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                          Online
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A weekly column by Steve Kelley             Aug 23, 1995
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For decades, Grateful Dead fans have always been the most loyal in the
music business. Stories abound of fans who have attended hundreds of live
performances, literally following the band as it moved from one city to
another while on tour. Perhaps at one time, Dead fans could be
categorically described, but after decades of performing, their audiences
now cut across all generations.

Despite having only one song, 1987's "A Touch of Grey" in the top 10,
during more than 30 years as a band, the Dead was by all standards a
commercially successful band, regularly playing to sold-out audiences all
over the world.

At the center of the band since its original inception as the Warlocks, in
1965, and then, the Grateful Dead the following year, Jerry Garcia, a
masterful guitarist, became one of the figureheads of San Francisco's
Haight Ashbury community and what would later be called acid-rock music.
With the recent death of Garcia, always one of the band's most visible
members, many fans turned to their computers to connect with other
"Deadheads" to share their sadness.

In 1978 or '79, while an undergraduate at Syracuse University, I went to
see the Grateful Dead Perform at the Syracuse War Memorial. My life didn't
alter its course as a result of the band's performance, nor did I become a
"Deadhead". It was my first and last Dead concert. I do however recall a
sense of respect for Garcia and fellow band members for their unique music
and seeming dedication to their fans and alternative ideals.

While I do not profess to share the sadness many ardent fans must feel at
the death of this legendary figure of contemporary music, I felt compelled
to spend some time reading two  of the Internet's Usenet news groups this
week, devoted to the Grateful Dead, rec.music.gdead and alt.rap.gdead to
nostalgically mark the passage of an era.

I was not alone there. Ironically, within the impersonal technology of the
global computer networks comprising the Internet, a community was able to
connect interactively and share their thoughts on this event in an
unprecedented manner.  Within the first day after Garcia's death nearly
4000 messages had been posted to just these two groups. Fans posted
eulogies, commiserated with one another, or commented, both positively and
negatively on Garcia, the Dead and their lifestyle in messages such as
these:

We love you Jerry. Thanks for everything. Rest in peace...

Thank you Jerry for inspiring me to play guitar.  It is gift that no one
can mean to give, it just happens. No, I wont be a R&R star, but
every time I pick up my guitar I will think of you, the person who
inspired me. My children will never understand nor will the generations to
follow.  All I can say is that I am glad that I was there over 50 times to
enjoy it in person and that you let us bootleg. Nothing more to say.

                                Jim Groves

Jerry Garcia is in death, like the music and philosophy he advocated,
a paradox. He is revered and mourned becoming part of a pantheon he sought
most of his life to eschew.

A personable figure, his virtuosity on the guitar and his poignant
rendering of lyrics moved us, sometimes to tears. His character exuded
paternal vibes: he was fatherly in every sense of the word. From the
gentleness that emanated from his being to his bearded, abstracted
countenance, Garcia's persona made you feel that all was well with
world.
David A. Harvey

His death was NOT, I repeat NOT tragic!  Nor is dying in a rehab center,
NATURAL.  Get the message you people, a drug laden lifestyle will KILLL!
I liked his music too but let's get real.

Steve

I woke up to a beautiful morning here in Yoshino mountains in a rural,
forgotten area of Japan. I was half asleep, enjoying the fact that I had
nothing to do but cherish a beautiful day.

And then my aunt called. From America. And I heard. It was so weird to be
so far away from it all, knowing all the vigils that would be going on
tonight, that I would have been at the Bob Wier show tonight in Hampton
Beach, New Hampshire had I been home tonight.

But somehow, as the morning grogginess leaves, I realize that an important
part of Jerry's music was the way it brought people together, however far
apart they were.

I wish I was in the US right now, but a bunch of us ex-pats here will get
together tonight and say goodbye from this corner of the world to someone
who touched every corner of the world...

Thanks Jerry

Rob Underwood

I need someone to commiserate with.  i'm feeling really lousy.
please! jerry's gone.

Hello all. I'm writing an article on Jerry, and I need your help.
I need you all to email me with stories/memories of Jerry, and
times that he "changed your life" (I know it sounds hokey, but
you know what I mean). Specific shows, performances, or just
meaningful times that you feel are special are all what I'm
looking for. Josh Piven 72241.2312@compuserve.com 

Christopher Crane

Thank you Jerry, and go easy.

Gil, a Scottish friend

Just remember<
 Death is not the end..."  B. Dylan

In addition to the two Usenet groups mentioned above, there are dozens of
World Wide Web sites dedicated to the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia.
Start your search at http:////www.yahoo.com and follow the subdirectories
Entertainment/Music/Artists/Grateful Dead.
 
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"Online" is a weekly column which covers books, shareware and
issues relating to online services users which currently appears
in print, in the York County Coast Star, published in Kennebunk, ME.

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