Jerry's briefcase

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Creepy thread is creepy.

It is what it is Mike.

 

Grate name for a band!

The briefcase seems out of place in the signed pic - nice one anyway! That looks like the era of the new & improved relatively cleaned up scuba diver Jerry.

 

Jerry was secretly a high-powered attorney in his spare time.

 

And what does a high-powered attorney keep n his briefcase?

His drugs, of course.

Probably full of Hunter lyrics Jerry is supposed to write music to.

 

Phil said Jerry started using again in late 89.

Can you guess where each pic was taken?

#5 Alabama 80

#6 Club Front?

#9 US Festival. 82

 

 

#1 looks like Jerry on the toilet! WTF kind of plane is that??

better band name than jerry's middle finger or troll garcia...

The Persian stains on the outside. He couldn't even be bothered to wash his hands.

From the police inventory:

1 brown briefcase containing misc papers

1 SFPD issue property envelope [ed: containing at least next three items]

$990 (16x $50, 9x $20, 1x $10)

3 paper bindles containing brown powder (found in rose tin)

1 baggie of 6 cotton swabs

1 plastic container liquid

1 glass container liquid

8 pieces of foil with burnt residue

11 paper bindles with brown residue in a bag found in briefcase

1 paper bindle of white powder found in briefcase

1 Zip-Loc baggie containing 1 yellow legal paper bindle containing white powder, labeled "1/2 gram"

1 paper bindle with brown rock like substance

1 cooking glass with prong holders

7 cigarette lighters

1 razor

1 4" metal tool

1 zipper brown pouch 6" x 4"

1 seven of hearts playing card

1 rose metal box 4" x 2"

> 1 seven of hearts playing card

Okay, this just got interesting.

#1 looks like the dogs are outside and Jerry refuses to exit the plane! lol

Fascinating grouping there, Doolittle.

Nice work on the police inventory, Ken.

That briefcase always scared me

kinda sad

bad vs good

 

 

Wonder if the 7 of hearts held some significance or just a random card to chop blow with. And the 7 lighters is interesting. I understand having a backup but Jerry stayed extremely prepared.

>>>The Persian stains on the outside. He couldn't even be bothered to wash his hands.

This has to be the most unflattering picture of Jerry there is. Greasy hair, stained fingers and coke all over his shirt. The interviewer said Jerry chopped up around 20 lines and did them all in an hour. 

 

jerry.jpeg

 

 

> Wonder if the 7 of hearts held some significance

Everything holds significance once we notice it, even if it's just a card to chop blow.

Where's JLP when we need her?

Bump because it looks like JLP is in the house.

I still have that issue of Frets.

I've seen way worse photos of him.

Agreed, that "Fret's" cover, which I've seen before, is beyond ridiculous. How the fuck did that shot become the cover of a magazine?

I mean someone in the Garcia camp said, "sure- that one's perfect"???

 

Heroin- a helluva drug.

Look at a picture of yourself at 45 and then look at a picture of Jerry at 30.   It was what it was.  No one cared enough to stop it as the train was making money.  Shit, Jerry wouldn't have stopped it himself.   They all wanted the bus to keep moving.......

 

 

I always heard it contained the Nuclear Launch Codes

Creepy thread is creepy.<<<

Be this as it may, does it not represent the dark underbelly of a "monster" we've all had a small hand in creating?

A prelude to Seven Spanish Angels.

Don't even start with the 7 Walkers.

The cosmic skinny:

http://lagrange.math.siu.edu/Kocik/seven.htm

Also, Mickey Mantle.

 

> a "monster" we've all had a small hand in creating

JG's choices made the monster, FOM. We just enabled him.

>>>And the 7 lighters is interesting<<<

I bet Jerry was the guy who always borrowed a lighter but never gave it back.

Who's gonna' say to Jerry Garcia, "Hey man, can I have my lighter back?"

>>>does it not represent the dark underbelly of a "monster" we've all had a small hand in creating<<<

It was just a briefcase. He had to lug his shit around in something, just like we all do.

And I'll cop to being a small part of creating the monster that the Grateful Dead became, but in my personal, completely uneducated opinion, Jerry was a total "head"; a guy who simply loved to get high, and I don't think much would have changed with his lifestyle and choices over the years, even if he had never gotten past playing a banjo in bars.

Jerry loved to get high and he had no fear of experimentation, a combination that can lead to bad things, rock star or not.

^Well Jerry quit because of him being very sick and almost dying and felt ashamed for letting his friends and family down. What made him slip and fall back into it and who gave him it is a mystery to me. But my guess is the huge exposure he got after TOGrey and the continual growth of the scene and pressure Jerry felt made him escape back into that place where he numbed himself. Sad but c'est le vie.

Quit, or stopped for a while?

And he was a full-on junkie long before TOG and the larger monetary success.

All of it is just conjecture from us on the outside, but I'm sticking with my personal conjecture that Jerry just loved to get high, and wasn't the type to say no to anything when offered.

Including lighters.

