RIP Chez Ray Sewell

“Whenever You Want To Eat”

By Chez Ray Sewell (RIP)

“Another area that I worked with Rock Scully in was starting The Oregon County Fair. I started cooking there in 1972, same year at the Veneta (‘72) show, which I attended and just stayed. The Oregon Country Fair was an arena where Rock would come and have some of the best times of his life. 

I got the introductions (GD) in 1972/73 but I didn’t kick in as The Grateful Dead chef until the late seventies. The first tour I went on with the band we were still building the trailer. It was quite an exciting moment. We ended up in Salt Lake City (02-28-73) and that’s as far as we went. It was good enough. My zone was from San Francisco up to Seattle. 

It evolved, as they became bigger, it (kitchen) became bigger. People have different cycles when they eat. My position was, “whenever you want to eat, I’ll be ready.” You sort of have to do it that way. 

Bill Kreutzmann ate all different kinds of food. Diets changed over the years, people liked stakes and that kind of thing with some classic sauces on them. When the band eats your food they become part of you. I remember cooking for Trixie Garcia and Annabel when they were young, young kids, same with Phil Lesh’ and his kids. It’s great because they’re still my friends. 

Contrary to what people might imagine, the scene was very safe and very organized and very straight ahead. There was no nonsense backstage. You had to be a real person. You had to have multiple ID’s to get back there. They would heard the kids out and have a little section where they could sit down and watch for awhile. It was a family and that’s what it largely remained even though it was also this incredible jet train moving at epic speed. With them (GD) it was still an organization that was put together by some very caring and loving people and very bright. 

Garcia was a beautiful cat, very sweet man and very complicated, the whole journey here, for everybody. It didn’t feel complicated because there was a lot of talent around.”

*excerpt of my radio interview CRS from 2017 on Powertalk, an internet broadcasting network

“I started out as a loyal fan of The Grateful Dead. I was at The Fillmore, and Winterland and Frost Amphitheater, BCT. In 1972 I moved to Eugene, OR and became close with Ken Kesey.

I met him in La Honda way early in 1963 when I was on my way to The La Honda Junior Rodeo.

I opened a French restaurant called La Prima Vera (Eugene, OR). I decided to cook for the kings of my time, so I positioned myself up in Oregon because I had such fond thoughts about Kesey and the whole gang. It was a huge incredible happening in itself. We were the first to do fresh pasta, I had aged my own meat and had stuff grown for me, this is back in the 70's when people weren't doing that kind of stuff. I had one of the best wine cellars in the state. Kesey would come down and The Flying Karamazov Brothers would show up. I was sit them all next to my more conservative clientele who also loved being there. I was good at mixing the crowd which has always been my intent. Pretty soon you start gaining friendships. I got to cook for all the musicians I grew up listening to in San Francisco, from James Brown to Santana (Carlos), Dylan (Bob) and Donovan. 

A lot of the families were based in Eugene. The Garcia family was based in Eugene, Rock's family was based in Eugene. It was the "safe haven" so a lot of people would come up here. The Oregon County Fair is a place Rock (Scully) would go and have some of the best times of his life. I was already involved in cooking, as a worker bee, when Rock and Nicki would come. 

Eventually Rock Skully hired me to cook for The Grateful Dead. I ended up collaborating with Nicki Scully and Erica Miller. We formed a formal journey with the band. We went on tour with this little mobile kitchen and it was fantastic. 

After that I just stayed in, Rock kept me in the loop, the rest is history. 

Rock was truly a wonderful person. He was very bright and the band loved him. 

He was there because they trusted Rock and he was a powerful person. He could move into any circle and would be able to make that work. There wasn't any class area that he was uncomfortable in. Rock was a very comfortable person. 

The band worked with him so it wasn't like he was managing, they were all moving forward. Rock took care of business and that's pretty much what he was. That's a powerful position. 

I became the backstage head chef for "The Summer of Love."

*excerpt of my radio interview with Chez Ray Sewell (RIP) from 2017 on Powertalk, an internet broadcasting network

“The Pranksters (Merry) were instrumental in changing the landscape from black and white to color in 1964 on their first journey out.

It made people wake up and pay attention, "wait a minute, there's a lot more going on here to life." On the heels of that, there were people like The Warlocks, who I saw in 1965, at The Cinnamon Tree Teen Club. They were in a lot of ways, right in step with that whole movement that The Pranksters had pushed out there. This free thinking kind of energy and this change up from "what had to be to what can be." It just exploded into the possibilities and they were endless and remain endless.

The Warlocks went from the button down look of American Bandstand's bands to the free flowing "hair starts growing because why am I cutting it, for you or for me?" 

All these statements are what The Pranksters had let out of the bag. They allowed people to start questioning things. What is really for me in this life, and what is really just for you in order to accept me. That became a pretty big door that opened up. God willing, it will remain open. These are times in history that need to be cherished and studied.”

*excerpt of my radio interview with Chez Ray Sewell (RIP) from 2017 on Powertalk, an internet broadcasting network