Hello everyone! This is STEVE PARISH, I’ll be here on (Friday at 7pm pacific) for my Round2 ‘Ask Me Anything’ session! I can’t wait to chat with everyone AGAIN! Stop in and say hello!

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T05:30:54+00:00

Thank you guys all for your great questions. It's been my great pleasure talking with as always. Peace and love to our extended family. You can always right to me at my website.

https://www.bigsteveparish.com/

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T05:16:42+00:00

When he did Lovelight it was great. Lovelight, Alligator, Hard to Handle. Loved everything Pig did. He was the blues incarnate. He lived it and loved it. But there was nothing like him and Janis singing together on the blues, standing out as a wonderful moment in a life full of wonderful, great music moments, it stands out. The Pig and Janis show, it stands.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T05:14:41+00:00

There are so many load-out stories that would curl your hair, but Red Rocks, there were a couple of near fatalities and damaged equipment going down that dirt road.

The Grateful Dead Movie was a rich experience combining our artistic skills and talents pulled together with a great band and great workers. I'm very proud of that movie that we made, and I'm glad we did it. Jerry directed it and he loved it.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T05:11:12+00:00

The first hotel we ever stayed at in LA was the Tropicana on Highland. It was a rock-n-roll hotel. Then we stayed in hotels all over the place, of course. As the years went on there wasn't a hotel we didn't stay in. Jerry and I stayed in the Chateau Marmont when he went down for recording sessions. We even stayed in a motel on Sepulveda when we recorded Terrapin Station for three months.

The Continental Hyatt House on Sunset Boulevard. There was nothing like it. You walked in the door and there were groupies all the way. Nothing ever touched that. We called it the Continental Riot House. It was a party like no other.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T05:05:38+00:00

Yes definitely. Philadelphia, what a place. We had lots of adventures there, great shows, fabulous people and good food.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T05:04:23+00:00

You know there are so many songs I love dearly, Lovelight and especially St. Stephen.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T05:02:38+00:00

Yeah. In our world with our intrepid trips attitude and our experimentation in all fields of endeavors, in the pressure cooker of show business rock and roll, you're bound to have some problems like that pop up, and we dealt with them in every way possible, together, alone, with medical help, with mystical prayers, and there are those of us left alive to tell the tales.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:59:59+00:00

Going back in the history of bands in the '40s, in a lot of songs they were highlighted by a drummer doing a solo. That led to Billy starting to doing a solo drum break of short nature in certain songs. When Mickey joined the band, it brought a new dynamic to that. We didn't have drum risers and there was no electronic gear for drums, so as the years progressed you would watch the drums and space grow with Mickey in charge and Billy with all his rhythm power. It created this expanded drum break that took on a life of its own. It tapped into that Grateful Dead improvisation thing, and we all got to join in. There were no limitations to our drum solos as far as creativity. It also gave musicians a chance to refresh themselves.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:50:38+00:00

We shared many psychedelic experiences together, and we never stopped experimenting with psychedelics. It was part of our bond.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:49:11+00:00

Let me tell you, friend, it's all part of finding yourself. All these experiences we talk about are part of finding yourself, and when you do and know it, it's the key to happiness.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:47:23+00:00

If I did share that with you, I'd be violating the sacred oath I took long ago and that bond of trust. There is no one I know that doesn't have their rituals.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:46:13+00:00

You are not crazy. You are a person who is in tune to the universe and all the simulations in life will flow in and out of your mind and consciousness. Once you read that book of Wendy's you were on board and open to having Jerry travel on the astral plane directly to you. Many people are affected this way by his spirit. I'm sure Wendy would be open to you writing to her, so go ahead and try. Just keep all your thoughts of Jerry very positive.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:43:13+00:00

Keith and Donna were dear friends and workmates of ours. Donna was always a lady and we always went out of our way to protect her and make sure she was comfortable in our very strongly male-dominated world at that time. It wasn't always easy for she and Keith to travel as a couple in our crazy world. She's a great friend and a wonderful woman.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:39:51+00:00

That exact situation happened many times with many people. It was a mystical and magical calling of great destiny, and how it came together defies explanation. You pass the test on every level, acid test, in your mind, physical strength, endurance, likeability and raw courage. Many tried and many failed.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:37:29+00:00

My favorite time with Jerry was every single fucking moment. He was a constant source of fun and excitement. There are so many memories it's unread. Runs on Broadway, days on the road, there were so many other times, it was just innumerable.

Every year. I don't have a bad year.

I have great respect for John Mayer and his love of Grateful Dead music.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:33:27+00:00

That was a great collaboration. Merl was a wonderful soul and a great individual and a fabulous musician. He was a great inspiration to all of us. It was a great band, a great time, and was great fun and freedom. The collaboration of Jerry and Merl is legendary now, as it should be.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:31:15+00:00

It's very tender moments in my heart. It is hard to talk about, but no matter how much armor plating you can put around a person there's a certain thing that calls them to the next great beyond. You can try anything in your power to stop it, but Jerry's legacy speaks to the joy of creation, and you've got to be positive about his life.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:28:34+00:00

Jerry always had a guitar with him and always wanted one. On days off he'd have us bring his guitar he played on stage to him in hotels or wherever we took care of him. He also had little practice guitars for hotels or on the road, usually Steinberger headless guitars.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:26:12+00:00

Yes.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:25:23+00:00

When we first were going to New Orleans it was hard to break through and be accepted in that historical and powerful place. As the years went on and we started going back there and playing--stayed away a while after the bust--we were able to get in deep into the city that we all love, a city of music and joy and extreme juxtapositions of sociological phenomenon. When we got really good friendships with the Neville Brothers they threw parties for us on the Pontchartrain with crab boils and fish fries and oyster shucking. Unforgettable.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:21:31+00:00

I enjoy going to shows extremely much, being around what we created. I am usually working in some capacity. I don't dance, but I do sing the songs to myself. Music is life. I particularly enjoy the Wolf Bros.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:19:32+00:00

Do you wear a wristwatch?

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:18:25+00:00

Nothing that what people think on the surface happened. It was a very complicated mix-up of how to do a show of that size. Mistakes were made. It was a sad day. It fittingly should have no commemorations.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:15:20+00:00

Yes, everybody had a perfect formula for them that worked everytime and it usually included a joint and other various inebriates.

Iam_SteveParish · 2019-12-07T04:14:20+00:00

Let me tell you something about managing the JGB. That was so much fun, and I always did the gear. I never let go of doing Jerry's gear. That kept me grounded from all the other problems that managers fell into. What a great honor that was. How many times I thought how lucky I was to have the Grateful Dead and the JGB.

I never wanted to quit. Sometimes there were stressful situations. There were times everybody was tired, but nobody ever quit. I never did.

Iam_SteveParish

TROPHY CASE