Monday, November 26, 2012

Swain's Music Store, 451 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA

More and more, the band began borrowing their instruments from Swain's House of Music. Pauline Swain, who still works in the music store at 451 University Ave., says she and her husband, Robert, lent instruments to the band "because we liked to help young musicians." Sometimes the band would practice in the store. Other times, they would take the instruments up to La Honda, where they would hang out with Kesey and his Merry Pranksters. More often than not, "when the instruments were returned, they came back looking like they had been in a pig pen," says Swain, making reference to McKernan's nickname.
Swain, who keeps a file of newspaper clippings on the Dead, also remembers when Garcia asked her secretary how to spell "grateful." He didn't know if the word was "greatful" or "grateful."
"All my secretary could say was, 'Jerry, with a name like that, you'll never go anywhere.'"(1)

"Lorna Shashind's parents owned Swain's. Swain's might have been in the same location as Melody Lane in our store's first year or so of business."(2)

In 2012 it's now an Apple Computer Store.

1965

1.)^Palo Alto weekly, 1993-05-12, "Dawn of the Dead- A Tour of the Grateful Dead's Midpeninsula roots"
2.)^Shashinda, Lorna, 2009-01-11, http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-47030.html

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