In 1973, Grateful Late guitarist Jerry Garcia fulfilled a longtime dream when he formed the bluegrass supergroup known as Old & In the Way. For the rock & roller, going back to his acoustic roots was more than just scratching a creative itch — it was a spiritual calling.
“It was something organic and fun,” says Peter Rowan, singer, songwriter and former OITW guitarist. Rolling rock. “And that turned into a game [shows]. “Let's get it out.”
At ground level, Old & In the Way's self-titled 1975 debut album was one of the best-selling bluegrass records of all time, until the juggernaut Oh brother, where art thou? The soundtrack was released in 2000. But to dig beneath the surface Old & In the Way is to find both a breakthrough album and a juncture of virtuoso musicians who changed the course of bluegrass forever.
“I think what makes it so special is that it was like this shooting star,” Rowan says of the band. “If you were lucky enough to see it, you saw it. If not, you've heard it.”
To celebrate the groundbreaking group, and specifically to honor an often-overlooked chapter of Garcia's storied musical journey, the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in Owensboro, Kentucky, will unveil the special exhibit “Jerry Garcia: A Bluegrass Journey” on Thursday.
The elaborate exhibit is expected to run at the museum for the next two years, and its unveiling will include panel discussions with bluegrass greats such as Rowan, Ronnie McCoury, Pete Wernick and Drew Emmitt. There will also be live performances from Leftover Salmon, David Nelson, Jim Lauderdale, Kyle Tuttle and more.
To preface, before Garcia formed the Grateful Dead, he originally came from the bluegrass, folk, and roots music scene of the late 1950s and early 1960s—thick musical threads that have remained the Dead's foundation throughout. of his tenure. Along with lifelong friend and songwriting partner Robert Hunter, the duo were part of San Francisco's music/art scene of the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s.
“A lot of people forget [Jerry] and Robert Hunter were huge bluegrass guys before the Dead were “Dead,” Rowan says.
Playing acoustic guitar and banjo, Garcia took a deep dive into all avenues of acoustic music, especially bluegrass. It has been widely reported that one of Garcia's cherished aspirations as a young musician was to one day join Bill Monroe's band, the Blue Grass Boys.
As the “Father of Bluegrass,” Monroe represented the genre's big boom, with Garcia even traveling east to Pennsylvania in the early 1960s to possibly audition for Monroe. The location was Sunset Park in rural Chester County. With a backdrop of Amish buggies, horses and people sitting on wooden benches listening to Monroe's music, Garcia had second thoughts.
“I think so [Jerry] he took one look at the stage and realized that if he got the job, this would be his life,” says Rowan. “He already had the dead and everything was just getting started in California. Jerry couldn't imagine himself in a coat, tie and cowboy hat working with Bill Monroe.
Rowan himself worked for Monroe. In 1964 he was hired as lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the Blue Grass Boys. By 1967, Rowan left Monroe and began working with mandolinist David Grisman.
What emerged from this Rowan/Grisman collaboration was the short-lived band Earth Opera – a blend of the duo's love of bluegrass and jazz music, as well as the mind-expanding nature and sonic possibilities induced by marijuana and LSD .
By October 1972, Rowan had moved to the West Coast. Again he was hanging and jamming with Grisman in San Francisco, specifically in the Stinson Beach area. They formed another group, the Muleskinner, a short-lived bluegrass act that featured standup bassist John Kahn and fiddler Richard Greene, the latter also one of Monroe's Blue Grass Boys.
“We all believed [bluegrass] as a music that was not limited to folk and rural listeners,” says Rowan. “It is very moving. It has gospel melodies, transcendent songs of spiritual yearning, unrequited love from a tradition of old ballads.”
Also at this time, Grisman introduced Rowan to Garcia, and the trio gathered at Garcia's one day to play with no expectations — just to enjoy each other's company, instruments in hand.
“[David] he mentioned that Garcia lived on the hill and liked to play bluegrass,” Rowan recalled. “Well, David and I went there [to jam]. We went to Jerry's every night.”
Unbeknownst to all present that fateful day, a musical fire was ignited that continues to burn brightly and have a huge influence on generation after generation of bluegrass players and listeners.
“After a few hours of collecting, [Jerry] turned to us and said, “We're big and we've got the way,” Rowan says in a famous OITW recording.
Garcia mentioned to Rowan and Grisman that he would like to book some concerts as OITW and the band were born. “I got to play bluegrass guitar with a guy who absolutely loved music,” Rowan says of his time with Garcia.
With Garcia on banjo, Rowan on guitar and Grisman on mandolin duties, the ensemble also featured Kahn on bass. Greene, John Hartford and Vassar Clements rotated on the fiddle. With the Dead's growing popularity in the 1970s and the increasingly maniacal fandom aimed at Garcia from the counterculture and beyond, OITW shows became sold-out “you had to be there” concerts.
“Jerry was the draw,” Rowan recalls. “And the Deadheads were like, 'What's that?' Violins, banjos, mandolins and acoustic guitars?'
For their debut album, OITW released a live recording from their October 8, 1973 appearance at the Boarding House in San Francisco. The set list included traditional tunes (“Pig in a Pen,” Knockin' on Your Door”), newly written Rowan tunes (“Midnight Moonlight,” “Panama Red,” “Land of the Navajo”) and even a number Rolling Stones. (“Wild Horses”).
“Bill Monroe had a vision that his music was much more appealing to country audiences – Old & In the Way was the catalyst to prove that,” says Rowan.
More and more dates were booked, but OITW ended up lasting only the better part of two years. By 1974, OITW had disappeared, largely due to Garcia's commitments to the Dead and the soon-to-be Jerry Garcia Band, both of which filled his schedule. So were the obligations of the rest of OITW in their own artistic endeavour.
“Sometimes things are special because there was a limit to them,” says Rowan. “These days in your twenties, you're just ambitious about all different things, you know?”
Garcia died in 1995, Kahn in 1996, Hartford in 2001 and Clements in 2005. Although Green is still alive, his touring days are long over. Subsequent OITW live recordings have seen the light of day over the decades, but nothing more than that.
In 2002, a reunion album, Old & In the Grey, was released, with Rowan, Grisman and Clements. To this day, only Rowan and Grisman still tour and perform certain tunes from the OITW repertoire.
Note that on June 30th there will be a special OITW tribute at the Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee. Rowan will be on stage, as will Grisman's son's band, the Sam Grisman Project.
“It's fun to have something that's still recognizable after 50 years,” says Rowan. “This is a gift to the music world.”
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