Jay Jay French felt like he was disconnecting from a “cult” when he realized he no longer liked the group
A person’s taste in music can change drastically throughout their life. It happened to Jay Jay French: in his youth, the guitarist of Twisted Sister was a big fan of Grateful Deadbut discovered that the band’s sound “hit” differently when he was high. From a sober experience, his perception completely changed.
In an interview with the channel Vinyl Ventures (via Ultimate Guitar), French revealed that he was a big fan of Grateful Deadhaving witnessed at least 27 of the band’s shows. This happened at a time when drugs were very present in the guitarist’s life and he had seen all the performances under the influence of drugs.
The artist reported:
I saw them 26 times with (the effect of) LSD. It was the biggest band I had ever seen. But I saw them sober and it was the worst f*cking band I had ever heard in my life.”
The distance from Grateful Dead – and drugs – occurred with the arrival of new sounds in the life of the then young musician. French began to have contact with Mott the Hoople, David Bowie and Lou Reedwhich drastically changed their preferences.
But this had consequences. Jay Jay tells, sarcastically, how the breakup went:
I ‘de-Grateful-Dead-ized’ myself, which is like leaving a cult. I disconnected from the cult. And that basically caused a lot of problems, because all my friends were Grateful Dead fanatics, and they basically thought I was losing my mind.”
Jay Jay French, a Deadhead
The guitarist of Twisted Sister was part of the so-called Deadheadsan expression that designated the most fanatical lovers of Grateful Dead. The band led by Jerry Garcia was famous for unpredictable shows in terms of setlist and long improvisations. In this way, one performance was rarely the same as another.
As a result, groups of people began to travel with the band to attend the shows. Not only that: the performances were recorded by admirers, as musicians were not opposed to creating bootlegs.
You Deadheads ended up becoming an important aspect of the Grateful Dead during its period of activity. Fans influenced internal decisions and even participated in presentations — which makes the vision of Jay Jay French about the “cult” around them.
In addition to him, many celebrities – from the most varied backgrounds – revealed themselves Deadheads through the years. American politicians like Bill Clinton, Al Gore (and his wife, Tipper Gore) are on the list, in addition to the writers Stephen King and George R. R. Martinbusinesspeople Steve Jobs (Apple) and Larry Page (Google), the actress Whoopi Goldbergthe musicians Elvis Costello, John Mayer, Henry Rollins, Perry Farrell and Dave Navarrothe controversial political influencer Steve Bannon and the TV presenter Tucker Carlson.
Collaborated: André Luiz Fernandes.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
