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I don't really know William Tyler's music, aside from being aware that he's primarily an acoustic guitarist. I'll be in Burlington, VT for a couple days in February and he's playing there, so I got tickets. I need to pick up his records. (I've decided I like Can, but can't really stand the vocals most of the time.)

The Zeppelin comparisons are not in their ability, but in what they're trying to do. The silly outfits, the physical mannerisms of the singer, the exact replica of Bonham's drums, Zeppelin style guitar and bass rigs (which had become the standard a long time, but isn't very common anymore), and the recording production style which is clearly going for that sound. They don't have the ability to get close to it, but they're going for it. As for vocal sound, I hear much more Heart than Zeppelin.

I thought their second album had some good songs, too. It's been so long I can't remember which ones they are. I guess it had signs of what was to come, but by the third, they were totally unlistenable.

I think their SNL appearance did them more harm than good. I don't like them, but I was hopeful that they'd do something that surprised me. To be fair, I guess I was a little surprised they went the Poison power balled route on their second song. I still hope they'll grow into something worthwhile, but after that performance I'm more doubtful than I was before. In related news, I'm the guy who said Kings of Leon had the potential to become one of American's great bands. That turned out to be dead wrong.

I wish I could somehow get an accounting of how many of my Sunday afternoons as a kid were spent playing with Legos and listening to Caey Casem's American Top 40.

I used to love Stompers. Do they still make those? There was a dirt patch in my yard where my dad had to get our septic tank dug up, and that was the perfect place to build all sortf of obstacles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEkKJCvibdA

It's pretty amazing to me, as a fellow Atlantan of Mike Geier/Puddles. I've seen him try countless gimmicks sicne the early '90s, and shared stages with a few of his routines. None of them ever rose above local success, despite his obvious talent. It's weird to see him mentioned alongside Van, ZZ Top, etc. He's definitely earned his fame and hopefully won't be pigeonholed as a one trick pony. As for Van, assuming he's still being backed up by Joey Defrancesco, I think having a "name" artist as his backing band, someone who does NOT need him for a job, has caused him to put real effort

Oh cool, I'm glad that video turned up. Not sure why it didn't come up for me. Some random thoughts: I wonder if that's the same string quartet that played with them when they returned and did Jesus Etc a year or two later. Tweedy has said that Coomer is an extremely loud drummer, but he almost never looks like he's hitting all that hard. I guess it's all in the wrist. That black Tele Jeff's playing with the Danelectro style tape binding around the body shows up in a lot of photos of the Loft.

They were afraid it would have, because they know in politics it's a better strategy to say "they took something away from you" than to say "we got this done." Once you get something done, people expect you to get more things done. And that's a noose. So it's a question of do you want to put a noose on yourself, or on the other guys?

I finished it recently, and was sad for it to end. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the chapters on their early years. I don't care that much about their punk era, or even License to Ill, but I was pretty riveted by all the essays covering those years. One insignificant detail that was interesting about the book, and maybe I overlooked it, but I don't think the name Ricky Powell appears anywhere in the book. Kinda weird since he's probably the most name-dropped member of their entourage.

I do not know. But '99 would have been in support of Summerteeth and my bet is that they played Can't Stand It. Here's the IMDB page for that episode. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2477078/

Yeah, I intend to read the whole thing, and so far it's been entertaining. To me, as someone who was born in Boston only a few years later, one reason for reading it, aside from being a fan of Van and other figures covered in the book, was to learn more about where I come from and about what kinds of things my parents might have been experiencing or witnessing leading up to starting a family (and I think I've already gained some insight into their social conservatism). So on that level, it was a bummer to see such an obvious mistake. But I expect it'll be enjoyable as a big picture story wi

Very disappointing that to see a major error in the first sentence that mentions Van. It says he was 21 in 1968, and then the next sentence says he was born in 1945 (which is correct, meaning he was not 21 in 1968). This usually wouldn't be a big deal, but that's a pretty major detail to get wrong in a book that's mostly about Van set in 1968, especially right at the start. It calls the whole book's accuracy into question.

I just discovered this band. Good stuff! Have you heard their previous record from 2017? I picked up both at the same time and I've only been able to listen to them once each. So far I like the first one a little better, but both are really good. https://www.discogs.com/Ohmme-Ohmme/master/1350045 Will check out more from your list. We have had similar tastes in the past.

Haha, yeah, that kind of thing. Every now and then I'll look at comments on something Dead related on FB, and without fail, numerous people start their posts with "HEY NOW!." A phrase Bob sang in Iko Iko. SMH.

Dumb question...this is just audio, right? I'm still hoping for some pro quality video from this era (or Chuck Leavell era) to materialize.

OK, that was funny as shit.

As a one time deadhead, I think the thing that caused me to jump ship was the way other deadheads would use the lyrics the way many Christians use bible verses. No matter the scenario, if there was a group of deadheads around, someone would spout a song lyric as if it was wisdom passed down from on high. And like many Christians, it was too often a smokescreen to hide poor behavior. A lot of the lyrics were good, but It was juggalo level annoying to me. I've tried to convince myself that I'm just being cynical and that this was something that happened organically and was outside of the ban

Could've been Moogis, Could've been Warren leaving/Derek and Oteil coming onboard, which may have shuffled various agreements, percentages, or whatever.

There was also an incident where had a drunken altercation with some police officers. I think this was what lead to Zakk Wylde filling in for some shows (edit: sure enough, it is, see link...with insane audio from the show). Things like that were definitely contributing factors. It's one thing to not be playing well. That's something that you can work on pretty easily. But that combined with legal and business hassles is too much for any band to endure, It's too bad. I always liked Dickie, and I love the tunes he brought to the band. https://www.jambase.com/article/night-zakk-wylde-f

I watched the first half. Was this taped before or after Dickie's recent stroke? To add a bit to the Butch/Dickie feud (if there was one), Butch talked about this on his blog. He says it was because Dickie's playing went down the tubes. He says Dickie disputed this, but Butch told him all he had to do was "listen to the tapes", referring to the Peakin' at the Beacon release. I don't know if I've ever heard that one, but apparently they felt Dickie was sucking at that time and that CD is a good example. Very disappointed Rather didn't go into the '89 reunion and the years following, as

I'm not going to make a list. Every time I try, I end up with a bunch of records that actually came out the previous year. So I'll just say my favorite album of the year is: Sam Evian: You Forever

I wish I had seen them earlier in their career. I guess I just don't like most of their more recent material, particularly Toby's songs, and they played zero songs from We All Belong, which is the main album of theirs that I like.

Julian Lage Trio Patti Smith: Words and Music (NYC) Jim Campilongo Trio (NYC) Paul Simon Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (DC) St. Vincent Rockateens album release show Chaka Khan (Macon, GA) McGuinn/Hillman: Sweetheart of the Rodeo w/ Marty Stuart & HIs Fabulous Superlatives Gold Sparkle Band All shows in Atlanta except as noted. Worst show of the year: Dr. Dog. I was shocked by how boring they were. Expected much better.

You're right on all counts, but I also tend to think it's all because they were the ones who got big doing what they were doing. Not that they were the only ones, or even the best ones, doing what they were doing. But I suppose that's really what the criteria for getting into the hall boils down to.