Institute Jerry Garcia StudiesMay 2, 2024

#jerrybase is moving to the model that Deadbase used for the Drum and Space section of #gratefuldead shows.

They called it Drumz, we are going to call it "Drums and Space". Same thing though.

If you want to get a preview of what this will look like, we've deployed it to our test site.

https://test.jerrybase.com/songs/1693

Once we get it to the real site we will clean it up a bit, but you get the picture.

From our FAQ...

Show threadjesse jarnowMay 2, 2024
@InstituteJerry ...except the multiple '77-'78 versions that don't have any space, i hope? those tours where space happened some nights but not all is an important part of the evolution. i strongly believe those should be visible/searchable at a glance. likewise the random shows later when space came first.
Show threadInstitute Jerry Garcia StudiesMay 2, 2024
@bourgwick Yes, that is the plan. During those years 77-78 when the sequence was still evolving, if there is just a drum break, those will continue to be listed as Drums as they are today.
Show threadInstitute Jerry Garcia StudiesMay 2, 2024
@bourgwick After the sequence ossified, the song will still be listed as "Drums and Space" and diversions from the typical layout will be footnotes.
Show threadjesse jarnowMay 3, 2024
@InstituteJerry so, the more i ponder this, the more i think this is a mistake that will muddy the waters in terms of representing what happened in a way that's consistent & searchable. people say "scarlet fire" out loud, too, but that doesn't make "scarlet" & "fire" the same song. they're separate pieces with a transition, which is what the segue mark represents. what's the logic in combining "drums" & "space", except that there's an undefinable transition? the > is already an elegant solution.
Show threadInstitute Jerry Garcia StudiesMay 3, 2024

@bourgwick The problem has 2 parts:

1) Whether we give a distinct name to this suite.
2) What that name should be.

I am more attached to part 1, and some of my reasoning is utilitarian. We have many, many setlists where this portion of the show is just listed as Drums > Space, and there is a bunch of variation that we are missing, which we do not want to take the time to detail and perhaps invent new terms to represent, although we admit this would be a better solution. [1/2]

Show threadInstitute Jerry Garcia StudiesMay 3, 2024

@bourgwick [2/2] As well (still on part 1) we are recognizing that this entity is it's own beast. The percussion portion was NOT similar to other Drum solos listed in setlists from the early 70's, and likewise with the Space section.

On part 2, I care way less. The underlying system knows this section as song 1693. We can flip flop on the name as much as we want.

Show threadjesse jarnow
@InstituteJerry sorry, still having trouble understanding how this is "utilitarian" & not just an approximation/abbreviation that makes setlists more imprecise? is it just more convenient to condense them as code? obviously "drums" was very different in 1968 and 1989, but so was "dark star." that's why it's interesting to compare. i don't buy that they should be labeled differently because it evolved. & again, inaccurate from how they still register these pieces from a publishing POV.
May 3, 2024 at 1:07pmWeb