Page One

In the wake of the Grateful Dead's brief reunion concert in Wisconsin last month, and with a pending winter mini tour, there could hardly be better timing for Dennis McNally's “Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead,” which the author will discuss at Cody's Wednesday. What sets the 600-page tome apart from other Dead bios is the author's background and his personal relationship with the band. 

“What makes my book different is that I have a doctorate in history,” said McNally, who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts. “The whole first half of the book is not just for Deadheads but really for anyone who's interested in a history of the sixties through the Grateful Dead.”  

Few are more qualified to tell it. McNally was hired by the band as publicist in 1984, and continues in that position today. His first book, a biography of Beat icon Jack Kerouac, convinced the band that he was the right man for the job. 

“Jerry revered and signified Kerouac very greatly,” said McNally. “He read my book and said, ‘If you understand that then you understand us, why don't you do us.’ I said, ‘Great idea.’ ” 

“The guy who encouraged me to do the Kerouac book turned me onto the Dead, so the two subjects were joined in my mind,” said McNally. “By the time I was well into the Kerouac project I had become a Dead Head, and I wanted to do these two books. It only took 29 years, but what the hell.” 

“The obvious connection is Neal Cassady, the man Jerry Garcia called ‘The furthest out guy I ever met,’ ” said McNally. Cassady was the model for Dean Moriarity of Kerouac's “On the Road,” and a fixture at Ken Kesey's mid-60s “Acid Tests,” where the Dead – then known as the Warlocks – began to find their feet as freeform psychedelic shamans.  

Guitarist Bob Weir expressed the familial bond that held the group together. “We're all siblings,” he said, “underlings to this guy Neal Cassady. He seemed to live in another dimension.” 

In the spirit of the Beats and the Dead, the book loops around its subject matter. “I don't think a linear book would explain the Grateful Dead very well,” said McNally. The book chronicles the life span of the band, and interjects interesting “Interludes” about band members, the road crew, promoters, and even parts of the set. Additionally, McNally creates composite images of what the band was like at a certain point in its metamorphosis such as with “Shakedown (10/78-10/80).”  

While bands thrive on the spirit and muse, there is the business side of the entertainment life: money, contracts and such. The Dead were never keen on tackling this part of a musicians' career and early on often left the work to others, which had disastrous results. 

“In addition to being the grand spiritual adventure that it was, [The Grateful Dead] was also a business,” McNally said. “And if you didn't make enough money to get to the next show, you were screwed. A Long Strange Trip delves into many of the particulars of arranging gigs. “Someone wanting to get into the music business could do worse than to read a few chapters of this book,” the author said. 

Longtime Berkeley residents will remember events from the book. McNally recalls the Dead playing in People's Park in 1969 when the dispute between students and the UC first came to an ugly and tragic head. Later in their career, the Dead regularly sold out the Greek Theater in Berkeley until the city, overwhelmed by camping Dead Heads with no tickets, banned the group from performing there in 1989. 

As a historian, McNally has certain feelings about the Grateful Dead's legacy. “They lived the American Dream, with their own attitude,” he said. “I really don't know how to express how unusual that is, but it's true. They did what no other band did, forged electric rock instruments with jazz improvisation. It'll go on forever in some ways.”  

As a friend of the band and self-confessed Dead Head, the band's personal meaning to McNally is deeper. “Mickey Hart said, 'We're not part of the entertainment business, we're part of the transportation business. We move minds.' They created a completely unique approach that I always will love.” 

McNally was effusive about the recent Grateful Dead concert stint in Wisconsin, which featured founding members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart. “Frankly, the music sounded better than I expected it to. There's a lot of magic still there, a lot of wonderful juice in the relationship among those four guys.”  

McNally praised the musicians who were called in to round out the sound, particularly guitarist Jimmy Herring, who had to stand in Jerry's giant shoes. “He just played his butt off,” said McNally. “The band just locked down. Give these guys 10 nights back on the road and they're going to be monsters.” 

No matter the Dead’s future, McNally said, the brief weekend reunion signified a triumph. “I can't tell you who was happier, the band or audience. There was such obvious joy.”