Today is the 36th annivesary of the death of original Grateful Dead keyboard player and blues vocal stylist Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan. Many Deadheads argue that Pig's death marked the end of the band's best musical period, although others argue that his death freed Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir to develop their full creativity. The Wikipedia has this to say about Pig Pen's death.
Ronald C. "Pigpen" McKernan (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973) was a founding member of the band the Grateful Dead. His musical contributions to the Grateful Dead included vocals, Hammond organ, harmonica, percussion, and occasionally guitar. He died at the age of 27....
In 1970, McKernan began experiencing symptoms of congenital biliary cirrhosis; these were exacerbated by his alcohol abuse. After an August 1971 hospitalization, doctors requested that he stop touring indefinitely; pianist Keith Godchaux was subsequently hired and remained a permanent member of the band until 1979. Ever restless, the ailing McKernan rejoined the band in December 1971 to supplement Godchaux on harmonica, percussion, and organ. Unfortunately, after their Europe '72 tour, his health had degenerated to the point where he could no longer continue on the road. His final concert appearance was June 17, 1972 at the Hollywood Bowl, in Los Angeles, California.
On March 8, 1973, he was found dead of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage at his home in Corte Madera, California. McKernan is buried at the Alta Mesa Memorial Park (Plot: Hillview Section 16 Lot 311) in Palo Alto, California. His grave marker is inscribed:
1945–1973
PIGPEN WAS
AND IS NOW FOREVER
ONE OF THE
GRATEFUL DEAD
Daruma Ichi
Here's the latest from the globetrotting Benjamin Duffy:
Hello everyone,
I happen to live right down the street from a certain Shorinzan Daruma Temple. There are roughly a zillion temples and shrines in Japan, but this one is special because it is the birthplace of the daruma doll. The daruma has become something of a symbol of Japan and it originated right here in my neighborhood. Most daruma dolls are still made here.
The daruma doll is basically supposed to give good luck. People fill in their eyes with black paint or a black magic marker. I have heard two things about this. The first is that a person fills in one eye when praying for something, and then fills in the other when that prayer is answered. Another thing I have heard is that it's supposed to keep you on track. You fill in the first eye when you start a new project, and fill in the second when you finish it.
I have been to the temple down the street from me twice, and I took pictures both times. This gate arches over the stairs that lead up the hill to the temple.
These daruma dolls are piled up in a heap. If you'll notice, both of their eyes are filled in, indicating that they have been "used up", so to speak. That's a lot of answered prayers (or finished projects).
Apparently Pope John Paul II met the leader of the temple, and he was given a daruma doll as a gift.
These stones caught my eye. I asked some Japanese people I know what they are, and they told me that they represent different "gods"--the god of fertility, the god of good harvests, the god of this, the god of that. By planting these stones on the hill, they are apparently supposed to shower down the gods' benovelent protection on the city of Takasaki.
Here's the bell. Every temple has to have a bell.
I returned to the temple on the night of January Sixth, when they have an annual celebration called Daruma-ichi. It's a time when people can bring their dolls to the temple to have them blessed by the Buddhist priests...or so the story goes. I noted that the celebration was basically empty of religious significance, which shouldn't be surprising considering the fact that most Japanese people aren't very religious. If you ask a Japanese person what religion they belong to, the answer will probably be "Sort of Buddhism, sort of Shinto, but really nothing." Claiming to be Buddhist and Shintoist at the same time doesn't seem all that strange to them, since the two religions have become very intertwined, and most people don't know the first thing about either of them. It's kind of an empty ritual for weddings and funerals, and who really cares which empty ritual you follow? Japanese Christians represent about .7% of the population, and they seem (to me) to be the only people who really take their faith seriously. (By the way, the current prime minister, Aso Taro, is a Roman Catholic.)
Still, people came out in droves. I had to wait in line for about forty minutes just to get in. Children (and a few adults!) posed with this fuzzy daruma guy in a costume:
Inside the temple, priests blessed the dolls and filled in their eyes.
Still, the actual blessing of the dolls seemed like a tradition, and was more of a sideshow than anything. Selling things seemed to be the purpose of the event. Selling daruma dolls of course, but also trinkets and lots and lots of food.
This man is selling New Year's wreaths. New Year's is a very important holiday in Japan, and people place these things on the outside of their houses in celebration.
Food stands were everywhere. This man is grilling squids, which is a popular treat in Japan.
