Gratefuld Dead, Music, College Term Papers.com


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Gratefuld Dead

Gratefuld Dead A simple definition of a sub-culture is a group of people who have norms, values, and beliefs that are distinct from those of the main stream culture. A subculture is a group of people who have a distinct way of life. Dead heads fit into this category. They believe that there are many interpretations of reality, and that everyone's interpretations are somewhat valid, but none of them are real. There are two reasons why this sub-culture has continued to exist for as long as it has, the first being a historical one. The Greatful Dead was the house band for many of the electra acid tests, and they were closely tied to everything that happened in Ashbury throughout the sixties. The Dead are the aires of the cultural change, the cultural excitement, and the cultural creativity that occurred throughout the sixties and seventies. Therefore, they are the natural picks for people who are at odds with the main stream 1990's culture. The Greatful Dead have made several decisions throughout their journey that have contributed to their longevity. The decisions they have made contributed to the loyalty among their fans, rather than mass-popularity. One example of this is how the Dead have allowed taping of their shows, which has given people a way to keep in contact with the concert experience between concert dates. It has given people the opportunity to experience concerts over and over again, and to remember just how exhilarating they all are. The Dead also play different music every night. This motivates many people to go to more than one or two shows in a row. For many dead heads, two or three a week is more like it. Right from the beginning, the Greatful Dead gave their fans a name. In the early seventies they published a new album, a request for Greatful Dead fans to come together as one, entitled " Dead Freaks Unite". As a result, people started sending in their addresses and the Dead began mailing them information about upcoming shows as well as new albums. They gave their fans an identity all to themselves. All of the information the band sent out, came addressed, "Dear Dead Head". A second thing the Band did throughout their first few years was develop symbols that made it possible for dead heads to recognize one another outside from the concert setting. The skull and lightning bolt, the dancing bears, and the skull and roses, just to name a few. Even later on, tie-dyes became a popular symbol of the Greatful Dead. All of these symbols made it possible for dead heads to recognize one another, and gave them an opening to approach strangers. Freedom is expressed by dead heads in many ways. It is expressed by their use of drugs, and by their tendency to do things unusual when compared to the main stream life style, such as changing clothes between two cars in a parking lot. Law officials are of course very prevalent in the parking lot of shows, enforcing societies norms. However, there is a lot of order that is generated from within the subculture, and that is very important for people outside the subculture to know and to understand. The Greatful Dead hire a group of people called the Skeleton Crew, who make their way around the parking lot discouraging the use and the sale of alcohol and drugs, such as Marijuana, LSD, and Nitris-Oxide. There is also, from deep inside the subculture, some forces of order. There is something many people call vigilantism. It is felt that this is necessary because of the great influx of dead heads as a result of the release of the 1987 album. People came into the subculture too quickly to be taught how to behave responsively. An example of this is the constant campaigning from within the subculture to keep the concert areas clean, and to always pick up after yourself. The forces of order don't always come from outside the subculture, they often come from within, and the people who see this subculture as a lawless, uncontrolled mass of people entering their city don't quite understand the inner workings of the dead head subculture. Dead heads have a very different set of norms and values than people in the main stream do. For one thing, it is a very cooperative environment. If one person has something that someone else needs more than they do, it is his or her obligation to share whatever they have. It is a subculture that values individual freedom, but not at the expense of individual responsibility. Dead heads will tell you that it is your own responsibility to take care of yourself. However, within these constraints, dead heads believe that you should be able to do, look, and feel however you like. Dead heads often show up to concerts without tickets, however they do so with good reason. It is very unusual for a dead head to get, "shut out" of a show. There are a lot of people within the subculture that get a great deal of pleasure by giving people tickets and by watching their enthusiastic response. It all goes back to the idea that if you have something that someone else needs, and that you don't need, you are supposed to share it. Therefore, some of the better heeled members of the subculture make a practice of buying numbers of tickets and redistributing them among dead heads who don't have the money to purchase them. People often arrive looking for a "miracle ticket", which is a ticket that you don't have to pay for. At the same time, many dead heads arrive willing to pay for a ticket having traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles with no real assurance that they will even get in to see the band play. As for the show itself, the music means something different to everybody who experiences it. However, for everyone, a concert is a conformation of their membership in the subculture. The concert is a chance to feel a part of something larger than yourself. It is the opportunity to feel like you belong, the opportunity to share among equals, and the opportunity to have what may approach a spiritual experience. Concerts are joyous occasions where everyone feels unified and as one dead head put it,"when you go to a show, you are there with everybody else, you are not there by yourself". All of the things that the Greateful Dead did such as allowing taping, playing different music every night, and developing common symbols, causes people to stay in touch with each other. It gives them the opportunity to create a community in which they are welcomed and respected. Dead heads are not just loyal to the band and to the music, they are loyal to the community that they have created, belong to, and that means something to them. Bibliography:

Word Count: 1153