1 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:09,959 Speaker 1: Double Elvis s Club is the production of I Heart 2 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: Radio and Double Elvis Ron. Pigpen McKernan died at the 3 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 1: age of seven, and he lived a life that didn't 4 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: go exactly as planned. I can give you twenty seven 5 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: reasons why that statement is true. Six would be the 6 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: number of nights per week he led his band The 7 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: Warlocks on stage before his bandmates turned on, tuned in, 8 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: and dropped his old school blues vibe. Another three would 9 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: be the number of years it took Mary Prankster ken 10 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,200 Speaker 1: Kesi to perfect his asset tests, creating a close community 11 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: of self declared freaks that soon counted pig Pen and 12 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: his bandmates among them. Six more would be the number 13 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: of months The Warlocks, re christened as The Grateful Dead, 14 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: would serve as house band for those asset tests, a 15 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: ritual that pig refused to take part in. Another five 16 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 1: would be the number of bandmates he'd have to tether 17 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: to reality as they threatened to leave the ground high 18 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: on one of their pre show LSD trips. And seven 19 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,319 Speaker 1: would be the number of years he had left to 20 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: live when he realized that the band he led was 21 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: slowly marginalizing his contributions as the world around them took 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: a turn for the strange, all totally On this our 23 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:34,199 Speaker 1: second episode of season five, Mary Prankster's acid rituals tethered 24 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 1: to reality. And Ron pig Pen mccernin um Jake Brennan 25 00:01:39,600 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: in This is the Seven Cloth m h February, Paulato, California. 26 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,239 Speaker 1: The two door Student Baker Golden Hawk ripped through the 27 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 1: quiet evening the clock on the dash near two am. 28 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: The car gripped the pavement tightly, trucking along, pushing ninety 29 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: miles per hour, bending sharp corners, and the tires barely 30 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: stayed on the road. The driver held the wheel loosely 31 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: as the radio sang out it was the end of 32 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: a long night full of heavy conversation and too many 33 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: beers to count. The three passengers, too drunk to notice 34 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: or to to care, were chatting away, ignoring the increased 35 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,959 Speaker 1: speed of the Student Baker, and besides, the driver seemed 36 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: to have it under control until he didn't. The car 37 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: approached a turn that would have been tough at half 38 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: the speed, and the Student Baker struggled to make the 39 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: tight corner, and then the world flipped upside down. All 40 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: four tires of the three thousand pound vehicle left the concrete. 41 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: The student baker rolled into a field below, rattling the 42 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: passengers around like tumbling dice about to be tossed onto 43 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: a crabs table, And like crabs, life and death had 44 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: just become a game of chance. Glass shattered, metal contorted, 45 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: and shrieked to the car's passengers. Jerry Garcia and Alan 46 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: trist were violently hurled from the car, so was driver 47 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: Lee Adams. Then there was nothing, just darkness. Jerry pushed 48 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: himself off the ground. His ears were ringing, his shoulder 49 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: throgged was intense pain, his head was pounding, his eyes blurry. 50 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: He looked down and, feeling the chill of the midwinter evening, 51 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: he noticed his shoes were missing. Where the hell was 52 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: he in? Where the hell were shoes? The last thing 53 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: he remembered was getting tossed through the windshield ship. That 54 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: was about all he remembered. He scanned the open field 55 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 1: around him, the lights of nearby Stanford Hospital illuminating the scene, 56 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: and then he saw it. The tragedy of that night 57 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: would stay with Jerry for the rest of his life. 58 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: Jerry Garcia's life had been punctuated with tragedy from the 59 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:39,719 Speaker 1: very beginning. He was born in ninety two, and after 60 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: an idyllic first three years, everything went sideways. He lost 61 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: the top two knuckles of his right middle finger at 62 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: four years old when his older brother accidentally chopped them 63 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: off with an axe. Jerry moved a log away from 64 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: the chopping block as a joke, right as his brother 65 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: brought the sharp end down. Then Jerry lost his father 66 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: at five. He sent