Hey, there really is a guy in his 50s named Sam. He plays some decent mandolin, a little bit of fiddle, some guitar, and he uses a slide thingy playin’ his mando-dobro. And he sings a few songs. Okay, seriously… Sam, more than any musician I know about these days, continues to honor and perpetuate John Hartford’s influence and his legendary musical style.
When all of us got together at Bickel’s place in Louisville this past December 2008, I was fixated on being sure to ask Sam Bush and Tony Rice one simple question. And I did. I asked each of them, “Did you ever play with The Grateful Dead?” Sam told me he never did. But Tony told me he played with Jerry Garcia and David Grisman together on a recording project. It has been rumored numerous times by many Dead-heads that some of Jer’s fav and most happy experiences were while he was playing with The Dawg. Sharing this with Tony was a pure gift for me.
Jimi Hendrix and The Grateful Dead “almost” shared the stage together. I’ve read comments about how they came close and it almost happened a few times. The rumor mills include not only these factual details, but they also describe a few Dead recordings with “hints of sounds” - like that of Jimi playing - when Hendrix was actually in town at the time Grateful Dead was performing. But they never shared the stage together.
So this brings me back to Cindy’s comment. Can I get you the next best thing to the Woodstock fantasy? Here’s a stand-out recording of Sam playing with String Cheese Incident at Merlefest 2000. Jimbo’s comments, “[i]This set was the second of three that SCI played at their first (and only to date) Merlefest. It was played at about 1PM during a pouring rainstorm. It didn’t seem to stop the action and to this date remains probably the single best set of SCI I’ve had the honor to witness.”
“This DSBD [digital soundboard recording] surfaced a little while back. Merlefest is a notoriously non-taping festival, to the extent that when JonO extended a patch [soundboard feed for the Taper to record] at the Main Stage on 4/27, festival authorities made him pull it back. It is essentially flawless, aside from a few spots of static here and there which are minor, but should be noted. I would assume they are related to the miserable weather that was happening.”[/i]
I ran across this recording on the Live Music Archive a few years ago. I mentioned it on this forum. At that time, the files transferred to The Internet Archive for this show were lossless audio only - for collectors and purists. I just noticed this show has been upped again by someone else, and this time the transfer has the derivative files created. This means “now I can easily share it with you.”
Look, I view Sam’s countless on-stage live performances as simply as I view Jerry Garcia’s. These 2 guys are my favorite musicians when it comes to brilliant energy, incredible jams and improvisations, singing souful vocals, and playing sweet music. Not to mention, both men are legendary pioneers. There is no “best.” They both have a “main” band, side bands and side gigs, several notable “periods” during their long and distinguished musical careers, and they are best known for their many on-stage appearances with all kinds of bands. I look at the whole body of their work. Both artists have countless recordings that circulate on the internet — recordings of them performing live on-stage — over a 30 to 40 year era. I enjoy listening to some of their stand-outs - plus, I enjoy listening to my personal favorites. That’s why I mention this tape.
String Cheese Incident w/ Sam Bush
Merlefest (Hillside Stage)
Wilkesboro, NC
April 28, 2000
Source: DSBD
Lineage: Sony D8 > Delta DiO 24/96 > Soundforge 4.5 > CD Wave > mkwACT
Transferred by: Jim Pollock
audio stream
web page on The Archive
San Jose
Stingray
Steampowered Aeroplane > Jam >
Birdland
Round the Wheel >
One Love
Also here on this forum, Festivarians can easily notice how to get the tapes of the Telluride House Band performance - TBF 2009. There’s some magic for you, Cindy. Enjoy.
Here’s the Jimi Hendrix miracle “blues” tape on YouTube - “Red House” - Atlanta Pop Festival, 1970.