From the fans:

Emails From the Fans:

[Bracketed comments in italics ar= e from JDarks]

What the hell are you doing? Stop fuckin' talking and play. It would be one thing if you were any good. You suck!!! You're wasting everybody's time. Your guitars suck and you are annoying. Take a break!!! <= /span>

From: somebody that knows the difference!!!

[ An= d now= , some words from all those who don’t know the difference either! ]

JD, it is a wonderful thi= ng you are doing/have done - your website is a delight and a cool breath of stellar wind. The YouTube sessions are extremely useful to this ancient novice and the tabs are literally wonderful. Just when I thought it was ge= tting dark, I found Darks. Thank yo= u,

Steve W

= what can one say.... I’ve been following your= site for years now. awesome. my favorite is your "waiting for a miracle". thanks = bro.

Jim

First off, great stuff Darks!! Thanks. Questio= n for you: Dude, your version= of Brown Eyed on You Tube is sick... Your intro and solo is stellar, I am trying to tab it from your video but I am missing some pieces. Do you have that tabbed already somewhere and perhaps I just missed it? Eith= er way, thanks in advance for you time. Congrats on your meeting with Bob. I think you've got fans who were hoping to see you and= Bob somehow goof off for couple of minutes on the axes... But you're right about stage protocol.

Chris

Man I'm just= blown away by the stuff you're putting up !!!! I'm kin= d of new to YouTube and this just amazes me.&nb= sp; I'm starting to pick up the guitar every day aga= in !!! I can't make out those first couple licks of Casey cause of the beer bottle. Is that the ninth fret, last couple of strings ??? I know you get tons of ema= il, so if I don't hear back, I can understand.&nb= sp; Just went to your web site for first time.&nbs= p; What show is that eeeery space from? Same as the intro Gans played on GDH ?? Now let me go try this intro to Music Never Stop= ped !!! KILLER. Keep up the good work, <= /o:p>

Wally down in New Orleans

Hi, I’ve been a Dead fan for some twenty years living in Perth, Australia. Growing up here has meant obviously having never seen G= rateful Dead perform, and sadly, only a handful of people are aware of their existence (believe it or not). This makes it difficult to source anything related to the band and to find music tutors whom care to be faith= ful to the music and teach. I am only learning guitar at a proficient level thu= s so far. Having found your websit= e has been a tremendous help, and I thank you for all that I have learnt. Y= ou have provided me with much enjoyment and inspiration= . I am interested to know if you are willing to sketch out for me tabs/chord charts for “Lovelight” (edited) as this is a favorite of mine? Kind regards,

Michael=

I'll always be just a "Grateful Dead Fan" for having never attended a show, but I love = this music nonetheless. Although I was familiar with the "radio" songs: Casey Jones, Truckin', Touch of Grey, and even played in a band in the 90's that did a cover of Bertha, I somehow missed out on "getting it" until the last couple of years. If only I'd heard Eyes or China Cat or Dark Star in the= 70's . . .. Anyway, I picked up the book "Garcia= " by Blair Jackson to read on a plane a while back, which led me to read Phil= Lesh's book and Long Strange Trip, all, as you say, excellent books. I just ran across another book by Blair Jackson called "Grateful Dead Gear," which is also really interesting. To me, the most amazing thing about the music is that one need not have experienced the "scene" surrounding it to appreciate it, the music stands on its = own. I have never heard anything as moving as some of the jams in the transition from China Cat to I know You Rider. T= hat said, I think that what you do is great because even for those of us who are woefully late-comers, there is still the ability to feel like we are part of something bigger. Sorry for t= he long e-mail. Lastly, the "backstage pass to Ratdog" episodes were great because we could see your genuine excitement to be there and have that opportunity. At any rate, thanks for what you do, and please keep to videos coming.

Dick

Hey thanks for getting back to me JDarks. 'Really enjoy your stuff and your respect and passion for all things Jerry and GD comes through.... If = you haven't seen it yet, check out this Jerry Tribute that features him playing= an acoustic Run for the Roses - there is a nice background montage of classic Jerry images. It's really well done. Thanks!!

Chris

Hey there, huge dead fan here. I am in the early process of learning guitar (I waited till I was 34 to learn) and wanted to = let you know that your site is really Great! thanks

Ryan , Chicago Il

Darks, again always enjoy= your efforts, I’m 56yrs old, been round the boy's since Bucknell 1971. Play golf with Jeff Chementi the key boards man, and = have the great pleasure of hanging with Bob, and grooming my look to his. By the= way Bob turns out to be a fine and kind person. Maybe some day we can hoist a l= ager together. A friend

Bill

Darks, sorry I missed you, caught the Thursday show, Warren>Jimmy>Dana, had fun backst= age and around the corner bar. Here's a pix of me and my friend Bobby from a ye= ar ago, have signed a few autographs recently, Bob said go with it, great venue the Beacon, enjoy your stuff. peace <= /span>

Bill

Hey Darks........ I can relate to meeting Bobby, this is a picture of me with h= im on April Fools Day last week 4-1-08... Good dude , plus he can still knock the shit out of those riffs!!! Keep up the awesome work man , we love ya!

Bruno from PA=

Hey Darks...= I just have to tell you that you've got the best Dead/Jerry tabs hands down!!! I have you added to my toolb= ar, and I'm on your site almost daily, I simply love it! .... Anyways, I was ju= st wondering if or when you may be posting Peggy-O??.... I saw on YouTube that= you were trying to figure it out. It's one of my favorite tunes and I learned it from the Rukind site... but I'm pretty sure it's not the same chord progression that Jerry plays.... Any thoughts?? Thanks, hope to hear from you.....

Mike

JD, Are you free tomorrow, Friday? I have two backstage laminates to Ratdog at the Beacon Theatre.= Let me know as soon as you can.

[Name withheld, but will never be forgotten – Thanks!]

