You've seen the skull and lightning bolt. Even if you're not a Dead Head, you've seen those Dancing Bears. They've all got their one thing, but the Grateful Dead have half a dozen visual icons that everybody knows. Led Zeppelin has a Zoso, and that's great. Now, you’ve got the Rolling Stones’ lips. From that came some of the most definable and identifiable logos in music history. N: Speaking of legacy, how is it that the Grateful Dead artwork has become so famously known? Why do you think they have made such a mark on American culture that some people have literally tattooed on their bodies?ĭL: The Grateful Dead we're very fortunate to travel in a circle of people who are incredible artists and incredibly visionary artists. When it comes to the old recordings and the merchandise licensing to use the Grateful Dead logos whether it's the Dancing Bears, Skeleton and Roses, Lightning Bolt, Steal Your Face skull-I work on those things, anything related to the legacy. The Dead said, ‘you should just stick around and work in the vault and archive our tapes.’ So I did and then that led almost immediately to producing a few other things, and then in 2010 expanded to the Legacy Manager, which is exactly what it sounds like managing the legacy of the Grateful Dead. Later that same year, the Grateful Dead archivist–my mentor, my friend, the guy who hired me–passed away. My background was as an archivist cataloging Film and Video, so they hired me to do that on a three month contract. In 1998 I wrote them a letter and in 1999 they hired me to catalog their video collection. At 16 years old, I saw the dead for the first time, and I went on to see them 100 times-I literally just counted my ticket stubs. When I heard the Grateful Dead for the first time (my older brother had an album), instantly I said, ‘this is the music for me.’” N: And you’ve been a Dead Head ever since?ĭL: Yes. For me, I was listening to a lot of older music. It was right at a time that I was–as many of us at 14 start–exhibiting my independence and finding the things in this world I liked whether it was art or sports or whatever. Obviously, you were listening to the Grateful Dead before becoming the official archivist How old were you when it all started?ĭavid Lemieux: “I started listening to the Grateful Dead at 14 years old. His insights shed light on the origins but when it came to their underlying meanings, Lemieux left the door open for interpretation.īuckle up, we’ve got a long, strange trip for you ahead. Living in British Columbia, Canada, Lemieux can also be referred to as the legacy manager for the band, meaning he keeps an eye on things to make sure they stay, “within the Grateful Dead sensibility.”įollowing our Grateful Dead x Nixon lineup of watches and bags, we reached out to Lemieux for a few words on the gear and a bit of the backstory to some of the iconic artwork that dons this timeless collection. "They all have a story behind them." - David Lemieux, Grateful Dead Archivistĭavid Lemieux has been the official archivist for the Grateful Dead for 23 years and has been listening to the Dead since ’84-he still remembers the first time. You’ve seen the Grateful Dead’s legendary Dancing Bears on our bags and timepieces… but do you know where the bears first appeared? What about the first Steal Your Face skull? We tapped into a living vault of knowledge for insight on the Grateful Dead artwork we all love.
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