Grateful Dead Archive Opening

The Grateful Dead Archive had its public opening yesterday at UC Santa Cruz. I went down for the event and was able to catch the first couple of hours. Beautiful day and setting, Moonalice sounded great, and the exhibit looked swell.

During that brief time, I visited with archivist Nick Meriwether (who was very busy), Rosie McGee (whose e-book on her years with the Dead is about to appear), Paul Grushkin (author of the recent Dead Letters), and Steve Parish (Jerry Garcia's key roadie).

Parish, who wrote Home Before Daylight, gave a short talk between Moonalice sets. He and I have the same editor (Marc Resnick) at St. Martin's Press, and Marc recently signed Bill Kreutzmann's memoir, too. Not sure if he acquired Playing in the Band by David Gans and Peter Simon, but either way, St. Martin's has sponsored a great deal of Dead lit over the years.

The event was well attended--and well covered, if the early rushes are any indication. I've already seen articles from the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the Los Angeles Times, and the Atlantic. I'm sure there will be more.

Many thanks, and heartiest congratulations, to Nick and his colleagues at UC Santa Cruz for their good work and a delightful event.