Mammoth Mountain -- rumor?
Sidney Markowitz
a replacement for Cal Expo. This comes to me at least second hand and
with no information as to the source -- e.g., hotline or unfounded
rumor. Since I haven't seen it here on the net I would guess that
either it is a fairy tale or that I lost some deadmail due to some
recent system problems. Which is it, or by some miracle have I
actually gotten some dead-related information before it hit the net?
-- sidney markowitz <sid...@saturn.ucsc.edu>
Scott Deardorff
I lived in Mammoth for the last two years before coming to Santa Cruz
and that rumor was floating around last year and the year before.
I think it is just wishful thinking on the part of the many deadheads
that reside in that area. However I would love to see a show up
there being that there is a lot of camping and it is a beautiful
place for a show.
--
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Joe Rossi
WILL `LONG, STRANGE TRIP' BRING DEAD TO SIERRA?
(Reprinted here without permission from the Review-Herald of Mono
County 3-8-90)
By Kevin O. Gartland
Mammoth Lakes - Ski area officials, the U.S. Forest Service and rock
promoter Bill Graham have finally confirmed what local "Deadheads" have
been buzzing about for weeks - negotiations are currently under way
to bring the Grateful Dead to Mammoth for a pair of afternoon concert
in June.
Pam Murphy of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Marketing Department
confirmed Tuesday that negotiations aimed at hosting the Dead's
official 25th Anniversary concerts have been ongoing for some time
and could be finalized as early as next week.
Mammoth Ranger District Supervisor Dean McAlister said Monday that
the USFS has been actively involved in the planning of the concert
weekend, and that his office is "not resisiting it."
And while he hedged at specifically naming the Grateful Dead as the
act he's planning to bring to Mammoth, San Francisco based rock
impressario Bill Graham said Tuesday that he expects to the deal
to be finalized within the next week to 10 days.
"The artist and I are in agreement about what we want to do there
(in Mammoth)," Graham said, "but we need to get everything down
on paper before we start talking about it publicly."
"I'm not trying to avoid the bullet," he added, "and while it may
be obvious to everyone out there what's going on, it's just not
right for me to say "Yeah, it's the Dead," until the contracts
are signed."
Represenatives of Bill Graham Presents, the USFS, Mammoth Mountain
and town have met on on at least two occasions in recent weeks to
"brainstorm through" all of the potential problems associated with
such an event, which is expected to attract between 40,000 and
50,000 Deadheads-the name affectionately given to diehard Grateful
Dead fans-to the Eastern Sierra in late June.
According to McAllister, a specially constructed concert stage would
be erected directly in front of the mountains Main Lodge, with concert
goers using the lower slopes of the ski area for the general admission
seating area on the grass.
McAlister says that Graham has agreed to limit ticket sales to
40,000 for each of the two shows, which reportedly would be held
June 23 and 24 - coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the
legendary rock outfit.
"If the Dead is indeed the group were talking about," Graham said,
"then there would be an anniversary involved. But I don't think
we'd use it to draw the public - I don't think we'd need to."
McAlister agrees.
"As I understand it the Grateful Dead are more popular on the East
Coast," McAlister said, "but with L.A. sitting just down the road
from us, there's no telling how many people might show up.
"We're not resisiting it," he added. "We do have some concerns
about the proposal, but there mostly people management things-
how the concerts will be handled, and how they'll come together."
"It'll be a big time show, there's no doubt about that. If they
come, McAlister said, "we're going to need an agreement of some
type providing for the additional staff we'll need to handle this
thing. "
Makeshift camping areas, toilet and drinking water facilities
would have to be developed to accomodate the throngs of Volkswagen
van driving, tie-dyed shirt wearing Deadheads who follow the band
from venue to venue, McAlister said, and public safety will have to
be a consideration.
Graham agrees that a comprehensive gameplan must be forumulated in
order to handle the concert goers, but feels that his past
experience with the Dead and resort town concerts will make the
process easier.
"We still have questions of our own regarding ingress and egress to
the concert, public safety, security, and camping," Graham said.
But after talking with the people at the ski area, we're confident
that they'll do everything they can to make it work. The folks up
there are very, very nice people, and we feel we've established a
good working relationship with them thusfar."
Graham is confident that the Grateful Dead and their extended
"family" will not overwhelm the town, citing a similar show staged
at Telluride, Colo. several years back as an example.
We met with the mayor, the sheriff, and the town leaders well in
advance," Graham said, "and convinced them that we'd work with
everybody in town to make the event 'right.'
"As a result, a resort town of 1,200 people had 10,000 Deadheads
as their guests for two days, and when they left the town was
cleaner than when they got there.
--
-jro...@jato.jpl.nasa.gov "Now see all these people in front are
-ames!elroy!jato!jrossi getting horribly smashed here."
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