Project: Upon turning 50 years old on August 16, 2020, Dave Olson (me, hello) is posting a photo (or maybe photos) a day / per year – starting with 1970 with intent of chronicling existence through various primary evidence sourced from studio portraits, class photos, ID / passport photos, or occasionally other “casual/group/random” shots when the above don’t exist in my archive (note: not “artificial intelligence,” really me, pulled from shoeboxes, journals, wallets and whatnot – diligently scanned and dated via glasses and haircuts, lightly annotated).
Hippie gent takes a photo with smart phone while unwittingly being photographed by a sardine can Lomo, Santa Clara, CA
In Summer 2015, the “core four” of legendary rock ‘n’ roll band “The Grateful Dead” did a series of five concerts (two in Santa Clara, California, three in Chicago, Illinois) to close the book on their storied career. With brother Dan, we fantastically scored tickets and made the journey to all five shows, travelling by road in various vehicles and staying a various hotels, campgrounds, crash pads.
Brother Dan in the stadium at Santa Clara, California
And, I had a notion to roll like it was still 1990 and that I kept a massive scrapbook of ephemera and eschewed technology (aside from a few logistical purposes) and took a little cork “sardine can” Lomo camera with expired film to capture a few hazy images.
The results are very pleasing because well, they are not crisp and clear in any sense, rather fuzzy and weird like me at the time… I was coming out of the long hard stretch, well I didn’t realize how far I still had to go but that’s neither here they are there. #rough
Me in front of a wall holding up a ticketA nice lady at the “rock the vote” booth in a sort of vendor’s row place (can’t remember the exact thing they called it)
This assortment contains selected snaps of people in-and-around the shows and on the road trip. Worth noting that with our gaggle of pals, we also stopped at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on the way back from Neil Young and “The Promise of the Real” at this legendary venue in some cold bewildering rain. Again, neither here nor there.
Dave and Dan, taking in the sceneMaking friends with some pranksters and their red nosesTwo nice young fellas who purchased some tie-dyes and kept in touch throughout the tourImpromptu tie-dye “store”Our little squadron / same as it ever was…
Note: there’s another collection of an “prairie time lapse” meaning a photo snapped every 15 minutes for driving across the US prairies capturing the redundancy and consistency of the landscape.
Daughter Sage and Papa Willis in ChicagoYour correspondent enjoying the vibes in ChicagoTechnology and tie-dyes collide with a radio simulcast show in ChicagoSo many mini museum artefact exhibits scattered around the grounds in Chicago… I was only able to see a small amount but hey, do what you canFolks were bringing out all sorts of artefacts to sell to pay for their trip, or in some cases, just to show off their culture… This really felt like the last gathering of this culture… I suppose it wasn’t but you know, think of it as a celebration and “show and tell”Wonderful 18-year-old Sage who made the trip from Utah to ChicagoJust me and my uncle weed 42 tie dye T-shirt and leather “Dave” visor and hemp satchel… Yes I did choose my outfits strategicallybonus: The aftermath of the Chicago stadium…Me and co-conspirator Brad Crabtree of IdahoBrad’s rig which took us from Utah to Chicago and backA stop at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado to see Neil Young in the rain / I was completely drained at this point
Another collection may follow with shots almost psychedelic in glorious hazy sloppiness from inside the concert venues – eventually, maybe.
Eugene, Oregon, 1990 – the first “gathering of my tribes” meaning Utah pals and BC crew meeting for first time and forging lifelong relationship, in front of my beloved 1974 VW “turtletop” the Earthship (now a sauna)
Back in the days of rambling around to Grateful Dead shows with pals in various (usually Volkswagen) vehicles, cameras weren’t really part of the kit. Usually, ticket(s) if possible, contraband if practical, maybe extra clothes to accommodate climates, hopefully a few bucks.
However, as part of my documentary instincts, i hauled along a tripod and a 35mm Alpa camera for taking “family photos” in which i would cajole (with much whingeing usually) the assembled renegades to pose, i’d hit the timer and run back (as such usually right in front) and take 1 and only 1 shot. Years later these would usually get developed.
Many are lost to the fog, however, some are gathered here for posterity and memorial.
near St George, Utah on way away form Las Vegas shows, 1992 i think? again the Utah and BC clans combining for some wild times in front of Willis’ VW Thing, Chris’ green VW bus. Great folks here (and at least one who is passed on, rip JJ)
Added as a riff on a Throwing Muses/Tanya Donnelly etc site, no recollection of context, archiving here for ummm… archival purposes
I was maybe a little “late to the party” learning about Throwing Muses as it wasn’t until 1990 and they came to play in Salt Lake City and I quickly kept looping through Real Ramona… {Realized most of my fave TM songs were primary by TD rather than KH}.
