Dennis
McNally was raised in a military family and graduated high school
in Maine. He received his Masters and Ph.D. in American History
at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His Ph.D. dissertation,
a biography of Jack Kerouac, was published by Random House in 1979
as Desolate
Angel: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America.
In pursuit of his next book, a history of the Grateful
Dead, he settled in San Francisco in 1977, where he has made his
home ever since. He began work on the Dead history in 1980 at the
invitation of Jerry Garcia, and in 1984 the Dead hired him as their
publicist, a position he still holds. The obligations of the job required
him to put the book on hold, and he only resumed it in 1997, after
the death of Garcia. A
Long Strange Trip: The History of the Grateful Dead was published
in 2002, to much critical and commercial success.
McNally has been married to Susana Millman, a photographer and
graphic designer, for over 15 years. They have one daughter, Season
Ray. He is a board member of Music in Schools Today, as well as
the Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties
Union.
MuST:
How did you first get involved with the Grateful Dead?
Dennis:
I heard the band's first album in 1967, then got taken to a show
in 1972 - and was a Dead Head for life. Eventually I decided that
I wanted to write a book about them, and because of my first book,
about the so-called "King of the Beatniks," Jack Kerouac, met Jerry
Garcia (he was a big Kerouac fan), I became the Dead's biographer
in 1980, and publicist in 1984.
MuST:
What drew you to their music initially?
Dennis:
The Dead combined rock modes (electric guitars and song structures)
with jazz improvisation (extended jams) in a completely unique way.
Since I liked jazz even more than rock, it just worked for me -
still does.
MuST:
Did you aspire to work in the music industry when you were growing
up?
Dennis:
No, I wanted to write books. It just turns out that I make a living
in the industry so I can write books, too.
MuST:
What qualities are important in a music publicist?
Dennis:
The ability to write effectively and to make friends (in a professional
way) on behalf of your client.
MuST:
What is the most interesting or fun aspect of the job?
Dennis:
When you love your client's music - and I do - watching them play
and realizing that you've helped.
MuST:
What's the hardest part?
Dennis:
Getting cranky musicians to do things they don't really want to
do - like photo shoots, or getting up early to do an interview.
MuST:
What parts of the world have you been able to see on tour?
Dennis:
All of the U.S., pretty much, and England, Sweden, France, and Germany
- unfortunately, the Dead only toured Europe once when I was with
them.
MuST:
The Grateful Dead has a long history of colorful tales. What's one
of your favorites?
Dennis:
Well, I don't know if it's so colorful, but it's true: the band
chose the name Grateful Dead by sticking a finger into a dictionary.
Grateful Dead is a type of folk song - it goes back to ancient Egypt
- where a traveler finds a body not being buried because of debts.
The traveler pays the debts, and the body (now Grateful, because
his/her karma has been resolved) returns, usually in the form of
an animal, and helps the traveler. So it's about karma, doing good
deeds just because they're good - "what goes around, comes around"
- very profound, very magical. And that more or less set the Dead's
course forever.
MuST:
What was it like writing the definitive Grateful Dead biography?
Dennis:
It was fun because I loved the band, difficult because I felt a
great responsibility to be honest but not hurt people who were my
friends – I feel, on the whole, that I pulled off that balance
with a certain amount of both compassion and honesty.
MuST:
As a Music in Schools Today board member, why do you feel that music
education is important?
Dennis:
Music is communication beyond words (and as a writer, I know how
slippery words are!) and everyone needs that. The more education
and exposure you can have in that realm, the better.
