[garciafan]

I’m Richie….big Dead/Jerry fan! Guitar player. Vintage guitar and amp lover. I dig everything from the Pigpen era up until the end in 1995….
Caught The Grateful Dead at Roosevelt Stadium, Englishtown, Rutgers in 1981 (great college graduation present!}, MSG….5 shows.
Also a fan of everything from Dylan to the Stones to Hendrix and early punk rock.
Traveling is one of my favorite things to do….bars, restaurants, cats….very decadent (haha).
Anyway…,great to be (back) here after a period off the “boards.”

My favorite guitar is my 1960 Gibson ES-355 (mono) through my 1964 Fender Deluxe Reverb. I also like Les Pauls, Telecasters, TV Juniors….even old Marshall amps.
Waiting for a Phiga Wolf that I just ordered. Foolishly sold my Scarlet Fire Wolf when times got a little tough.
Great to be here!

[Jon S.]

Welcome Richie, from the DMV (District of Columbia/Maryland/Virginia).

Which leads me to ask:

Q. Do you know why Jersey has the most toxic waste dumps but the DMV has the most lawyers?

A. Because Jersey got first choice!

[lbpesq]

Hi Ritchie and welcome to the forum. I saw the Band open for the Dead at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City on Jerry's 31st birthday, 8/1/73. Twelve days later I moved from New York to California, partly because the Dead played more often in California.

What's the State Bird of New Jersey?

The mosquito!

hehehehe

Bill, tgo

[garciafan]

I like it here….close to NYC but can travel to the beaches and farmland within an hours drive. Also….nearby airports (Newark, JFK, LaGuardia) make for a relatively easy getaway when one wants to get away from it all. Lotsa musicians and opportunities to play and hear music. Lotsa bars (!) and restaurants.
Expensive…sure. I’m lucky enough to live in a rent controlled apartment with a river and city view.
So I can’t complain!
We don’t mind the New Jersey jokes! A lot of them are right on the money but the state defies most of the stereotypes.
The televised version of New Jersey (Sopranos, Jersey Shore etc) is well off the mark and the exception not the rule. Most folks are hard working and appreciate what we have!

The Grateful Dead always came to New Jersey and New York shows ready to rock!
Jerry commented that the fans here really “love their rock and roll!”

Great to be here! Thanks for the welcome!

[Jon S.]

I lived in Brooklyn through '69 and then in Massapequa through '75. My first Dead show was also at Roosevelt Stadium in '74 but later in August (the one that was rained out on Saturday and rescheduled for Tuesday). Unlike Bill, I didn't move away afterwards.

Here's the official New York State bird!

[tdcrjeff]

Of course Bill's Roosevelt Stadium Jerry birthday show was actually 1973.

[garciafan]

I was at the 1976 Roosevelt Stadium Dead show. My grandparents lived just a few blocks away so I saw some great shows there (Dead,Faces, Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, etc) but the most memorable show I ever saw there was CSN&Y in August 1974….,the day Nixon resigned. What a memory!
It was an awful venue…but it was OUR awful venue! Haha…

[lbpesq]

Of course Bill's Roosevelt Stadium Jerry birthday show was actually 1973.

Dohhhh! Yup, it was indeed 1973! I fixed it, above. This August 13th will be my 50th anniversary of moving to the left coast. New York is a great place to be from ... with "from" being the operative word!

Bill