Back in the Day: The Banjo Picture

I don’t play the banjo but it sounds good in this picture, even all these years later. The older guy is a family friend. You know who was a hell of a banjo player? One Jerome Garcia, also known as Jerry. He could also really play outstanding pedal steel. Quiz: Who played pedal steel on Crosby, Stills and Nash’s song “Teach Your Children”? One tip: This is not a trick question. The answer: Jerry Garcia.
You know, I once got to hang out with Bob Weir for around an hour or so while he was signing autographs at a record store. I even told him, “We’ve got the line divided into two groups: Real and flashbacks.” That got a chuckle out of him, and it was a fun experience. People would come up and get something signed, and mention some long ago memory of an incident from a Dead concert. They’d invariably finish by asking Bob if he remembered it. Bob would look off as if he were trying to conjure it up and then say, “Yeah, I think I do.” It was really damn nice of him, compared to, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Anyway, I thought the Grateful Dead were a little like this picture. When they started Bob and Jerry looked like two teenagers, By the end it was like a young man and his grandfather. Jerry was on an accelerated aging program, and it’s a damn shame. He was a very amazing guitar player, which was why jazz heavys would jam with him. He pulled some tones out of every instrument he touched that were frankly hard to believe. And among those was the banjo. Jerry was one hell of a musician - I was so/so.