Keep On Truckin', Eugene
The relationship between Eugene and the Grateful Dead runs deep. Whether you're walking past Kesey Square on your way to the Saturday Market or spotting a "Lazar for Mayor" (of Lazar’s Bazar) sticker slapped on the bumper of a Subaru, reminders of that connection are everywhere. Just how important is the Grateful Dead to the Eugene community? Or, perhaps, how important has Eugene been to the Grateful Dead?
The Grateful Dead has played in Eugene a total of 21 times– Autzen Stadium being 10 of those. Their first show was January 30th, 1968 at the EMU where many students at the University of Oregon now study or get their “Sunday scaries Chipotle.” At the time, admission to see Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart was $3. Because their first show was held at the EMU, only students were allowed with a ticket capacity of 1,500. Since 1968, Eugene became “the Dead’s second home.”
Much of Eugene’s deep-rooted Deadhead culture can be traced back to Ken Kesey—an extremely influential author and psychedelic pioneer who helped lead the 1960s counterculture. Kesey was born in La Junta, Colorado in 1935, but relocated to rural Springfield, Oregon. He went to Springfield High School and later on studied journalism at the University of Oregon. Kesey graduated with a B.A. in Speech and Communications in 1957. In 1958, Kesey completed a graduate program at Stanford University in Creative Writing where he began writing the infamous novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Much of Kesey’s counterculture impact was from his writing and fascination with psychedelics–specifically LSD. While at Stanford, Kesey took part in a volunteer-based CIA experiment regarding the effects of hallucinogens such as LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, cocaine, aMT, and DMT, where he had many detailed accounts on his experiences as essentially a psychedelic guinea pig. These experiments are known today as the MKUltra experiments. After this stint of time, Kesey moved to the hills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, where he hosted parties called “Acid Tests,” which were attended by many counterculture figures, such as beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, “Gonzo” journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, and members of the Grateful Dead. These parties gave rise to the renowned group "The Merry Pranksters" and their journey across the country in a 1939 International Harvester school bus called "Furthur," driven by the previously mentioned and infamous chaotic spirit, Neal Cassady. Very few automobiles are designed for constant cross-country road trips—let alone a school bus from 1939—so Furthur had its work cut out for it. The bus lasted five years but can still be found on Kesey’s farm in Pleasant Hill, Oregon.
In 1965, Kesey was arrested in La Honda, California for marijuana possession. Upon his release, Kesey and many other Merry Pranksters moved up to Pleasant Hill, Oregon– about 15 minutes from the University of Oregon campus, where they lived a simple–some would say pleasant– life. With many of the Merry Pranksters now living outside of Eugene, many other like minded counterculture followers migrated out of San Francisco to the Eugene country. Ken Babbs, an original Merry Prankster, said that the communes and college kids around Eugene became the foundation of the Deadhead hippie scene. Kesey continued to write, raise his family and led a creative writing course from 1987–1989 at the UO.
With a strong foundation of counterculture figures like Kesey and Ken Babbs, Eugene became a hotspot for Deadheads and a popular stop for the Grateful Dead. However, while Eugene was beloved by hippies and Deadheads alike, many in the community — including the University — did not take kindly to the free-spirited culture. In fact, the Grateful Dead were banned from playing at Autzen Stadium in 1991 because, according to the Eugene Weekly, the University of Oregon "didn’t want to be seen as promoting drugs." Deadheads responded by protesting at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza near the old Federal Courthouse. The ban was lifted in 1993.
Today, that same Deadhead energy lives on in Eugene. Those original Merry Pranksters and Deadheads who moved to Eugene had kids who became Deadheads. Those kids had kids who embodied the Deadhead way of life. Go downtown after your lecture and visit Lazar’s Bazar and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The store has been on 57 W Broadway since 1974 and many consider it to be “Eugene’s unofficial Grateful Dead store.” If you’re curious about how Deadhead culture lives on in Eugene, check out one of the local Grateful Dead cover bands. The WOW Hall on 8th Avenue and Luckey’s Club across from Lazar’s Bazar both regularly host shows. Keep on truckin’ Eugene and to Phil Lesh, rest in peace.