My Eclectic Collection of Rock and Roll Memorabilia

Anyone who knows me already knows my love of music and seeing it live. One thing that has happened over the years is I have collected a large amount of rock memorabilia. This all started back in the late 80’s when I went to my first show, which if anyone will believe, was Metallica. This is where I bought my first concert tee-shirt. Throughout the 90’s I went to a few shows here and there, and bought a few items. It wasn’t until I went to my first festival in 2004 that I really caught the bug. First I started collecting tie dye clothing. At first they were concert tee-shirts, but eventually broadened my horizons by buying handmade tie dyes. I prefer these because they are all unique and in my eyes made with love.  At this point I have over 40 tie dyes and concert tee shirts. Even after they are wore out I never throw any of them away, I just retire them. I keep them because each shirt has a story to tell, someday I want to figure out a way to preserve and display them.

Other rock memorabilia that I have collected is recordings of live music. The majority of it is that of the Grateful Dead, but I do have countless hours of live music from other bands. I do this because there nothing like listening to the spontaneity of live music. It can be anything from an amazing jam, to those special occasions during a festival when a special guest comes on stage and plays a few songs with said band. Most of my collection is from downloads from a site called Sugarmegs that specializes in live downloads. I also have a collection of “tapers” recordings. These are usually cassette tapes recorded by someone in the crowd during a show which started back in the late sixties in the Grateful Dead community. This practice was highly encourage by the Dead to spread their music, and has carried on and been accepted my many other current bands. I do also occasionally buy a live recording. An example is every time I go see the remaining members of the Dead, they have it where you can pay money before the show, and pick up a live soundboard recording of that show at the end of the night. All together I would say I have about four to five hundred hours of live recordings.

The last memorabilia that I collect is band art. This can range from show posters, to a charcoal drawing of Jerry Garcia that I bought from a vendor at a music festival. These are probably the most valuable items in my collection because they are original, or in the case of show posters, are put out in limited numbers. Many of these I have matted and framed. The most expensive piece that I own is an original Acid Test Graduation poster signed by Ken Kesey, fellow Prankster Caroline “Mountain Girl” Garcia, and Grateful Dead Drummer Mickey Hart. I have actually been offered a substantial amount of money for it, but I will never part with it. I would say that I have at least 15 fifteen art pieces thus far, and this is what I am most interested collecting in the future.

I truly love and admire all the memorabilia that I have collected over the years. It’s true that some of it does have value, but my true admiration comes from talking about the memories behind every piece that I own.