Grateful Dead Music Forum

I was watching "Festival Express" and there is Sha-na-na doing their ridiculous thing on stage in Canada just like they did at Woodstock. My question is...

Is it just me or is Sha-na-na about as out of place at these 2 events as Dick Cheney at a Dead show? I remember that stupid show they had on TV and don't see how they fit in with the Generation of Love, I mean the gold lame suits? Come on...

Yeah it makes sense. Here's a band that rooted it self in the Genre of rock-n-roll that all those current fans of The Dead and Woodstock grew up on, and probably got turned onto. Early 60's- Do-Wop Bands, Chuck Berry, all influences for those Early teens, and kids who would morph into Hippies and freaks a few years later.
So when Sha-Na-Na plays these Gigs it's like a Blast from the Past, plus it is generally some good time Party, have Fun Music.
I'm not a Sha-Na-Na fan, this is just what I reasoned when I asked myself the same question you are asking. At first it seems wierd from our perspective, but put yourself in the perspective of that earlier Generation.

How funny was it when Garcia, the north star of cool and hip, is sitting there digging it more than anybody. Like the other poster said, what we see now as corny or played out, those guys actually dug. Nothing wrong w/ that. Have kids and eventually it will happen to you.

hogan wrote:How funny was it when Garcia, the north star of cool and hip, is sitting there digging it more than anybody.

I missed that cut of Garcia. I will go back and review it.

I dig the nostalgia factor but Sha-na-na always struck me as a "phony" band a la Monkeys, Partridge Family etc.. Upon further investigation it seems I am correct. Woodstock was one of the first gigs they ever had and they were "invented" in 1969 as a revival group of 50's NYC music and street culture . I just can't belive that a bunch of trippin freaks would listen to this act with any attitude other than taking a big bite of a kitsch sandwich. Hell I hated it when Sting shared the bill. Sting...he thinks he is so f-ing cool with his french rapping and midevil folk songs and tantric sex, what a douche...sorry about that I digress.

Did Chuck Berry (the king of rock and roll) ever share a bill with the Dead? Did he ever comment on how much they covered him? It seems more than half of Dead shows had at least one Chuck song.

yes chuck berry shared a bill w/ them west coast summer 95. I seem to recall earlier on also, 69-70 perhaps?

Sha-na-na was to 50's bee bop what dark star orchestra is to the grateful dead

phpbb wrote:Sha-na-na was to 50's bee bop what dark star orchestra is to the grateful dead

And Bingo was his name-O!

Well what about when Bobby had DJ Logic sit in with him, Does that make Bobby a HipHop artist?
I dig Bowser and Sha na na.

At Woodstock, Sha la la got $300. Hendrix 18K, Airplane 10K

hogan wrote:yes chuck berry shared a bill w/ them west coast summer 95. I seem to recall earlier on also, 69-70 perhaps?

for a funny, funny listen, anybody ever listen to the So Many roads rehearsal discs from 92 where Vince is talking about Chuck Berry and his drug habits? Chuck Berry doesn't have a band, he hires local musicians at every stop on the tour and the stories pertaining to this are the stuff of legend. Vince, I think, did a gig or 2 with Chuck in LA....(even I have my own personal brush with Chuck Berry because of this! I have to tell that story) Anyway the on the SMR rehearsals there is some hilarious stuff, which leads them all off into some wild tangents in regards to Drug stories....It is mostly Vince, Jerry and Bob.....but I think Phil and Mickey drop in an out of the conversation too.
Someone should make a transcript of it!

Shanana headlined over Robin Trower (debut of Bridge of Sighs) at Winterland in 75 (?) We all thought Bill Graham was playing a joke on us.

jeffm725 wrote:....(even I have my own personal brush with Chuck Berry because of this! I have to tell that story

I would love to hear a "Brush with Chuck" story...

jeffm725 wrote: for a funny, funny listen, anybody ever listen to the So Many roads rehearsal discs from 92 where Vince is talking about Chuck Berry and his drug habits? Chuck Berry doesn't have a band, he hires local musicians at every stop on the tour and the stories pertaining to this are the stuff of legend. Vince, I think, did a gig or 2 with Chuck in LA....(even I have my own personal brush with Chuck Berry because of this! I have to tell that story) Anyway the on the SMR rehearsals there is some hilarious stuff, which leads them all off into some wild tangents in regards to Drug stories....It is mostly Vince, Jerry and Bob.....but I think Phil and Mickey drop in an out of the conversation too.
Someone should make a transcript of it!

Ketamine, beyond psychedelic! Jerry tells a story about a guy who used make Weir snot piles of the shit. Then Weir tells a story about a NRPS studio session were the guys were literally hanging onto the board to keep from floating away. Funny shit.
http://www.archive.org/details/gd92-02- ... sbeok.shnf