So it’s been really busy, and believe you me at my age that’s a really good thing. So we got everything replaced after that electrical storm. I hope some time elapses before the next ‘big thing’ happens. We had a killer camp and Richie Furay came to town with his band and played the show Saturday night. By the bye… I got to play For What It’s Worth with Richie and the gang.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

We finished that Fur Peace Ranch weekend up and loaded up the bus and headed north to the Capitol Theater in Portchester, New York.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Hot Tuna 22, 2019
The Electric Trio
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
& Justin Guip
The Capitol Theater
Portchester, New York

1. Been So Long
2. Candy Man
3. I See The Light
4. Can’t Get Satisfied
5. Ode To Billy Dean
6. Living Just For You
7. Sleep Song
8. Day To Day Ourt The Window Blues
9. Bowlegged Woman
10. Come Back Baby
11. Trial By Fire
12. Good Shepherd
13. Hit Single # 1
14. Encore: Water Song

We were sharing this bill with the David Bromberg Band and it was a great musical night for all of us. The next night we were at the Paramount in Asbury Park and I got to sit in with David for the last tune of his set. Thanks David!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Hot Tuna 23, 2019
The Electric Trio
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
& Justin Guip
The Paramount Theater
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Friday, August 16, 2019

1. Death Don’t Have No Mercy
2. Serpent Of Dreams
3. Hesitation Blues
4. Day To Day Out The Window Blues
5. Talkin Bout You
6. Ode To Billy Dean
7. Wolves & Lambs
8. Sea Child
9. Bowlegged Woman
10. Watch The North Wind Rise
11. Come Back Baby
12. Funky # 7
13. Encore: Water Song

I didn’t plan on it, but I started the set off with Death Don’t Have No Mercy in remembrance for Peter Fonda who passed on this day. The walls of time are closing in.

Then it was up to Westbury for a gig with Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams.

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Always more than great to see Larry and T… and I got to play Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and burning with them.

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Hot Tuna 24, 2019
The Electric Trio
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
& Justin Guip
Theater At Westbury
Westbury, Long Island
Saturday, August 17, 2019

1. Ain’t In No Hurry
2. Been So Long
3. Can’t Get Satisfied
4. Baby What You Want Me To Do?
5. Living Just For You
6. Wolves & Lambs
7. Bowlegged Woman
8. Walkin’ Blues
9. In The Kingdom
10. Trial By Fire
11. Good Shepherd
12. Ode To Billy Dean
13. Funky #7
14. Encore: Water Song

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Tomorrow is our first show with Dave Mason up here in New Haven at the College Music Hall. So far Big Fun every night.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

(Get your Jorma Votive Candle… Today!!!!)

So it’s been a busy week filled with things that were occasionally frustrating, often rewarding and never dull. Last Thursday my pal Smiles and I were working in my barn/shop replacing the ballast in some fluorescent lighting. My phone made that noise that tells me that the Weather Channel was trying to warn us about something. I looked down and there was a warning that a lightning storm was approaching. A lighting event was only four miles away. I looked at the radar. It looked like it was going to just miss us so we kept on working. Looking up, the sky looked like the Mind Flayer from Stranger Things was suddenly hovering over us. I had to rethink my position. A little rain. How bad could it be? The Mind Flayer cloud wrapped itself over the Fur Peace Ranch and in the blink of an eye we were deluged with rain. Hurl was running to his truck to close the sun roof and as we looked out into the rain, the parking lot lit up with the closest lightning strike I’ve ever witnessed.

When we had our first lightning strike in the early 90’s over at Hillside Farm one of my buddies philosophically said, ‘Jorma, lightning goes where it wants to… when it wants to.’ True that. In a millisecond, TV’s were fried… phones were fried… the Ranch internet was fried… and more. The mother board for the Generac fried and the breaker to the pool pump gave up its life to save the pump and the salt generator. Friday we were planning to have a pool party for Izze and twenty of her friends so this was really a potential disaster in the making. Vanessa jumped into Repair Mode as she does and Friday morning Smiles replaced the pool breaker. The party went off as planned and while the kids enjoyed moderate mayhem poolside, Nessa and I sat by the fire.