Hello, Long time gui= tar player, frustrated learner. I= thank you for helping to ease the burden of the latter.

Jim

<= /o:p>

Subject: BTW= vid - a masterpiece. Goddamn J, tha= t last video was just a fuckin masterpiece. I've been working BTW for months, = so it really hit home for me.. and= showed me how much further I still have to go! I'm botching a lot of things= .. chords and rhythm no pro= blem. The riffs, lots of ground to cover. I'm botching the i= ntro melody walk down (I can't seem to keep my pick and finger pick at the same = time.. practice!). Aggghhhh!!!= So much further - but what a long way covered so far! You've got that song dialed. It's = such a crowd pleaser acoustically too. I imagine every weekend someone's calling y= ou up and saying hey c'mon over - oh yeah and bring your guitar! Ah, another ramble just to say THA= NKS!! Season is turning hard right now a= nd the weather is getting really nice on Bainbridge Island. Hope your b= ike is fit & ready. I blew a filter seal on my electra glide a week ago - all the oil drained = out before I could get it home. Only went about 1.5 miles before I realized it (leaving a huge streak down my driveway and up the road!). I think everythi= ng is OK though I've never seen that on any vehicle before. I popped a few more bike pix up on my FB page from last year's trip. You should come out for a ride! Plus there's some great music at the Gorge this year - on the way of = any bike trip!

Bill

<= /o:p>

Darks............You are awesome dude! I just found about you last week! I saw my 1st Dead show = at the Spectrum / Philly Sep 1973 and have been trying to teach myself guitar since I was 15 ( I'm now 50) This is great reminds me of my 1st band in 1976 when I went out and bought a brand new Ibanez Bob Weir model and tried to p= lay like him!!!! like a stupid ass I sold that axe 20 years ago..... But I bought a house on the coast of = Maine with some of the money...anyway...THANK YOU! you bring a tear to my eye...on a lighter note = I'm gonna see Bobby and Ratdog in Stroudsburg PA on April= 1st at a little theatre that seats only 1500 people !! and<= /span> as always I'll be "against the wall" to see the real riffs!! Ya gotta love that Blue H= ollow Body Modulus Guitar that he plays nowadays. Lots of punch! Sincerely. Thank you Man for the gift... Respectfully

Steve from PA

Just a quick note to tell you that I absolutely love what yo= ur doing, and I'm eternally grateful for everything you've posted and tabbed o= ut for all us Deadheads. You truly encompass everything the dead are/were abou= t. Freely sharing what you have without reservation. Thanks again bro, Godspeed!!

Warren from Maine

Dude, I love your videos on YouTube= with the Dead licks. Especi= ally the PITB Video. I'm an 18 year old college student, HUGE dead fan (Thank= s, Dad). How do I convince my mo= m and girlfriend that the dead are not boring? Keep up the great work, =

Adam

Darks, I recently discovered your website and all of your instructional clips= on You Tube. Great stuff. Keep up = the good work. I am going through them one at a time to try to pick up some of those great licks. The Bobby lick on FOTD is great. Never would have picked that out. By the way, the origin= al tune is very cool as well. I hope you continue to post more video. Thanks,

Steve

How about workin’ us through The Eleven? Love your stuff!!! Very informat= ive, inspiring, and educational.

Daus Denver, CO

Wassup JDarks? Just wanted to give s= ome credit where its due. I found you on YouTube whi= le searchin for dead. I haven’t stopped tuning in = since. I just wanted to say thanks for everything you do and for being yourself. <= span class=3DGramE>Its always great to see good kind folks. Take care,

Ryan

JDarks, Man - I love your website and YouTube page! As = an intermediate guitarist, I've learned a tremendous amount from your web-less= ons. And so I just wanted to say thanks for the free-be less= ons, that just happen to be some of the most informative yet user friendly ones I've seen, I also wanted to send a shout-out from Up-State NY. Because you are the man, I've subscribed to you on YT and also encouraged a= few of my buddies to do the same. My secondary reason for contacting you was to= say great job with the Bird-Song tabs. As a kid, I leaned to play this number f= rom an old Garcia/Ice Nine song-book in the key of "D," but growing u= p on Reckoning, always made me like that version a bit more. It's a bit looser a= nd free flowing. So anyway, I never bothered to figure it out, but thanks to y= ou, I can now rock it in the key of E - the Reckoning way... PS - I am a Bluegrass-flat-picking freak. As such I really appreciated your mentioning Sandy Rothman! Keep up the "Great" work!<= /p>

Chris - Saratoga NY

Awesome site. Great vids on YouTube too. W= ish I could play them all the way you do. I'll settle though for just playi= ng them the way I do... Thanks!<= /span>

You’re an inspiration my man. Thank you for what you do. I’ve really been enjoying working through Dire and Deep Elem. I had a= thought, any interest in getting to the bottom of some= of the Garcia/Grisham collaborations…Shady Grove comes to mind. Anyway be well and thanks again.

Jon

Hi Darks,= First of all, thank you so much for keeping the vibe alive and sharing the fruits of all your hard work. You might not know it, but your videos do more than get folks closer to capturing some of that Jerry magic = (and they are excellent at that). Your presence on YouTube makes life a little m= ore bearable when things are not that great in the "real world." You project a certain happiness through the music, t= he jokes, the love of the gear, ridin' the HAWG, j= amming with friends, your musings on The Fans, etc. and it's just pretty damn cool that you share it with the faceless masses. That being said, I am worried t= hat someday "The Man", or perhaps representatives of "The Woman = (Ms. Koons)" will shut you down. You're getting= big bro. If they do come a knocking on your door, I hope you will offer some b&p DVDs of your vids or something. Keep it up and thanks a lot for being a hell of human being!-

