Friends,
To quote a recent, popular internet meme, “January was a tough year, but we made it.”
In my last update, I mentioned that I rang in the New Year with friends in Marin County. On the trip, I snuck in some sightseeing and visited old Grateful Dead haunts. I could make a strong argument that the Grateful Dead were actually a San Rafael band. Seriously. Although the band formed in Palo Alto and later became synonymous with the Haight-Ashbury scene in San Francisco, the Dead eventually made their way across the Golden Gate and put down roots in Marin County. The area is steeped in Grateful Dead history—band members lived throughout Marin, including Jerry Garcia, who once owned this idyllic property in Stinson Beach. Beyond their personal residences, the Dead also had offices and studios scattered across Marin, with San Rafael serving as a particularly significant hub for the band’s operations and creative endeavors.
While this kind of nerdy music history stuff is totally my thing, I have to admit—I had an ulterior motive. There are numerous mentions of San Rafael in my Max Creek book. For instance, the band’s second drummer, Greg DeGuglielmo, lived in San Rafael and studied North Indian Classical Music at the Ali Akbar College of Music, which was founded in Berkeley in 1967, but moved to San Rafael a year later where it still stands to this day. The book also details how Mark Mercier (keyboards) and Scott Murawski (guitar) from Max Creek auditioned for Phil Lesh and Friends in 1997 at Le Club Front, the Grateful Dead's studio in San Rafael. There are few other San Rafael anecdotes in the book, but I don’t want to give away too much.
Here are four (mostly) forgotten Grateful Dead haunts I visited in San Rafael.
1: 20 Front Street
Le Club Front was a Grateful Dead office that was converted to a recording studio. The recording studio naturally transitioned into a rehearsal studio where Mark and Scott from Max Creek auditioned for Phil Lesh. Also, this is where Jerry’s solo album, Cats Under the Stars was recorded.
2: 1016 Lincoln Avenue
1016 Lincoln Ave in downtown San Rafael was home to the Grateful Dead headquarters from 1970 to 1995. The late 19th century Victorian is now home to Jaret & Jaret Law Offices. The building has been fully restored, seamlessly preserving its historic architecture.
3: Terrapin Crossroads
Although Terrapin Crossroads closed in 2021, I was thrilled to see that exterior signage is still there. As I wrote in my Phil Lesh tribute, “Terrapin Crossroads was one of those places where, “if you know, you know.” It was an incredible venue situated on the San Rafael Creek in Marin County. There was a bar, a restaurant, an indoor concert venue, and an outdoor stage. Music flowed throughout all of these spaces. Rock stars of all musical genres would hangout. There was no need for security. It was super chill.”
4: Marin County Civic Center
Not only was the Marin County Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, but it was also where the Grateful Dead recorded In the Dark, their only top 10 album. The album was recorded in just one week. To capture the essence of their live performances, the band set up the auditorium as they would for a typical concert. The songs had been previously played at live shows and were ready to be recorded. The band essentially performed a live show, which was captured by a mobile studio parked outside. The results speak for themselves. In the Dark would be The Dead’s only top 10 album, and for better or worse, would launch the band’s popularity into a whole new stratosphere.
Cheers!
-Tom
P.S.
I recently discovered the term “Urbexing” and desperately tried to weave it into this post. Well, I guess I technically just did. Never mind. Carry on.