Transcript of Bob Weir on MTV

This was posted to rec.music.gdead:



From: [email protected] (Cathy1339)
Subject: Transcript of Bob on MTV
Date: 9 Sep 1995 14:31:25 -0400
Reply-To: [email protected] (Cathy1339)

The following is a transcript of Kurt Loder's interview w/Bob Weir, aired
during the MTV awards Pre-game Show on Thursday, September 7, 1995.  This
transcript is in a modified Conversation Analysis transcription method. 
All *uh*s and *um*s are recorded as well as cut-offs (abruptly cutting off
a word in mid-utterance, indicated by a hyphen at the end of the word) and
restarts (repeating or rephrasing what same speaker just said).  Also,
punctuation is used to indicate intonation.  A comma (,) indicates a
falling-into-rising tone, similar to the intonation used in counting or
listing items.  A period (.) indicates a falling tone, not necessarily the
grammatical end of a sentence.  Pauses are indicated by a period within
parentheses.  Longer pauses can be timed and may be indicated in tenths of
seconds within parentheses -> (.2).   Words in caps are stressed slightly
more than others.  (hhh*) indicates inhalation; (hhh) indicates
exhalation; asterisks around words indicate that they are spoken at a
lower volume than surrounding speech.

Loder introduces the upcoming interview:
K:  grateful dead guitarist Jerry Garcia has been dead for
     nearly a MONTH now, 
     n many of the band's fans are still in a state of SHOck.
     This is a band whose appeal cut across all boundaries of
     age (.) class (.) and even POLitics,
     and now the legion of DEADheads is wondering (.) NOt only
     where they go from HERE (.)
     but whether the dead themSELVES will be going along WITH them.
     Garcia's death marks the end of an ERa, 
     but is it ALso the end of the BAnd. (.4)
     w'put some of these questions to guitarist BOB WEIR last
     week at his home in San Fransisco, 
     and here's what we learned.

[videotape - camera aimed over K's left shoulder.  Bob is in left half of
screen, sitting, shown from waist up.  Lots of greenery behind him.  K is
to right of screen, back to camera, body turned slightly to left w/ head
turned to right to face B.)

K:  where were you when you- you heard the bad news about Jerry?
B:  I was u::h just gettin out of bed in new HAMPshire.
K:  *oh wow*
K:  (hhh*) w's IS- w's this something that you had u::h 
     ya- ya tho- thought maybe this would happen?
     I m'n did his HEALth seem to be ba::d,
     or did you say well someda:y this is gonna happen,
     r wuz it a real SHOck,
B:  well,  you know. 
      ya AL-  you always knew the other shoe was gonna drop.
K:  *mm-hm*
B:  sooner or later. (hh) u:m:m (.8)
     (hhh*)  I never really expected im to outLIve me or nothing like
that.
[9 second clip of Riverport 7/6/95.  Moving from Jerry to crowd shot.]
K:  'ell this has been a- 
     a really SHOCKing thing for the FAns out there I know,
     but how did the BANd respond?
     did the whole group get toGEther, 
     or did you all go separate ways?

[Camera moves in for close-up of B during his reply.]

B:  (hhh*) ah we all got together u:m (.8)
     I- I got on an airplane (.) the next morning 
     n came back here n we all got together that night
     n (hhh*) went over n viewed the stiff,
     (hh*) an then u:h (.9) 
     and then we all got together n (.) had a DRINk or two.
K:  *yeah*
B:  don't try this at home kids 
     [head shakes over next line]
     (hhh*)  it just didn't really help at all
K:  [laughing while B delivers previous line]
K:  was it- was it one of those things where there was
     weeping n crying, or was it more (.) more Jerry-like?
B:  it was more Jerry-like  
     (.9)  [short head nods]
     I don't think u::h
     I don't think an- anybody u::m::  (.9)
     very very few people at least uh
     (hhh* for 1.9) were apt to uh 
     to mope and sob and all that kind of stuff,
     (1.27) be- (1.3) 
     secure in the sur- sure and certain knowledge 
     that Jerry would be pissed off about that

[Clip of GG 8/9/95 - quick close-ups of some fans in crowd]

