I met four people who were in the same room yesterday. I played Scarlet Begonias, and one said 'Hey this is good, what is this?' I gave him a confused look and replied 'The Grateful Dead'. He then said 'No, no what's the band name?'. I repeated myself, and the four of them said they had never heard of them before. I told them to stop joking, they had taken it too far. They weren't joking. I played them Scarlet > Fire, Tennessee Jed, St. Stephen > The Eleven, and even my favorite version of China > Rider. They didn't recognize any of them, so I played Casey Jones. One of them said 'Oh yeah, I think I've heard this somewhere in like, a McDonalds commercial.' So I got up and left to go weep in agony that the world has come to this.
Most people who are from outside the USA have never heard of the Grateful Dead. I love the hippie movement and culture, but maybe from having foreign roots and all, I never felt the whole jam band thing. Of course there are exceptions, like STS9...
wouldnt you have been better to explain to them who the dead were and maybe showed them more of the music instead of judging them for not hearing of a band? no one can help where they came from and what was introduced to them.