I love to get high. Got a little corner in the bedroom called the stone zone. 

We all know Jerry was a junkie since the 70's. My point is what made him slip back into that terrible lifestyle again and did some douche bag offer it to him or did he seek it out on his own.  Which we'll never know. Yes Weir said Jerry liked to get high, but to the point of back to where he was before when he almost died? Just curious as to who or what made him choose that road again and I believe it was the extreme popularity and pressure he was under as God Jerry.He just escaped that BS with heavy shit.

It seems unlikely that you'll find someone here who actually knows. Anyone can say anything, but people in the know aren't here or are dead.

There are people who will guess and make it sound like they know something; they don't.

Junkies are junkies. We've all known junkies and they all know someone who will help them find the next high. Slip slidin' away.

Congratulations to those who've made it out.

He had it in his hand when I met him in 94. Set it down to sign an autograph and then picked it right back up

Mickey Mantle and JG died four days apart.

SEVEN!

Never knew they traveled by private jets or helis so much. Jet set friends?

Thom saw it opened up years ago, he posted the story a long time ago. I do remember he said that there were comic books and a bunch of random papers stuffed in there, probably some other stuff as well. 

I will ALWAYS RESPECT Jerry and know that he got caught up in a poison that was spreading in those times. Somehow he succumbed to them and it took control of his life and soul. I believe he was a generous soul and kind person. 

 

Ted Nugent thinks otherwise.       But FUCK TED NUGENT!!!!

 

Drugs have killed tons of people. Elvis. Micheal Jackson. Marilyn Monroe. Judy Garland.......................................... Why is Jerry singled out?

I dunno but I been told...Jerry had some dental work done in the late 80s and had an opiate scrip for a while.

 

Then fell back into chasing the dragon.

Or so "they" say.

Drugs did not kill Garcia.  But he was an unelected spokesperson for the drug using population - so that's why everyone assumes drugs killed him.

The drugs didn't help him, they were a hindrance to his well being and getting and staying healthy.  All those hours spent nodding out on the couch instead of seeing the cardiologist who would tell him point-blank you need to have bypass surgery or you're going to die. It was easier to stay zoned out on the couch.  Fuck doctors, man.

Well, he died.  The lack of medical attention to his heart disease is what killed him.  The drugs didn't help, but the man lived on egg cream sodas and egg salad sandwiches (extra mayo) or cheeseburgers.

Both of Garcia's parents died young (dad- "drowning"  mom- "car crash") - both of those events easily could have been cardiac events.

Ol' Garcia had bad genes, bad habits, and hated doctors.  It's a miracle he lasted as long as he did.  But it wasn't the heroin that killed him.  If he'd gone to the doctor, had bypass surgery, changed his diet and lifestyle he may have lived long enough to od on fucking fentanyl just like Tom Petty did.  THEN we could say that drugs killed him.

It's a not a very "rock and roll" exit to talk about degenerative heart disease and diabetes, but that's what it was.  Much more exciting to talk about Betty Ford and Serenity Knolls, I understand.

Much more exciting to talk about heroin and nodding and missing notes and teleprompters instead of the "symptoms of diabetic neuropathy" - but google the latter, because that's what fucking happened. He could barely play guitar or breathe during the worst of it.  But he kept at it.  And I appreciated it, even if in retrospect I wish we could've traded tour or two for a heart bypass operation and recovery...it wasn't in these cards.

>>>>>but the man lived on egg cream sodas 

 

Btw, egg cream sodas contain neither egg nor cream.

> a "monster" we've all had a small hand in creating

JG's choices made the monster, FOM. We just enabled him.<<<

I get it Mike, and that's the way I mostly look at things, but still ... when a cue ball slams into the eight ball - which then drops in the corner pocket; was it the cue ball or the cue stick that "made" the eight ball sink?  Or, the food one ate to be able to stand at the pool table?  Or, the ecosystem that supported the growth of the food?  etc. etc.

The key to a proper egg cream is pouring the syrup over the back of the spoon, after the seltzer has been added to the milk, and gently stirring. That ensures that the foam will remain white. If the foam is brown, it's not a damn egg cream!

What's become of the brieeeeeefcaaaaaaase? 

> If the foam is brown, it's not a damn egg cream!

Is anyone else hearing BK channeling Jerry Stiller's voice here?

Sign in a 70s bathroom I had occasion to visit (apparently during a water shortage):

"If it's brown
Flush it down
If it's yellow
That's mellow"

Rock Scully's book is kind of trashy but has lots of stories about Jerry's pre-coma lifestyle in the 80s.

There were factions in GDP, including band members, that wanted to keep Garcia on the road, despite his poor health. They went so far as to basically, install a doctor that would give him a 'fit for work' pass every tour, and outed anyone who actually cared and thought Jerry should take a break. Garcia may have been the captain of his own ship, but it sounds like sometimes, the winds were blowing against him.