really lost his mother when she 67 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: subsequently set him and his finger chopping brother to live 68 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: with her grandparents. That he was forced back from his 69 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: hometown when his mother remarried, relocated, and then brought her 70 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: sons back into her home, and the family bounced around 71 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: to a few more towns in the following years. He 72 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: had trouble in high school, brushes with the law, a 73 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: stint in the army that ended with more accounts of 74 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: a wall than colors, and a tasteful tie die. Jerry 75 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 1: was wayward jaded, and at just eighteen, he'd already seen 76 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 1: too much. He didn't know where he belonged, and the 77 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: only other constant beside trouble in Jerry's life was music. 78 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: His father, a clarinet player and bandleader and later his 79 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: grandmother always insured. His home was filled with an eclectic 80 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: variety of music big band, old Tommy, folk, country, gospel, bluegrass, classical. 81 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:52,840 Speaker 1: He and his brother both dug rock and roll that 82 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: exploded in the nineteen fifties, and Jerry had been consistently 83 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: improving his skills on guitar since he first picked one 84 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,840 Speaker 1: up at fifth teen. He'd also been moved by the 85 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: free wheeling nature of the Beat generation, especially Jack Caro 86 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: Wax on the Road, a novel that he absorbed so 87 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 1: deeply it became part of his identity. Once jerry short 88 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: stint in the army came to an end, he decided 89 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 1: to go on in an adventure. He's someone else, somewhere else, 90 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:26,040 Speaker 1: just like sal Paradise. Jerry landed and Paul Alto lived 91 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 1: in his car for a while, got hip to the 92 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,360 Speaker 1: scene and made some connections with local musicians. He then 93 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: secured a room at the Chateau, a kind of boarding 94 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: house for transy and bohemians, artist musicians and writers. He 95 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: was welcome there and for a time had managed to 96 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: avoid trouble or misadventures, avoided them until that evening in 97 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty one, when he was thrown through the windshield 98 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: of a student aaker doing ninety on Junipero Sarah Boulevard. 99 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: Jerry snapped back to the present. The night was eerily silent. 100 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: Not fifty yards away from him was the shell of 101 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 1: the nineteen fifty six Golden Hawk he had just been 102 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: writing shotgun in The car was mangled, unrecognizable. It was 103 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: a mess, and the reality of the situation hit Jerry 104 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: like a ton of bricks. The third passenger, Jerry's close friend, 105 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 1: Paul Spiegel, didn't make it out of the car alive. 106 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: Paul was just sixteen years old. The event completely rearranged 107 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: Jerry's perspective in the world. It laid bare the fragility 108 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: of life in the most jarring way possible, smashing his 109 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: already fractured world into a thousand little pieces. He wasn't 110 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: sure how he would ever rearrange them. He took refuge 111 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: in music. For the next three years, Jerry performed in 112 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: eleven different bands around Paolato. He also became a father 113 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: to a daughter, which complicated things, and suddenly there was 114 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 1: another mouth to feed, and Jerry committed entirely to his music. 115 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: Needed to steady your paycheck than bluegrass gigs. He found 116 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: work as a music teacher at Dana Morgan's music store 117 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 1: in Paol Alto. It was at Dana Moore end Is 118 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: that Jerry first met a fourteen year old whose appearance 119 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 1: was constantly in such a state of disarray that everyone 120 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: called him Pigpen. Jerry thought it was funny that the 121 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: store hired an unclean kid to keep the place clean, 122 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: but Pig could give two ships about pushing a room around. 123 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: He'd rather spend his time mining advice from the new 124 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: music teacher with the fucking wild car crash story. Pig 125 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: was transfixed by Jerry's work on the front board. Pig 126 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: quickly became Jerry's disciple. It wasn't just a one way street. 127 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 1: While Jerry top Pig guitar. Pig taught Jerry the blues. 