"There's nothing better than a music festival in the heartland of the country," said Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band on the festival's last day.  Even though I can think of some things that are better, there is a lot of truth to this statement.  Despite its sputtering start with heightened police threats, and at times clueless security, the third

Whatever you might have heard through the music grapevine about the infamous White Iron Band from deep in the North Woods of Minnesota is probably true. Though Minnesota nice is real, these bad boys aren't called Minnesota's music outlaws for nothing. They carry a reputation for being hard drinking and always eager to settle a squabble with their fists. Yet, when it comes to their music, they are as talented and dedicated.

In a town that has produced acts such acts as Prince, Soul Asylum, Semisonic, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and a host famous musicians, it is easy to get lost in the shuffle of the Minneapolis music scene. OK, it's not L.A. or New York, but outside of that it is arguably one of the top music markets in the United States, and definitely easy for a band to get lost in the fray.

I can only distinguish the months by the he that he has become.  Now, he is an actor who plays a bartender at night and has replaced the mid-town businessman who reminded me of my father.

Vince died Friday, June 2nd.  He played keyboards with the Grateful Dead from September 1990 - August 1995.  Though he received a lot of criticism during his tenure, Vince was a loving, happy guy who played his heart out with the band.  Grateful Web sends our thoughts to his family and friends.  Thanks for your loving nature, Vince. We'll miss you...

***

After already beginning this project I decided to start to document my progress. The idea was to display my many years of Grateful Dead ticket stubs... the earliest from August 1984- Jerry Garcia Band at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, PA. For some reason I no longer have my first show tickets... which is disappointing. That was three shows from September 1983 at the Spectrum in Philly. I was 15 years old. Anyway, this was a way of reliving the good ol' days... and waving my freak flag high!

Any successful band has to deal with the downside of knowing when they are past their prime.  Lately, there have been a lot of albums that have turned out to be major disappointments.  This is not one of them.

What is the essence that is "Big Meat"?  The signature sound that originates from four close friends can only be described as improvisational Rock n' Roll.

Not a person sitting down! Ok let me back up….