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Description
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So, in the Summer of 1962, I was a wee lass of age 12 and as I wanted to learn guitar because all the other kids were playing them in hootenanny's and such, I gave up piano lessons (which my mother insisted upon), which I'd had since age 9, and start playing guitar like everyone else, taught by Jerry Garcia. How that happened was this: my best friend's brother, Marshall Leicester, used to play with Jerry in a band called "Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers", and he recommended to my mother that I take lessons from Jerry Garcia at Dana Morgan's. Mom reluctantly agreed, and so my summer with Jerry began at Dana Morgan's Music Studio. Under the images section of "Contributions" on this website I have also posted all 7 images of his original hand-written and instantaneously arranged guitar tablatures which he created during our lessons. I was supposed to go home and learn them, which I did. He asked me what I wanted to learn, and I said the old folk tunes, some Bob Dylan stuff and the other stuff the kids were playing back then. In those days, he was in Mother McRae's Uptown Jug Champion Band, but they soon transitioned to the Warlocks during my lessons with him, which is why the lessons ended after 3 months. In those days, Jerry sported a rather short "bob" haircut with bangs, and he was a hoot to be in a small closet-sized room with for an hour, which was his lesson room, at the back of Dana Morgan's Studio. Mostly, he didn't talk at all--he played a lot, while he was working out a tune for me, and he would play, write the tab, then play the whole thing at the end. Hardly any words were spoken, only notes were played. But when he did talk, he talked in that really speedy way like his mind is everywhere at once, kinda like he plays guitar. One day I showed up for a lesson and waited a long time for Jerry. Suddenly, in walked Bob Weir or Phil Lesh or someone and said Jerry's on the road with his new band, so can't teach anymore. That was unfortunately that, but it was memorable.
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Copyright Statement
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Comments
Harry Angus
Oct 12, 2016