128 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: He played Jerry's collection of records, the deep cuts, those 129 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: ancient holy texts. Soon they were playing live together, parties, 130 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: small shows, even his bandmates and some local groups. One 131 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,560 Speaker 1: of those groups, of course, was Mother mccree's Uptown jug 132 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 1: Champions started right there at Dana Morgan's on a faithful 133 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 1: New Year's Eve. After they found Bob Weir, Pig convinced 134 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: the group to go electric. They picked up Bill Kurtzman, 135 00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: who also taught at the store and he played with 136 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 1: and the Zodiacs on drums, and as they were using 137 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,839 Speaker 1: Dana Morgan Seniors Music Store as a practice place, they 138 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: diplomatically brought Dana Morgan Jr. On as a bassist. He 139 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: was nobody's first choice, but he could hold down the 140 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: low end well enough. As Jerry will put it years later, 141 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 1: the band now known as the Warlocks had one strong 142 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: suit Pig band. Pig had it the deep knowledge, the look, 143 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: the vibe. The only problem was the Pig was shy. 144 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,679 Speaker 1: Performing wasn't really his thing. Jerry pushed Pig out of 145 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,440 Speaker 1: his comfort zone to take lead vocals because that rough 146 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: growl of his was the best voice in the band, 147 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 1: and Pig didn't put on airs when he took the mic. 148 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:46,679 Speaker 1: He wasn't scholarly like the rest. He lived what he's saying. 149 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:51,840 Speaker 1: He gave the Warlocks gravitas, legitimacy, and Jerry's encouragement alone 150 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: didn't give Pick total confidence. Cheap wine and beer were 151 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: of clutch. After a few kind words from Jerry a 152 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: few SIPs of something high proof, pig Pen was uninhibited. 153 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: He held court at the center of the band on stage, 154 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: belting out slim harpos king b or Rufus. Thomas is 155 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: walking the dog like he'd been singing them his entire life. 156 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: All the fractured pieces of Jerry's world were reassembling themselves fast. 157 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: The band ditched Dana Morgan's son for Phil Lesh, a 158 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:23,680 Speaker 1: better bass player. Eventually they ditched their name for a 159 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: better one too, and they played their asses off six 160 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:29,920 Speaker 1: nights a week, five sets a night, and their popularity grew. 161 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: If you knew, you knew, the band with the street 162 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,079 Speaker 1: savvy bluesman fronting a bunch of newly music nerds is 163 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 1: where it was at. Everyone knew it, especially those who 164 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 1: were turning on and tuning on. But the ones with 165 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,319 Speaker 1: the keys to the magic bus would soon take the 166 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: band in the most important trip of its life. Ron 167 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,720 Speaker 1: Pigpen McCarney didn't know it that will. He'd be getting 168 00:10:50,760 --> 00:11:22,600 Speaker 1: off at one of those next stops. What about you, Ken, 169 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: you want to go? The neighbor was staring into his eyes, 170 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 1: almost staring at him. But was this actually dangerous enough 171 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: to be a dare a government mandated test in that way? 172 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: So why the hell, they Ken, KESI feel so spooked. 173 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 1: The neighbor tapped his foot and Kesi remained silent, And 174 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: they'll pay you seventy five bucks. I know you need it. 175 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:48,360 Speaker 1: He did need it. It was and Ken Kesi had 176 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: moved from Oregon to just outside the Stanford campus, settling 177 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:55,599 Speaker 1: in a lively bohemian student section. Kesi was at the 178 00:11:55,640 --> 00:12:00,079 Speaker 1: school on an academic fellowship studying creative writing. Financially of 179 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:04,319 Speaker 1: any kind was needed, but still he was hesitant, and 180 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 1: the neighbor continued his pitch. It's perfectly safe. They use 181 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,480 Speaker 1: it on patients all the time, alcoholics, mostly. This thing 182 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: is going to be known as a miracle drug in 183 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: a few years. Kesi was worried about how it might 184 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: affect his Olympic training in his writing. He'd never even 185 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,439 Speaker 1: been drunk before, but seventy five dollars to sit in 186 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:23,920 Speaker 1: a room for a couple of hours too good to 187 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: pass up. Fucking Kesi study was in. The room was 188 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,400 Speaker 1: bare except for a handful of hospital beds. Kesi sat 189 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,679 Speaker 1: patiently on a mattress with something supposed to be happening. 190 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 1: He felt completely normal. A tape recorder sat in front 191 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:42,559 Speaker 1: of him. He was supposed to speak into it and 192 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 1: record his experiences. The tape recorders school just spun, waiting 193 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: for Kesy to describe what he saw in the room. 194 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: Kezi studied the white walls of the room, but nothing, 195 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: and then nothing slowly turned into everything. The lights above 196 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: him filled the room with a warm glow. The glow 197 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,199 Speaker 1: evolved into different colors. He wrote his eyes, but that 198 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:09,319 Speaker 1: only made the colors multiply and then mutated into hexagons pentagons. 