Erik

Thanks a bunch Darks, you= really helped me a lot, i love those a Mixolydian runs= jerry does, I’m adding sum variations to make some sweet solos for songs of= my own, it’ll still take some work getting down the Bobby parts, but, I’m planning on practicing for at least 4 hours a day in the summer breaks, so I should get that nailed pretty good. me n my band Cosmic Dahlia give our greatest thanks, keep up the good work=3D) p= eace n luv

Superhippie930 (or Joe, d= on matter)

Hey there, good master. Dropping in to ask if you have ever really listened to that 'High Tim= e' on the 'What a Long Strange Trip' double disc. I am sure that you have, since you embody Jerry's soulful spirit so very well. He is just singing and playing with such raw emotion. All th= ose little guitar nuances that he is producing is just sick! Is there anyway that you can post a video with some of those tasty little licks? Like= the one coming out of that C#m? <= /span>Much Love & Respect,

Namasté

<= /o:p>

Darks, you've outdone yourself with this one. It was absolutely outrageous! I must say that I disagree w= ith some of your pairings --- I’m in the wine business and a bit opiniona= ted about these things, but you are always genuine and entertaining. I still enjoy all of the guitar vi= deos you do. k= eep up the good work. thanks, by the way, I’m the guy that harassed you about leaving the bands on your cigars a while back. glad to= see you conformed!!! lol!!!!!!!!

marc

<= /o:p>

J. Just found yo= ur shit on YouTube. Awesome stuff. I'm = all over Friend of the Devil. Never heard Garcia do Hideaway before, and = he don't do it good. I'll take Freddie King's version myself, simply cause Freddie is the man, in my book. Clapton's version is great, Johnny Winter, not so much. Peter Green did a great version too. When I was a kid= in NYC WABC used Hideaway, Freddie's version, as bumper music each hour going = into the news. When I became a DJ in the 70's I used it too. Saw him open for ZZ Top once and he stole the show. Keep postin'

Frank, Boca Raton, Fla.=

<= /o:p>

I love you site. Thanks for the tabs. Loved your New Speedway history lesson. Nice to have real history of the times told= .

Tom

Hey Now J.D., My name is Larry. I'm a 42 = year old Deadhead living up in Ver= mont. I've been trying to learn a little guitar during the past year and recently got turned on to your site. Too= cool. Thanks for spreading the music and keeping Jerry's spirit floating around.&= nbsp; I'm sure you'd put a smile on ol' Jerr's face. While a lot of the tabs and chords= are light years beyond my ability, what I have managed to grasp has helped tremendously. The problem with living in backwoods VT is we're a bit behind= the rest of the world and where I live there is nothing but dial-up connec= tion so watching videos or streaming music at home really doesn't work. I h= ave highspeed access at work, but not really able to down= load stuff or sit there with my guitar. Is it possible to get a hard copy s= ome of this video stuff on DVD so I could try to learn it at home? Thanks again,

Larry

Love the stu= ff you are putting out. If I could have had all this 20 years ago I coulda been good! I really enjoy the tab and esp. the videos. But my request is that as a Mac user I have found the PDF files the best to see and print. Your move to exe and .mht files is not allowing me to easily transfer your tabs. Please reconsider Acrobat and a PDF format. Kee= p up the great work- we all appreciate it.

Brad

<= /o:p>

Hey man, Firs= t, a thousand thanks for posting those 2 videos on Ripple. I'm having a hell o= f a time fingering out the hammering on parts in the beginning. I was wondering if you have a link to download the actual video so I can throw it= in my media player and slow it down, and make it easier to jump back a second. Either way, I appreciate the effort you put into this. Keep on keepi= n' on!

Chris

<= /o:p>

Hi. my name= is Luke and I’m 14 years old. I= ’ve not always been a dead fan. M= y aunt was a deadhead I lived with her a year ago. her fia= ncé is a hipster too. Now that I&= #8217;m away from them living with my dad i can appreci= ate it a whole lot more. I used to be into Scandinavian death metal (don’t listen) But i = am mesmerized by the angelic hollowness of tiger and the shake of the earth on gator (enough cheesy metaphors) I got a guitar about 2 or so odd years ago I recently bought an SG to fiddle around on its old and beat up but I love it. I was curious about your opini= on on the SG. I’m playing = dark star with a friends band and maybe we'll improv= a little Zappa's my main guy But jerry's givin hi= m a run for his money But im into Zappa cause IR= 17;m kinda nuts and that’s the way I like it.

Diaspora789

<= /o:p>

Just wanted to let you know how much your site is appreciated. I know a lo= t of work went into it. Your music room looks awesome! I can not get= the link to the relic guitars to work, cant get one = now anyway but I wanted to read about it. Thanks again. Take care,

Kirk

<= /o:p>

I was watching your tutorial video for UJB. I am trying to get the beginning hammering and picking in G just like or similar to way you are do= ing it but I am having a hard time. Your TABS for the beginning of the so= ng are all wacked out of alignment? Or is it me? Thanks for your help. Living vicariously through you!

Doug

<= /o:p>

Yo J (or is it Yo Darks?)! Happy SuperBowl Sund= ay! A few things.... Once again I'm diving into the JDa= rks video vault! 1) The That's what love will make you do video was fantastic!= Funny as hell watching the Captain & staff! Where was that shot? 2) Thanks for the New Speedway Boogie. Like all your vids I l= ike the personal touch and the intro to this one was very educational and I thi= nk those who never knew what inspired th= at song will be well served. How many times have we quoted "...this darkn= ess has got to give"? 3) Time trippers was great too. Total flashback listening to the radio. But then I saw Okeechobee Blvd signs and I knew wh= ere that was! In New Jersey it's the law that when you reach 65 you have to move to= Florida. My folk= s first got a condo in Jupiter and then sold that and got a house in a place called Admiral's Cove. They now live in Palm Beach Gardens<= /st1:place>. They are really old now and the vid reminded me that I need to get out ther= e. Long way from WA State but I could sure use a dose of sunshine right about = now! You must have grown up East Coast. <= /span>I'm guessing not NJ but LI perhaps? 4) Tech issue.. on your = web page a lot of the tabs and links have an .mht suffix= . They bomb in my browser (I'm Linux w/ Firefox.. it th= inks it's a mail message). So like the New Speedway Boogie tab doesn't come up f= or example. Any way to fix these? Sorry to be one o= f the whiners but I thought you'd want to know.