Selfie by us

The fire pit sits on the location where Grandpa Wallace Black Elk built a sweat lodge in 1998 and where I heard the Thunder Beings circle the lodge. Wallace Black Elk passed on ‘04 but sharing his spiritual space in ‘98 will never be forgotten.

Timed Selfie

There were no thunder beings today, but the laughter of kids is a good substitute.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

We found ourselves in an internet free zone, both a blessing and a curse. I had phone service, but I’m not fond of doing internet work on the phone. In any case, Sunday was a beautiful day and I allocated it’s beauty to a motorcycle ride to Ritter Park in Huntington, West Virginia.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Back in the 90’s I had a dear friend named Butch, aka Taylor. When he found he had cancer he had me record a six hour oral history to leave to his family. He lost a lung but kept on talking and playing his harmonica into my microphone. The cancer came back. I guess he figured ‘What the heck,’ so he started smoking again. I remember recording him while he smoked and breathed oxygen. ‘Don’t blow me up,’ I said. In any case, Butch was also an artist and spent the last year or so of his life creating the stainless steel sculpture I had come to see again in Ritter Park. He called it his ‘Earth Portal,’ and indeed it was, as I shall explain.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

As I was walking towards the sculpture from my bike, a father and son stopped to look at the work. They were walking away as I was approaching it and I called to them, ‘My friend built this twenty years ago before he passed. He would be thrilled to know that families are still enjoying it. They regarded me with suspicion, but that’s OK. These are suspicious times, and I said what I had to say. Less than a week after Butch saw the work placed, he walked through his own Earth Portal… and was gone. My friend Jerry was there that day when the statue was placed and he got to spend some time Butch. ‘There are no ripples on my pond,’ he said.

What more could one want.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The new week came and each day we worked to fix the burned out items. We have a camp this weekend so it was imperative to get everything back to normal, which we did… an hour ago.

And so it goes, people coming, people going. As my friend Gretchen Peters would say, ‘Good times come, good times go. If it lifts you up, it will lay you low. People leave and they don’t come back. Life is a disappearing act.’

Trials and tribulations notwithstanding, so far so good.

So… it seems like only a couple of weeks ago Nessa and Izze and I were driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway on our way to Blowing Rock and the Westglow Resort… and indeed it was. Myron and I drove out of Southeast Ohio to meet up with Jack and Justin and Phil in Roanoke for the nest leg of our journey which would find us in Floyd, Virginia and Floyd Fest.

Fopto by Jorma Kaukonen

Early Friday morning we all drove down that beautiful parkway for a podcast… and the assembly of our gear for the electric gig.

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Hot Tuna 19, 2019
The Electric Trio
Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady
& Justin Guip
Dreaming Creek Main Stage
Floyd Fest
Floyd Virginia
Friday, July 26, 2019

1. Been So Long
2. Hesitation Blues
3. Can’t Get Satisfied
4. Come Back Baby
5. Living Just For You
6. Sea Child
7. Talkin’ Bout You
8. Bowlegged Woman
9. Trial By Fire
10. Good Shepherd
11. Come Back Baby
12. Hit Single # 1
13. Funky # 7

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Then Saturday morning Jack and I broke out the acoustic gear for a morning set.

