“November Grateful”
Dr. Rox Remember When?
Article #141 November 2022
By: RLSchwinden aka MrZerr0
I started working for RecordShop Inc. in 1986, at the beginning of the 60s Music Revival, I myself was into bands like Monkees, Beatles, Steppenwolf, Jimi Hendrix, Kinks, Who, Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Herman’s Hermits, Grass Roots my co-workers were into other 60s bands that I did not care for so much, really, specifically ‘The Grateful Dead’ now admittedly I did kind of like the artwork but I never really heard any of their songs that grabbed me. Over time I have come too really like these songs: Friend Of The Devil, Touch Of Gray, Mountains On The Moon & Playing In The Band.
The first time I heard about Grateful Dead was sometime in 1973 I had heard “Truckin” on a various WB Records Set, I was not impressed I thought, even as a kid, it was too mellow. The next time was in 1978 at our local recordstore on the Westside of Sioux City “Uncle John” the owner Mike Duncan named the store after the Grateful Dead song “Uncle John’s Band”. The next time I heard about the band was on the ABC TV show “Mork And Mindy” when Mindy’s father “Fred” makes the statement to the effect of “I would rather have my head tied to the sound system at a Grateful Dead concert” so in my teenage thinking, “Wow, this Grateful Dead must be a real heavy metal band like Black Sabbath or something”. Then I moved to Phoenix in spring of 1981, and my Uncle Mike had cable so one summer night on HBO there was a show “Dead Ahead” that was a concert recorded at Radio City Music Hall in NYC in Oct 1980, I was very excited to hear this “Loud and Heavy band” so I sat down in front of the TV and then the show starts I sat through “Bird Song” “On The Road Again” “To Lay Me Down” and then during “Ripple” I shut it off mumbling “This music sucks, why are they touted as such a loud and heavy band?”
In Spring of 1983 I was touring with the band ‘HIGH FEVER’ and we had a layover date in Grand Forks East, MN. and at the club we played regularly named “Shenanigans” was ‘The New Riders Of The Purple Sage” which was founded in 1970 by 3-4 members of The Grateful Dead: Garcia, Hunter, Lesh & Hart. I thought “This should be good” I went after a half hour I went back to our hotel, again I thought “This music sucks”.
In 1985 I worked with an Africian-American named Vince, now Vince was a “DeadHead” a fan that traveled around seeing the band many times usually in many different states, this concept was brand new and strange to me, I was puzzled as to why someone wanted to see a band more than once on a single tour, as I had never done that. Now I was starting to embrace my 60s phase as early as 1984, at this time you could not really find anything 60s Psychedelic anywhere, one day in Spring 1985, Vince came walking into work wearing a Tie-Dye T-Shirt he had purchased at a Grateful Dead concert in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in July 1984. I was so enamored with this shirt I asked to buy it off his back, and he sold it to me right there and then, he went home shirtless …. I still have that shirt, though it was made a ‘Large’ back then it is the size of a Medium by today’s standards, shirt sizes have greatly increased since then.
Then as I mentioned in 1986 I started working at RecordShop with Rosco & Matt, Rosco was a songwriter, musician who was a huge fan of the Grateful Dead, as was Matt. So Rosco had this huge crush on this girl named Julie, I think it was, he used to play “Sugar Magnolia” all the time as I got the impression, it was his song to her, now I did not care for the song, but over time I came to appreciate it because of how he felt about it. Then in July 1987 the band have a #9 BillBoard hit with “Touch Of Gray” (originally written in 1982) from their CD “In The Dark” now for some reason I really liked this song, I should mention the Original CD release had the band’s faces upside down, then after they got a hit with “Touch Of Gray” the CD was released with the faces turned right side up. So check which version you have.
Being a huge Monkees fan, and the group reformed in May 1986, and one of my best friends (RD) saw them twice in one night, I was perplexed, then I talked to many of my friends who saw them many times in many states over the 1986 and 1987 Tours, I couldn’t help but feel left out. How does this Monkees story relate to the Grateful Dead, you may ask yourself, well in Aug 1988 a Monkees Convention was held in Chicago, Ill. at the Bizmarck Hotel. Peter Tork performed a Solo Show at the Olde Vic in Chicago, where I saw him perform “Friend Of The Devil” I thought this was apropos as one of Tork’s most famous Monkees TV Episodes was “The Devil And Peter Tork” (#52 Feb 1968) where Tork accidently sold his soul the Mr. Zero I.e.: The Devil, Yes, this is where I took the name for my RecordStore) who owned a Pawn Shop, for the ability to play the harp. In fact the actor who played “Mr. Zer0” Monte Landis (Max Landstein: 20 April 1933 Glasgow, Scotland) was in attendance of this very concert and appeared with Tork for the finale, I actually met Monte in the hotel elevator, and he introduced himself to me as he thought I was in David Jones Band. While walking through the hallway of the Bizmarck I heard a recording of the Peter Tork concert I had just attended, coming out of an open hotel room, I knocked and let myself in, there was a lady named Mary Jo, playing a recording of the show she had made, I asked her about getting a copy of the tape, she said sure, as she was primarily a DeadHead, and used to be a huge Monkees fan, she informed me how DeadHeads trade concert tapes freely amongst each other and the band supported it! I was in awe … as I feel “Bootlegs” are historical time capsules, that should be allowed and preserved, and I thought “Why can’t more bands have this attitude, in fact all bands should have this approach to their concerts”, here’s the situation; we the fans have paid the ticket cost to the performer and the parties involved, in addition too travel and sometimes lodging expenses, so it’s not like the Artist is not paid. When The Monkees went back out on tour in 1989, I decided I was going to join the Monkee-Maniacs and see several shows, like a DeadHead. So I saw The Monkees 4 times Labor Day weekend in 1989 in different states, and traveled with a whole host of people, like a DeadHead, one of them being Mary Jo.
