"Behind the Scenes with Rob Bleetstein: Archiving the Legacy of the NRPS" Larry's guest, Rob Bleetstein, is known for his role as the host of the live concerts on the Sirius XM Grateful Dead station and as the voice of Pearl Jam Radio. In today's episode, he discusses the recently released live album "Hempsteader" by the New Riders Of The Purple Sage (NRPS), where he serves as the archivist and producer.
"Behind the Scenes with Rob Bleetstein: Archiving the Legacy of the NRPS"
Larry's guest, Rob Bleetstein, is known for his role as the host of the live concerts on the Sirius XM Grateful Dead station and as the voice of Pearl Jam Radio. In today's episode, he discusses the recently released live album "Hempsteader" by the New Riders Of The Purple Sage (NRPS), where he serves as the archivist and producer.
The New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band that emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969, with original members including some from the Grateful Dead. Their roots trace back to the early 1960s folk and beatnik scene around Stanford University, where Jerry Garcia and David Nelson played gigs together. Influenced by American folk music and rock and roll, the band formed, including Garcia on pedal steel guitar initially.
The discussion delves into the background of the NRPS, their albums, and notable tracks like "Panama Red," written by Peter Rowan and popularized by the band. The album "New Riders of the Purple Sage" features Garcia on pedal steel guitar and includes tracks like "Henry," a humorous tale of marijuana smuggling.
Throughout the show, various NRPS tracks are highlighted, showcasing the band's eclectic style and songwriting. Additionally, news segments cover topics such as the DEA's agreement to reschedule marijuana and updates from the music industry, including rare concert appearances and tour plans.
Overall, the episode provides insights into the NRPS's music, their influence on the country rock genre, and relevant news in the marijuana and music industries.
Larry's Notes
Rob Bleetstein who many folks know as the host of the three live concerts played every day on the Sirius XM Grateful Dead station. Also the voice of Pearl Jam Radio. And, most importantly for today’s episode, the archivist for the New Riders Of The Purple Sage and the producer of the Hempsteader album.
Today, featuring recently released NRPS live album, “Hempsteader” from the band’s performance at the Calderone Concert Hall in Hempstead, NY on June 25, 1976, just shy of 48 years ago.
New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead.[2] The band is sometimes referred to as the New Riders or as NRPS.
The roots of the New Riders can be traced back to the early 1960s Peninsulafolk/beatnikscene centered on Stanford University's now-defunct Perry Lane housing complex in Menlo Park, California where future Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia often played gigs with like-minded guitarist David Nelson. The young John Dawson (also known as "Marmaduke") also played some concerts with Garcia, Nelson, and their compatriots while visiting relatives on summer vacation. Enamored of the sounds of Bakersfield-style country music, Dawson would turn his older friends on to the work of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens and provided a vital link between Timothy Leary's International Federation for Internal Freedom in Millbrook, New York (Dawson having boarded at the Millbrook School) and the Menlo Park bohemian coterie nurtured by Ken Kesey.
Inspired by American folk music, rock and roll, and blues, Garcia formed the Grateful Dead (initially known as The Warlocks) with blues singer Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, while Nelson joined the similarly inclined New Delhi River Band (which would eventually come to include bassist Dave Torbert) shortly thereafter. The group came to enjoy a cult following in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties through the Summer of Love until their dissolution in early 1968.
In 1969, Nelson contributed to the Dead’s Aoxomoxoa album in 1969. During this period Nelson and Garcia played intermittently in an early iteration of High Country, a traditional bluegrass ensemble formed by the remnants of the Peninsula folk scene.
By early 1969, Dawson had returned to Los Altos Hills and also contributed to Aoxomoxoa. After a mescaline experience at Pinnacles National Park with Torbert and Matthew Kelly, he began to compose songs on a regular basis working in a psychedelic country fusion genre not unlike Gram Parsons’ Flying Burrito Brothers.
Dawson's vision was prescient, as 1969 marked the emergence of country rock via Bob Dylan, The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, the Dillard & Clark Band, and the Clarence White-era Byrds. Around this time, Garcia was similarly inspired to take up the pedal steel guitar, and an informal line-up including Dawson, Garcia, and Peninsula folk veteran Peter Grant (on banjo) began playing coffeehouse and hofbrau concerts together when the Grateful Dead were not touring. Their repertoire included country standards, traditional bluegrass, Dawson originals, and a few Dylan covers ("Lay Lady Lay", "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", "Mighty Quinn"). By the summer of 1969 it was decided that a full band would be formed and David Nelson was recruited to play lead guitar.
