for the good of the order

Some general points for the good of the order:

First, RIP's are due for both Bill Vitt, who powered the first classic Garcia/Saunders lineup, and Art Neville, co-founder of the Meters, one of my all-time favorite groups and a huge cornerstone of my musical taste.  I have a lot more I could say about both, but don't know where to begin.  Vitt was a consummate drummer and a monster player who, moreso than any of the drummers in Garcia's orbit besides Kreutzmann, could move effortlessly from bedrock funk to the outer reaches of jazz exploration.  When I first heard Art Neville and the Meters as a teenager, it took a few listens for what they were doing to sink in -- and then my sense of what music could sound like was pretty much rewired.  [requisite Garcia connection: Just Kissed My Baby].

Also, thanks to continued input from JGMF and Light Into Ashes, I made a substantial update to my run-down on the Mickey & the Hartbeats shows.  Spoiler: I now hear Jack Casady playing on exactly one jam with Garcia and the drummers.  If that got you curious, then dive in:
https://deadthinking.blogspot.com/2018/04/oct-68-hartbeats-run-down.html

Also, if you're a fan of Beull Neidlinger's playing in the Great American String/Music Band (and, really, what red-blooded fan of great American music isn't?), then you may find this intriguing: a link to an interview I added as a comment to this older post.  Nine years -- and lord knows how many A-level studio session dates -- after the three tiny club gigs he he played with Garcia, Greene, and friends, and he sounds like he's defending himself in light of his free jazz street cred!?  Amazing.
https://deadthinking.blogspot.com/2018/03/rip-buell-neidlinger.html