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Hot Tuna 20, 2019
The Original Acoustic Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
Dreaming Creek Main Stage
Floyd Fest
Floyd Virginia
Saturday, July 27, 2019

1. True Religion
2. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out
3. Barbeque King
4. Serpent Of Dreams
5. San Francisco Bay Blues
6. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning
7. Sleep Song
8. Watch The North Wind Rise
9. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
10. Come Back Baby
11. I Know You Rider
12. Water Song

A delightful day in the mountains… and then the workshop stage.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Hot Tuna 21, 2019
The Original Acoustic Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
Workshop Stage
Floyd Fest
Floyd Virginia
Saturday, July 27, 2019

1. Dime For Beer
2. Whining Boy Blues
3. Heart Temporary
4. That’ll Never Happen No More
5. How Long Blues
6. Death Don’t have No Mercy
7. Day To Day Out The Window Blues
8. I See The Light

Foto by Phil Jacobs

After the set and the Q and A we headed back up the Parkway to Roanoke. The evening could not have been more beautiful as the day waned. I’m used to seeing deer. We’re surrounded by them here in Darwin, but to see a bear cross the road… now we’re talking. Sorry I missed a picture, but I was driving. In any case…

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

I grew up in the D.C. area and one of the things Mom and Dad liked to do was take the family for a drive down the parkway. Many things have changed since then, but the Parkway has resisted this change.

Good times… and onward!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The day before Arts And Minds… this tree came down at the entrance to St. Clair Rd.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The county and the township had been waffling about who’s responsibility this tree was. Nature made its own decision.

That was Friday… Saturday was the Arts & Minds Craft Fair.

The temperature was triple digits so we mover the performances into the Station.

Foto by Dennis Kane

Jorma Kaukonen 11, 2019
Arts & Minds Festival
Fur Peace Ranch
Darwin, Ohio
Saturday, July 20, 2019

1230 to 1330 Show

1. Dime For Beer
2. Search My Heart
3. Candy Man
4. Been So Long
5. Barbeque King
6. Heart Temporary
7. Death Don’t have No Mercy
8. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out
9. Trial By Fire
10. Watch The North Wind Rise
11. Trouble In Mind
12. How Long Blues
13. San Francisco Bay Blues

1530 to 1615 Show

1. Serpent Of Dreams
2. Hesitation Blues
3. Come Back Baby
4. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
5. Things That Might Have Been
6. Whining Boy Blues
7. Sleep Song
8. Good Shepherd
9. True Religion

Myron sat in with Rob McNurlin and then did a set of his own. Cool beans!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

What would Arts & Minds be without our good friend Heidi Holton.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

It was more than hot… but it could have been worse. At least we had a breeze.

Then it was showtime!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

David and Adam Moss… are delightful… sensational… really, really good!

I really dug their show.

Michaeil Glabicki and Dirk Miller were there to close out the evening. Back in 1999 or thereabouts, the Tuna guys recorded ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want,’ wih Rüsted Root. Michael and Dirk asked if I would sit in with them and with a little review, than answer was a resounding , ‘Yes!’ Of course I used my 1962 Fender Super 2×10. The tremolo was delicious!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

A long day… chilled on Sunday, working in the rain on Monday and looking forward to Floyd Fest this weekend.

Indeed…

Nessa and I have known Jerry Weiner for over thirty years. Well, Nessa has known him longer than that. He was Nessa’s best bud in Key West before we met and he was her ‘maid of honor’ at our wedding on the Schooner Wolf in 1988. Jerry has done and been many things in his life, but he is also a master masseuse currently in residence at the Westglow Resort And Spa in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. The Kaukonens travel together a lot… that’s what we do, but we rarely get true family time. We had a couple of days after I got back from Hawaii so Ness conspired with Jerry to book us into the Westglow. We climbed into my big truck and drove on down.

It had been a while since I had been on the Blue Ridge Parkway and it’s easy to forget how beautiful it is. Five hours later we were there checking into the Fleur De Lis house.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

A delicious dinner in the Rowland House and a good night’s sleep in preparation for a morning trip to the Mile High bridge at Grandfather Mountain.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

I’d been to Mt. Mitchell, but Never Grandfather Mountain. It was truly awesome!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Some consider that Appalachian Mountains to be among the oldest in the world. This is awesome stuff!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

This is better than my drone! What a view!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The back to Westglow and the Rowland for another five star dinner and sunset!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Another restful night at the Fleur De Lis, breakfast and a goodbye to Westglow and Jerry.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Like I said, to just get away on a trip that is not surrounded with work… well, it just never happens.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Short but sweet… and now back home on a hot, hot July day!

