GOOD OL’ GRATEFUL DEADCAST

Skull & Roses 50: Side B

Date: April 29, 2021
Hosts: Rich Mahan & Jesse Jarnow
Focus: Exploring Side B of the Grateful Dead’s 1971 live album Skull & Roses, with special emphasis on “The Other One,” the band’s evolving sound, and the vital supporting cast of instrument builders, sound artists, and craftspeople.

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into Side B of the legendary Skull & Roses album, focusing on the epic “The Other One.” The Deadcast team—Rich Mahan and Jesse Jarnow—break down the song’s improvisational evolution, its ties to Grateful Dead history and counterculture mythology, and the incredible scene of artisans who helped define the Dead’s sound and look. Featured are fascinating voices: guitar luthier Rick Turner, Dead insider and photographer Rosie McGee, and master tie-dye artist Courtney Pollock.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mystery and Evolution of “The Other One”

• “The Other One” was a signature jam, highly open-ended and tied to both musical innovation and Dead mythology.
• David Lemieux (Grateful Dead archivist) recalls first buying the album, noting initial confusion over song titles and formats (04:09).
• Gary Lambert discusses how, pre-tape trading, Skull & Roses introduced the song as a freestanding jam, distinct from its original suite (“That’s It for the Other One”) on Anthem of the Sun (05:00).
• The song’s sections—“Cryptical Envelopment,” “Faster We Go, the Rounder We Get”—are broken down, with Jesse Jarnow guiding listeners through their evolution and lyrical references (05:31–09:54).

Notable Quote:

“You know, something like maybe Train’s version of ‘Afro Blue,’ or... it was suggested by that kind of cording and that kind of rhythmic propulsion. Bobby [Weir] was listening to a lot of Coltrane...” – Gary Lambert (09:32)

2. Song Lore and Deadhead Mythology

• The lyrics tie back to “Cowboy Neal” (Neal Cassady) and the Merry Pranksters, embedding Beat Generation and psychedelic legend into the tune.
• Bob Weir recounts (with Phil Lesh), the real-life incident with the water balloon and a cop, giving rise to a lyric and its meaning (12:45–13:59).
• Jerry Garcia: Cassady “was an artist, and he was the art also. And he was doing it consciously as well... He did things—he worked with the world.” (15:47)

Notable Quote:

“He was the first person I met who he himself was the art, you know what I mean? He was an artist, and he was the art also.” – Jerry Garcia (15:47)

3. Space, Improvisation, and the Dead’s Sonic Philosophy

• The Dead felt their music as an exploration of space; Garcia literally calls it “space songs” and “space blues” in his stoned 1971 conversation with Yale’s Charles Reich (19:05–23:08).
• Garcia on cultural momentum and the “weight” of media:

  “The thing that I worry about with things like these interviews, when you're taking a piece of energy...is like physics. You know, the faster you go, the rounder you get... Or, for example, consider how much weight the Beatles put out there, or Bob Dylan...” (20:01)

Memorable:

• Bob Weir on live TV: “This is what a spaceship looks like in construction... if it malfunctions and we’re experiencing our first here. That being that Phil’s bass has just passed the astral zone and we’re going to try to bring it back.” (23:23–23:48)

4. Alembic—The Sonic Wizards Behind the Dead’s Sound

• Rosie McGee traces the founding of Alembic, which began as the Dead’s R&D shop and became a legendary builder of custom instruments and sound systems (25:34–27:56).
• Rick Turner: Recounts being brought in by Rosie to join Alembic, bringing his luthier skills from the folk and rock world; shares how hand-wound pickups and custom guitars were crafted with relentless experimentation (28:21–33:38).
• The Dead’s gear, from guitar pickups to speaker cabinets, was subject to “Alembicizing”—deep modification and enhancement for new sonic territory (34:04–36:16).

