Meeting a huge inspiration: Jerry Garcia

Hal Janssen

is a Dead Head living in Doylestown who blogs

at www.friendlysuggestions.com

I started listening to Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead in 1970. They were doing stuff that was magic to my ears, and it still is. I never tire of it.

As their song says, "They're a band beyond description." That's from "The Music Never Stopped," and it hasn't! That's partly because they were one of the first bands to allow taping of their live shows. They even set up a special section behind the soundboard for tapers. I have about 12,000 hours of their music.

The driving force behind the band and their leader was Jerry Garcia. Most everyone has heard of Jerry, for reasons good and/or bad. He had his issues with drugs but kept doing his art, visual and music, regardless of the problems he had.

Jerry Garcia would have been 69 last Monday. He died 16 years ago of a heart attack while at a rehab clinic. I was very lucky to have seen him numerous times, with the Grateful Dead and in other groups, including his own Jerry Garcia Band. He could do no wrong as far as I was concerned. When he passed away, I, like many others, was devastated, and I still miss him.

I was lucky enough to meet Jerry many years ago. In 1980, I was just out of college and was a roadie for some major acts performing on the East Coast. Jerry was playing in Asbury Park, at Convention Hall. My friends and I had tickets, but I got the call to work the show. I jumped at the chance.

Jerry had only one truck of equipment - as opposed to a group like Santana, which had five tractor-trailers full. We set up the stage for the Jerry Garcia Band fairly quickly and easily. My boss had asked me to work with some guy named Steve, and it turned out to be Steve Parrish, the Grateful Dead's head roadie and good friend of Jerry's.

I said, "Hey, Steve, how's it goin'?" and he gruffly replied by telling me to "sit on the edge of the stage." I did. He then wheeled over this case that had three locks on it - two key locks and one combination lock. He unlocked all of them, opened the case, and there, suspended on a guitar stand/pedestal, was Tiger, Jerry's Doug Irwin custom-made guitar.

Steve said, "Go like this," and he put his hands faceup on either side of his legs. I did as I was told, and he put Tiger into my open hands and onto my lap. "Don't drop it," he warned, and I said something along the lines of, "No kidding."

While Steve changed the strings, I held this beautiful guitar that Jerry had made sing so many times. That was such a magical gift for this fan. And it wouldn't be the only one.

There were two shows that night, an early one and a late one. Toward the end of the first show, I wanted to stand on the side of the stage and watch Jerry. On my way, I stepped into the sound trap, a room maybe five by 10 feet between the stage and backstage area. Just as I stepped inside and the door closed behind me, the music stopped. Before I could figure out what was going on, the door on the other side of the sound trap opens and in walks my hero Jerry Garcia. I was standing there face-to-face in this small room with Jerry. Just Jerry Garcia and me, Hal Janssen. In my mind, I said, Holy crap, it's Jerry! And I knew I would never have this opportunity again. I looked him right in the eye and said, "Jerry, I just want to let you know that I really enjoy what you do." Not bad getting that out, right?

Jerry looked at me and leaned in to meet me eye-to-eye. He pulled his red sunglasses down and looked deeply into me. And then he tilted his head and smiled at me. He pushed the glasses back up his nose onto his face, and stood up straight. I opened the door that I had used to enter the room, and held it as Jerry disappeared backstage. "He's gone," I thought.

Jerry is gone, and that's sad. The world lost a wonderful guy when he passed. He is still living on through his music, art, videos, and the charities that he worked for, such as the Rex Foundation. Many other bands, including Furthur, continue to play Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia music. That will all ensure that he stays forever young in our thoughts, minds, and hearts.