<= /o:p>

Hi, Just got this thought into my mind to thank you for your website. It is the cool= est, and I've had many occasions to go to it and look at your tabs. I'm working = on "Deal" right now, along with some others. Then I took a look at your axe, ve= ry nice. I want to have one like that, naturally! How do I go about it? Seems = like you know your stuff and what's in your axe must be the right stuf= f. Let the good times roll=

Anders
Landskrona, Sweden

<= /o:p>

D C#m Bm = A

Never saw that before. I could hear it but never saw anyone = tab it out. Now right there that takes the presentation of that song to the next level even if you are just soling chords! But I have to tell you, what pushed= me to drop you a note is I came across one of your motorcycle videos - and I frea= ked because I just did a trip with a few of my college buddies over a LOT of the same territory. I think we both traveled the same route exactly from Yellowstone to Jackson. My buddies and I made a commitment= that when we turned 40, it didn't matter how much money we had, what we were doi= ng, or any other issues - we were going to take 3 months off and travel the cou= ntry on Harleys! We were all into motorcycles during our college years ('79-83 i= n Boston and LOTS o= f stupid stories, dropped bikes, accidents etc..). Well 40 came and went and it looke= d like our commitment would evaporate... but for whatever reason it came together = this past summer. My friends are a= ll still pretty close to where we went to school.. = one outside of Boston= and the other in Connecticut. I myself have been a rover and ended up outside of Seattle. So I talked them into coming o= ut to Seattle and renti= ng Harleys from a local dealership. I had a 96 FLHP Road King but got a 2001 FL= HTPI Electra Glide for the trip (what the hell right this is a once in a lifetime thing probably!) for the trip. I wanted speakers and a fairing for the long days we'd be spending on the road. <= /span>So we didn't do 3 months but we did do a few weeks. We went Seattle > Sun Peaks BC > Jasper > Glacier NP > Yellowstone > Jac= kson > Park City > San Francisco > Oregon > Seatt= le The who= le trip was one big huge visual. I had never been to Yellows= tone and I ave to say that all those formations and = bubbly things combined with the scenery was mind blowing. No big surprise but my friends and= I are long time Deadheads. First show I saw with them was = Lewiston Maine in '79 or '80. Then there we = tons of shows thereafter! My friend Doug and I (who was the one who really got me into motorcycles) are both from Jersey a= nd we saw the Englishtown show in '76. So anyway, sorry for such a long message but you've really hit on three things= that are probably my most important diversions (or focus!) - the Dead, motorcycles and guitars. Thanks again and if you ever make it to Washington, drop= me a line. My guitar teacher (and really good friend) is a former national flatpicking champion and a serious bluegrass player. = We could easily get a jam going here, although surprisingly I have yet to find even one jamming partner who is in to the D= ead (I do live on an island but seriously not ONE person!).

Bill

<= /o:p>

Many thanks for your great tabs & videos, I have been playing for quite some time now & = now I am trying to catch up on some of the theory aspects. I haven't found a de= cent teacher that understands Jerry's style, but your site has been been great in helping me self-study. Transcriptions of Jerry's solos are hard to come by. It's a real treat to be able to learn &a= mp; study them & see how they interact with whats happening in the rhythm track. Going through Mississippi Half= -Step now.

Between your site &= amp; my chord encyclopedia I am learning a lot. Keep up the amazing work, its a huge resource to others learning the craft! All the best,

Ben

<= /o:p>

Hi. I ran across your videos on YouTube. Much thanks f= or some very good instruction. I'm just breaking into it but so far I especial= ly like the scarlet licks, ragged but right and the new speedway boogie w/ history. Since I figure someone ought to save you some time once in a while= , I got one for you that you might not have gotten around to: the chords and wo= rds to Can't Come Down from the Warlocks ca. '65. The attached document is wind= ows WordPad, let me know if you want it and can't open it and I'll figure something out. It's simple once it's there (like everything I suppose) but I found the cho= rus chords and a few of the words tricky to pick out, especially since the only record= ing I know of is a bit muddy. I read the Phil Lesh bio recently and was disappo= inted that he disparaged this and a couple other of the early psychedelic Warlocks numbers as "amateurish first efforts". Can't Come Down is one of my favorites (I am into the 60's garage sound), a well put together song and I consider the vocal to be a pigpen tour de forc= e. By the way, in your Sugar Magnolia licks you mention the Red Rocks '78 show, that was my 2nd Dead show, do you know where I c= an download it? I remember the slow Cold Rain & Snow from that one. My fir= st show (besides the infamous 4 hr Folsom Field show where they threw Frisbees with lids taped to them from the stage... I was like 10 and outside without= a ticket) was 10/9/77 McNichols Sports Arena Denver which= I have and still holds up, the best Scarlett Begonias I've heard. Many thanks again, I'll throw in a couple of requests knowing what the deal is on those= ... Operator Eagles - Bitter Creek (in d= bl drop D) Regards,

Adam, Boulder, CO

<= /o:p>

Hey Darks, Hope 2= 008 is a going well for you so far. I was hoping you could help me figure out Jerry's leads and fills for Me & My Uncle. My favori= te one is from 1977-04-23 cause of the super funky beat but I love the versions wh= ere Jerry really shines; Keep it up man, your site is amazing. Take off the mus= ic on the main page though, it freaks me out! Ha ha. Take care.