199 00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 1: The walls of the room began to bend, The clock's 200 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,079 Speaker 1: tick fell to an impossible rate, and the tape recorder 201 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: turned into a toad. Bats cascaded from the lights. He 202 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: heard music, and then he saw music. Kezi's mind rushed 203 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: in a thousand different directions as the curtain of the 204 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: world was pulled back. Ship was wild as part of 205 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,320 Speaker 1: his participation in government funded testing. Ken Kezi had just 206 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 1: experienced his first trip by my surgic gas at Thole 207 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 1: of Mind a k a LSD. He returned the following Tuesday, 208 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,640 Speaker 1: and then every Tuesday after that for nearly half a year. 209 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: During this time, ken Kezi would test, amongst other drugs, psilocybin, mescaline, 210 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 1: and emphatic means, but none of them compared to LSD. 211 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: That was the one. Kesi felt like he had found 212 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 1: a buried treasure. He was obsessed. He called his experience 213 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 1: beautiful and overwhelming. He wanted to take it with him, 214 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:05,960 Speaker 1: share it with his friends, share it with anyone who 215 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: might need to see what he'd seen, to rattle their 216 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: brain out of the monotony of life and get a 217 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,480 Speaker 1: vision beyond the mental and physical limitations of the mind 218 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: and the body to see the truth. Unfortunately, the doctors 219 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: running the experiments weren't in the business of sending home leftovers, 220 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: so Keisie got creative to score more doses. He got 221 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:26,960 Speaker 1: a part time gig in a psych ward, a gig 222 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: that would inspire his classic novel One Flew Over the 223 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 1: Cuckoo's Nest. Through his new employment, he was able to 224 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: obtain plenty of LSD. It would begin building a community 225 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: of like minded adventurers, those ready to traverse the innermost 226 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,600 Speaker 1: parts of their minds and the outermost parts of the universe. 227 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: Albert Hoffman, a Swiss scientist, first synthesized LSD in but 228 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,920 Speaker 1: it wasn't until five years later that he accidentally dosed 229 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,960 Speaker 1: himself with a small amount, and things got funky funky 230 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 1: enough that just a few days later he conducted a 231 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: real experiment with ten times the amount and tripped the 232 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: funk out. Hoffman thought he was dying, but a quick 233 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: visit from a physician confirmed no physical abnormalities. When Hoffman 234 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,280 Speaker 1: came down, he knew he had stumbled on something important. 235 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: Over the next two decades, the effects of LSD would 236 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:22,720 Speaker 1: be studied in clinical research. Psychologists prescribed it to treat 237 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: a variety of ailments, anxiety, depression, and addiction. LSD was 238 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:31,200 Speaker 1: no secret, it wasn't even illegal. Author Albus Huxley was 239 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: a very public supporter, as was Harvard professor Timothy Leary. 240 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: L s D helped treat Hollywood legend carry grants psychological 241 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: issues stemming from childhood trauma, and influenced the writings of 242 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsburg, and William S. Burrows. During the 243 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 1: same time, the world was also dead center. In the 244 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: middle of the Cold War, the distrust, paranoia, and concerned 245 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 1: about mass destruction had reached its peak. There were rumors 246 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: that communists had discovered a way to control of minds 247 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: of prisoners and operatives. The United States, which was already 248 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 1: racing Russia to the moon, couldn't afford to fall behind again, 249 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:12,440 Speaker 1: so the CIA started an illegal human experimentation program called 250 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:17,400 Speaker 1: mk Ultra, in which they identified LSD as potentially important 251 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 1: and useful, and began testing the drug in hospitals, prisons, 252 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: and psychiatric institutions. Notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger was a 253 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: participant while incarcerated at Alcatraz. He later claimed that because 254 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: of ensuing nightmares, he was only ever able to sleep 255 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 1: for a few hours at a time ever since nineteen 256 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 1: fifty seven, and the government also opened up testing the volunteers, 257 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: which included college students. College students like Ken Kesi. Once 258 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: Kesi finished the tests, he was as the saying goes 259 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: turned on. He turned on many of his Stanford classmates too, 260 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: and when Cuckoo's Nest blew up, Kesy spread the wealth. 