Well, it was all I could do to keep from cryin’.
When I was let go from my job two weeks ago the partner I reported up to told me the work I’d done was some of the best she’d ever seen, but my time management simply wasn’t.
So it makes sense that I conceived this shirt four days before the Boulder shows. It wouldn’t have been possible without help from my dear friend
@jimmyrowproductions who loved the idea enough to make sure I had the illustrations to pull it all together.
And thanks to
@seecocosew and Jordyn in the screen shop at
@artistproofcollective who got it ready on time. Y’all wooks are second to none.
And beyond them, this shirt is a tribute to my dear friend
@skylermckin . If you stay asking yourself “What IS the Grateful Dead?” long enough you will eventually meet a person whose personality answers the question. Like few if any others, my friend Skyler embodies the truest spirit of Americana, the personification of westward thought, the core ethos and mentality that what is good for all in the world is all that is good in this world. He is the hippie spirit without façade; he is as at once the Everyman and one of God’s greatest prototypes. He has shown me time and time again what the Grateful Dead is. It’s those of us who yearn not just what is, but what for?
In 2019 I quit my job and packed a bag full of shirts to go on tour. The whole tour. It was the best summer of my life, my most meaningful journey— I replay its moments everyday to this day. In that small epoch of time I felt something I hadn’t felt since childhood: I felt free. At the end of it, when life beckoned me and I surrendered, I found myself sitting on a living room floor in Denver with little else to my name but my new friend Skyler, a bottle of whiskey, and Live/Dead playing from a record player, also on the floor. It was the happiest moment of my life.
And so I am no longer asking “What for?” but “What now?”
So I stay wandering. I stay wondering. And I never say no to a dingy mountain dive bar.
I go furthur westward believing in the resurrection of the Dead and the light of the world to come.
And I’ll hang around as long as you will let me.
![HBD to @bobweir and @johnmayer As a part of the @holymolymischief commemoration of Bobby’s 76th bday I am happy to present my Me & My Uncle design from last year lazily repurposed into a 2”x2.5” sticker. A limited quantity of 50 are now available at the low low price of 2 for $5. Preorder, probably ship in a week or two. Maybe three. Just depends when they get here I guess. Shouts out to these two gentleman for truly defining so much of my social life, wayward travels, and exploration of art these last eight years. Love y’all. [this post will self destruct when all stickers are sold]](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6855312544417222385344_0_1d6671f723743128d86275c1c2fd8c7b.jpg?o=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&h=35fc658ddf2090481cd65ff34e08ffb1)