Thanks,=

Robbie<= /o:p>

<= /o:p>

Brother darks I'm a huge fan of your stuff, bringing some sweet dead licks to the surface couldn't thank you more when I play Dead music of any music I just = want to jam it hard for hours just full out jamming with some buddies and that&#= 8217;s what I see the early dead as just balls to the wall brothers jamming it out= I was hoping that maybe you could if not write them out but maybe jam out some nice jam tunes like some Clementine or the Eleven, maybe some of the groove= s on blues for Allah Tennessee Jed i know you = feel what I’m putting out, but if you have some time just rip off some lic= ks in front of the YouTube so we can have an idea of what’s happening! thanks = a bunch for everything man!,

Zachary

<= /o:p>

hey Darks.. you sound like you're either jersey or <= span class=3DSpellE>nyc area. any idea where I= might find a dude to give me GD focused lessons? I'm at the Jersey shore, somewhere around Manasquan/Brick. Spent 8 years in Eugene, no idea why I'm back but yeah.. mighty balls you got the= re to attack attics of my life. much respect. Ps- you ain't= perfect, but that's exactly why we all love you. you come damn close to it but F-up just enough to be credible;) peace..

Joe B

Thanks for all the tabs. Great work. I would like to re= quest Let It Grow as your next song. Or whenever you get around to it . Thanks again

Steve

Yo JDARKS your tabs are awesome. I thank you for putting = the time and effort into going this. i was wondering if you could tab out Let it Grow. I would appreciate it a lot= . Thanks

Jesse

J Darks, I just found your site and it is totally awesome - the best tab site= on the net for sure. I don't even play guitar (I play bass) and I can now play= a good solid amount of Jerry and Bobby's stuff from your site - amazing. I was wondering if you have tabs for Ruben and Cherise, its such a beautiful song with lots of cool guitar wor= k. If you know of any good tabs for it please pass it on and keep up the awesome = work your doing. You keep the Dead's spirit alive for sure.

Jeff

twenty years ago i heard dark star on live/dead for the first time, in= the basement of my uncle's house in Montréal. gave me chills, and still does, all these years later. never thought = i'd have the chance for my hack ears/hands to even approximate those sounds.&nb= sp; now, all those years later, thanks to you, i do. thank you so much. for this tab, your lessons, and the whole works. thanks,<= o:p>

eric=

JDarks, Minor suggestion for your website, throw a link of you playing the song from YouTube on each song. Also I just wanted to add a thank you for the work you have put into this. Playing guitar has been dead for me for a few yea= rs now. I dusted off my Huss and Dalton and I'm back in the groove, thanks for the Inspi-ration.

Kenneth

Congratulations first....for your work. I came across to it by looking for Mayall videos on YouTube:
As far as I can answer to your question: Freddy King is best. You should jo= in Mayall as a Bluesbreaker on one or another of h= is gigs, as I like your play..... So long

Jean from Luxembourg

Could you make a YouTube vid for EYES? I just realized you haven’t done this one yet and it surprised me, I’m even more surprised I haven’t added this song to my reperto= ire already...my dads been begging me to learn this. thanks,=

Ben

First let me say, great job! I really enjoy the videos on YouTube, and = your site. Good stuff, man. = What effects are you using on Attics? Is that a flanger, a phaser, or something else? Thanks a lot,= and thanks for taking the time to do this. It's greatly appreciated! Keep Truckin'

Tom

Your dead on man on a lot of these Dead classics. Can you se= nd me the tab or whatever you learned Casey Jones from. Please. I might do it for my guitar class at school. So yeah please.

Fatty

he= y I’m not sure maybe i just haven’t f= ound it but have you tabbed out Run for the roses. I know it for the most part, = but it appears that Jerry’s chord form for the chorus is a lil different then I’ve been playing it. Well if you’ve got it on video or tabbed id be grateful to see it, Thanks A lot

msrahbe

Mr. Darks, i just subscribed to yo= ur wonderful site , I’ve sent you a couple e-= mails previously. What you do is awesome along w/ your axe and studio I’ve learned so much from you in such little time. its nice to know that there are other people out there who appreciate the dead like = we do(especially bobby's parts and importance) thanks

Jason from MI

JDarks...I’ve just started watching your vids.....great = my friend. I’m 56 and a basement guitarist. Starting to play some dead a= nd really enjoy your stuff. I play for fun....and that is exactly what you are obviously having playing FOTD. Moving up that fretboard= , in a real groove. Lots of fun to watch!

Bob

Hey JD- love your vids. I am a long= time player myself and like your style. I'd like to see up close your take on Ca= ndy Man - especially the intro little lead/melody and variations. Also, the wal= king between chords - the "bass line" Jerry does. Thanks keep up the g= ood work. tha= t Looks Like Rain vid was great - that 70's Bob stuff (e= sp LLR) is pretty nifty.:)

Jeff

Yo, Good Afternoon. Thanks for posting the story with Jerr= y. Very cool. I am a huge head and don't even play guitar= , but your story hooked me. I just subscribed to your videos. Thanks man...<= /o:p>

Chris

JDarks, I watched this video a few times - and I've actually received over 200 videos to my comment to you. That's so hilarious to me. You've forgotten more about Garcia than I'll ever know but I really dig your appro= ach to it. My first show was Apri= l 29, 1984 and I stopped seeing them September 10, 1991. I enjoyed the Dead and Garcia for all the right reasons - I would love to one day meet up with you= and collaborate on a video that explains the Weir & Garcia approach to improvisation. Weir, underneath it all, in addition to being a serious composer, had a unique technique that has not been done before or since and Garcia was the perfect foil for that approach. Man, to me they were the greatest rock n' roll out fit on earth from '69 to '74 - and I love how aft= er being gone for over ten years - you tube is bringing back that community th= at is sorely missed not only in my life but others too. Heads were beautiful people. Keep up what you are = doing - it needs to be passed on because God knows it ain't<= /span> being taught in the music schools. Long Live The Dead. Ciao,