K:  have you PERsonally encountered any fans since this happened?   
     I m'n (.) do- do people come up to you on the STREET, n
B:  all the TIme.
K:  (hh*) what are they saying out there?
[K says something across B's next line, causing his restarts.]
B:  (hhh*) well they're mostly saying, y- y- they're a- (.)
     y'know they're- (.)
     they're pouring out a little bit of their hearts (.8)
     n y'know  they're a- they're assuming that uh (2.)
     they're assuming that-  
     I think a lot of em are assuming that 
     I'm taking this a lot harder than I am
K:  yeah
B:  I don- I- I don't tend ta- 
     y'know death is so final that uh (.)
     I can't argue with it n I can't really react that much to it
K:  *yeh*
B:  because 
    (hhh*) it's a- a change that you absolutely HAVE to accept
    RIght now.
[Tape indicates editing]
B:  w'll I can't take Jerry's death personally,
     he didn't DO that to me
K:  *yeh*
B:  (hhh*) u::m::  (8.) a::nd (1.1) u:::h (1.2) so::: (.8)
     when they come up to me on the street- (1.3)
     I THINK they're trying to uh
     trying to give me a little strength that I don't really need,
     they could k--  they could keep for themselves nd uh n
     (hhh* for 1.) and u::h (.6)
     but if they-
     if they feel like they HAVE to share something with me,
     here- well here I AM.

[Clip of Sacremento 5/20/92 - stage shot]

K:  you'd been working on an album at the time.
     what's going to become of (.) whatever was DOne?
B:  (hhh*)  we're gonna have a look-see at uh what we've got (.)
     an:d (.7)  I- (.9)  
     I tend to think we have more there than (.5)
     the rest of the guys. (hhh* over 1.0)  
     I may not be quite (.) the perfectionist I used to be about
     that kind of stuff, (1.0)
     a:nd uh (hhh* over .9) 
     I think we can play around with it n (.4)
     y'know add and subtract n stuff like that
     (hhh* over 1.1) and fluff it up n (1.0)
     and maybe (.7) have something there th't u::h 
     that (.) y'know might be somewhat presentable,
K:  there's a - there was a story in the paper the other day
     that the dead had laid off some people n:
     th't they're making (.) a big thing out of this
     god they're laying off people, what does it mean, y'know?
     what DOES it mean?  'r is it TRUE?
B:   a- well (.) we're GONna have to scale BACK for a little 
     while
K:  *yuh*
B:  we pink slipped some people y'know
K:  *yeh*
B:  u::h it's (.) not the EASiest thing we've ever had to DO either
     BUT (1.3)  a:::h you know we're just-
     we're not going to be DOing the fall tour
K:  *yeh*
B:  so the income's not gonna be there (.) to pay em all

[Unidentified clip of heads spinning.]

K:  wul I guess what everyone wants to know is-
     will the- will the dead go ON?
     I m'n you're all musicians. 
     you'll all keep playing.
     but will the BAND go on do ya think?
     er could somebody (.) step in n::: fill the breech here?
B:  We got (.) all KINDS of options.  
     We're gonna (.) get together in a little bit and sort it out.
     Um:: (.9) I can give you ABsolutely NO definitive answer.
     (1.0) U-uh, except that we'll get together and kick it around.

[Clip of band performing Touch of Grey.  B's voice continues over clip.]  

B:  And AS for what Jerry did, (.4)
     th- that REAL special thing, (.)
     it's STIll there. (.9)
     I:::'m quite sure that if we get together and start kicking
     stuff around, if we listen, (.9)
     y'know, in our hearts n (1.5)
     (hh*) y'know in- inside somewhere, (.) 
    (hh*) that we'll hear that thread that we've always heard.
 
     [On *thread*, B raises hands above head, stretches out
     invisible thread.]

K:  *yeah*
B:  And uh, I'm sure he's y- I'm sure he's still singing.  
     (1.1) Y'know _I_ can hear it (.8)
     n I'm sure uh  I'm sure anyone who uh-
     who (.) was ever (.) exposed to that, (.) y'know
     that (.) joy n that (.) creativity n that (.) wickedness 
     n all that kind of stuff that u:h 
     that he used to uh (.) project, (.9)
     that mischief. and uh (.8) and the love
     u-um (.) it's still there.  
     y'now it's IN you.  (.)
     you can't-  you can't LOSE that it's-  
     once- once you catch that (hh*) it STAys in- STAys in you.
     (hhh* over .6) And so u::h it's not like he's GOne.  
K:  *nyeh*
B:  And it's not like (.) if we get together he won't BE there.

[K in post-interview comment]
K:  Whatever becomes of the material the grateful dead 
     recorded before Jerry Garcia's death, 
     there WILL be a vintage LIVE dead album on the racks at the end of this
     month, called HUNdred YEAR HALL.
     recorded at the Jahr Hundert Halle in Frankfurt Germany in1972.