Notable Quote:

“We had to figure this shit out... Nobody was writing about this stuff. The only people that knew jack shit about guitar pickups were people like Les Paul and a few others.” – Rick Turner (30:52)

5. Spaces & Scenes: Alembic’s Moving Workshop

• From the Dead’s warehouse near the Nevada Air Force Base to 320 Judah (basement shop in a San Francisco art deco building) to 60 Brady Street, adjacent to Fillmore West—each location is rich with lore and technical innovation (36:16–47:41).
• The Pacific High Studios, remodeled by the Alembic team, became a live performance hub for Garcia, Van Morrison, and others (47:41–49:51).

6. Handcrafting the Dead’s Iconic Gear & Visuals

• Amplifiers, cabinets, and monitors gained a unique visual identity with custom paisley and tie-dye fronts.
  • Rosie McGee describes how she, Melissa Cargill, and Christine Bennett brought tie-dye to the Dead’s equipment, starting in 1968, giving live shows a psychedelic visual kick (53:01–57:28).
  • Later, Courtney Pollock arrives, expanding tie-dye into large-scale art, mandalas, and deeper color geometry. His work becomes synonymous with Dead stages and the emergent tie-dye aesthetic (58:35 onwards).

Notable Story:

Courtney’s first major tie-dye commission: On LSD, folds and dyes a mandala for a meditation room, unveiling it in a hallucinatory group “reveal” to angelic accompaniment—“...I walk to the back of the room and turn around and oh, my God, it's alive. This thing is just moving.” (62:44–66:30)

• Pollock’s fateful meeting with the Dead’s crew: Traveling west on a hunch, meets the right people his very first day in Marin County, and soon his tie-dyes are adopted for the band’s PA fronts (71:43–72:34).

Important Segments & Timestamps

• [03:04] – Album context: “The Other One” as Side B’s singular track
• [04:09] – David Lemieux on coming to the album as a young fan
• [09:32] – Coltrane’s influence on Weir
• [12:45] – Bob Weir/Phil Lesh: the cop, the water balloon, the lyric
• [15:47] – Jerry Garcia on Neal Cassady as art
• [20:01] – Garcia on media, energy, and the “faster you go...”
• [23:23] – Bob Weir: “spaceship in construction”/Phil’s bass in the “astral zone”
• [25:34] – Rosie McGee: Alembic’s beginnings
• [28:21] – Rick Turner: His journey to Alembic and guitar building
• [53:01] – Rosie McGee: origins of Dead tie-dyes
• [58:35] – Courtney Pollock: genesis of tie-dye artistry
• [62:44] – The first mandala on LSD
• [71:43] – Meeting the Dead crew, starting to dye speaker fronts

Memorable Quotes

• Gary Lambert:

  “Bobby was listening to a lot of Coltrane when he was making really his first stabs at writing and that was his coming out party as a songwriter.” (09:32)

• Jerry Garcia:

  “The faster you go, the rounder you get... When you stick something out in [the history stream], it's gaining momentum... If you put a lie out there, and it accumulates energy... the result is the incredible chaos that faces civilization.” (20:01–21:13)

• Bob Weir (to TV audience):

  “This is what a spaceship looks like in construction... Phil's bass has just passed the astral zone and we’re going to try to bring it back.” (23:23)

• Rick Turner:

  “We had to figure this shit out... The only people that knew jack shit about guitar pickups were people like Les Paul and a few others.” (30:52)

• Courtney Pollock:

  “...I walk to the back of the room and turn around and oh, my God, it's alive. This thing is just moving... Is it moving? 'Oh, shit, yeah, guy, it's crawling all over the wall.'” (62:44)

Final Thoughts

This episode is a kaleidoscopic journey through the history, philosophy, and dynamic creativity behind Skull & Roses—both the music and everything surrounding it. Whether unpacking the lore-rich lines of “The Other One,” geeking out over guitar pickups, or reliving the cosmic revelation of a tie-dye mandala, The Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast brings fans into close orbit with the Dead's ever-evolving artistry and its brilliant, motley crew of fellow travelers.