China Cat > Rider

The April theme for Shakedown Stream this month is China Cat>Rider. Every week mvyradio of Martha's Vineyard celebrates the Grateful Dead. We stream all sorts of different kinds of Grateful Dead from their early years of the 60s and right on up to the very end of 1995.

The song "China Cat Sunflower" is one of the first songs that Robert Hunter wrote with Jerry Garcia. The song went on to become one of the great stand out tunes for the boys. Even President Obama has said he likes the song (whatta poser). On July 5, 1969, the Grateful Dead merged the song with "I Know You Rider", and the two songs have been happily married ever since. It should be noted that both songs have been performed over 500 times by the Grateful Dead. There are only a handful of songs that make this distinguished 500 club.

Throughout the month, I will feature shows with China Cat>Rider. We will discuss the tune(s) and examine why, for example, the 1973 & 1974 versions are so adored.  A thorough examination requires us to listen to the early versions from 1969 as well as the last versions from the 90s. Either way, with some live performances of China>Rider, it will be a long, long crazy Stream.

Shakedown Stream
mvyradio.com & iTunes
Tuesday @ 5pm EST
China Cat !!!

a Big Thumbs Up

Hey Jer Bear!

...finally had the time to listen to the new podcast (I've taken 


to just burning our show to CDR, and listening at my 


workplace: HAHA!). Thanks for the little tribute to Owsley.... 


So sad. I freakin' cried. But hey bro, I didn't write to be 


maudlin or anything. Just a big Thumbs Up, and thanks SO 


much for what you do out there. Truly the best best BEST 


Dead show on the face of this crazy planet. ...always brings a 


smile smile smile. Carry On, and thank you a million times ! 


Over !

Your Constant Listener, URL Grey

Cutting The Dead's Funding

• The efforts to preserve the recordings and history of the Grateful Dead have come under scrutiny. Believe it or not, The deficit hawks - or whatever you want to call them - believe the funding to digitize the Dead is a waste of money. We've talked about this already on Shakedown Stream, but The Atlantic Monthly magazine features an article about this issue - Atlantic Monthly. 

•  7 Walkers - Bill Kreutzman and Papa Mali's band - are touring again and will be in Cleveland the same night that we will be premiering another episode of Shakedown Stream on mvyradio.com. The local newspaper from Cleveland had a chance to interview Billy and here's what he had to say - Cleveland.com.

Shakedown Stream

mvyradio.com & iTunes

Tuesday @ 5pm EST

"Going where the Wind blows"

"Anthem for the Bear"

by Robert Hunter

 Augustus Owsley Stanley the Third

being less a name than a designation,

the bearer of the appellation became,

of his own inspiration, The Bear.

Thus he became and thus remained

and every old timer worth salt has

a tale or two to tell regarding same:

of the time The Bear did this or that

incredibly singular, utterly apposite

action without apology or shame

to his own particular undying fame.

Unreachable, unteachable, aflame

in the light of his own magnificence

reflected in deeds dwarfing the achievements

of the run-of-the-mill creative sort

by a factor of ten or more,

King of Many Things was he

of mortal physiology,

the soul’s chemistry,

geography, geology,

not to mention the

applied physics of sound,

regarding which, deaf in one ear,

he pronounced stereo to be

a distraction affording only

one perfect seat in the house

upon which to work its elusive illusion

setting himself to design the world’s

most powerful hi-fi system to prove it!

One suspects that, had he but one leg

he’d have seen the advantage in that

and invented accordingly, ingeniously

and, it goes without saying, successfully.

Lovable and loving in the abstract

effusiveness was not his hold card;

his judgments swift, certain and irrevocable

the last word was his personal property.

For the few times he was wrong

there is no accounting.

Was there ever a man who changed so many

while, himself,  changing so little?

A Cardinal Sign, were there ever one,

fixed like a bright white star in dark-blue heaven.

Save sentimental eulogies for lesser men

and leave it that he was King of Many Things,

of perfected personal taste and detailed opinion,

first and last a scientist and propounder

of a brand new species of reason.

No bucolic Heaven for such as Bear,

rather a Rock of Ages from where

an eagle in full flight might dare

a sudden detour into endless dawn.

Sail on, dear brother Bear, sail on

            Robert Hunter

       March 20, 2011

Hey Jer Bear

Hey Jer Bear,

Wanted to let you know how much I'm diggin the stream. Found the podcasts about 4 month back and look forward to a new one each week. I couldn't disagree more with those who say it's too long. The format is most excellent and your comments and observations throughout are both
interesting and humorous. Whether it be a book, movie, article or some new release, you always leave me with something fresh to check out.
 

Keep on doing what you do my brother. Right on.
By the way, went to see "The Music Never Stopped" on Sunday and loved it. Check it out if you get the chance.

John
Glen Gardner, NJ

A smooth blend

A blend of a 1st and a 2nd set of another is quite smooth. It flows easily into the current making it a delightful stream.

Thatz right, this week's Stream is a robust flavor of March Dead of '88. It all comes into the end right from the beginning.

I can see this one and also still feeling the vibe from this weeks'. Check it out - March Dead at the Meadowlands - Jersey.

Shakedown Stream
mvyradio.com & iTunes
5pm Tuesday EST
friendsofmvy.org

Mickey Hart Carded for I.D.

It is hard to believe that after all this time, they are still carding the Dead. That's right, even after the Acid Tests, Mickey is still being carded. Looks like he still got the hook-up though. Peace Jer Bear

Posted: Thursday, 17 March 2011 10:11AM

The Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart gets carded

WASHINGTON (AP) - Being 67 and the drummer of the Grateful Dead is no excuse for Mickey Hart.

The Washington Post reports the E Street Cinema in Washington refused to serve Hart a glass of chardonnay because he didn't have ID.

Hart was in town for a screening of "The Music Never Stopped," about a man who used music to help him connect with his son with a brain tumor.

"I met Owsley at the age of eighteen. I had just left home, having run off with a Rock&Roll band. Bear, as we knew him, was one of my all-time biggest influences. Always, when I think of him, I think of the endless stuff he taught me or somehow made me realize, all stuff that I've been able to use to the benefit of countless people who probably don't know much about him or how deeply he influenced me and the rest of the band. Most important was the approach he taught me and us: Always be open and engaging - always critical and questioning, but not negatively so much as playfully. He taught me to take myself and my interests out of the picture and work with the subject under consideration so that the best deductions or conclusions are made. I guess this means working from the point of view of the higher self, though that term never came up; it was always just assumed..

         Owsley "Bear" Stanley - 1935-2011

-Bob Weir