I was never a huge Grateful Dead fan. When I was in a band we played a couple of the more rock-friendly songs, Friend of the Devil and Casey Jones come to mind, but I doubt any of their real fans appreciated our stripped down versions. I actually had tickets to see the second night of their stop in Deer Creek outside Indianapolis back in 1995, but the crowd on night one tore down a fence so night two got canceled. The band never had a chance to reschedule because Jerry Garcia passed away a few weeks later. 

However, it is impossible not to have been influenced by them over the past half century. One of the things that I took from the group, as a musician and as a human being, was the attitude and vibe, I guess, of their guitarist Bob Weir. I saw him just a couple years ago at Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Bash. He had a little technical difficulties on the first night, but rolled with it and played a  great couple songs. Night two was even better. In interviews and videos, he always had an aura of calm and sense of being centered. He passed away this last weekend at the age of 78. 

Many people know him from his great musical legacy, but he was also a dog lover. His dog Otis became a celebrity of sorts when it wandered onto the stage during a San Francisco show. Later, his dog Jackson was known for its uncanny resemblance to the Grateful Dead founder. 

RIP, Bob Weir.

Another passing in the rock-n-roll world this week. Cocoa the Tour Dog passed away. Cocoa gained internet fame as a fixture with the band Stick Figures.The band would go on the road and show after show, Cocoa would make an appearance onstage. The crowd would go wild. Cocoa even served as inspiration for a children’s book.RIP Cocoa. Run free.

I’ll end this post with a little more upbeat story. Indy, the canine star of the horror film, Good Boy, took home the award for Best Performance in a Horror/Thriller Film at the 9th Annual Astra Film Awards. The unlikely actor beat out such marquee names as Ethan Hawke and Alison Brie. The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is the lead in the movie which is a horror film from the perspective of the dog. An unusual take on the genre for sure, but one that has won the director (who is also Indy’s owner) loads of accolades.