At the time I was listening to everything from Mike Watt’s firehose to following R.E.M. on Green tour and hopping on Grateful Dead bus in Eugene and disappearing on tour…
Would rock out to Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur Jr (who have seen dozen+ of times including with Nirvana opening), Green River and then Mudhoney in between Grateful Dead shows, as well as pretty much any touring reggae band you can mention. Later hitchhiked around Europe with a scant assortment of cassettes in my auto reversing Walkman including Pavement, Sebadoh, Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum, Velvet Underground, Santana, Cornell 77…
adding an image here, for no reason, not sure where it came from (Rolling Stone?) was in my “inspiration” dossier so hey, its shiny
“Grew up” with punk rock esp DOA & Nomeansno (im originally from Vancouver) and Dead Kennedys and other mostly west coast bands, but have tapped into *everything* from so-called college rock two free jazz to all the jam bands (saw Phish in a bar in Providence with maybe 75 people and little trampolines), followed String Cheese Incident around a bit, dug Widespread Panic and moe. Went to all five Grateful Dead 50 shows before “retiring”… Now live in Japan and especially big fan of Tanya’s sorta-recent Swan Song series.
Since I’m riffing, my first concert was David Bowie with Peter Gabriel of me and when I was 12, saw The Clash the next year and hopped on stage for the encore… and just kept going since then… Got backstage for Oingo Boingo, R.E.M., played in a few small tiny bands in Salt Lake and other places, saw Gwar in Germany which was legit scary, saw so many big festivals at The Gorge in Washington, tagged along as a “roadie” – although didn’t actually do anything – for the Bad Yodelers in Germany and The Matinée in Ontario.
All right, I’ve reminisced enough, have a wonderful festive everything #freehugs
Scrapbook: GD50, 2015 / poetry, musing, ephemera, artifacts from roadtrip (Hitchhiking board game + Japanese manga, cover)
This oversized bonanza of goodness started life as a hitch-hiking themed board game, complete with funny names for various cities, and then, after various knives, scissors, drills, and glue, became a scrapjournal filled with items from Grateful Dead 50th anniversary shows in Santa Clara, CA and Chicago, IL.
This trip was a “big deal” for my as part of my healing process from a chronic and complex consortium of diseases and i pre-populated with all sorts of little inspiration pick-me-ups to keep me trucking on.
The end result is bulging with thick items including programs from each day of the concerts, dried flowers, envelopes of treats, and also includes set lists, messages and signatures from various conspirators, and other new pals met along the way, along with loads of stickers, sketches, road poetry, postcards, and a few sketches by others.
Oh, the edges are finished with hockey tape and a page from a Japanese manga schoolbook. It is huge and heavy and joyful.
Memory book: GD50 for brother Dan / tile mosaic from Terrapin Crossroads (cover)
Brother Dan and I went to Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary (and final) shows – 2 in Santa Clara, California and 3 in Chicago, Illinois. We roadtripped the whole she-bang from Vancouver, BC to Olympia, WA to Pacifica, Santa Clara, then Las Vegas to Provo where we switched vehicles and rode with some pals across the midwest (camping in an epic storm in Nebraska along the way). We hit all 5 shows and enjoyed the community and music.
Other stops included Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael California and Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado to see Neil Young and Promise of the Real. We parted ways in SLC as i had to head to rescue a broken RV in Mendocino (unsuccessfully as it turns out) and Dan headed back to BC.
Along the way, stopped at various craft breweries, made loads of arts and crafts (including an massive scrapbook of ephemera, road poetry, set lists, newspaper clipping and other sundries) and a series of photos by Lomo camera. Also documented a series of two-fer photos of us enjoying beers or joints or scenery and the company of conspirators. Several of these became a “memory book” i created (via an online publishing service) for Dan as a wee present. When visited his home, i snapped quick shots of the pages (note to self: take better ones next time). Here the are the lousy pics of an otherwise lovely book – for my amusement and your curiosity.
Memory book: GD50 for brother Dan / at Ninkasi Brewing garden in Eugene, OR
Best thanks to the assortment of Global Free Radicals who contributed music via video for Creepers and Chums. This playlist contains all of them with the addition of “pre-roll” and “post-roll” artifacts collected from various place, simply to amuse and surprise without context.
Kindly consider reaching-out/following/fan-ing/liking any of the bands you particularly enjoyed via social channels of your choosing. They are all part of your life narrative too as they participated in this memorial for our departed loved ones. Continue reading Creepers and Chums: global musicians→
Acoustic, Bluegrass inspired, ukulele, electric bass and Djembe drum band playing “I know you Rider” at Grateful Dead 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well shows in the grassy knoll outside Soldier Field, Chicago. July 4th 2015.
Outside Solider Field in Chicago, thousands and upon thousands of Deadheads descending the surrounding parking lots, grassy knolls, museum steps and all points to commune, share music, hugs, sell items, and soak in the atmosphere which included this lovely little group of musicians.
mixed-media art library, global diary, project dossier and whole life documentation