Onwards!

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Back to North Shore Tahoe from Park City. I tried to find my Mom’s old place up in Talmont… but the route was lost in antiquity. Another time. The Crystal Bay joint rocked though, and Jack and I had a blast!

Hot Tuna 16, 2019
The Original Acoustic Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
Crystal Bay, Casino
Crystal Bay, Nevada
Monday, July 1, 2019

First Set:

1. Dime For Beer
2. Hesitation Blues
3. Been So Long
4. The Terrible Operation
5. Barbeque King
6. I See The Light
7. Things That Might Have Been
8. I’ll Be All Right Some Day
9. Death Don’t Have No Mercy
10. Sleep Song
11. Trial By Fire
12. Keep your Lamps Trimmed & Burning

Second Set:
1. Serpent Of Dreams
2. Ain’t In No Hurry
3. San Francisco Bay Blues
4. Come Back Baby
5. Let us Get Together Right Down Here
6. I Am The Light Of This World
7. Trouble In Mind
8. Sea Child
9. Good Shepherd
10. River Of Time
11. I Know You Rider
12. Encore: Water Song

Then the next day we rocked on down to Sacramento and the Crest Theater.

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Last time we were here, it was like Night Of The Living Dead on the street. The neighborhood had been cleaned up a bit since then.

Hot Tuna 17, 2019
The Original Acoustic Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
The Crest Theater
Sacramento, California
Tuesday, July 2, 2019

First Set:

1. Ain’t In No Hurry
2. I See The Light
3. Hesitation Blues
4. Second Chances
5. Wolves & Lambs
6. Barbeque King
7. Sea Child
8. Watch The North Wind Rise
9. Whining Boy Blues
10. Death Don’t Have No Meecy
11. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here

Second Set:

1. San Francisco Bay Blues
2. Come Back Baby
3. River Of Time
4. I Am The Light Of This World
5. Things That Might Have Been
6. Trouble In Mind
7. Sleep Song
8. Good Shepherd
9. Keep Your Lamps rimmed & Burning
10. Encore: Genesis

We kept on running into old friends… which is always good. Bill Laudner was there and I hadn’t seen him for at least forty years. I met him in Santa Cruz the same day I met Paul Kantner back in 1962. He was our first roadie when the Airplane (and all the rest of us) was young. More than bright and early the next day it was off the the airport and Hawaii bound.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

We actually had a real day off in Honolulu the day before the gig so I got together with my old friend Bob Kinzie and his wife Joy. Bob and I were at Santa Clara together and he is the one who introduced me to Paul Kantner and Bill Laudner. Bob is a marine biologist so he and Joy were able to take me to Coconut Island. The island is a research center and preserve so it is closed to the public.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

You can see the reef where we were snorkeling.

Foto by Joy Kinzie

I so rarely get to get out of the bubble and just hang, this was awesome and a wonderful way to get set up spiritually for the gig at the Hawaiian Theater.

Foto by Erik Kabik

Check this interior.

Foto by Erik Kabik

And more…

Foto by Erik Kabik

Jack and I were psyched for sure for this one!

Foto by Erik Kabik

Hot Tuna 18, 2019
The Original Acoustic Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
Hawaii Theater Center
Honolulu, Hawaii

First Set:

1. Ain’t In No Hurry
2. Second Chances
3. Hesitation Blues
4. Been So Long
5. Barbeque King
6. Re-Enlistment Blues
7. Death Don’t Have No Mercy
8. Sleep Song
9. Trial By Fire
10. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out
11. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning

Second Set:

1. The Terrible Operation
2. In My Dreams
3. Wolves & Lambs
4. Come Back Baby
5. I See The Light
6. Whining Boy Blues
7. Sea Child
8. Watch The North Wind Rise
9. Good Shepherd
10. San Francisco Bay Blues
11. Things That Might Have Been
12. I Know You Rider
13. Encore: Embryonic Journey

Foto by Erik Kabik

The next day I left for home and through a series of traveling mishaps it took two days to get there. I didn’t get home till Monday morning. Oh well, at least I got home.

