Thanks for the information Peter! I passed it on to Alan and here's a reply. Better information is already available thanks to your reply. I couldn't decipher some of that handwriting on the reels so that helped a lot with the Proffessor's name. I'll update the notes accordingly. I don't know if this being from first gen reels as apposed to a first gen cassette would make much of a difference on a recording of this quality, but maybe a close comparison should be made? You also now have me wondering where proffessor Charles Lemert might be and if the master reels still exist.
Subj: Re: FWD: Wesleyen 70 Date: Thursday, September 19, 2002 6:41:06 PM To: JPollQs Wow, very cool! Thanks for passing that on. Yeah, what Peter says rings of truth and admittedly 1975 to the late 80s are kinda one big blur of fun and self abuse to me, so it could've been the 80s when they were transfered. Although its been a long time, and I do recall good times trading with Peter, at some point the master reels were borrowed by another guy who either went to Wesleyan and lived off-campus or just lived in Middletown. I can't remember his name but I met him at a Hot Acoustics gig (I was mixing and he asked for a board patch) in some cafeteria-like room on campus. Anyway, we began chatting it up and I mentioned those tapes and shortly afterwards he rang me up to come get the reels at his apartment. At that point they went to reel copies. I think the speed notation is all correct, but again its a blurry memory at best. Back then my basic rule of thumb was if it came on reels it was worth keeping on reels and I rarely ever transfered cassettes to reels. Anyway, thats where the reels you borrowed from me originated. My regards to Peter, Alan In a message dated 9/19/02 5:50:51 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << Stu and all: I know the REAL story on this show and those reels. Why? Because I am the student your story refers to, and Alan Bershaw got those cassettes from me -- he and I possess the two first-generation cassette copies that exist, unless somebody has had a crack at the reels again since I did them in 1985. Here is the full story, as I had sent it to Noah Weiner a few months ago when the question arose. I seeded this show when I was a junior at Wesleyan in 1985. I had early on fallen into trading with Alan Bershaw, whom some of the old-timers probably know. According to Alan, during the May '70 tour, the band used campus equipment to save money whenever possible, and for whatever reason Wesleyan did not hook up a recorder at the board. That made this show all but impossible to find until I decided to do a little digging. (Digging, digging ... Hey, what are these? Some funny little mushrooms? No, that's not what I'm looking for ... where are those tapes?!) The Wesleyan show took place during a student strike, which, incidentally, my cousin Mark Shapiro '70 helped organize, to protest the war. (Mark's a big conservative lawyer now, needless to say.) The recording deck was an old reel-to-reel Uher machine owned by sociology professor Charles Lemert (correct name and spelling), who lent it to me, along with the original reels, when I asked. Anyway, at the show, the portable Uher was passed around, which explains the hilarious banter among the crowd, and the apparent inability to read a clock. If you've ever struggled through this show, you know what I'm talking about. It was conceived, according to Lemert, as a sociological document, not a concert recording. In any event, I know nothing of the microphones. The "sloping lawn behind the administration building" is actually called "Foss Hill." At Wesleyan, it's not entirely clear where Foss Hill ends and the baseball/football field smack-dab in the center of campus begins, but in any case, just calling it "Foss Hill" would certainly be accurate enough. Twelve years later, as a freshman, I would stand in that exact spot and take photographs of Art Blakey. (Wesleyan got some pretty cool acts.) The lineage certainly would begin with Master Audience Reel (NOT cassette), and I have my original first-gen cassette copy if anybody would like a verified lowest-available-gen seed (which would be AUD: MR> C> CD). But if you've heard the quality, you may want to pass. I'd be happy to try to answer any other questions on this, as I suspect I'm the closest thing to the original source out here. pb P.S. For trivia buffs, Wesleyan is also the alma mater of John Perry Barlow, who was class president in '69, and Bill Belichick '75. On 9/19/02 5:31 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This