I always thought that if only Pigpen had been an acid-head rather than a juicer he would've lasted a lot longer ... maybe not
I couldn't agree more. Whatever acid might have done to the internal mental landscape of some of its adherents, it didn't fry your liver before you hit 30. It didn't really, in any direct way, cause violence or enable violence the way booze does. I must admit though, I was both surprised and somewhat disappointed later on, when Captain Trips turned to heroin. I remember back in '81, reading a Rolling Stone interview from the early 70s with him and he said some interesting things about Pigpen's drinking and choices he had to make if he wanted to live.
grimtraveller said... I must admit though, I was both surprised and somewhat disappointed later on, when Captain Trips turned to heroin.
Yeah, I think Jerry probably had a few internal demons from childhood that he'd never really worked through... and you can say that about most addicts in my experience. This of course was complicated by the pressures of fame & guruhood. "Celebrity causes brain damage" Owsley used to say.
Back in the day, many thought that psychedelics were a magical cure-all for any number of psychological ailments. Whilst they can be very helpful (in my opinion), it turns out you still have to do the internal work... and therein lies the rub. There are no magic bullets.
Grok it: A film about a dental floss tycoon
ReplyDeleteI always thought that if only Pigpen had been an acid-head rather than a juicer he would've lasted a lot longer ... maybe not.
ReplyDeleteCool post, Matt.
brownrice said:
ReplyDeleteI always thought that if only Pigpen had been an acid-head rather than a juicer he would've lasted a lot longer ... maybe not
I couldn't agree more. Whatever acid might have done to the internal mental landscape of some of its adherents, it didn't fry your liver before you hit 30. It didn't really, in any direct way, cause violence or enable violence the way booze does.
I must admit though, I was both surprised and somewhat disappointed later on, when Captain Trips turned to heroin. I remember back in '81, reading a Rolling Stone interview from the early 70s with him and he said some interesting things about Pigpen's drinking and choices he had to make if he wanted to live.
grimtraveller said...
ReplyDeleteI must admit though, I was both surprised and somewhat disappointed later on, when Captain Trips turned to heroin.
Yeah, I think Jerry probably had a few internal demons from childhood that he'd never really worked through... and you can say that about most addicts in my experience. This of course was complicated by the pressures of fame & guruhood. "Celebrity causes brain damage" Owsley used to say.
Back in the day, many thought that psychedelics were a magical cure-all for any number of psychological ailments. Whilst they can be very helpful (in my opinion), it turns out you still have to do the internal work... and therein lies the rub. There are no magic bullets.