's playing on NRPS was very light & airy. Kinda like frost on a West Virginia morning.
Anyone who thinks he ain't a good player should listen to "Dire Wolf" from "Workingman's Dead. 33 years later & I STILL can't nail that sound.
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A couple D-10s,some vintage guitars & amps, & lotsa junk in the gig bag.

Ronald Ballister · From: New York, New York, USA

Rich, We both have Mosrites! A very small club.

Rich Upright · From: Florida, USA

Ronald Ballister · From: New York, New York, USA

We probably own them for the same reason, The Ventures go me started playing guitar. Either during one of Semie's business failures or after his death a lot of the parts were sold to someone in Canada. They were assembled there and sold to a retailer in the US. Sorry to all for the brief subject diversion. Back to Jerry and his steel.

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

Thanks Bob Carlucci. I forgot about this one.
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Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube.

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