Al Di Meola plays Uncle John's Band on Jerry Garcia's iconic "Tiger"

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When I was a teenager, my friends and I would skip school, take the bus into New York City, and see the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore East. Those nights became some of my strongest musical memories growing up.

So getting the chance to play Jerry Garcia’s legendary 1979 “Tiger” guitar built by Doug Irwin this past Sunday in Chicago was something I won’t forget.

The second I plugged it in, it was Jerry. The tone, the phrasing, the spirit of the guitar just took over. I kept trying to approach it my own way, but it kept pulling me somewhere else entirely. At one point I actually got frustrated because I felt like I was fighting the guitar — and the guitar was winning. I’ve never experienced that before with any instrument.

A fascinating and humbling experience.

This happened during a jam on “Uncle John’s Band” with Josh Olken — who sat in on literally an hour’s notice. Thank you Josh!

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