Features

Jerry Speaks: Pranksters, Philosophers, Portals

Rebecca: You facilitate the potential for an experience. People have full-on religious experiences at your shows; they pass-out, speak in tongues and are even picked up by flying saucers. Are you aware of the impact you have on people’s minds?

Jerry: Not like that. I’ve made an effort to not be aware of it because it’s perilously close to fascism. If I started to think about controlling that power or somehow trying to fiddle around with it, then it would become fascism.

Rebecca: Have you ever been tempted to dabble in the power?

Jerry: Oh, yeah. For the first 18 years or so, I had a lot of doubts about the Grateful Dead. I thought that maybe this is a bad thing to be doing, because I was aware of the power. So I did a lot of things to sabotage it, I thought, “Fuck this! I won’t be a part of this.” I dragged my feet as much as possible, but it still kept happening! So, in that way, I was able to filter myself out of it and think, “well, it’s not me. Phew! What a relief!”

Rebecca: When you said before that you weren’t responsible, you were saying it in a very modest way—I’m not responsible for the wonderful experiences people are having—but at the same time, you’re also shedding responsibility for the negative experiences.

Jerry: Absolutely. It’s a cop-out. I don’t want to be responsible. But this is also something I learned from my psychedelic experience, you don’t want to be the king, you don’t want to be the president because then you’re responsible for everybody!

Rebecca: Have you heard of the Spinners? They wear long dresses and do this whirling dervish dance at Dead shows.

Jerry: They’re kind of like our Sufis. I think it’s really neat that there’s a place where they can be comfortable enough to do something with such abandon. It’s nice to provide that. That’s one of the things I’m really proud of the Grateful Dead for, because it’s kind of like free turf.

Rebecca: It doesn’t bother you that they use you as their religious focus?

Jerry: Well, I’ll put up with it until they come to me with the cross and nails. (Laughter)

Rebecca: What are your priorities now? Are they very different from what they were 20 years ago?

Jerry: Not very. Basically, I’m trying to stay out of trouble. I’m trying to play well. For me, playing music is a learning experience and it’s satisfying to me to still be learning stuff. Also, my object is to have as much fun as I possibly can. That’s a key ingredient.

Rebecca: Some people believe that this is a pivotal time in history. Do you feel there is a New Age or, to use Terence McKenna’s term, an Archaic Revival coming about?

Jerry: Sure, I’ll go along with that—I love that stuff. I’m a Terence McKenna fan. I prefer to believe that we’re winding up rather than winding down. And this idea of the 2012 when everything tops out, well, I would love to be here for it. I’ll buy into that belief—I don’t want to miss it! It’s like the millennium. At this point, it’s a matter of personal pride. We have to survive, the band has to be able to play to at least to the turn of the millennium.

Rebecca: What do you think that the future of the human race depends upon?

Jerry: Getting off this lame fucking trip, this egocentric bullshit. There’s entirely too many monkeys on this mudball and that’s going to be a real problem. People have to get smart. I’ve always thought that the thing to do is something really chaotic and crazy like head off into space. That’s something that would keep everyone real busy and would also distribute more bodies out there.

Otherwise, we end up staying here and kill each other and damage the planet. I’ve gotten into scuba-diving so I’ve developed a great affection for the ocean. I just don’t want to see it get worse than it is. I’d like to think we could get smart enough sometime soon to make things better than they are instead of worse.

Rebecca: When people say they’re optimistic for the future, they usually mean the future of the human race. But you can be optimistic about life and perhaps, pessimistic about the future of the human race.

Jerry: I think the earth doesn’t have any real problems in the long run—I think we’re just another disturbance. I don’t think even we can really fuck up the earth.