And here are some women selling corn on the cob. I was a little surprised when I came to Japan to find that Japanese people eat corn. I've even seen corn fields in Japan, although they are greatly outnumbered by rice paddies. I thought of corn as something that was pretty foreign to Japan, but I have since learned that Japanese people have taken everything from the West and made it their own. These people were applying what appeared to be soy sauce to the ears of corn. Leave it to Japanese people to douse corn on the cob with soy sauce.
Having fun,
BEN
Around Town
I like the Amherst Music House in the Carriage Shops downtown.
It has a guitar neck as a door handle!
This afternoon I ran into my friend Vern walking his dog Daisy. He tried to get Daisy to look at the camera, but she seemed to think he had something she wanted in his hand.
Dogs just don't get photography.
Queer Idol
Light years removed from the Grateful Dead is the TV show American Idol. I can't stand it, but there's no right or wrong to it if you do like it. However I find it boring, and the blog Idol Chatter defines what's wrong:
1. We all know by now that in Idol land, a song never lasts more than a minute and 30 seconds.
2. And we all know that 12 singers have been performing during each semifinal show.
3. Multiply a minute and a half by 12 and you have a grand total of 18 minutes of singing.
4. Now do some division and you’ll discover that 18 minutes of singing amounts to just 15 percent of a two-hour show.
5. Even if we allow Idol 25 minutes of commercials per hour, we’re left with 70 minutes of showtime.
6. That’s 18 minutes of singing versus 52 minutes of gabbing. Not a very good ratio of music to talk for a show that’s all about singing.
What attracted my attention to the show recently was the controversry over whether finalist Adam Lambert (above) is gay. However, paparazzi last week put an end to that mystery.
The mother of a 17-year-old girl was concerned that her daughter was having sex. Worried the girl might become pregnant and ruin her life, she consulted the family doctor.
The doctor told her that teenagers today were very willful and any attempt to stop the girl would probably result in rebellion. He then told her to arrange for her daughter to be put on birth control and until then, talk to her and give her a box of condoms.
Later that evening, as her daughter was preparing for a date, the woman told her about the situation and handed her a box of condoms.
The girl burst out laughing and reached over to hug her mother exclaiming:
"Oh Mom! You don't have to worry about that! I'm dating Susan!"
8 comments:
Those who consign the Grateful Dead to the 'mellow jamband' bin cannot begin to grasp how Dionysian they were in the early days, with Pig Pen was an integral part of that. My favorite Pen moment was at a 1970 Fillmore East show (streamable at the Archive under 9/19/70), which ended with a Lovelight at about 4 AM. They were typically fantastic that night, and the crowd kept screaming for more. Finally, Lesh comes back out, and starts pleading that the band is tired, Garcia's fingers are sore, etc., to little avail. Then, suddenly, Pen comes stalking out, right up to the edge of the stage, and barks out, "Why don't you guys go home and FUCK somebody!" Nobody was going to mess with himn, so the hall cleared pretty quickly. Also, and it might seem tame in retrospect, but this was only a few years removed from Lenny Bruce, and public vulgarity was still legally risky. In any case, Pig Pen gave the sound body, and he was the anchor of the band. I've heard some of the others admit that even after he had died, while they were lost in musical space at a show they would still be looking around for him to come out and bring them back to earth. And, yeah, American Idol makes a mockery of what this band, and real music, is all about.
pig is a dead drunk, big fn deal
"It's a time when people can bring their dolls to the temple to have them blessed by the Buddhist priests". That's similar to the practice of liberals bringing their daughters to be blessed by billy bob clinton
Hey Anonymous--What exactly are you, other than a nameless loser with nothing constructive to say?
Hey Anonymous--the problem with you and your ilk is not so much that you are a parasite, but that you are proud of being a parasite. I'll bet that it makes your day thinking that you've gotten under my skin. That, of course, is the extent of your thinking capacity. But I've taken the antidote so I don't mind at all. To the contrary, your kind is slowly dying out, and reading these words is an excellent accelerant.
Don, go back to school and get your high school diploma before you try to challenge me!
Ben Duffy very much cute!
Hey Anonymous, based on your lame substanceless Liberal-baiting drivel here, you are WAY out of your depth when it comes to education. If you have something that shows that you've done anything other in your life than whack off to NAMBLA material, let's see it.
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