Bobby Weir RIP
From the Long, Strange Trip dept.
As my regular readers/listeners know, I spent nearly 30 years (1987-2014) in the San Francisco Bay area. An extraordinary Iowan (Teja Bell) persuaded me to leave Day Mwahh (Des Moines is a French name right?) to venture into Marin County, CA to take part in the musical kaleidoscope that was the scene in those days.
It was home to then-world conquering musical heros like Huey Lewis, Carlos Santana, and, of course, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzman, Ron “pigpen” Mckernan, Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia and our recently departed friend, Bobby Weir.
These guys were ‘hometown heros’ but thanks to the generally chill attitude of Marin, they could go about their business without being chased down by adoring fans looking for things like autographs or “selfies” (Which didn’t actually exist yet, thank goodness)
For an Iowan like me coming in from the Midwest, I learned to hide my awestruck-ness while at the same time inwardly freaking out over the fact that before 1995, Jerry Garcia and I could occasionally enjoy late night ice cream cones together on 4th Street outside the Double Rainbow Ice Cream Shop.
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I may have originally come to Marin to play music but, in fact, it was my fine Des Moines Public School education that eventually opened opportunities for me far beyond just playing music.
Beginning in 1996, I began a 18-year career as a technology and music teacher at Marin County’s two premier college prep high schools, The Branson School and Marin Academy (MA). It was there where I found out that rock stars may appear as hippies but as parents, they were generally super goal-oriented and demanding of fine education for their children.
The fine public education available to us 1950’s-born kids in Iowa compared favorably to the quality and rigor of the well-funded private school world of Marin Co. circa 1990’s. (translation: our Iowa parents’ relatively modest taxes paid for the kind of fine public education that now cost Marin parents of the 90’s and beyond between $40-60k)
Iowans tend to find each other no matter where we are. Iowa-born guitarist and educator Robert Schleeter (Valley High class of ‘72) moved to Marin a few years after I did and as luck and providence would have it, he took the music teaching job at Marin Academy (MA). When my time at Branson came to an end, he invited me to join him at MA to build what would eventually become (according to students) one of the coolest music programs in Marin.
Schleeter and I both came up through Des Moines’ music scene (1967-87) jamming with and learning from local legends like Ernest “Speck” Redd, Sam Salomone, Don Archer, Joanne Jackson, Ella Ruth Piggee, Bobby Jackson, Rick Lussie, Harlan Thomas, Del Jones, and scores of other players in Blues, Jazz, Country, Folk, Latino music and Electronic Music.
The ‘ethic’ of our DM scene was centered around learning the fundamentals of as many styles as we could. As young guys, we sought out knowledge from the older players. It was a brother/sisterhood of musicians that served us very well as we left Des Moines venturing into the world of gigs, studio work and yes, teaching.
Bob Schleeter and I sought to re-create the free-wheeling, multi-stylistic roots of our Des Moines experience for our students in Marin and boy, did it work out!!
Many of the great writers, artists and musicians living in Marin at the time enrolled their children in our music program at Marin Academy.
As I mentioned before, Marin was “chill.” To the outside world, parents might be ‘famous’ but on campus they were always just mom or dad. The great thing was that as a parent, famous or not, you were expected to offer something of your experience to benefit the school.
MA parent George Lucas (daughter Amanda), did his part funding/building the Performing Arts facility on campus while others contributed their time/talent/treasure in service to the cause of supporting our fine little 400-student institution.
Many in the community were, of course, big fans of the Dead so when Bob Weir (daughter Monet) showed up to offer encouragement and support to our students, it was pretty special.
One day, Bobby showed up in the bandroom with an old friend of his tagging along. It was none other than the legendary songwriter and storyteller Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Quite a “show and tell” if you ask me. Bobby gratiously offered his time and talent more than once.
As I mentioned above, regardless of avocation, the parents of Marin Academy and Branson students were expected to show up for their kids offering whatever they could as support to the school. Bobby Weir, of course came to an MA fundraiser with his guitar and a song which today seems especially poignant in this time when the community mourns the passing of an artist who truly seemed ‘forever young.’
2013- Bob Weir performs “Easy To Slip” at Sweetwater, Marin county’s storied performance space. (it was a private performance for the MA community that year) Video by Dartanyan
I’ll bet Jerry, Phil, Pigpen, and Bobby are jamming once again…probably somewhere near the Mars Hotel.
Easy to Slip Lyrics
It’s so easy to slip
It’s so easy to fall
And let your memory drift
And do nothing at all
All the love that you missed
All the people that you can’t recall
Do they really exist
At all?
The whole world seems so cold today
And all the magic’s gone away
And our time together melts away
Like the sad melody I play
It’s so easy to slip
It’s so easy to fall
And let your memory drift
And do nothing at all
All the love that you missed
All the people that you can’t recall
Do they really exist
At all?
Well I don’t want to live forever
In this shadow of your leaving me
So I’ll light another cigarette (note 1)
And try to remember to forget
1978 Bobby Weir, producer Keith Olson
For New arrivals, My Integrated Life Begins Here; Episode One
I’ll bet Jerry, Phil, Pigpen, and Bobby are jamming once again…probably somewhere near the Mars Hotel.
All media presented here are from Dartanyan’s archives. For more information, please contact him directly.
More soon….and as a friend of ours once said…”Don’t Boo….VOTE!!”