I just wanted to thank you sir, for showing what you know to u= s wannabees out there in cyber land. I have been playing guitar for some 45 yrs. I am 53 now, saw the dead only once in OCT 1977, my hometown DeKalb ILL....NIU campus. Mostly play electri= c.....don’t know scales, cant read music, arpeggios???? Basi= cally play by ear. What I wanted to tell you, share with you. I took music lessons for a bunch of years. It is a shame to say, I learned more online here at YOUTUBE on your videos than I did with teachers.....all the years wasted.....true shame. I do not know what you do sir as a career, But, I did want to say THANK YOU so very, very etc....much. You are a great teacher an= d I have actually learned from watching you videos..............By the way.....= did you ever get the band to TUSCO= N ARIZ to do a rendition of o= ne my favorites............JACK STRAW???????????????? thanks again....and PLEASE>>>>keep up the good work...by the way great guitar.....my guitars are as follows...Yamaha FG295 acoustic, Ibanez lawsuit Explorer (ser...#330 low!)Ibanez Artist mod = 2618, Fender Strat, Oscar Schmidt= )Ee 40 jazz box......natural.............others.....again thanks sir..

steve

hey Darks. what’s goin on my fr= iend, we all appreciate the videos you make and your site is the most helpful site I’ve ever used for dead material thank you so much JDarks,=

jon

Hi JDarks I just discovered all your YouTube vids and have been slowly going through them all - they're great! I'm 36 and live in the UK, so = sadly i never got to see the dead but I've loved their music since i was about 19 or 20 and got introduced t= o them whilst at college. For years and years I listened to not much else, but recently I've really gotten into Ryan Adams too. Anyway, I play guitar too, self taught but always wanted to get a bit more technical knowledge. I just play "by ear" and don't really know much theory stuff. I'm also a lefty, for what it's worth! I= might do some little dead vids too, maybe we could have a transatlantic jam ? cheers for now thanks again for all your hard work on = the vids and the tabs, you're a star!

Alan

Hey man, I'm a younger guy who is just starting to get into performing live music. I have been playing for about 6 years or so and like= to think I have a fair amount of skill. I have a small band and we perform som= e jimi, some stevie, etc., = anyways I'm sure that doesn't really interest you. I have however been trying to incorporate some dead into our line-up and you seem to have an excellent fe= el for the leads that Jerry plays. I was just looking for some help on any particular scales that seem to pop up quite often in Jerry's playing. I have always been fascinated because he seems to be one of the few guitarists who relied very little on the minor pentatonic, or possibly I don't understand = his playing well enough. Anyways I have begun to ramble, so any help on possible scale work would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Antrichen

Erik

Darks, Thanks= for everything you do man. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent in the pa= st few months watching you play....learning little tricks.....and playing along with you. In a sea of bullshit on the internet you really are a rare treasu= re. I may not reply to your posts and give a 5 star rating......but every week = I'm watching...learning....and referring my fellow deadheads to your site.....a= nd by the way.....everyone of your posts is a 5 star rating in my book. I don't care how miserable of a day I've had.....whenever I watch your videos, I'm instantly put in a great mood. You tell su= ch great stories....when you're not educating me, you're usually making me lau= gh my ass off. Either way, I love it. So...thanks. With that said.....you've covered = every great dead song that I've ever really wanted to play.....with the exception= of Throwing Stones. In particular, the ferocious guitar solo Jerry adds in the middle. You said sometimes that you take requests....would it be possible to throw that one in there. I know it's a tall task, but if anyone can muster it....it'd be you....and keep up the great work. Best Wishes, PS. That " Ragged But Right" clip is just fuckin= awesome!!!! Thanks to you, I had to burn through a $150= and buy the Pure Jerry collection.... [Probably why Mrs. Garcia doesn’t shut me down, lol]<= /o:p>

Jon

<= /span>

Hey my name is Taylor and I’m from Portland OR. I just wanted to say thank you for everything you do. You’re a great teacher. What is your favorite show? [How much time do you have?<= /i>]

Well I just had to drop you a note. First, I want to thank you for sha= ring your experience and knowledge through your videos and your tabs. Both have = been exceptional references to me. The videos are both entertaining and technical and have really allowed me to study how you have handled some tricky pieces. These are cool times we live in where YouTube has become a legitimate teach= ing aid - who'd a thought! I'm an intermediate guitarist stuck between not read= ing music and just getting into scales and I've found your videos to be a nice = push for me. Anything more you can offer on fundamentals as it relates to the De= ad is deeply appreciated! The ta= bs are pretty amazing too. Best I've found and a real improvement over others. A g= ood example is the little chord walk down you spelled out in Black Throated Win= d: D C#m Bm A. Never saw that befo= re. I could hear it but never saw anyone tab it out. Now right there that takes t= he presentation of that song to the next level even if you are just soling chords! But I have to tell yo= u, what pushed me to drop you a note is I came across one of your motorcycle videos - and I freaked because I just did a trip with a few of my college buddies over a LOT of the same territory. I think we both traveled the same route exactly from Yellowstone to Jackson. My buddies and I made a commitment= that when we turned 40, it didn't matter how much money we had, what we were doi= ng, or any other issues - we were going to take 3 months off and travel the cou= ntry on Harleys! We were all into motorcycles during our college years ('79-83 i= n Boston and LOTS o= f stupid stories, dropped bikes, accidents etc..). Well 40 came and went and it looke= d like our commitment would evaporate... but for whatever reason it came together = this past summer… So we didn't do 3 months but we did do a few weeks. We w= ent Seattle > Sun Peaks BC > Jasper > Glacier NP > Yellowstone >= ; Jackson > Park City > = San Francisco > Oregon > <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Seattle… So= anyway, sorry for such a long message but you've really hit on three things that are probably my most important diversions (or focus!) - the= Dead, motorcycles and guitars. Thanks again and if you ever make it to Washington, drop me a line. My guitar teacher (and really good friend) is a former national flat picking champion= and a serious bluegrass player. We could easily get a jam going here, although surprisingly I have yet to find even one jamming partner who is in= to the Dead (I do live on an island but seriously not ONE person!).