That’s about it for now… great little run with many good times!

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Jack and I started out this little run with a three day residency at the Egyptian Theater in lovely Park City, Utah.

Hot Tuna 13, 2019
The Original Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
The Egyptian Theater
Park City, Utah
Day One
Thursday, June 27, 2019

First Set:
1. Dime For Beer
2. Been So Long
3. The Terrible Operation
4. Barbeque King
5. I See The Light
6. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
7. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
8. Sea Child
9. Trial By Fire
10. Watch The North Wind Rise
11. Whining Boy Blues
12. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning

Second Set:
1. Hesitation Blues
2. How Long Blues
3. Serpent Of Dreams
4. Ain’t In No Hurry
5. Wolves & Lambs
6. San Francisco Bay Blues
7. Come Back Baby
8. I Am The Light Of This World
9. Sleep Song
10. Good Shepherd
11. Candy Man
12. I Know You Rider
13. Encore: Trouble In Mind

Foto by Myron Hart

Hot Tuna 14, 2019
The Acoustic Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
The Egyptian Theater
Park City, Utah
Day Two
Friday, June 28, 2019

First Set:
1. True Religion
2. Hesitation Blues
3. Second Chances
4. Too Many Years
5. I Am The Light Of This World
6. Come Back Baby
7. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
8. Sea Child
9. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out
10. That’ll Never Happen No More

Second Set:
1. I See The Light
2. The Terrible Operation
3. Things That Might Have Been
4. Search My Heart
5. Barbeque King
6. How Long Blues
7. Watch The North Wind Rise
8. Good Shepherd
9. Death Don’t Have No Mercy
10. San Francisco Bay Blues
11. Encore: Water Song

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Hot Tuna 15, 2019
The Original Acoustic Duo
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady
The Egyptian Theater
Park City, Utah
Day Three
Saturday, June 29, 2019

First Set:

1. Ain’t In No Hurry
2. Second Chances
3. Hesitation Blues
4. Been So Long
5. How Long Blues
6. River Of Time
7. Barbeque King
8. Sleep Song
9. Trial By Fire
10. San Francisco Bay Blues

Second Set:

1. Serpent Of Dreams
2. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out
3. Come Back Baby
4. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
5. Death Don’t Have No Mercy
6. RE-Enlistment Blues
7. Sea Child
8. Watch The North Wind Rise
9. Good Shepherd
10. In My Dreams
11. Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning
12. I Know You Rider
13. Encore: Genesis

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Got to spend some time with some old friends and then an eight hour drive to Crystal Bay Nevada. Checked in yesterday and had a delicious dinner at the Casino Restaurant where we sat at the table where Michael Corleone called Fredo out here in Tahoe.

Not much soulful chit chat in this blog, but more is coming down the road.

Good times…

Drone shot by Jorma Kaukonen

While we were waiting for Paul, Fred, Kenny and Gabe to show up there was a break in the endless rain we’ve been having and I took the opportunity to put the bird up.

Drone shot by Jorma Kaukonen

They were running a wee late, so I just kept on flying.

Drone shot by Jorma Kaukonen

Then the boys showed up… and so did the sold out crowd!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

We had been trying to get these guys for a decade, and it was worth the wait!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The sleek, stripped down Funky Feat delivered the goods in spades!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

Again, so grateful the guys spent two days with us!

Selfie by Vanessa Kaukonen

I got to sit in on Dixie Chicken and Spanish Moon… Thanks guys… for everything!

Back in my little world our Espresso machine was on the fritz. I talked to the folks at Whole Latte Love. ‘It’s the solenoid,’ the tech said, and he emailed me instructions. I ordered the part and it came the other day. There are more tiny little parts in this machine than Carter has Little Liver Pills.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

I took pictures at every step of the disassembly so I could reverse the process. It worked!