261 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 1: Kezi his Emily, in a circle of precocious pals, now 262 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:06,199 Speaker 1: referring to themselves as the Mary Pranksters, moved out to 263 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:08,879 Speaker 1: La Honda, a quiet place in the woods about an 264 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: hour from downtown San Francisco. In La Honda, they could 265 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: stretch their legs and their minds, a place to search 266 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: for a peaceful, meaningful existence away from the fear and 267 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 1: paranoia of the so called real world. Keisi also bought 268 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: a school bus, which already had the basic necessities of travel, 269 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: and the Pranksters covered it in intricate pattern, shapes and symbols, 270 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: every color of the rainbow and bright neon, and named 271 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,120 Speaker 1: it the Further Bus. They took the show on the road, 272 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: traveling the country, driving coast to coast with Kesi at 273 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 1: the wheel, spreading their message at conventions, presidential debates, public parks, 274 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: looking for anyone who's up for a new experience, but 275 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: mostly Keisi and the Pranksters continued to experiment in La Honda. 276 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,879 Speaker 1: They put up flyers all around the peninsula, promoting parties 277 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,120 Speaker 1: at their homes, and they wanted to find like minded individuals, 278 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 1: and their circle quickly grew. One of those flyers caught 279 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:05,159 Speaker 1: the eye of Phil Lesh. Phil Jerry and Bob were 280 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,919 Speaker 1: no strangers to LSD, but when they got to the 281 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,879 Speaker 1: Pranksters party, it was safe to say they had never 282 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 1: seen anything like it. Thoughts flowed freely, people did what 283 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: they wanted, and no lines to cross, no limits, only 284 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 1: total freedom. Something important was happening out in the woods 285 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 1: they could feel it. They were all kindred spirits on 286 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: the same wavelength, but there was one uniting force that 287 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 1: was noticeably absent from the party music. We'll be right 288 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: back after this word. We were Ron pigpen mcernan could 289 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:50,040 Speaker 1: feel his influence waning. He held onto the microphone in 290 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: a death grip, like if he didn't let go, then 291 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:55,880 Speaker 1: he'd always be in control, Like if he tugged hard 292 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,960 Speaker 1: enough on the mic, hebe He pulled the rest of 293 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: the band safely back down to the ground, him back 294 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,439 Speaker 1: to reality, but he knew deep down that he was 295 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: already losing them. He lurched over the microphone, his stomach 296 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:12,359 Speaker 1: poked out from behind his shirt buttons wine belly again, 297 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,359 Speaker 1: he kept howling the blues raw power, and the rest 298 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: of the Warlocks were operating on a different kind of power, 299 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,640 Speaker 1: and not just Bob Weir's country and folk influences. Though 300 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: the band was developing a more rounded set list that 301 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:30,320 Speaker 1: went beyond Pig's personal passions. But off stage two, Jerry, Phil, Bob, 302 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 1: and Bill spent their days exploring the cosmos, listening to music, 303 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 1: and talking literature. While loaded to the gills on LSD, 304 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 1: Pig didn't partake so in n when pig Pen walked 305 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,040 Speaker 1: into the Big Beat Club with Pizza joined by day, 306 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: in one of the Peninsula's first rock clubs by night, 307 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 1: he didn't have the same experiences that everyone else had. 308 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:57,640 Speaker 1: To pig the strobe lights were just bright as ship 309 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:00,439 Speaker 1: and hurt his eyes into the others. They holts from 310 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 1: the darkness like a siren said, welcome visitors from near 311 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 1: and far. Peek further into this abyss, to send further 312 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: into this madness. White sheets covered the club's walls. Short 313 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: films were projected onto the blank canvas. To just off 314 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:18,119 Speaker 1: center in the room sat a TP Images of Native 315 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 1: Americans were projected on its canvas from the inside, haunting ghosts. 316 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,399 Speaker 1: Like the artist was present with an explanation for what 317 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: the piece was supposed to mean, but like every other 318 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: sensory experience in the room, ultimately its meaning was subjective. 