Co-producers Jerry Garcia Music Arts LLC with Malcolm Leo and Dean Loring Gelfand of Malcolm Leo Productions are set to release an immersive film experience that focuses on the creative spirit of Jerry Garcia. “Jerry Garcia, Artist” is a documentary based on a 1987 interview directed by Leo and filmed at Front Street Studio in San Rafael, California, by the Academy Award-winning cinematographer Russell Carpenter. It features Garcia speaking in his own voice directly to his audience about his music and art. Garcia’s family is coproducing the documentary and has contributed visual art and music to the project. The documentary includes a charitable component that will benefit the Jerry Garcia Foundation as well as a charity of the Co-producer’s choice.

“We envision an uplifting, immersive experience focused on my father’s art and music,” said Keelin Garcia, Jerry Garcia’s daughter, coproducer of the project and president of Jerry Garcia Music Arts. ” The story is authentic. My father narrates the film in his own words, directly to the audience.”

The documentary captures Garcia at a peak moment as he eloquently reflects about the life he lived and the music he loved to make. He was unabashedly open to a wide array of subjects, offering a “nothing-off-limits” interview. The documentary provides a journey into Garcia’s private world through his personal musings, drawings and insights, including unpublished diary entries, rare family photos and home movies and newly discovered performances.

Leo, producer and director, and Gelfand, producer, have been combining their special talents rooted in the music industry through their work with Malcolm Leo Productions and, more recently, MELLOWDEE. The Jerry Garcia venture is a natural fit.

“This project is a labor of love for all involved,” said Leo. “And it is the fulfillment of a promise I made to Jerry long ago to do something special with the footage. The film will honor one of the country’s most beloved musical heroes and cultural icons.”

Malcolm Leo

An American producer, director, and writer who in 1983 formed his own production company, Malcolm Leo Productions, has overseen a wide range of projects from “This is Elvis” “Heroes of Rock n Roll” “Beach Boys: an American Band” to the Emmy-nominated “LIFE Goes to the Movies.” Leo recently joined Dean Gelfand to form MELLOWDEE, a marketing and production entity that develops music-related projects drawn from his large rock and pop-culture film and video holdings.

Dean Loring Gelfand

The founder of three of music entertainment’s merchandise and licensing agencies, Dean Loring Gelfand has a long, lucrative history with ties to the music industry. As a dreamer with an it-CAN-be-done philosophy, Gelfand was led to co-found MELLOWDEE with Malcolm Leo to develop music-related projects into works of art.

Jerry Garcia Music Arts, LLC

A mission-based arts and music entertainment services company inspired by the legendary musician and artist Jerry Garcia.

For more information, please visit the Jerry Garcia Music Arts website.

As a gift to the music community this holiday season, the Jerry Garcia Foundation announces its new venture: the Jerry Garcia Archive. This online resource will be devoted to providing a digital library of historical information about the beloved virtuoso.

Interested fans are invited to contribute digital copies of their artistic creations via the Jerry Garcia Archive website beginning on December 7. This call to artists will create a socially assembled collection and provide the community of Jerry Garcia enthusiasts an opportunity to contribute to the development of this invaluable educational resource.

The archive will comprise cataloged digital images of fan art, news media articles and other materials, including photos, memorabilia, books, artwork, CDs, cassette tapes, videos and record albums.

The foundation is reviewing institutions of higher learning as potential co-management partners for the archive.

A public unveiling of all the material on the archive website will take place on what would have been Jerry’s 80th birthday, August 1, 2022.

“The Jerry Garcia Archive will serve as a vehicle of education and inspiration for the greater community,” said a spokesperson from the Jerry Garcia Foundation. “This project will help further the humanitarian and artistic mission of the foundation.”

In support of the new venture, Jerry’s family members have donated physical copies of previously released books, art, CDs and record albums, as well as personal effects to the Jerry Garcia Archive.

Launched in 2015, the Jerry Garcia Foundation was established as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization to serve philanthropic projects. It honors music’s iconic legend and artist Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. The foundation has partnered with like-minded nonprofits to support meaningful causes through the beauty of art and music. The creation of the archive will aid in the efforts to store and preserve Jerry Garcia’s prodigious artistic contributions so future generations can garner inspiration and learn from his work.

For more information, please visit the Jerry Garcia Archive website.

Jerry Garcia Foundation

The Jerry Garcia Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, supports environmental, artistic and humanitarian causes. The foundation was established by Jerry’s family members in 2015, in honor of the musician, artist and visionary.

The Guitar Center Music Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on granting instruments to music education and music therapy organizations, has collaborated with Jerry Garcia Music Arts (JGMA) and Bears for Humanity to offer new collectable items to generate funds for arts and music education programs. Each item’s design contains iconic original art created by legendary musician Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.

Bears for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that creates “plushies with a purpose.” The new collectible “JG Bear” teddy bears are certified organic, non-toxic and Fair Trade. As a non-profit and World Fair Trade Organization member, Bears for Humanity is revolutionizing the toy industry by creating safe and sustainable plush toys. Their buy-one give-one model provides cuddly teddy bears to children in need, all while protecting our planet. Bears for Humanity created 1,500 limited-edition collectible organic teddy bears for this project. The JG Bear teddy bears are free from any petroleum-derived plastic components.

