ray away from their traditional folk, blues sound and become a little more free form. (Tracy 40).In 1966 The Grateful Dead were regular performers at the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmor West Auditorium. Earning more money, the band members decided to move in with each other, they moved into an old victorian mansion in the center of Haight- Ashbury in the bay area of San Francisco. The place was filled with girlfriends, friends and friends of friends. There was constant people stopping by day and night, including fans wandered in through unlocked doors. The Grateful Dead’s relationship with their fans was unique, they appreciated them, it was all starting to turn into one great big family. It was apparent to the rest of the world there was something happening in San Francisco, it was the hippie movement. During the 1970's the Grateful Dead’s audience kept growing and growing. The Dead put on over one hundred shows a year. The concerts were starting to turn into marathons lasting four to five hours long. The Grateful Dead were no longer selling out clubs and ballrooms, they were selling out stadiums by word of mouth. Tragedy also gave the Grateful Dead another obstacle to overcome. Their keyboard player Ron “Pigpen” McKernen died from alcohol abuse in the winter of 1972, at the age of 27. This harmed the Dead significantly , because “Pigpen” had a lot of influence in the bands early style of pp 9music. This called upon Garcia’s lead guitar to strengthen the band. Drafting a new keyboard player, and with the fans positive feedback gave The Dead new energy to continue The Dead recognized early on that their fans were faithful. Realizing their fans were faithful the Grateful Dead wrote a letter to all their fans, stating Dead Freaks Unite. Who are you , where are you, how are you. Send us your name and address and we’ll keep you informed. At first, the band only received...
