November 03, 1965
Autumn Records Demo
INTRO
Woah, partner, it’s 1965 and we’ve got just the Grateful Dead tape for you!
So the context here is the band’s name is actually the Emergency Crew, neé the Warlocks and not quite yet the Grateful Dead. The Emergency Crew, called this for one night and one night only, are demoing their stuff for Autumn Records at Golden State Studios in San Francisco.
It’s not a live show, nor is anything here going to transport you to another psychic plane and make you drop your jaw in awe and maybe even tear up a little—that’s for later. For now, this is the complimentary miso soup of Grateful Dead recordings…a little something before the main course to get you in the mood.
And a little bonus history, because, like I said, partner, it’s 1965…
If you’d like a bit of context for the social and cultural scene in San Francisco when the Dead were coming up, check out Hunter S. Thompson for the New York Times on the “Hashbury.”
Then, if you’d like to read up on the San Francisco sound and learn more about some of the other music-makers in the Bay Area at the time, read this low-fi but informative page from Sam Houston State University’s website and the requisite Wikipedia article.
SETLIST
| 1. Can’t Come Down | |
| 2. Mindbender | 💎 |
| 3. The Only Time Is Now | ♻️ |
| 4. Caution | 🐷 🌶 |
| 5. I Know You Rider | ♻️ |
| 6. Early Morning Rain | ♻️ 💎 |
♻️ = cover 🐷 = Pigpen 🌶 = hot 💎 = rare
LINEUP
| Jerry Garcia | lead 🎸+ 🗣 |
| Bob Weir | rhythm 🎸 + 🗣 |
| Phil Lesh | 𝖇𝖆𝖘𝖘 🎸+ 🗣 |
| Ron “Pigpen” McKernan | 🎹 + 🗣 |
| Bill Kreutzmann | 🥁 |
THE SHOW
“Can’t Come Down” sounds a heck of a lot like a couple of kids trying to emulate Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and a little bit of 60’s Rolling Stones, which they covered as a bar band. And rhyming streets / sheets / feet / treats / me / eat / sweet…at / that / cat / bat / flat / fat / hat…grip / slip / trip / ship / sip / flip / nip…sees / trees / seas / me’s / freeze / ease / fees…hints of Dr. Seuss in Jerry’s rap. It’s fun! This one was only played once or twice live, so enjoy it here.
“Mindbender” is a trippy little number with a great baseline and fun keyboard. Also only played a few times. They practiced the lyrics they preached with this one. Haha, LSD! Also, I’m kind of getting the James Bond theme. Anyone else?
“The Only Time Is Now,” like the two songs before, is also totally different from the band they turned into. Kind of a chill vibe with the delay on the guitar, really going for the harmonies which you gotta respect. A little pop tune!
A great early version of “Caution (Do Not Stop On The Tracks)” with a killer baseline and harmonica to boot—especially hot intro, a little gratuitous but I’m not complaining. Makes you wanna dance. Hot, hot, hot!
This “I Know You Rider” makes me smile. Simple and toned-down, but still hot…almost sounds like the Beatles on Rubber Soul. Maybe I’m wrong? I’m not a music critic! That was released just a month after this recording. Anyway, of course, the song evolved as they explored it, but this is a hell of a place to start. While it’s not preceded by a “China Cat Sunflower,” there is a mention of the Cheshire Cat in “Mindbender” so…the more things change, the more they stay the same.
I think it’s a shame “Early Morning Rain” didn’t stay in their rotation longer, because this is a real beautiful tune with potential for jams… Still, beautiful to see the band taking a folk song and making it their own.