“We commend Guitar Center Music Foundation and Jerry Garcia Music Arts for creating this beautiful collectible in the right way. They are honoring Jerry Garcia’s legacy by creating memorabilia that has a positive, rather than harmful, impact on the planet,” said Renju Prathap, Bears for Humanity co-founder.

Additionally, 1,000 organic cotton T-shirts, which are identical to the T-shirt that the JG Bear wears, are now available. Both the JG Bear and the T-shirt feature an image of Garcia’s pen and ink sketch titled “Mandolin Player.” “Mandolin Player” is one of many original fine art pieces created by the virtuoso.

Fifty percent of net proceeds will go toward The Guitar Center Music Foundation’s mission of supporting music education and therapy programs. Garcia is most recognized for his signature sound as the lead guitarist of the Grateful Dead, but he was also a philanthropist who actively contributed his talents to preserving the planet’s rainforests and coral reefs. His creative vision continues to serve the community and inspire new generations.

“It is an honor to work with the Guitar Center Music Foundation and Bears for Humanity on this project. My father always encouraged aspiring artists to follow their dreams. The music education programs supported by this project will provide children with some creative tools to help them realize their dreams,” said Keelin Garcia, Jerry Garcia’s youngest daughter, Guitar Center Music Foundation Advisory Board member and Creative Director at JGMA.

The limited-edition JG Bear teddy bears are available online at the Guitar Center website, and the bears and shirts are available at 100 select Guitar Center locations. Each item is available for $29.99.

On March 25, the JG Bear and Garcia’s visual art will be featured at a launch concert performed by Rainbow Full of Sound at The Colony in Woodstock, NY. To learn more, visit http://www.GuitarCenterFoundation.org, or follow @GiveMusicLife on Twitter for more news or to discover ways to support The Guitar Center Music Foundation.

The Jerry Garcia Archive, a new community resource created to preserve the historical and artistic contributions of one of rock 'n' roll's greatest legends, will begin accepting community contributions this August and host a benefit concert to celebrate the launch.

The archive's technology partner, Starchive, is the creation of Peter Agelasto, who serves as the lead archivist for the project. Agelasto, a former archeologist and music studio owner, originally developed the Starchive platform to organize and store digital content for his own artistic endeavors. He and Starchive co-founder Richard Averitt are providing their innovative software platform as a gift to the Jerry Garcia Foundation for the development and management of the archive.

"Building this collection with Jerry's family and global fan base is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see how emerging web3 technologies influence and enrich the artist / fan / collaboration / experiment. No one has innovated more in this creative communal space than Jerry Garcia, and I'm grateful to help serve this culturally significant initiative around one of my favorite musicians and artists," said Agelasto.

Agelasto and the Starchive team honed their software while working on the creation and curation of the Bob Dylan Archive. In 2021, Starchive was retooled to support any creator from day one for icons like Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia and everyone in between. Today Starchive supports more than 75,000 creators in every medium from around the world.

"It's an honor and delight to work with Peter, Richard and the Starchive team. This creative integration will provide the community with a uniquely interactive and joyful experience of archival resources. We are grateful to the David Nelson Band for sharing their artistry on my father's Birthday in support of the project," said Keelin Garcia, Jerry Garcia's daughter and co-founder of the Jerry Garcia Foundation.

A musical opening reception for the archive launch is scheduled to take place on the late Jerry Garcia's 80th birthday, Aug. 1, 2022. In celebration, the David Nelson Band is scheduled to perform a benefit concert for the Jerry Garcia Foundation at the Blue Note venue, located in beautiful Sonoma County, Calif.

The David Nelson Band has been recording and performing around the country since the 1990's. Its broad musical palette spans the "almost acoustic" style that Nelson played with Jerry Garcia to roots rock n' roll and psychedelic country rock. The David Nelson Band performs Nelson's compositions (and those co-written with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter), select covers, and several Grateful Dead classics upon which Nelson appeared on the original album releases.

David Nelson (guitar/vocals) is known as the founding member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Moreover, he was a longtime musical partner of Jerry Garcia, dating back to 1962 in the pre-Grateful Dead bluegrass band, the Wildwood Boys. Nelson was a member of the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band (and appears on its 1988 album release Almost Acoustic and 2010 's Ragged But Right). He performed on three Grateful Dead albums: Aoxomoxoa, Workingman's Dead, and American Beauty, playing the iconic electric guitar solo on "Box of Rain."

For tickets and further information, please visit: https://www.ticketweb.com/event/david-nelson-band-celebrates-jerry-blue-note-napa-tickets/12214025?pl=bnnapa

About the Jerry Garcia Archive:

The Jerry Garcia Archive is an online resource devoted to providing a digital library of historical information about the beloved virtuoso. The official collectively assembled archive will serve as a vehicle of education for the greater community by preserving Jerry Garcia's prodigious artistic contributions for future generations.

For more information, please visit the Jerry Garcia Archive website.