Bill

<= /o:p>

Hi, Just got this thought into = my mind to thank you for your website. It is the coolest, and I've had many occasio= ns to go to it and look at your tabs. I'm working on "Deal" right no= w, along with some others. Then = I took a look at your axe, very nice. I want to have one like that, naturally! How= do I go about it? Seems like you know your stuff and what's in your axe m= ust be the right stuff. Let = the good times roll.

Anders

Sweden

Yo J (or is it Yo Darks?)! Happy SuperBowl Sunday! A few things.... Once again I'm diving into the JDa= rks video vault! 1) The That's what love will make you do video was fantastic! Funny as hell watching the Captain & staff! Where was that shot?&= nbsp; 2) Thanks for the New S= peedway Boogie. Like all your vids I like the personal touch and the intro to this = one was very educational and I think those who never knew what inspired that song will be well served. How many times have we quoted "...this darkness has got to give"? 3) Time trippers was great too. Total flashback listening to the radio. But then I saw Okeechobee Blvd= signs and I knew where that was! In New Jersey it's the law that when you re= ach 65 you have to move to Florida. My folks first got a condo in Jupiter and then sold that and got a house in= a place called Admiral's Cove. They now live in Palm Beach Gardens<= /st1:PlaceType>. They are really old now and the vid reminded me that I need to get out ther= e. Long way from WA State but I could sure use a dose of sunshine right about = now! You must have grown up East Coast. I'm guessing not NJ but LI perhaps?= 4) Tech issue.. on your web page a lot of the tabs and links have an .mht= suffix. They bomb in my browser (I'm Linux w/ Firefox..= it thinks it's a mail message). So like the New Speedway Boogie tab doesn't come up for example. Any way to fix these? Sorry= to be one of the whiners but I thought you'd want to know. 5) There's a cool conversation goi= ng on about you over on RUKIND.ORG: http://community.rukin= d.org/viewtopic.php?t=3D4108&start=3D0&postdays=3D0&postorder= =3Dasc&highlight=3D Well that's it for today! I guess I should be rooting for NY right? Hope you got a MC ride in today.. I did yesterday!

Bill

<= /o:p>

Many thanks for your great tabs & videos, I have been playing for quite some time now & = now I am trying to catch up on some of the theory aspects. I haven't found a de= cent teacher that understands Jerry's style, but your site has been great in helping me self-study= . Transcriptions of Jerry's solos ar= e hard to come by. It's a real treat to be able to learn & study them & see how they interact with what’s happening in the rhythm track. Going through M= ississippi Half-Step now. Between your site & my chord encyclopedia I am learning a lot. Keep up the amazing work, its a = huge resource to others learning the craft! All the best,

Ben

<= /o:p>

Hi. I ran ac= ross your videos on YouTube. Much thanks for some very good instruction. I'm just breaking into it but so far I especially like the scarlet licks, ragged but right and the new speedway boogie w/ history. Regards,

Adam, Boulde= r, CO

<= /o:p>

Hey Darks, Hope 2008 is a going well f= or you so far. I was hoping you could help me figure out Jerry's leads and fills f= or Me & My Uncle. My favorite one is from 1977-04-23 = cause of the super funky beat but I love the versions where Jerry really shines… Keep it up man, your site is amazing. Take off the music on t= he main page though, it freaks me out! haha. Take care. Thanks,=

Robbie

<= /o:p>

Brother darks I'm a huge fan of your stuff, bringing some sweet dead licks to the surface couldn't thank you more when I play Dead music of any music i just want to jam it hard for hours just full out ja= mming with some buddies and that’s what I see the early dead as just balls = to the wall brothers jamming it out. I was hoping that maybe you could if not write them out but maybe jam out some nice jam tunes like some Clementine or the Eleven, maybe some of the groove= s on blues for Allah Tennessee Jed. I know you feel what I’m put= ting out, but if you have some time just rip off some licks in front of the YouT= ube so we can have an idea of what’s happening! thanks = a bunch for everything man!

Zachary

<= /o:p>

Hey JDark, Thanx a lot! I really appreciate the lessons a= nd the entertainment. I really enjoy watching you play the acoustic. I really liked that lesson where y= ou developed an arrangement for "when you wish upon a star". In my opinion you could break it down even more for us potato heads as far as key, scale, major pattern, and position. I got lost. Wait a second... I was writ= ing this to say thanks, not tell you how to do what you do.

Wes

Hey J, Just w= anted to let you know that you have = inspired me. Thanks for your site and the stuff= you have up on you tube. Keep on enjoying it so much, it is great. A friend you never asked for.=

Rog

=

Dear Darks, Thanks= a billion for the tabs and videos. I've been a dead fan since the early 80s a= nd I spend hours learning the material. It's invaluable. Tru= ly. I have a question. The sound file = links in the tabs don't seem to work anymore like they once did. I've tried getti= ng them through Safari and Explorer, but no dice. Is it just me? Or have you turned these links off? Specifically, I'm learning the Deal solos. I've learned the first one thanks to your video. But I need a sound file for the second one. Can you help? Best,

Kevin

Hey Darks, I've been working from the site for= a few months now and want to thank and congratulate you for such a great job. Jerry would say, "Far out , man!" I was wondering if you would address two favorite works of mine, The Eleven from Live Dead, and I Know you Rider from E 72. I find it most helpful when you take the overall themes of pieces( like you did with Darkstar) and then you= give a sort of map as to how he structures and relates them ( = the pieces). There must be strong jazz influences on&= nbsp; this album, Live Dead, if you can elaborate on them, that would be great. Best Regards,

Tom

JDarks, I just= wanted to say thanks for all of your time and effort that went into the website.&n= bsp; It is very much appreciated from a Grateful Dead fan here in Southeast PA.. I am 45 years young and just started playing the guitar and truly love Jerry and= the band…both JGB and the Dead. Hopefully, with your help, I can be ½ as good as you are in 30+ years. You really come close to ca= pturing the musical expression that Jerry was trying to convey. I also love t= he stories during the lessons. K= eep up the excellent work,

Bill

Killer site, couldn't hav= e gotten Althea or the Eyes chords without it ;)&nb= sp; Been playing guitar for about a year and a half and I'm already playing with bands and jamming on a regular basis, the dead are what got me there, people can't believe what I'm doing at a year and a half and I just = tell them "Listen to Bob and Jerry and all will come to you".

