Show Notes
Ezra Koenig is an unlikely evangelist for the Grateful Dead, and that’s exactly why we brought him on the show. In this first episode of America’s Dead, hear the Vampire Weekend frontman defend the wisdom of “hippie psychedelic nonsense” and reveal what has inspired him most as a songwriter. Plus in this episode, Koenig imagines that if Kurt Cobain were alive today, he too would be a Deadhead.
More from America's Dead
We arrive at the last episode of our show, and a new understanding of the power of the Dead community. For this one, we’re turning our episode over to Grateful Don, founder of the sobriety group the Wharf Rats, to tell his story.
Branford Marsalis is a world famous jazz saxophonist and three time GRAMMY Award winner. Then, in the early 90s, Marsalis joined the Dead onstage for a series of shows now widely considered to be the best of that era. For Branford, it wasn’t the music that stuck with him from that experience, it was how the audience was listening to it. In this episode, Branford Marsalis on why Deadheads are different from all other music fans.
“The dancing bears, the steal your face logo, they're probably known on Mars at this point,” says artist ESPO. In this episode, we’re asking why these images have such staying power, and Emmett talks to LA streetwear label Online Ceramics, who’s Dead-inspired tee shirts have introduced a whole new generation to the psychedelic era. Once you speak the Dead’s visual language, you’ll see it everywhere.
Lila Downs is a six time GRAMMY winner who has recorded duets with artists from Santana to Nora Jones and even sang for Barack Obama at the white house. But before all that, Lila was living on the road, traveling with the Dead and selling jewelry on Shakedown Street.
Emmett sits down with Mac DeMarco and members of the band Animal Collective, artists who are keeping the spirit of the Dead alive today – not just in the music they make, but in the community they cultivate. In this episode, we look at how bands today draw inspiration from the Dead, from live recordings to prolific touring.