319 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,359 Speaker 1: Couches inhabited by saucerrid characters and colorful clothing and painted 320 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:41,160 Speaker 1: faces lined the walls. Dancers twirled into the dull glow 321 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:45,440 Speaker 1: of the projectors. Spinning was indifference. The music came from everywhere, 322 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:47,439 Speaker 1: the walls, the floor, of the ceiling. It didn't just 323 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: vibrate the room. It melted the room, and the dancers 324 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,399 Speaker 1: weren't dancing to the music. They weren't listening to the music. 325 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 1: They were feeling the music. On top of the music, 326 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:01,240 Speaker 1: a voice bellowed through a megaphon and ploring the attendees 327 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:05,719 Speaker 1: to get freaky release sanity. The more voices grunted through 328 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:08,720 Speaker 1: the microphone out at the p A and the sounds 329 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,919 Speaker 1: of someone moaning, then screaming, then laughing, and the source 330 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: of the sound seemed to be a man standing on 331 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,199 Speaker 1: a very low stage at one end of the room, 332 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: flanked by speakers, tape recorders in an organ painted with 333 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 1: the brightest neon known demand. Ken Kisi began to recite music. 334 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:29,399 Speaker 1: As the oppressive flashing lights continued and the crowd swayed together, 335 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:33,160 Speaker 1: the entire room felt like it was breathing. Everyone there 336 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:37,200 Speaker 1: was high as fuck, and the music droned on from 337 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:39,639 Speaker 1: the opposite end of the room. Pig Pen thought it 338 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,480 Speaker 1: was a little too weird, a little too far out, 339 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,359 Speaker 1: and maybe you had to be dosed to truly appreciate it. 340 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:47,919 Speaker 1: That it didn't matter. He still got up on that stage, 341 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,159 Speaker 1: surrounded by all this freak flag insanity and led the 342 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: Warlocks through another set. The group was a mishmash of size, 343 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,040 Speaker 1: of shape, styles and vibes, a perfect reflection of the 344 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 1: scene laid out in front of them, and they tried 345 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,119 Speaker 1: to hold it together, and they really did. But after 346 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 1: tripping on LSD all day long, you couldn't just pretend 347 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 1: to ignore what you had seen and experienced. It was 348 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:15,080 Speaker 1: hard to play straight, and you still weren't thinking straight. 349 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,040 Speaker 1: The Warlocks had figured out how to perfectly time their 350 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 1: trips with their sets throughout nineteen five, while playing five 351 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:25,160 Speaker 1: sets a night, six nights a week at the Inn Room, 352 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 1: a divorce bar twenty minutes south San Francisco designed specifically 353 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,880 Speaker 1: for drinking away heartache and inhibition. While Pig hung tight 354 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 1: to his beloved Blues, the rest of the band was 355 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 1: vibing out to John Coltrane, and they were enamored with 356 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,560 Speaker 1: how Train and his band took short, simple structures and 357 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: stretched them out into longer pieces, creating fascinating textures and improvisations. 358 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,679 Speaker 1: They endeavored to translate that idea and that energy to 359 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: their music on the stage, and they did quickly find, however, 360 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:58,760 Speaker 1: that acid in the Inn Room boozers were a terrible combination, 361 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:01,919 Speaker 1: much to it pends relief. That meant they had to 362 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: come down well before they began to perform. While the 363 00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:08,919 Speaker 1: effects of the hallucinogens may have worn off by the 364 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,199 Speaker 1: time they kicked into their first song, their author perspective 365 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: did not. Simple songs became sprawling, auditory expeditions, and were 366 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 1: at times and possibly loud, often clearing a great percentage 367 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: of the club's patrons out of the building. Pig Pen 368 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:26,360 Speaker 1: vamped on, but he could see his band evolving right 369 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: before his eyes, his decidedly undilated pupils. The Blues weren't 370 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,240 Speaker 1: being left by the wayside yet, but they were fast 371 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:42,359 Speaker 1: becoming less important. Shortly after they amicably parted ways with 372 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 1: the Inn Room, the Warlocks discovered that they weren't the 373 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,240 Speaker 1: only Warlocks. Another band already cut a record under that 374 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:53,119 Speaker 1: same name. Meanwhile, a New York band called the Warlocks 375 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: would also ditch the name for something even more idiosyncratic, 376 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 1: The Velvet Underground. But the West Coast Warlocks needed to 377 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:04,879 Speaker 1: come up with something a little more unique. On a 378 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: rainy afternoon, Phil invited the boys over to his place 379 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,760 