In addition to Nelson, Dawson (on acoustic guitar), and Garcia (continuing to play pedal steel), the original line-up of the band that came to be known as the New Riders of the Purple Sage (a nod to the Foy Willing-led Western swing combo from the 1940s, Riders of the Purple Sage, which borrowed its name from the Zane Grey novel) consisted of Alembic Studio engineer Bob Matthews on electric bass and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead on drums; bassist Phil Lesh also played sporadically with the ensemble in lieu of Matthews through the end of the year, as documented by the late 1969 demos later included on the Before Time Began archival release. Lyricist Robert Hunter briefly rehearsed with the band on bass in early 1970 before the permanent hiring of Torbert in April of that year.[8] The most commercially successful configuration of the New Riders would come to encompass Dawson, Nelson, Torbert, Spencer Dryden (of Jefferson Airplane fame), and Buddy Cage.
After a few warmup gigs throughout the Bay Area in 1969, Dawson, Nelson, and Torbert began to tour in May 1970 as part of a tripartite bill advertised as "An Evening with the Grateful Dead". An acoustic Grateful Dead set that often included contributions from Dawson and Nelson would then segue into New Riders and electric Dead sets, obviating the need to hire external opening acts.
With the New Riders desiring to become more of a self-sufficient group and Garcia needing to focus on his other responsibilities, the musician parted ways with the group in November 1971. Seasoned pedal steel player Buddy Cage was recruited from Ian and Sylvia's Great Speckled Bird to replace Garcia.
In 1977 and 1978, NRPS did open several Dead and JGB shows, including the final concert preceding the closure of Winterland on December 31, 1978.
In 1974, Torbert left NRPS; he and Matthew Kelly co-founded the band Kingfish (best known for Bob Weir's membership during the Grateful Dead's late-1974 to mid-1976 touring hiatus) the year before.
In 1997, the New Riders of the Purple Sage split up. Dawson retired from music and moved to Mexico to become an English teacher. By this time, Nelson had started his own David Nelson Band. There was a reunion performance in 2001. In 2002, the New Riders accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from High Times magazine.
Allen Kemp died on June 25, 2009.[13][14] John "Marmaduke" Dawson died in Mexico on July 21, 2009, at the age of 64.[15][16]
Pedal steel guitarist Buddy Cage died on February 5, 2020, at age 73.
(Rob – this is mostly notes for me today so I can sound like I know what I’m talking about. I’ll go through some of it to set some background for the band, but feel free to take the lead on talking about those aspects of the band, and its musicians, that you enjoy most or find most interesting – keeping in mind that our target audience presumably are fans of marijuana and the Dead.)
INTRO: Panama Red
Track #1
Start – 1:49
Written by Peter Rowan
“Panama Red” is well known in the jam-grass scene, but it’s perhaps not as widely known that Peter Rowan wrote the song.
It was originally a 1973 hit for the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the first popular version with Rowan singing and playing it came when the supergroup Old & In the Way, released their eponymous album in 1975, two years after their seminal time, in 1973, and a year after they disbanded.
Jerry Garcia was the connective tissue between the two projects, playing pedal steel in the early New Riders and banjo in Old & In the Way.
“I wrote ‘Panama Red’ after leaving my first project with David Grisman, Earth Opera, around the summer of the Woodstock music festival [1969],” Rowan explains.
“It’s a fun song because it captures the vibe of the time. I was from the East Coast, but I found there to be more creativity on the West Coast during that time period.
“Nobody wanted to do ‘Panama Red’ on the East Coast. I took it to Seatrain [the roots fusion band in which Rowan played from 1969 to 1972], and when it eventually became a hit, the manager of Seatrain claimed it. I never saw any money, even though it became the title of an album for the New Riders of the Purple Sage [1973’s The Adventures of Panama Red].
“The subject was "taboo" in those days. You did jail time for pot. So that might have scared commercial interests. But Garcia was a green light all the way! "Oh sure" was his motto, both ironically and straight but always with a twinkle in his eye! After Seatrain management kept all the money, Jerry suggested I bring the song to Marmaduke and Nelson!"
“When David Grisman and I got back together for Old & In the Way in 1973 with Jerry Garcia, Vassar Clements and John Khan, we started playing it.”
From the NRPS album “The Adventures of Panama Red”, their fourth country rock album released in October 1973. It is widely regarded as one of the group's best efforts, and reached number 55 on the Billboard charts.
The album includes two songs written by Peter Rowan — "Panama Red", which became a radio hit, and "Lonesome L.A. Cowboy". Another song, "Kick in the Head", was written by Robert Hunter. Donna Jean Godchaux and Buffy Sainte-Marie contribute background vocals on several tracks.
