In 1965, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bill Kreutzman came together to form the band that would become the Grateful Dead. Forty years later, Phil Lesh is still truckin’. Lesh is the first member of the legendary band to write a memoir of his time spent traveling and playing with the band, and he will be signing his book, Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead, this Friday at Book People.

The Grateful Dead began as a blues-based jug band featuring the masterful picking of Garcia. But as the sixties began to pick up speed, so too did the Dead’s sound. The boys went electric and ushered in, along with Jefferson Airplane and others, the psychedelic sound that epitomized the sixties music scene in San Francisco. Lesh was the consistent anchor of the Dead’s sound, mixing melodious tasteful bass sounds with thundering riffs (see: “The Other One”). After Garcia’s untimely death in 1995, Lesh picked up the pieces and eventually returned to the road with The Dead.

Lesh decided to document his life with the band on his own, doing away with the standard practice of using a co-writer. And although Lesh does not bring to light many facts or secrets that have gone untold, it is fascinating to finally hear the stories of the Grateful Dead told through the words of a founding member. From the days of playing as the house band for Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests to the tragedies at Altamont to the massive stadium tours of the 80’s and 90’s, Lesh takes us along for the long, strange trip. As Lesh says, his life's journey, much like the Dead's music, is "a [series] of recurring themes, transpositions, repetitions, unexpected developments, all converging to define form that is not necessarily apparent until its ending has come and gone."

"The ‘60s were a magical time; infinite possibilities roamed the streets, and at times it seemed as if a new nation of spirit was being born. Music was in the air, and like countless others all over America, five friends, bonded by music, came together and started a band. From the beginning, the chemistry was more intense than anything I’d ever experienced. We knew we were on to something, but didn’t quite know what. Here it is, then, the Grateful Dead - from the inside, as I saw it and as I lived it. It’s neither a work of historical scholarship, nor a work of fiction - just my story of a unique phenomenon." - PHIL

Come out and see rock and roll royalty at Book People this Friday. In order to attend, you must have purchased a copy of the book ($24.99) from Book People. The folks at Book People will begin distributing tickets at 4:20 (cute, guys). Lesh will only be signing the purchased book and donor memorabilia cards – as the recipient of a successful liver transplant, Lesh is a big supporter of organ and blood donor programs.

Phil Lesh
Book People
Friday, June 10th, 7pm
Tickets (with purchase of book) Distributed at 4:20pm