GOOD OL’ GRATEFUL DEADCAST

REWIND: A Visit to Planet Drum With Mickey Hart

Date: September 8, 2022
Hosts: Rich Mahan & Jesse Jarnow
Guest: Mickey Hart

Episode Overview

This encore episode celebrates Mickey Hart's 79th birthday and explores his multifaceted career as a percussionist, experimenter, and longtime drummer of the Grateful Dead. Hart discusses his pioneering work with sound (including his famous "beam" instrument), deep dives into rhythmic exploration with Planet Drum, the creation of the Grateful Dead’s fabled "Barn" studio, wild tales from the road, and his relentless, joyful pursuit of musical innovation. The episode weaves personal anecdotes with musical history, touching upon collaborations, technical experiments, spiritual moments, and the enduring power of community and ritual in music.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Mickey Hart’s Recent Projects & Planet Drum (05:47–07:56)

• Current season is dedicated to composing, not touring. Hart is experimenting with drones and spatial music.
• Ongoing collaboration with Deepak Chopra, and working on new Planet Drum music with Zakir Hussain—often remotely.
• Creation of the "Sonic Tonic Club," an ongoing collective session for drone and rhythm experimentation.
  • Quote: “It's been a season of drones for me. I've been working seriously with drones...This has been really an adventure. We call it the Sonic Tonic club.” (05:47, Hart)
  • The club is now on its 180+ edition and meets almost daily.

The Beam and Ancient Sonic Exploration (07:56–12:23)

• Hart’s "beam" is a custom instrument inspired by the Pythagorean monochord, producing ultra-low frequencies for immersive, brainwave-altering experiences.
  • Quote: “It's all about the Pythagorean monochord, you know, it's all about the music of the spheres.” (08:20, Hart)
  • The beam can plunge concert arenas to sub-20 Hz frequencies, immersing both players and audiences in vibrational sound.
  • He now owns multiple beams ("they've had babies") in various tunings and sizes.
• The beam enables not just sonic, but communal transcendence in live settings.
  • Quote: "You feel everybody...when people are there and we are vibrating together...That's a beautiful feeling." (10:15, Hart)
• Ensemble playing with multiple beams is possible due to synchronization just shy of feedback; “they just sustain...and you can just walk out of the room.” (11:48, Hart)

Origins & Inspiration Behind the Beam (12:23–15:28)

• Inspired by Francisco Lupica’s "Cosmic Beam Experience" of the early 1970s.
  • Hart decided to create an even larger, more powerful '747 version' after seeing Lupica perform in Golden Gate Park.
  • The beam made its first big impact as part of the sound design for Apocalypse Now (1978).
• Contextualized within a lineage of experimental instruments, including Craig Huxley’s "Blaster Beam" (used in Hollywood soundtracks).

The Barn: Sonic Laboratory and Communal Hub (15:28–22:24)

• Hart’s Nevada "Barn" studio transformed into a hotbed for Grateful Dead-related recordings and open experimentation.
  • Quote: “It was a crucible, it was an alembic...a place for things to be created that could not be created anywhere else.” (17:38, Hart)
• Hosted famous visitors and impromptu jams with Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, David Crosby, John Cipollina, others.
• Known for wild, marathon sessions, like the Diga Rhythm Band’s four-day, four-night continuous drum groove.
• The Barn was also the site of legendary percussion experiments, rituals, and, at times, dramatic misunderstandings with local authorities (due to target shooting and colorful characters like Hell’s Angels).
• Spiritual significance noted: The land is considered sacred by the Shoshone—Hart recalls mystical experiences, such as seeing the medicine man Rolling Thunder.

Creative Sessions, Technical Innovation, and Ritual (22:24–29:32)

• Birthplace of “Fire on the Mountain,” originally conceived with a rap vocal and written in collaboration with Robert Hunter, who handed Hart new verses during recording.
  • Quote: “Hunter was outside writing the verses and he was handing me verses as I was in the vocal booth.” (22:33, Hart)
• Dan Healy’s ingenious studio inventions, like a custom exponential tube delay with a tiny locomotive and a home-built echo chamber, furthered the band's legendary sound.
  • Quote: “Healy came up with an idea of putting exponential tubes...There was a locomotive on the track...so we can control the length of sound.” (23:46, Hart)
• The Barn also hosted solo projects (Hunter’s Tales of the Great Rum Runners, Tiger Rose) and was a workshop for learning new drum production methods, like muffling drums with a sheet for a unique sound.
  • Quote: “If you can get tone, dry and tone, then you can take that and put it in another processing easily.” (27:54, Hart)
• Hart used hundreds of 3x5 index cards pinned to the Barn’s walls to map out a percussion timeline while writing Drumming at the Edge of Magic.
  • The cards formed what Hart called “the Anaconda”—a proto-digital information snake.
  • Quote: “That’s how I wrote the books...the gathering of information very much like you work on Pro Tools...that was in the analog world before computers.” (28:40, Hart)

