Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead [Paperback]

To be fair, I approached this memoir with less than my normal objectivity, I have been a fan for too long to take a dispassionate look. In fact I opened up the cover with a heady mixture of excitement and trepidation. Excitement at reading Phil's own words as a consumate insider and trepidation that it may be one of those ghastly ghosted tomes which would not serve the memory of the band well. Having just completed the book I can honestly say that I found it very easy to read, there are sufficient errors in it which tends to suggest it was mainly of Phil's doing, and it leaves the reader with a much different sense of events than they may have gleaned from others of this ilk other than from Dennis McNally's authoritative account. I would continue to press Robert Hunter, the band's resident poet in a more familiar guise as a lyricist, to produce his own story but I live in the eternal hope that he will heed my call.

This book is a delight for many reasons. Firstly I appreciate that the author does not duck the issues of the sex and drugs but acknowledges instead what we all know and that is that they are an integral part of the popular music scene and very few people who work in that area are non-participants. There is a caveat to my support and that is that there is not enough information out there about why musicians and others who work in the field resort to chemicals to begin with. Secondly, Phil Lesh does not drown the reader in too much material. His focus is on his life with the band and rather than deal with the minutae of events he takes a broader view accentuated with personal stories of experiences undergone or shared. This approach assists with establishing an understanding of how routine much of life on the road is even if you are part of an extended family network which provides considerable support as well as a no holds barred realism. Thirdly Lesh addresses with some candour some of the personal issues of the individual band members, not in much detail, but which nonetheless is somewhat refreshing in acknowledgement that there are real feelings of love and brotherhood in tandem with more ephemeral social interactions. Fourthly, and for me one of the more crucial aspects of this book is the dawning realisation that the guys in the band have different motives and influences and behaviours than those which we as fans attribute to them. As Phil describes the growing gulf between the band members themselves during the eternal touring and their need to establish their own personal routines and spaces, he is also describing the chasm between the expectations of the musicians themselves, the road crew, those who crave audience with the band or somebody with the band and the more general audience. Those stresses and strains on the band are clearly enormous and it is a testament to Phil Lesh and his family that he clearly delineates a private space from the public in order to put his family first while the demands upon him as a band member become collossal. Fifthly and finally, for me this book is somewhat of a labour of love. here is a man who has experienced in a few short years more than most people will ever experience in a lifetime or two. He has some stories to tell and more besides but there is an overarching recognition that what has been and is the most important part of his life is the relationships he has established with certain people - his adopted family that is the Grateful Dead, his parents (his recollection of the passing of his father is one of the most poignant sections of the book, and his own family.

I really like this book for several reasons. I am a fan of the Grateful Dead and am eager to hear a different side of the same story (it's the same story the girl told me it's the only one I know). I am very interested in Phil Lesh's influences and his musical interests. Indeed many people do not know how instrumental Lesh has been in bringing little know British composers to wider audiences. Sorry about the pun but Lesh's typical modesty speaks volumes about Lesh the man. Searching for the Sound raises more questions about the Lesh the musician and who he listens to than answers. I like the insight into the main characters in a continually unfolding drama which does not sink into a pit of bad mouthing and name calling. Added to which is the author's implicit acknowledgement thta he has his own axe to grind but he has the intellectual honesty to admit it. It is also a great story about how a few ordinary guys could get together, literally do their own thing and end up as the biggest grossing touring bad in the world. What a long, strange trip indeed.

This might not be the best written book in the world but it is a fine story worth telling and worth reading again and again. As Lesh recalls Bill Graham's fondness for introducing the band as being not just the best at what they do but the only ones who do what they do. Absolutely. I commend this book to everyone.