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

A fine week indeed…

ps

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The ROK unit is awesome! Check the link. This is not a stove top boiler… and it’s all billet!

jk

Foto by Phil Jacobs

Phil Lesh had asked me some time ago to join him along with Grahame Lesh, Rob Barraco and John Molo for two nights at the good old Capitol Theater in Portchester, New York. Needless to say, I was on board immediately. Now anyone who loves the music of the Grateful Dead knows that this is not a lightly undertaken art form. Jerry and the guys (and gals) managed to transliterate the essence of the great American Songbook into a parallel universe of multi dimensional creativity. I realized that I probably won’t live long enough to be able to fully apprehend all this great music, but the good news was that Phil just wanted me to be me. I could do that… so I did.

Foto by Jorma Kaukonen

The Capitol Theater has a great lineage of memories for me going back to the time of the Jefferson Airplane… and Tuna as well. That it has been restored to its former glory… and much more, is more than cool! It’s just a great gig for me at any time. Having the opportunity to add a little frosting to Phil’s cake was off the charts! To play with Grahame, Rob, John as well as Phil was hanging with the A-Team for sure. I chose my Beano Les Paul through my 1967 50w Marshall Plexi for the most of the gig but I also had my Gibson Chet Atkins SST through a Louis Rosano Twinmaster for the tunes like Dupree’s Diamond Blues, Friend Of The Devil, Light Of This World, Good Shepherd and the like. I thought about the Firebird for the brasher material, but the Beano got the call.

Foto by Suzy Perler

I had never really hung with Grahame before but I’ll tell you… he is more than a great guitar player. He’s a great singer, musician and a great guy! To get to have a conversation with him on stage was enlightening to say the least. I’ve known Rob for a long time and the depth of his talent never ceases to amaze me. As for John Molo, aside from being one of the world’s great percussionists, his musical sense of humor just kills me… every time. Phil… well, like I told Grahame at dinner, ‘Your dad is a genius!’

Foto by Suzy Perler

Well, Tuesday ran into Wednesday and then my two day run with Phil and his guys was over. It was more than an honor to be a part of this musical expedition. Thanks Phil and thanks to all the guys for making me welcome!

Foto by Suzy Perler

It’s been a tough couple of days. As noted, My friend Dr. John passed, Madeleine M. passed and earlier today I found that my friend of almost thirty some years, Spencer Bohren passed yesterday. Vanessa and I met Spencer in Fort Collins, Colorado in the very early 90’s and we were all kindred spirits in the blink of an eye. Spencer was a complete artist on so many levels that frankly I hardly know where to begin. He was one of the most understated examples of humanity that I hardly know where to begin… and he was my friend. He does not need me to eulogize him, his life speaks for itself and all of us who were honored to know him an call him friend, know exactly what I’m talking about. He was ten years younger than I and although his life was cut far too short, he made the most of it… always!

When he was diagnosed with cancer he and his wife Marilyn faced that harsh reality with a pure grace I’m not sure I could have mustered. I know that I will miss him on so many levels and who knows, his next gig may be the most amazing one of all. You are so missed my brother and I shall never take for granted the blessings of your friendship.

As if this wasn’t enough reality for one day as i was driving to New York for my gig with Phil Lesh Tuesday and Wednesday, I got a call from Vanessa. Our young friend Andrew, the same age as our daughter Izze, passed from cancer. When our Izze was first with us, Andrew was one of her very first friends. We all Trick Or Treated together and well… they were very young together. Andrew had been fighting an aggressive cancer for a couple of years. He was one of the toughest humans I have ever known. His family is one of the strongest families I have ever had the honor to know. I cannot possibly walk in their shoes… I hope I never have to. There is not much more I can say except I love them all and hope they can find whatever peace they need to find. As a parent, it is unthinkable to me that I should outlive my children.

Spencer, play a couple of songs for Andrew… in fact, show him how to play the guitar.

Fair winds and following seas you guys… fair winds and following seas!

You will be missed…