ok, well, this wasn't really intended for the entire Deadlists, but what the heck. I emailed Antion (Vic) myself, so don't pound him with emails. If he recalls it, I'll post it here
On Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 8:44 PM, Corry Arnold <[email protected]> wrote: > Fantastic information. I think I can be a lot of help here. > > The overwhelmingly most likely candidate for the mysterious "Vic" is > former Eric Burdon and The Animals guitarist Vic Briggs. Among many other > things, he took the great electric sitar solo on Eric Burdon's "Monterey." > Vic first met the Grateful Dead on March 26, 1967, when the Animals showed > up at the Avalon when the Dead were playing ( > http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2010/10/march-26-1967-avalon-ballroom-san.html). > It's well established that Jerry Garcia was a big fan of Vic Briggs's > guitar playing. > > If you're interested in the entire history of the second, psychedelic Eric > Burdon and The Animals, Ross's and my opus is here ( > http://www.chickenonaunicycle.com/Eric%20Burdon.htm). The essence of it > is that by September 1968 Briggs had left the Animals to become a staff > producer at Capitol. He would have been free to come up to SF and jam with > the Dead, and he definitely had the chops. Briggs would have been a very > good candidate for Weir's slot. Ironically, since he was tired of the road > from the Animals, and had a staff gig in LA, he may have found the idea of > touring with a financially insecure bunch of loons a bit of old hat, having > already been there/done that by September '68. Whoops. > > I have a new, time-consuming job--which is a very good thing, you should > be happy for me--but it has dramatically cut down on my blogging. Thus I am > not really in a position to find the time to take care of business. Would > any (or all) of you like to email Vic Briggs and ask him? Some details: > > > - Vic now goes by the name Antion Meredith > - He lives in New Zealand (email: [email protected]) > - Based on my numerous emails with him, he seems to be the nicest guy > imaginable > - He has an incredibly good memory, and he's working on his memoirs, > so he's very locked in on past events > - His stories are amazing and hilarious > - His memory trigger is days of the week--make sure to mention to him > that Sep 21 '68 is a Saturday > > > Good luck with this. Let me know how it goes > > Corry Arnold > Edison, NJ > > (as a footnote, I have a backup choice too, Berkeley guitarist Vic Smith, > but he seems much less likely. Still, since Ross and I are nothing if not > thorough, here is the relevant Family Tree: > http://www.chickenonaunicycle.com/Sky%20Blue.htm) > > > On Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 6:22 PM, Caleb Kennedy <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Some info from David Lemieux: >> >> "That November 68 tape is not in the vault as far as I know, and I went >> through everything from Fall of 1968 a few years ago. I know the >> session, though, and am quite certain it's TC learning the material." >> >> I'll add that a date of November (or earlier) wouldn't rule out TC - >> he could have visited the Dead in the studio while on leave, as he did >> when they were recording Anthem. Considering his work on that album, >> it makes sense he'd be first choice to work on the Aoxomoxoa material >> as well. It would also partly explain why he sounds so cautious & >> unfamiliar with the material, as he might not have played any of it >> before that day. So that's something else to consider. >> >> As a sidenote, there's an interesting development in the 9/21/68 >> studio jam I mentioned. Lemieux mentions that there were two other >> guitar players (on one track of the recording), listed only as "David >> and Vic." >> >> Gans suggests that one of the players is David Nelson, but I don't >> know who Vic is. (The brief jam included on the Taper's Section seems >> to be just an excerpt from the start of the session.) >> >> >> >
