Grateful Dead Rises Again
Grateful Dead fans have reason to celebrate tonight. A new radio channel devoted entirely to the popular band with a cult-like following is set to debut next month. Sirius Satellite Radio announced today it plans to premiere a channel that will broadcast continuous “Dead Air.” The hits will kick off on September 7th with the broadcast of a rare 1974 performance by the band at the Hollywood Bowl.
“This is gonna be one fun channel,” Dead guitarist Bob Weir told reporters. “We, the guys in the band, get to be involved as much as we can and we’ll make sure it’s fun. We want the fans to be involved as well.”
Weir will also be hosting a show following the concert broadcast on Sirius. In addition, original programming featuring bandmates Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann will also air. And the station is not neglecting to honor the late Jerry Garcia; program directors say Sirius plans to air rare archival interviews with the legendary entertainer who died in 1995.
The Grateful Dead channel joins Sirius’ other single entity channels, including the ones dedicated entirely to Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.
If you’re a serious Dead Head without Sirius, the satellite company offers more than 130 channels for a monthly fee of $12.95.
O.J. Simpson Book Gets A Boost
If O.J. Simpson has nine lives, then his book “If I Did It” has twice that. That book simply won’t die.
Barnes & Noble just announced it has changed its mind about the new book. Originally, the popular bookstore said it would not stock copies of the “ghostwritten, hypothetical story” of how the former football star would have murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Then, today, it said it would in fact carry the book in stores.
“We’ve been monitoring the pre-orders and customer requests and have concluded that enough customers have expressed interest in buying the book to warrant stocking it in our stores,” a store spokesperson told reporters. “We do not intend to promote the book but we will stock it in our stores because our customers are asking for it.”
Simpson’s book is currently in the top 100 on Barnes & Noble.com and at one point even topped the best-seller list.
You’ll recall the book was originally scheduled to come out late last year, but the publisher pulled the book in response to a record number of protests from people who were repulsed that Simpson would get press for penning the “tell-all.”
Then, a few weeks ago, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded the book’s rights to Ronald Goldman’s family to help satisfy a $38 million wrongful death judgment against Simpson. The Goldman family has said they consider the book Simpson’s confession.
Simpson, of course, maintains his innocence and now says he “disowns” the book and had “little to do with its creation.”
“If I Did It” will be published September 13th.
Do you plan to buy the book?