Jerry Garcia 073

Look closer for six song lyrics and one song title: “Lately it occurs to me what a long strange trip it’s been.” (Truckin’); “Whistle through your teeth and spit.” (Touch of Grey); “Trouble ahead. Trouble behind. And you know that notion just crossed my mind.” (Casey Jones); “Roll away the dew.” (Franklin’s Tower); “Wave that flag. Wave it wide and high.” (U.S. Blues); “Let it be known there is a fountain that was not made by the hands of man.” (Ripple); One More Saturday Night.

The Story:

Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded. They became prominent in the 60’s counterculture. Garcia was viewed by many as leader of the band. He disagreed. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead.

Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for the band’s entire 30-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders–Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), the Jerry Garcia Band, Old & In the Way, the Garcia/Grisman and Garcia/Kahn acoustic duos, Legion of Mary, and New Riders of the Purple Sage (which he co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson). He released several solo albums and contributed several albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone‘s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” cover story in 2003. 

Garcia was renowned for his musical and technical ability, particularly his ability to play a variety of instruments and sustain long improvisations. Garcia believed that improvisation took stress away from his playing. It allowed him to make spur of the moment decisions he wouldn’t have made intentionally. In a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone, Garcia said, “my own preferences are for improvisation, for making it up as I go along. The idea of picking, of eliminating possibilities by deciding, that’s difficult for me”. Originating from days of the “Acid Tests”, improvisations were a form of exploration rather than playing a song already written.

Later in life, Garcia struggled with diabetes. In 1986, he went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after the incident, he continued to struggle with obesity, smoking, and long-standing heroin and cocaine addictions. He was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack on August 9, 1995, at age 53.

Early life

Garcia’s ancestors on his father’s side were from Galicia in northwest Spain. His mother’s ancestors were Irish and Swedish. He was born in the Excelsior District of San Francisco, California, to Jose Ramon “Joe” Garcia and Ruth Marie “Bobbie” Garcia, who was herself born in San Francisco. His parents named him after composer Jerome Kern. Jerome John was their second child, preceded by Clifford Ramon “Tiff”, who was born in 1937. Shortly before Clifford’s birth, their father and a partner leased a building in downtown San Francisco and turned it into a bar, partly in response to Jose being blackballed from a musicians’ union for moonlighting.

Garcia was influenced by music at an early age, taking piano lessons for much of his childhood. His father was a retired professional musician and his mother enjoyed playing the piano. His father’s extended family—which had immigrated from Spain in 1919—would often sing during reunions.

In 1946, two-thirds of four-year-old Garcia’s right middle finger was cut off by his brother in a wood splitting accident, while the family was vacationing in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Garcia later confessed that he often used it to his advantage in his youth, showing it off to other children in his neighborhood.

Less than a year after this incident his father died in a fly fishing accident when the family was vacationing near Arcata in Northern California. He slipped after entering the Trinity River, part of the Six Rivers National Forest, and drowned before other fishermen could reach him. Although Garcia claimed he saw the incident, Dennis McNally, author of the book A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead, argues Garcia formed the memory after hearing others repeat the story. Blair Jackson, who wrote Garcia: An American Life, notes that a local newspaper article describing Jose’s death didn’t mention Jerry being present when he died.

credit – Wikipedia

The artwork: 

The first print of this illustration is available to support a non-profit fundraiser. Contact lisafromlsu@gmail.com.for details.

Digital Print on Archival Matte – Original illustration done in graphite and the following Prisma Colors: Poppy Red for its hallucinogenic properties; Indigo Blue, True Blue, Crimson Lake; and Yellow Ochre. 

Artist: Tobin Bortner of Bastrop, Texas – drawing done in September of 2023 – ©Tobin Signs/Look Closer Illustrations 
DERIVATIVE Work – photo credits: Face is from images_findagrave_com – 380_1496063400. Guitar is from media-cldnry_s-nbcnews_com – 050111_garcia_vmed_7a. Raised hand is from alldylan_com – Jerry-Garcia-1.

What you get:
$40 (36.95 + 3.05 tax)
11 x 14 Print Package with Authenticity Sheet
signed and numbered (run of 80)
Domestic Priority Mail $8 (Free shipping)