Speaker 1: for a brainstorm session. Jerry, who showed up late high 380 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,359 Speaker 1: on d mt sat down on Phil's couch, opened a 381 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:19,480 Speaker 1: nine edition of The Funking Wagonal's New Practical Standard Dictionary 382 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,720 Speaker 1: Britannia World Language Edition, and let his finger fall on 383 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: the first page that presented itself. The Grateful Dead motif 384 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 1: for an old folk tale about a hero who happens 385 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,639 Speaker 1: upon an anonymous corps who has not been given a 386 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 1: proper burial because it owed a debt. The hero takes 387 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,159 Speaker 1: care of the corpses debt, not expecting to be rewarded 388 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 1: in return. Soon after, the hero finds himself in desperate 389 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 1: need of help and the spirit of the corpse comes 390 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,399 Speaker 1: to his rescue. What goes around comes around, and dig 391 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: that the Warlocks now had their new name. In a 392 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: short time later, the Grateful Dead were made the red 393 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: it in house man for Ken Keisi and the Mary 394 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:05,880 Speaker 1: Pranksters legendary asset tests. It would spend the next six 395 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 1: months helping delight the fuse of the counterculture that was 396 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:12,440 Speaker 1: about to explode into the mainstream. Most of the Grateful 397 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: Dead's members took the tests themselves, spending many nights on 398 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: stage sliding in and out of time and space while 399 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:23,560 Speaker 1: playing sets to the crowds gathered one member of the group, however, 400 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 1: opted out. Pigad was all set buzzing on booze. He 401 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: formed a habit early at thirteen years old and never 402 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,119 Speaker 1: even considered getting on a wagon to fall off of. 403 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,159 Speaker 1: He came to see alcohol as an integral part of 404 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: the blues, and so it was an integral part of him. 405 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,160 Speaker 1: The rest of the dead and never judged him for him, 406 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: so pig never passed judgment for the trips they took. 407 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,119 Speaker 1: He did, however, need to serve as an anchor for 408 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 1: the band, as he did that night back at the 409 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 1: Big Beat Club, and after the band set, pig remained 410 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,439 Speaker 1: in the corner of the club until the bottle of 411 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:00,880 Speaker 1: SoC he was sitting from disappeared. Along with this inhibitions. 412 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: Pigs sunk into his chair, Exhausted. The trip was about 413 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 1: to get even stranger. Pigpen hammered the keys on his 414 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: Vox electric piano. Come the fuck on, guys. The group 415 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:43,640 Speaker 1: was beginning to spin off in different directions. A few 416 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,040 Speaker 1: more minutes and they'd be lost to the cosmos for 417 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,359 Speaker 1: the rest of the evening. Pig Pen grit his teeth. 418 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 1: He punctuated the next few changes in the song with 419 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,920 Speaker 1: sharp staccato hits, giving the groove a heavy blues vibe. 420 00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,679 Speaker 1: The band fell behind it for a few metres and 421 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:02,639 Speaker 1: then started off in another tripped out direction, improvising something 422 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 1: that didn't resemble the blues at all. Pig tried to 423 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 1: pull them back again, but it didn't matter. Sensory overload 424 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 1: was right in front of them. The lights, the dancers, 425 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,120 Speaker 1: the colors, the voices rambling on over the p A 426 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:18,320 Speaker 1: about God knows what, and the acid, always the acid. 427 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,320 Speaker 1: These guys are on Saturn christ. Pig even had to 428 00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:24,560 Speaker 1: chew out Housie Stanley A K Bear before the show 429 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,600 Speaker 1: for taking too long to set up their gear. Bear 430 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,840 Speaker 1: was deep in the thralls of paranoia, thinking ken Keys 431 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: he might be trying to control his mind. Pig and 432 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: told that. He told all of them over and over again, 433 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:38,480 Speaker 1: take as much as you want, but hold it together 434 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,679 Speaker 1: on stage. It wasn't about to be responsible for freaking 435 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,920 Speaker 1: out an entire room of sauceried weirdos once the band 436 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:49,800 Speaker 1: started tweaking. Yet here they were, and the goddamn pranksters 437 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,560 Speaker 1: and the p A kept yelling out over the music incessantly, 438 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: and Pigs started growling on a rap over the song, 439 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: attempting to overpower the voices. It only resulted in some 440 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,080 Speaker 1: bizarre our call and response that did nothing but make 441 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:05,640 Speaker 1: the trip more intense. If he couldn't overpower the room, 442 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,880 Speaker 1: then maybe he could tell the band to reality. He 443 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:13,280 Speaker 1: caught Jerry's eye. Jerry was the one Pig really needed. 