August 1, 2022 would have been Jerry Garcia 80th birthday and to celebrate the milestone DGN Custom Guitars, Fandiem and Bandsintown have joined together to celebrate Jerry’s life and legacy with a fundraiser campaign benefiting the Jerry Garcia Foundation.

During the pandemic, devout Deadhead Chris Shand came up with an idea to commission a one-of-a-kind replica of Jerry Garcia’s iconic “Wolf” guitar featuring Jerry’s original art and raffle it off to raise money for the Jerry Garcia Foundation. Chris reached out to friend and fellow Deadhead, Dan Neafsey, owner of DGN Custom Guitars, who was immediately on board with the idea. With the blessing of Jerry’s daughter, Keelin, and his wife, Manasha, DGN Custom Guitars set out to produce this 1-of-1 replica featuring Jerry’s ink and pen drawing titled “Dog”. The original artwork is the perfect adornment for the body of the guitar and is set in the place where the cartoon wolf was located on the guitar that Doug Irwin built for Jerry in 1973.

To align with Manasha and Keelin’s vision of a plastic free planet, this DGN “Dog” guitar is completely plastic free and was built using only responsibly harvested and sustainable woods and materials.

“Wolf is my personal favorite of all Jerry’s guitars,” states Dan Neafsey. “When Chris Shand reached out about this project, it was a no brainer for me. I was so excited to do what I do best and building a guitar like this with no plastic was a super fun challenge. I had to get creative with many of the methods and materials I normally use when building custom guitars, all while staying true to Doug Irwins masterpiece. I think the final result speaks for itself.”

In 2017, Jerry Garcia’s original “Wolf” guitar was sold at auction for the price of $1.9 million, with proceeds benefiting the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“We're very grateful to luthier Dan Neafsey for building this beautiful plastic-free guitar, and to Chris Shand for his profound generosity,” added Manasha Garcia. “It's truly wonderful to see how Jerry's creative spirit continues to inspire artists today.”

The DGN “Dog” guitar and amp will be unveiled publicly for the first time and will be played by Mihali from Twiddle at Jerry Garcia’s 80th Birthday Celebration on Thursday, August 4th, 2022 at Garcia’s at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. The Concert supports the mission of the Jerry Garcia Foundation and the Jerry Garcia Archive Opening.

Starting at $10, participants can “Donate To Win” this custom artifact, which includes:

ONE (1) GRAND PRIZE:

    Custom 1-of-1 Jerry Garcia DGN Guitar and amp bundle including:
        DGN Custom "Dog" guitar – a plastic-free tribute to Jerry's "Wolf" guitar
        Complimenting plastic-free case featuring original Jerry Garcia artwork
        DGN 427 Custom tube amplifier complimenting the guitar and featuring tie-dye speaker cloth cover

 SIX (6) RUNNER UP PRIZES:

    Jerry Garcia Art Giclee provided by Terrapin Stationers
        Title: “Ripple”
        Artist: Jerry Garcia
        Jerry Garcia Music Arts 1st Edition August 2018
        Unframed Museum Quality Giclee with Certificate of Authenticity
        Giclee size 11"x 17" on Hahnemuhle Bamboo 290 gsm paper

The fan-sourcing fundraising sweepstakes is running until October 7, 2022 and fans can “Donate To Win” exclusively at www.fandiem.com/jerrygarcia. The more fans donate the more chances they have to win – and the more they support the Jerry Garcia Foundation.

Guests from around the world are invited to join the friends and family of Jerry Garcia on June 7, 2023, in the Neverworld Metaverse, an online open simulator metaverse, to celebrate the opening of the virtual Jerry Garcia Archive Museum. Visitors can create unique avatars on the Neverworld Grid before embarking on a tour of archival content featuring Jerry's fine art, collections of rare photos and interview recordings. The event will culminate with a free concert featuring Rainbow Full of Sound, jazz artist Tony Saunders and sound poet Jair-Rohm Parker Wells.

The Jerry Garcia Foundation established the official Jerry Garcia Archive as a vehicle to educate and inspire the greater community. The online resource provides a digital library of historical information about the beloved virtuoso.

The public can now experience the online Jerry Garcia Archive Museum as Neverworld creator and digital artist Govega Sachertorte and Thirza Ember of the Hypergrid Safari Tours offer an inaugural docent tour of the museum and adjacent Art Garden.

Jerry Garcia archivist Peter Agelasto will make a special live presentation on the virtual stage built by digital artist Nexus Storm in Neverworld. Guests will also receive an airdrop of unique gifts designed by Nexus Storm; Jerry's youngest daughter, Keelin Garcia; and his wife, Manasha Garcia.

"It's an honor to share this beautiful world. We're grateful to the extremely talented Govega Sachertorte and to the Neverworld Grid team of brilliant digital artists for bringing this project to fruition. The interactive virtual world format will make the digital library immediately accessible to everyone," said Love108, conceptual artist and producer at the Archive Museum.

The museum tour and concert admittance are free of charge. It is recommended that guests create their avatars a few days in advance of the event at the Neverworld website: https://www.neverworldgrid.com/.

For more information, please visit the Jerry Garcia Archive.