will probably be of most interest to the oldtimers who can still enjoy > vintage audience recordings, those who collect 1970 recordings missing from > the Dead's vault or completists, not to mention the 1970 caretaker of > Deadlists. > > I was recently given first generation reel to reel copies of The Dead and > NRPS at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT on May 3, 1970 to transfer into > the digital realm. I've checked Deadlists, Deadbase and The Compendium and I > think this is the first time the complete contents of the master reels are > together, as none of those listings include all of this material. I can also > shed light on who recorded it, the accurate song order and how it probably > came into circulation (partially) years ago. > > According to notes written on the first gen reels, the three original master > reels were recorded by a Wesleyen student named Warren White as part of an > assignment for a Professor Schenk (we think thats how its spelled. The > handwriting on the reel cases is difficult to read). There were originally > three master reels altogether, two half-hour reels and one hour-long reel, > all recorded at 1 7/8ips. Those master reels were borrowed from Schenk by > another student (in the late 19701s) and dubbed to 1st generation reels by my > wife's uncle - Alan Bershaw. Without a deck that would run at 1 7/8ips, Alan > said he played the master reels back at 3 3/4 ips while recording them onto > reels at 7 1/2 ips, which allowed him to play back his first generation reels > at 3 3/4 ips - at the correct speed. > > At that time, several 90 minute cassettes (of the last 90 minutes, including > all the Dead material) were given to friends of Alan's and to the guy who > borrowed the master reels from Schenk. Currently circulating copies likely > originated from those 2nd generation cassette dubs, many probably way down > the line since this all happened in the late 70's. > > If Deadlists/Deadbase/Compendium is correct on what circulates, this new copy > includes all of this material possibly for the first time. While this is > still far from a great recording and its still probably incomplete, its > likely an improvement over all the currently circulating copies. There are > also no butchered songs and no reel stops/starts between songs like most > audience recordings of this time. The geneology on this new copy is: > > Master Audience Reels@1 7/8 ips (played back @3 3/4 ips)-> Reels@7 1/2 ips > (then played back @3 3/4 ips to correct speed on Revox A-77)->[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > It should also be noted for context that this is the night before the Kent > State shootings, which is significant in light of the various announcements > on these recordings. > > Over the next week or two (I'm in the midst of moving my family, but once I'm > settled), I plan on making the first CDR copies of this. When I get that > done, I'll post again for some B&Ps and trades to get these moving. But in > the meantime, here's the complete information on what exists here. > > Cheers, > Stu Hanson > > The Grateful Dead & New Riders Of The Purple Sage > Moss Hill Lawn, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT > Sunday, May 3, 1970 > > Three Master Audience Reels@1 7/8 ips (played back @3 3/4 ips)-> Reels@7 1/2 > ips (then played back @3 3/4 ips to correct speed on Revox A-77)->[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ***MASTER REEL #1 contents: > New Riders Of The Purple Sage > (with Jerry Garcia on pedal steel) > > 1. Workingman1s Blues (2:59) > 2. I Don1t Know You (5:26) > 3. Last Lonely Eagle (7:17) > 4. Truck Drivin1 Man (4:30) > 5. Fair Chance To Know (4:29) > 6. -John Dawson says 3Now for total complete utter Grateful Dead2- (0:20) > 7. ...crowd noise & talking... (1:46) > 8. -Announcement: Dancing In The Trees - (1:28) > 9. -Announcement: Tear Gas Eye Drops- (1:36) > > ***MASTER REEL #2 contents: > (Electric) Grateful Dead (part one) > > 1. Me And My Uncle (4:27) > 2. New Speedway Boogie (10:50) > 3. -crowd response to roman candles firing off backstage/drums-> (0:31) > 4 Good Lovin-> (1:59) > 5. drums-> (2:20) > 6. jam-> (7:38) > 7. Good Lovin (2:17) > > ***MASTER REEL #3 contents: > (Electric) Grateful Dead (part two) > > 1. Dire Wolf (5:19) > 2. Don1t Ease Me In (4:54) > 3. Turn On Your Lovelight-> (21:52) > 4. The Main Ten-> (1:01) > 5. Uncle John1s Band-> (6:04) > 6. Turn On Your Lovelight (6:55) > 7. -2Bring Down The Establishment!/Peaceful Demonstration!2- (2:10) > 8. - Announcements and 2Dead, Dead, Bring back the Dead2 chanting (1:14) >>
