Melissa and the Dead Keyboard players

Melissa Birch was my friend from 1991 to 2016. We were neighbors on Channing Way in Southwest Berkeley California for 11 years. She lived in a big old collective? commune? anarchist meeting house? Whig party meeting space? down the street from our family house.... I loved it there because one of her men, Bob Berry, always had weed. 

I was a chronic weed smoker back then, so was Bob. It's killed him now but I'm still here having entered recovery for weed addiction in 1994.

Anyway, Melissa and I both loved the Grateful Dead. She'd grown up in San Diego and me in San Francisco so it just kind of runs in our veins you know? 

This memory came to me this morning in association with listening to a song this morning- "Friend of the Devil", lyrics by Robert Hunter, music by Jerry Garcia and John Dawson. (In case you're interested the track I listened to was 12-6-89 Oakland), an earthquake benefit.  I can't remember whether I was at the show although I did live in the East Bay at that time. 

I can't remember a lot of things, minutiae mostly, but I do remember dancing to numerous keyboard solos at Dead Shows with Melissa and finding her suddenly at my shoulder saying confidentially- "I really like this keyboard player they have". 

Now, you really must be an old timer dead head to get this. At my first Dead show in 73 Bruce Hornsby was keyboard player. After that, there were three more, the job being somewhat hazardous, these guys just kept on dying (you'll have to look elsewhere for the minutiae on the Dead keyboard players).

Every time that Melissa heard a piano/keyboard solo, she was impressed and thought it was a new guy, and she'd share her thoughts with me. 

So funny. I miss you Melissa.