SHOW No. 1: Fifteen Days Under The Hood
Track #4
1:55 – 3:13
Written by Jack Tempchin and Warren Hughey. Jack Tempchin is an American musician and singer-songwriter who wrote the Eagles song "Peaceful Easy Feeling"[1] and co-wrote "Already Gone",[2] "The Girl from Yesterday",[3]"Somebody"[4]and "It's Your World Now".[5]
Released as the opening song on the NRPS album, “New Riders”, their seventh studio album, released in 1976
SHOW No. 2: Henry
Track #6
1:19 – 3:05
"Henry", written by John Dawson, a traditional shuffle with contemporary lyrics about marijuana smuggling. From the band’s debut album, “New Riders of the Purple Sage”, released by Columbia Records in August, 1971.
New Riders of the Purple Sage is the only studio album by the New Riders to feature co-founder Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead on pedal steel guitar. He is also featured on the live albums Vintage NRPS and Bear's Sonic Journals: Dawn of the New Riders of the Purple Sage.
Mickey Hart and Commander Cody play drums and piano, respectively, on two tracks—"Dirty Business" and "Last Lonely Eagle".
Then, there’s a swerving left turn away from romance tunes on this album with ‘Henry‘, whose titular hero has stepped right out of a Gilbert Shelton underground comic. At a frenetic pace the story of Henry’s run to Mexico to fetch twenty kilos of (Acapulco?) gold unravels, with Henry driving home after sampling the wares “Henry tasted, he got wasted couldn’t even see – how he’s going to drive like that is not too clear to me.” It’s a joke, but a joke that sounds pretty good even after repeat listens.
SHOW No. 3: Portland Woman
Track #9
:34 – 2:00
Another Marmaduke tune from the NRPS album released in August, 1971.
A bittersweet love song progressing from touring boredom to be relieved by a casual hook-up with the pay-off with the realization that the Portland Woman who “treats you right” has actually made a deeper connection “I’m going back to my Portland woman, I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
SHOW No. 4: You Never Can Tell
Track #15
:51 – 2:26
You Never Can Tell", also known as "C'est La Vie" or "Teenage Wedding", is a song written by Chuck Berry. It was composed in the early 1960s while Berry was in federal prison for violating the Mann Act.[2] Released in 1964 on the album St. Louis to Liverpool and the follow-up single to Berry's final Top Ten hit of the 1960s: "No Particular Place to Go", "You Never Can Tell" reached number 14, becoming Berry's final Top 40 hit until "My Ding-a-Ling", a number 1 in October 1972. Berry's recording features an iconic piano hook played by Johnnie Johnson. The piano melody was influenced by Mitchell Torok's 1953 hit "Caribbean".
The song has also been recorded or performed by Chely Wright, New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Jerry Garcia Band, Bruce Springsteen, the Mavericks, and Buster Shuffle. JGB performed it almost 40 times in the early ‘90’s.
The song became popular again after the 1994 release of the film Pulp Fiction, directed and co-written by Quentin Tarantino. The music was played for a "Twist contest" in which Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) competed (and were the only contestants shown in the film). The music added an evocative element of sound to the narrative and Tarantino said that the song's lyrics of "Pierre" and "Mademoiselle" gave the scene a "uniquely '50s French New Wave dance sequence feel".
OUTRO: Glendale Train
Track #17
1:30 – 3:14
Still another Marmaduke tune from the “New Riders of the Purple Sage” album released in late summer 1971.
MJ News:
Just one MJ News story today important enough to take a few minutes to talk MJ: DEA’s agreement to reschedule MJ to Schedule 3 from Schedule 1.
Benefits: banking services, no 280(e) restrictions on what expenses retailers can deduct and allows for full medical research of MJ.
Negatives: Still illegal, all drugs on Schedules I, II and III must be prescribed by a licensed health care provider with prescription privileges and can only be dispenses by licensed pharmacists.
Music News:
A few quick hits re Music (no real need to get into any of these but I like to see what’s going on so I don’t miss anything interesting, these are the first things that get cut when we decide we want to keep talking):
Jaimoe makes rare public concert appearance with Friends of the Brothers in Fairfield CN, plays ABB hits
Mike Gordon sits in at the Dodd’s Dead Residency at Nectar’s in Burlingtron, VT as part of “Grateful Dead Tuesday”. Plays He’s Gone and Scarlet (we have some Phish fans as listeners so try to toss a few bones to them)
Listen: Mike Gordon Offers Grateful Dead Classics at Nectar's (A Gallery + Recap) (relix.com)
David Gilmour may be planning first tour since 2016, won’t play any Pink Floyd songs from the ‘70’s – like the old Doonesbury strip where Elvis comes back from the Dead, Trump hires him to play in one of his casinos and at the start of the show, Elvis announces that he is only playing the songs of the late great John Denver.
David Gilmour Plots First Tour Since 2016 (relix.com)
Roy Carter, founder of High Sierra Music Festival passes away.
Roy Carter, High Sierra Music Festival Founder, Passes Away at 68 (relix.com)