Great collection
Particularly like the one with the limousine and the last one in front of the helicopter.
Agree with the above that the subject would make an excellent band name

Most high is most correct

 

imo

The notion that Garcia somehow died on the cross of the Grateful Dead, I've always found to be somewhat of a silly narrative. He was a big boy with a big brain and a big constitution. He knew what he was doing.

Even in those last 18 months, it wasn't like surgery and brisk morning walks around Mt Tam was going to save him. Dead man walking unfortunately. He kept going until the very end and perhaps that was the right call after all. 

So there's where it went!

 

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That's weird as hell.  DSO and the Shapiro cat?

Agree creepy

I feel like I need to take a shower after seeing that

LOL

 

I read that Fender gave Jerry that case!

 

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/grateful-dead-favorite-photos-of-...

Bring it to Santa Cruz for a run. 

jerry's mouse and keyboard would have been disgusting.

A full paraphernalia exhibit would be bitchin.

That Capitol shot is beyond weird in a variety of ways... I wonder if Parrish has ever dished on "the briefcase"?

Thanks for a great thread for my money, Doolittle.

Coming to a theatre near you 

 

Jerry's Briefcase

 

With the liquid Light Show

 

Opening Up  Jerry's Shampoo

The bottle is still full

 

$15 a sniff

did Jerry ever have dreads?

You could probably get high just touching that thing.

He had pigtails in 78, and some other year earlier than that.

73 RFK   Had this poster as a kid

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1968

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<<had this poster>>
 

So did I Doolittle.

Sorry about your bro. It's never easy to lose someone you care about.

regarding band names:      Jerry's Briefcase  vs.  Bobby's Shorts

 

also, which held more junk?

I remember being in a backstage area at  a concert with JGB who were playing with my friends band Osiris who opened

 I opened the door to a fairly big room

Parish and Jerry Were huddled in the far corner around the briefcase

I did a 180 as quickly as possible. I can still see the image in my mind actually...

The JBC with DSO pictured above is different that the one shown in a couple of other pictures.   In fact, it looks there might have been two JBCs.    

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Drugs are bad

 

"Holier than thou speaking"

 

When I was in my teens I had an alligator make up case from my grandmother at one point I must've had 15 different marijuana's and seven different types of hash in there in film cans to be honest it was pretty impressive

 

I must've like drugs at that point in my life. I also had at least 20 pipes nursing homes brass sandstone clay, Water pipe just everything under the sun  My "briefcase" was impressive 

 

I pretty much stopped with the pot addiction on my oldest kids became five and three years old

 

 

Bobby's fanny pack.

He didn't want to risk leaving his shit backstage.

Looks like the leather briefcase with the Bertha sticker was late 70s and the tweed one with the Persian stains came later. We need a website to delve into Jerry's drug transportation methods like we have for his guitars. Didn't Doug Irwin build a hidden compartment into Tiger to hide drugs in? Jerry took great caution with his drugs, other than getting careless with the Golden Gate Park bust.

Wherever that case is, the Persian stains must be preserved at all costs. Much like a classic unrestored car.

Whose briefcase was better packed, Jerry or Hunter Thompson? 

During Jerry's Persian years, Weir often held his stash.

I think Thompson probably had more variety, fabes.

Thompson was erratic and off the rails mad.  Jerry kept his cool and was more coherent.  

>> Didn't Doug Irwin build a hidden compartment into Tiger to hide drugs in?

 

Read in an interview with Irwin that there was a stashbox in the back of the guitar, with weed dust inside.  I tend to doubt that story, as I'm not sure Jerry was worried about having or transporting his own weed stash.  If he kept drugs in his guitar at all, my guess is that it wasn't weed...

I know Jerry hated going overseas since getting drugs through customs was a hassle. There's a story about Pete Townshend coming through in the clutch with pristine heroin when he joined them at Rockpalast in 1981.

Smuggling drugs in a guitar reminds me of customs finding a syringe in Bobby Keys' sax in Hawaii. Hilarious fucking story about how him and Keith got off scot free.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOvU41A6G5M

Wonder if they'll let Mayer use the briefcase like they did Wolf. It'd be a shame if that bad boy was custied up and used to carry $100 lip balm, hair & skin products, a couple $800 Dead shirts and a spare Rolex.

The contents of the briefcase killed Jerry but Mayer might carry a Burt's bees wax lip balm in it and sully it. RRG mindset.

What does Rockandrollgoddess have to do with this ,Slack?

Bertha Suitcase cocaine 

 

Auto Mechanics Suitcase Persian 

>>>>>Both of Garcia's parents died young (dad- "drowning"  mom- "car crash") - both of those events easily could have been cardiac events.

 

Or not.

However, losing both parents, at age 5 and 28 (plus mom moved him to her parents shortly after his dad passed) prob. had a huge impact on Jerry's later bad habits, including the white and brown powders, as well as poor diet, lack of regular exercise, and CIGARETTES.

Most addicts, at least the ones I've known, become less likely to take care of themselves properly as they fall deeper into their substance or activity.

 

"I want a new drug...
...one that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you"