As Wesley Blixt recalls, his tenure at UMass-Amherst had been neither long nor strange when two colleagues came into his office to pitch a series of Grateful Dead-inspired concepts for the university to consider.
In fact, his department—Outreach and Marketing Communications (OMC)—was only one and a half years old at the time. And he and fellow OMCer Michael Grabscheid had primarily focused their efforts on continuing education and the University Without Walls program.
"To be honest, Mike thought it was a goof, because he and I were major Dead fans," Blixt says. "When we found out they were serious, we went right to work on it."
Since that fateful meeting, months of phone calls, hard work and otherwise overall Dead-ication have appropriately mushroomed into Unbroken Chain—a three-day, special guest-laden Grateful Dead symposium occurring at the campus this weekend, Nov. 16-18.
According to Blixt, the Chain-gang will include no less than 50 presenters and 20 panel discussions—blending an assortment of scholars, artists, fans and members of Garcia and gang's extended family in what is being billed as "the largest Dead conference ever."
"My graduate experience at UMass Amherst certainly helped me to appreciate the importance of some of the less-studied aspects of American culture," Dennis McNally, former Dead publicist and author of A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of The Grateful Dead said of the event he helped spearhead. "The academic world is not as removed from so-called reality as people think."
Still, some, including John Mullin, the school's Dean of Graduate Studies, acknowledge that no matter how many scholarly angles the subject is approached from, skeptics will always surface.
"Is it possible that we'll take a hit for focusing this kind of intellectual talent on what Jerry Garcia himself called 'just a dance band?'" Mullin mused. "Perhaps, but universities like ours need to be courageous in propelling serious scholarship in new directions."
In addition to the discussions and presentations, two separate, ticketed concert events will also be linked to Chain this weekend. The first features American Beauty Project on Friday, Nov. 16 and the second, Dead-on GD duplicators Dark Star Orchestra the following evening, Nov. 17. Both take place at 8 p.m. at the UMass Fine Arts Center.
For tickets, symposium registration info and more, visit: www.umassconnections.com/unbrokenchain.
Meanwhile, as evidenced by his myspace (.com/helpgeorgetabb) and the numerous interviews he has granted—including, most prominently, a feature on MSNBC—punk fronter George Tabb of Roach Motel and Furious George infamy is grateful to be alive these days.
Tabb—a New York native—has reportedly contracted what is known as "9/11" syndrome. He has also reportedly drained his bank account with the medical expenses that accompany the ailment.
As a means to at least alleviate some of the economic discomfort, Psychic Hamster Records (www.psychichamster.com) has pressed The George Tabb Tribute: Vol. 1 and will donate its proceeds to the cause.
The 19-tune effort contains a previously unreleased cover of Tabb's "Monkey In A Man Suit" by Springfield's own American Business Machines.
Last up, it certainly hasn't been difficult for Dropkick Murphys fans to keep tabs on their favorite band in recent weeks. The Boston-based Celtic punk practitioners could seemingly be found Riverdancing with Red Sox bullpen ace Jonathan Papelbon on a nightly basis throughout the baseball post-season.
With the World Championship safely back in Beantown, Al Barr and the boys are now free to hit the club circuit. This Sunday, Nov. 18, they'll be "shipping up" to Burlington, Vermont's Higher Ground, then skipping across the pond for a European trek in early 2008.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or e-mail Garycarra@aol.com.