Grateful Dead Onstage Experimentation: “Drums,” Ritual, and Bacon (29:32–35:58)

• “Drums” segment was ever-changing and mostly unrehearsed; kitchen staff and wild objects frequently joined the performance.
• Notorious moments included frying bacon onstage (with Pigpen gleefully eating it) and using shotgun shells and starter cannons for percussion.
  • Quote: "Back in the old days, that was a big solo, was when I fried bacon and I would put the microphone into the fryer." (29:42, Hart)
• Hart recounts dramatic tales, like the cessation of bacon due to it dripping on Jerry Garcia’s amp, and stopping use of cannons after a stage accident with Ramrod (Dead’s equipment manager) caught fire from an accidental cannon shot.
  • Quote: "Ramrod was right there next to me, and he was on fire. His hair and his face was kind of on fire..." (32:30, Hart)
  • Quote: “That ended there. Like bacon ended. He told me that bacon ended, and I told him that cannons ended.” (34:34, Hart)
• Emphasis on the communal, ritual nature of rhythm performance as a key source of spiritual and creative energy.

Mickey Hart’s Enduring Philosophy on Music and Life (36:30–38:05)

• Daily studio practice described as both therapy and spiritual journey.
  • Quote: “Every day is a revelation, really. I try to make that a reality. I go into the studio...with the expectations of doing something incredible and miraculous and amazing, you know, transformative...” (36:30, Hart)
• Music as a form of self-improvement, healing, and constant discovery.
• Encouragement for others to approach listening as a high, transformative experience.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It's all about the Pythagorean monochord, you know, it's all about the music of the spheres.”
  — Mickey Hart (08:20)

• “You feel everybody...when people are there and we are vibrating together...That's a beautiful feeling.”
  — Mickey Hart (10:15)

• “The beam was...probably the most powerful percussive tool, drone tool on the planet.”
  — Mickey Hart (14:29)

• “It was a crucible, it was an alembic...a place for things to be created that could not be created anywhere else.”
  — Mickey Hart (17:38)

• "Back in the old days, that was a big solo, was when I fried bacon and I would put the microphone into the fryer."
  — Mickey Hart (29:42)

• “Ramrod was right there next to me, and he was on fire. His hair and his face was kind of on fire...”
  — Mickey Hart (32:30)

• “Every day is a revelation, really. I try to make that a reality. I go into the studio...with the expectations of doing something incredible and miraculous and amazing, you know, transformative.”
  — Mickey Hart (36:30)

Segment Timestamps

• 05:47 – Mickey Hart on drones, Sonic Tonic Club, and recent composing
• 07:56 – The beam: its construction, effects, and Pythagorean inspiration
• 12:25 – Francisco Lupica and the Cosmic Beam; origin stories
• 15:28 – The Barn as a creative haven; the marathon drum groove
• 22:24 – “Fire on the Mountain” origins; Hunter and early lyrics
• 23:46 – Dan Healy’s studio innovations (exponential delay, echo chamber)
• 25:31 – Recording Robert Hunter's solo records at the Barn
• 28:40 – Hart’s analog information timeline as book research method
• 29:42 – Grateful Dead stage antics: bacon solos, cannons, ritual, and community
• 36:30 – Daily music practice as philosophical and therapeutic pursuit

Episode Takeaways

• Mickey Hart’s legacy is one of tireless sonic exploration. Whether through drones, experimental instruments, or reinvented studio techniques, his impulse is always to push boundaries.
• Community, ritual, and spiritual connection are at the core of his work. The Barn became not just a studio, but a sacred ground for musical and personal transformation.
• Creativity thrives on continual play and risk. The wild stories—from fried bacon onstage to homegrown reverb machines—celebrate the joyous, sometimes anarchic, side of Dead culture.
• Hart’s philosophy affirms music as a way of being, a daily practice, and a magical, healing force.

Listen for a rich tapestry of Dead lore, mystical insights, sonic revelations, and playful anecdotes—plus a preview of Hart’s ongoing journey with Planet Drum.