Phil Lesh

I was saddened today to hear of Phil Lesh's passing. 

I happen to think that the Grateful Dead member was the greatest and most inventive bass player I have ever heard.

I can remember being in a taxicab in New York in 1969 and telling the cab driver how much I liked Jack Casady's playing and him telling me that I ought to hear a guy named Phil Lesh.

And when I did, I was hooked and I had to admit that he was right. So started a musical journey that has taken up the great majority of my life,

I met Phil several times but the most memorable event was when he wandered into my hotel room after a show in Fresno in January of 1978. We stayed where the band stayed in those days and several girls that were hanging out in my room were friends with Phil. Maybe Carol, Marla or one of the twins, Theresa? 

There was a tall curly haired fellow as well. We were puffing doobs and listening to tapes and discussing the night's music when Phil came in the door. He sat down on the bed and wanted to know what tape we were listening to and took some notes for further perusal. I remember him listening to and evaluating the show quite intensely.

We got him very stoned on North County red hair and I remember him finally laughing and shaking his head and saying, "No more." Might have been drinking a Heineken. 

In any case, the most memorable thing for me was when I recounted to him how I had been falsely arrested and beat up by undercover cops at a dead concert at the Shrine Auditorium the previous year. Cost me a lot of money and  bruises, for just trying to have a good time at a concert.

And I remarked to Phil that he was probably not interested in anything political. And he looked me straight in the eye and said, "Everything we do is political."

I will never forget that.

He was brilliant in every way and a true artist. My next meeting with him, at an airport in Portland did not go nearly as well, me failing to respect his boundaries. I was an idiot that day and he was tired and never one to suffer fools gladly and he let me have it.

Not sure we ever talked again after that, we may have. But it doesn't matter if we did or we didn't. Phil Lesh was an artist and a man of integrity and his contributions to our musical lexicon will never be forgotten. Like all of the dead, I want to thank them for being who they were and providing us so many damn good times.