444 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,359 Speaker 1: If pigpen was the engine of the dead, Jerry was 445 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:19,400 Speaker 1: steering the car, and the pranksters didn't call him Captain 446 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:22,960 Speaker 1: Trips for nothing. Pig and Jerry had a connection, a 447 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,439 Speaker 1: way of communicating through the music. He just hoped Jerry 448 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,560 Speaker 1: was still capable of accessing that wavelength in this current state. 449 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:33,720 Speaker 1: Pig barked out a few more chords and mercifully caught 450 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:38,160 Speaker 1: Jerry's attention. Once he had Jerry, it became easier. One 451 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,120 Speaker 1: by one, Pig rilled them in, keeping them straight enough 452 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 1: and tight enough to at least finish the set. Sometime later, 453 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: after the band had finished playing and it started milling 454 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 1: about in the crowd, Pig was in his usual position, 455 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 1: set up in a corner with a bottle of Southern Comfort. 456 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 1: It wasn't hard to see what was happening, and not 457 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 1: just the next show. Everything the LSD the pranksters, the scene, 458 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 1: the obsession was experimenting with sound. Why couldn't they just 459 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,000 Speaker 1: vamp on the one four five and keep it simple? 460 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 1: Pig took another long pull from the bottle. The Dead 461 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,920 Speaker 1: were already not the same band they once were. Pigs 462 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:21,160 Speaker 1: beloved blues had become marginalized, just incidental transition music from 463 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: one spaced out jam to the next, slim harpone never 464 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 1: had to deal with the ship. Pig tipped the bottle 465 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,120 Speaker 1: up once again. How long this is possibly go on? 466 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 1: And there was no way this was sustainable. The test 467 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 1: how to end at some point, and maybe then Pig 468 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: would get to play his music again properly. But he'd 469 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 1: soon fine that things would never really be the same. 470 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:44,239 Speaker 1: This wasn't a phase for the Dead. What they were 471 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,280 Speaker 1: doing was laying the foundation for the group's philosophy, the 472 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,680 Speaker 1: philosophy that would lead them to numerous decades of experimentation 473 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,840 Speaker 1: and exploration of both music and illicit drunks. The band 474 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 1: wouldn't play just the blues, they wouldn't play just anything. 475 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: The Dead we're becoming a living, breathing organism that responded 476 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: to whatever environment they were in or whatever vibe they encountered. 477 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:09,320 Speaker 1: Pig drained the rest of his Southern comfort and stared 478 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,520 Speaker 1: at the empty bottle as the sweet whiskey course through 479 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:15,480 Speaker 1: his body and gave him a warm embrace. Pig didn't 480 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 1: have a care in the world, which was always there 481 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:24,360 Speaker 1: for Pig, always consistent and reliable. Alcohol didn't experiment, It 482 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 1: didn't improvise. It was like a piece of twelve bar blues. 483 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: You always knew how to find your way back to 484 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 1: the one. Alcohol was beautiful, simple, and just like the 485 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: music he loved. Pig Pen had been knocking it back 486 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 1: for seven years. In another seven the booze would bury 487 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,760 Speaker 1: him in the acid tests. They would come to an 488 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,960 Speaker 1: end soon enough, but first pig Pen and the grateful 489 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:51,280 Speaker 1: dead would find their own personal hell in the city 490 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: of angels Um. Jake Brennan in This is the twenty 491 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:13,640 Speaker 1: seven Club Club is hosted and produced by me Jake 492 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 1: Brennan for Double Elvis in partnership with I Heart Radio. 493 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: Zeth Lundie is the lead writer and co producer. This 494 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,920 Speaker 1: episode was mixed by Joel Edinburgh. Additional music and score 495 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,600 Speaker 1: elements by Ryan Spraaker and Henry Luneta. This episode was 496 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:32,360 Speaker 1: written by Ted Omo. Story and copy ending by Pat Healy. 497 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,240 Speaker 1: Sources for this episode are available at Double Elvis dot 498 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:39,440 Speaker 1: com on the twenty seven Club series page, talk to 499 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:42,000 Speaker 1: me on Social act disgrace Land pod, and hang out 500 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,719 Speaker 1: with me live on a Twitch channel of disgrace Land Talks. 501 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 1: For more news on your favorite podcast, follow at Double 502 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:55,920 Speaker 1: Elvis on Instagram. Rock rolla, What is