Giles

Hello J!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I am a f= ormer Chicagoite living in Stockholm, Sweden.&n= bsp; Personally I waited too long (this past June) to pick up the axe, but better late than never. Looking around for my favorite guitarist= and band I have had the good fortune of making your acquaintance. I cant tell you how delighted I am. I dived right = into Dark Star and it is there I believe that you told the story of how fascinat= ed you were in learning the hammer on in A or E, but you felt that stepping up= the process for others was a virtue. I’ve got a lot of learning= to do, thanks! Bless you!!!!!! Love the site and the inspiration: Best regards and Happy New Year!

Jim

Hey J= Darks. Thanks for doing the videos--I love them and hope you continue. You h= ave a nice teaching style and I am learning a lot. Quick question--I am looking for an acoustic and like the sound on the one you use in the Bing Crosby Swin= g on a Star video. You do a lot about your electric gear, but not your acoustic? Do tell! Thanks

RG

JDARKS! How’s it going sir!? Firstly, I can= t express how much I love the website, you’ve offered so much help and awesome words of perseverance, more than you’ll ever know, so thank you. I am hear today to ask you about bobby's setup in Ratdog. Me and a friend checked out= his stuff on Dozin, and noticed, he’s using rack units into his cabinets.= You being an expert on the subject, and us being gear enthusiasts, would you say this is a sound way of getting a versatile rig? I was thinking the Behringer vamp pro effects rack, into an ART or similar power amp, all hooked into a fender cabinet? any opinions or advice is always appreciated. thank you sir,

Jordan

=

Mr. Darks- Sir, your site celebrating the guitar of J. Garcia, B. Weir and the Grateful Dead is possibly one of the best sites on their musical style I ha= ve ever seen. Exceptional work on the tab and construction= . Plus, the YouTube videos are unbelievable. I am thankful for fans like your= self that remind me of the shows I went to and how much the GD still mean to me = even after all this time. Keep it up. Thanks

JM

Hey, you've been doing really great stuff for people h= ere on the web and I figured I'd give back to you. I made ya<= /span> a new logo for your site. Tha= nks for all of the videos you make and all the tabs you make, RIP JERRY (HERE'S YOUR LOGO) [Now up on the index page – Thanks!]

-Joe        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;

Hey Darks, I have been checking your website out for years – love it! The videos are such a great additi= on. You have inspired= me to join YouTube and hopefully will post som= e of my own videos and get involved in this particular internet crowd. It seems = to me that you are really attracting some cool folks, judging by the comments = that I read. Great stuff! I especi= ally liked the Guitar Story. Being a lifelong woodworker, I always was floored by Jerry’s guitars. Like you, I’m sure, Jerry’s love for his instrument - and the effort and artistry that went into making it – really inspired me to look at guitars differently (it also inspired me to be a better woodworker). It’s hard= for me to even imagine smashing a guitar…I love them. I took a very similar path as you = it seems with the Dead and guitars, although I may be about 8 years or so behi= nd you. I saw my first show the Fall of ’79 tour.   When I went out t= o buy my first electric guitar they didn’t sell anything close to what Jerry was playing, so I had to settle for an all black Ibanez super Strat to at least get close to Bobby’s ax. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great guitar, but it never quite mat= ched up to what I thought Tiger would sound like. I tried other humbucker types = of guitars, but never was satisfied. That’s when I figured that I would = just have to build my own. In fact, I think that is how I came across your websi= te was when I was doing a search to find some info on Jerry’s guitar. Yo= ur page with the Resurrection guitar came up (I, too, am disappointed to hear = that the McDonnell’s are out of business. I spoke with them and they seemed very nice). I will attach some photos of my guitars as soon as decent ones loaded up. BTW, I was in awe = of your play room…The Darksatorium. Did you run your electrical wires in= a zig zag fashion to reduce= 60 cycle hum? [dia= gram on the Darksatorium pic] Would love to = talk some gear with you at some point.&n= bsp; Once again, my friend thanks for all your work. I’m sure you a= re racking up the karma miles. B= est wishes,

Snakebite, Richmond, VA

Hey, thanks for the great postings on YouTube and the tab. I'm trying to take my playing to the next level, so seeing and hearing really <= /span>helps.&= nbsp; Be well.

B

JDarks, Been following you for some time a= nd you've been inspi= rational for sure, pushing me to try things= I'm sure I otherwise would not have. It's a never ending experience to tr= y to play like Jerry and I am continually amazed at how I study and practic= e to do what he did on the fly. It's something that I will always appreciate. I find more and more it's not so much the notes that you = play (although that's important), but what really matters is how you play them. In line with that thought, there is a song with a killer lead part - When Push Comes to Shove - that I wo= uld appreciate if you would turn your attention to some time. Peace,

ShorelineEd

Hello, I’m a big fan of the stuff you put up on YouTube and appreciate the time and effort you put into it. I recently began playing the guitar myself and would like to learn some of the bluegrass/folk songs jerry plays here and there, but I am not sure what any of the songs a= re called. Could you recommend some of these tunes to me? I like the slow tunes th