Sadly, I never saw the Grateful Dead live. I wish I had. But I was too young then, I lived in Canada, and, although I came from a musical family, my parents weren’t the type to jump in a van and head south with a kid to a Dead show. From talking to people I know who did see them, however, I can appreciate what I missed.
I first listened to the Dead at summer camp when I was 7 years old. All of my counselors I looked up to wore tie-dyed Steal Your Face shirts and sang Dead songs around campfires. So, before I even knew who they were, Dead songs were engrained in memories of good times with friends. Around that same time, my father — who is a massive Bob Dylan fan — often played the Dylan and The Dead album while he drove me to hockey tournaments. I have great memories of this.
Soon after I picked up a guitar, the Dead’s influence on me was undeniable. Above all, it was their songwriting that inspired me most because all I had were their studio albums. As I progressed as a musician and learned the art of improvisation, I really dug into their live shows and became fascinated by Jerry Garcia’s lead playing and Bob Weir’s innovative rhythm style.
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For someone who studied classical music, whose father directs musical theater, and who loves pop music — all very carefully composed — my world opened up when I learned that Dead songs were never played the same way twice.
As I began pursuing a Masters of Musicology at York University in Toronto, I dove deeper, studying the magnitude of the Dead’s musical and social significance, and their influence on the music and business of other bands I love.
Believe it or not, when I first started working with Justin Bieber, I saw strong parallels between the Dead’s devoted audience and his. These kids discovered Justin on the Internet long before he became a global phenomenon. Back then, before he had even released his first album, he had attracted millions of fans. While his fans — Beliebers — weren’t trading tapes like Deadheads, they were filming his performances and putting them on YouTube. We would play a new song in one city, and the next night the entire audience knew every word. They were spreading the word themselves. The radio stations did not tell kids to listen to Justin’s music, kids told the radio stations to play his music. This relationship, ownership, and fandom is not so dissimilar.
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Oddly enough, it was backstage at a Bieber concert in San Jose that I first met Bob Weir and his family. Of all places. I was walking past dozens of star-struck kids lined up for a meet-and-greet and suddenly found myself the one truly star-struck. It was two worlds colliding.
Over the years, my wife, Yael, and I have kept in touch with Bob and his family. As everyone saw in his documentary, they are truly wonderful. In August 2013, Bob invited me to play with him at his studio TRI in the Bay area. To this day, it remains one of my greatest memories; it was a true honor to play those songs with him. He’s had a huge musical and personal influence on me.
This summer’s Dead concerts will be my first, and I could not be more excited to take in these shows with my family — particularly with my brother-in-law Jon Otis, who was — and still remains — a true Deadhead. I also can’t wait to listen to one of my heroes, Trey Anastasio of Phish, sing and play those classic songs. While my parents might have thought I was too young to see the Dead in my childhood, my wife Yael and I are bringing our 5-month old son Zackary to Chicago, where hopefully he at least gets to take in his first soundcheck — wearing his Steal Your Face onesie.
Dan Kanter is Justin Bieber’s musical director and a noted guitarist.