Product Review

Jamming in the shadows of the Grateful Dead, the Jerry Garcia Band thrilled devoted fans for three decades with an alchemist’s brew of blues, rock, jazz, and gospel, as well as Motown and Dylan covers. Positively Garcia is the story of the rise of the Jerry Garcia Band from their early California club gigs through the band’s glory days in the early ‘80s. Author and Garcia aficionado Howard Weiner ranks JGB’s greatest shows, and explores the sublime solos and transcendent moments from those performances in essays that are accompanied by rare concert photos. JGB left behind an unprecedented trail of sonic inspiration, yet this rich musical legacy is largely unheralded. The chronicles of Positively Garcia shine a new light on an intimate and essential slice of Garcia’s prolific career. In the second part of this book, Weiner—a veteran of sixty JGB shows—recalls all the joys and madness associated with extreme touring. For Weiner, pursuing JGB was all business, and he took it very personally.