In Spring 1995 I was working for Wherehouse Ent. a lady I worked with, JJ was a huge Jerry Garcia fan, as part of our jobs we had to go to Los Angeles, CA. twice a year in August we arrived on the 7th, went to work on the 8th, and Garcia died on the 9th, I remember on the 10th Wherehouse flew in a Sales Rep for Winterland Merchandising to take our purchase orders on Grateful Dead merchandise, each of us received a commemorative sepia photo, I had it framed and hung it on my wall for years until I sold it to a co-worker named Larry. When I got back to Des Moines, my friend Grace had informed me in honor of Garcia’s passing the ice cream company “Ben & Jerry’s” had decided to stop production on the flavor “Cherry Garcia” so being a collector, naturally I went out and bought 2 cartons. Yes, I still have one. I began my servitude to BB Co. #19, later this year, when in 1997, the Grateful Dead Co. signed a deal with ‘Liquid Blue’ to have a kiosk of Grateful Dead” merchandise in every Best Buy, this was in my department so I had to take care of it everyday, there was every kind of everything from golf balls to quilts to Christmas ornaments, like I said I always kind of liked the artwork. after about 6 months it all went on clearance, 1997 was just Not a good year for “Dead Merch” in fact I wore my Grateful Dead vest at my first live performance in 2009 in Panora, IA. (I think it was), after a decades off the stage. Yes, I still have the vest.
In 2009 I opened Mr. Zer0’s the RecordStore in Roseville, in about Fall 2011, a lady, Jody came in to buy some Grateful Dead records for her Life-Partner Poppy (Ann B.) I explained to her that “Dead” Vinyl was hard to come by and expensive, in light of that she bought most of what we had in stock. Sometime in 2012, Jody brought in her partner Poppy to meet me, I have to say Poppy was one of the finest human beings I ever met, kind, funny, interesting, just a wonderful person, no wonder Jody was with her. We became friends. This led to Jody suggesting her long time friend DJ Liberty (Nancy) on KFAI come in to talk to me. Now Nancy and her husband DJ Izzy, were also Monkees fans, so in Aug 2012, Nancy & Izzy asked me to be a guest host on their KFAI Radio Show “The Pop Shop” and thus my “PsychoGello Radio Show” was created in Oct 2012, I also took the name from The Monkees TV Show “The Frodis Caper” (#58 Mar 1968) Nesmith was making fun of the 60s Psychedelic Movement calling it “PsychoGello” I appeared on KFAI “The Pop Shop” at least once a year from 2012 to 2018. (Somewhere I have most of these recorded). While appearing on KFAI a Radio Show Host Keith Johnson on WDGY, heard about me and in April 2017 asked me to submit a demo CD of my Radio Show (Idea) “PsychoGello” so I went into “Wishing Star Studios” and my friend Terrance helped me create a 30 min version of the PsychoGello Show. My 1st show aired in June 2017, and I am still on to this day, currently 7:30am Sundays WDGY 740AM, Streaming, FM: 92.1, 103.7, 107.1.
All the while I am WDGY, 2 different DJs on WFNU had stopped into Mr. Zer0’s to check things out, again we were talking and both asked me to guest on 2 different radio shows “The Early Morning Show” from 7am to 8:30am, I was a Co-Host from Nov 2018 to March 2019 and Rick B’s “Hits And History Show” from Nov 2018 to Feb 2021. While at WFNU they liked my content so much they asked if I had any ideas for my own show. I informed them “Why, Yes I Do”. At my last appearance on KFAI, I still had to follow the FCC rule “No, more than 3 songs by a single artist in a 2 hour period” that was set into place in 1962 when Dick Clark & Alan Freed were busted for taking payola to play certain records. I had wanted to do a 2 Hour Radio Show on The Monkees as far back as 1992 on KIOA, but could not figure out a way to make it happen without a producer. But sometime in 2018 my good friend Tommy S. said to me; “If there’s a way to get around that FCC rule, you’re the one to do it”. And in March 2018 I did figure out a way and in Nov 2018 the “Evolation Show” was born, it would be just too easy to make a Grateful Dead Evolation Show, you can hear these at www.MixCloud.Com the “MrZeros Evolation Show” was on WFNU from Nov 2018 to Feb 2021. In Dec 2020, I was asked by WVIC, if I had a new Radio Show idea for their new station, again “Well, Yes I Do” and in Jan 2021 I released the “Cover Up Show” unfortunately, this new show has yet to be picked up by a station, but you can hear several Episodes on my website www.MrZeroS.Com.
Now since I opened Mr. Zer0’s in 2009 week after week every week we get asked for Grateful Dead records, so I simple cannot deny their popularity so for November a month to be grateful, I decided to do a PsychoGello Show on The Grateful Dead, you can hear this at www.MrZeroS.com -Podcast.
Be sure to check out
“Thee Mod Garage” 9 Dec 2022 Fri 8pm
at Shaw’s on
1528 University Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413
Call: 612. 781. 4405 For ALL Info
With MrZerr0 as a Special Guest for the Encore
And so there you have it folks, MrZerr0’s musings on The Grateful Dead, with that MrZerr0 has left the office.
Mr. Zer0’s
*Est. 2009
1744 Lexington Ave. N
Roseville, MN. 55113
www.MrZeroS.Com
Music, Toys, Games & Movies.
Where:
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