Final Project Proposal

Background:

The Grateful Dead have transcended music, time and culture.

Between their decades of touring, collection of live and studio albums, iconic imagery and music as a whole, the Grateful Dead sit alone in a category of their own at the peak of American cultural relevancy.

Over the course of the band’s touring career, the Dead played upwards of 2,000 shows all around the world. As a predominantly touring band, the group only recorded a handful of studio albums, but encouraged concertgoers to record their live shows to keep a permanent memory of the experience.

Today, thousands upon thousands of Dead show recordings are out there on the internet and in boxes in parent’s attics alike. Because of this fact alone, it’s hard to find a definitive, “best of” Grateful Dead album. That’s where I come in.

My project proposal:

As somebody who has grown to love the Grateful Dead, I’ve decided to create a special A/V piece that I think I’ll have a lot of fun working on. For my project, I’m going to create a full, tangible Grateful Dead greatest hits album complete with my own original artwork and choosing of the songs included.

What my project will include:

Song listings for a double album from a selective list

Actual, playable CD’s

CD and album art created on Photoshop

A studio CD

A live performances CD

The purpose:

Every Dead Head’s story is different. Where they’re from, what they do, how they found the band, where they’ve seen the group perform, etc. For this project, I want to show the world my interpretation of the Dead’s discography and imagery, trying the two together in something that may very well become my prized possession.

Resources Needed:

Photoshop

A narrowed down list of songs

Supplies to create the tangible CDs and casing

A good understanding of creative commons and a thoughtful disclaimer explaining that I do not own the rights to any of the music

Why this is important:

In order to understand the Grateful Dead, one must first understand their fans and the reasons people listen to them in the first place. I intend to use my project as an outright expression of my love for the Dead and their music.

Timeline:

Between now and the end of the semester, I will be deciding what songs to include on my album, start brainstorming and creating album art, and researching how to physically put together an album and burn CD’s.

Also, I plan on including a booklet inside the CD, maybe featuring my favorite quotes from each song and picture of the band.