Expensive Jerry Garcia T-Shirt Comes With 6/26/81 Download

April Fool’s Day is a tough time for those of us gathering news. We’ve gotta keep our guards up so we don’t report as fact things such as Phish selling show ribbons, pinatas and Marvin The Martian t-shirts. So it’s with a little hesitation we report that the Jerry Garcia estate is selling their version of the Grateful Dead guitarist’s iconic Black T-Shirt for one week only. While the plain black T is cool and all it’s what comes with the shirt that has piqued our interest.

Those purchasing the Jerry Garcia t-shirt will also receive a digital download card that will allow you to grab the Jerry Garcia Band’s first public performance at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre on June 26th, 1981. For this show Garcia was joined by Melvin Seals (organ), Jimmy Warren (electric piano, clavinet), Daoud Shaw (drums), Essra Mohawk (vocals) and Liz Stires (vocals). You can download the show in either FLAC or MP3 320 kbps formats.

The T and download card cost a spendy $24.99 – quite a lot for a plain black T.

Here’s the official announcement…

We’ve all seen it. We’ve grown accustomed to it. We’ve even feigned shock when it didn’t make it to the stage. Jerry’s infamous black Fruit of the Loom pocket t-shirt can now be part of your wardrobe too. We’ve dubbed this t-shirt “Tour Veteran” for the number of shows its seen, but there is more to this 100% cotton shirt than meets the eye. The shirt’s label has been removed and replaced with a Keystone era Jerry illustration screen-printed in grey. The best part? Each t-shirt arrives with a flashback-inducing download card in the pocket which grants access to a special GarciaLive digital-only archival release. Don’t bother testing the wares, we didn’t take it that far…

We’ve dug into the Garcia Vault and selected the Jerry Garcia Band’s first public performance at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre on June 26th, 1981. Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh replaces Garcia Band mainstay John Kahn on bass for the evening. Melvin Seals (organ), Jimmy Warren (electric piano, clavinet), Daoud Shaw (drums), Essra Mohawk (vocals) and Liz Stires (vocals) round out the evening’s line-up. The Garcia Vault contains only the evening’s second set, but we found the band’s performance too compelling to let an incomplete show keep an otherwise stellar recording from release. The five song set features “Mission in the Rain,” “Harder They Come,” “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door and “Dear Prudence” segueing directly into the show closing “Midnight Moonlight.”

This first digital-only release has been mastered for release by longtime Garcia collaborator Joe Gastwirt and delivered in your choice of formats: 320kbps MP3 or lossless FLAC.

This 100% cotton t-shirt will be available for purchase in the Official Garcia Store beginning today for ONE WEEK only. It may be April Fools, but we’re not pulling any pranks. Don’t miss out.