Sunshine Daydream
Encyclopedia
Sunshine Daydream is an unreleased movie
shot at the Grateful Dead
's 1972 Veneta, Oregon
concert to benefit the Springfield Creamery in nearby Springfield, Oregon
. The film is sometimes shown at small film festival
s, and bootleg recording
s of it have circulated on VHS
and DVD
and as digital download
s.
The concert, recorded on August 27, 1972, was filmed using four 16 mm
cameras, in the woods of the Oregon Coast Range foothills, on the grounds of the Oregon Country Fair
. Originally even more cameras had been planned, under an ambitious scheme: "The plot was to develop a signature visual style of representing the band: a camera for each of the 16 channels (at least!) emphasizing the visual kinetics of the music making itself as well as the enormous open communication within the band."
Ken Kesey
and old cohort Ken Babbs
emceed the concert. The Dead played all afternoon and into the dark after an opening set by the New Riders of the Purple Sage
. In 2004, the New Riders' performance was released as an album called Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72
.
The title of the film is taken from the coda section of the Dead song "Sugar Magnolia
".
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
shot at the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
's 1972 Veneta, Oregon
Veneta, Oregon
Veneta is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,561.-History:Veneta was established in 1912 by Edmund Eugene Hunter, who named the settlement after his five-year-old daughter. Veneta post office was established in 1914. Veneta Orilla Hunter...
concert to benefit the Springfield Creamery in nearby Springfield, Oregon
Springfield, Oregon
Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area...
. The film is sometimes shown at small film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s, and bootleg recording
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
s of it have circulated on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and as digital download
Digital distribution
Online distribution, digital distribution, or electronic software distribution is the practice of delivering content without the use of physical media, typically by downloading via the internet directly to a consumer's device. Online distribution bypasses conventional physical distribution media,...
s.
The concert, recorded on August 27, 1972, was filmed using four 16 mm
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
cameras, in the woods of the Oregon Coast Range foothills, on the grounds of the Oregon Country Fair
Oregon Country Fair
The Oregon Country Fair is an annual three-day fair held in Veneta, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, the site is about west of Eugene along the Long Tom River. Annual attendance is approximately 45,000, and the fair has around 350 booths each year...
. Originally even more cameras had been planned, under an ambitious scheme: "The plot was to develop a signature visual style of representing the band: a camera for each of the 16 channels (at least!) emphasizing the visual kinetics of the music making itself as well as the enormous open communication within the band."
Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
and old cohort Ken Babbs
Ken Babbs
Ken Babbs is a famous Merry Prankster who became one of the psychedelic leaders of the 1960s. He along with best friend and Prankster leader, Ken Kesey wrote the book Last Go Round...
emceed the concert. The Dead played all afternoon and into the dark after an opening set by the New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. Their best known song is "Panama Red"...
. In 2004, the New Riders' performance was released as an album called Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72
Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72
Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72 is an album by the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was recorded live on August 27, 1972, at the Springfield Creamery Benefit concert, at Temple Meadow, near Veneta, Oregon. It was released on September 21, 2004...
.
The title of the film is taken from the coda section of the Dead song "Sugar Magnolia
Sugar Magnolia
"Sugar Magnolia" is a song by the Grateful Dead. Written by Robert Hunter and Bob Weir, it is one of the most well-known songs by the band, alongside such hits as "Truckin'," "Casey Jones," "Uncle John's Band," and "Touch of Grey."...
".
Personnel
- Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
— guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocals - Bob WeirBob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
— guitar, vocals - Phil LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
— bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Bill KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
— drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Keith GodchauxKeith GodchauxKeith Richard Godchaux was a musician best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead.-Biography:Keith Godchaux was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Concord, California...
— keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Donna GodchauxDonna GodchauxDonna Jean Godchaux-MacKay is an American singer best known for having been a member of the Grateful Dead rock group.-Biography:...
— vocals
Songs in the film
- Playing in the BandPlaying in the Band"Playing in the Band" is a Grateful Dead song. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and rhythm guitarist Bob Weir composed it. The song first emerged in embryonic form on the self-titled 1971 live album Grateful Dead...
- Promised LandPromised Land (song)"Promised Land" is a song lyric written by Chuck Berry to the melody of "Wabash Cannonball", an American folk song. The song was first recorded in this version by Chuck Berry in 1964 for his album St. Louis to Liverpool. Released in 1965, it was Berry's first single issued following his prison term...
- China Cat SunflowerChina Cat Sunflower"China Cat Sunflower" is a song performed by the Grateful Dead which was first recorded for their third studio album Aoxomoxoa. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by Jerry Garcia. The song is typically sung by Jerry Garcia. The first live recording of this song...
- I Know You Rider
- Jack Straw
- Dark StarDark Star (song)"Dark Star" is a song released as a single by the Grateful Dead. It was written by lyricist Robert Hunter and composed by lead guitarist Jerry Garcia; however, compositional credit is sometimes extended to include Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, the late Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and Bob Weir...
- El PasoEl Paso (song)"El Paso" is a country and western ballad written and originally recorded by Marty Robbins, and first released on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959. It was released as a single the following month, and became a major hit on both the country and pop music charts, reaching number...
- Greatest Story Ever Told
Complete song list for the August 27, 1972 concert
- First set
- Promised Land [2:58]
- Sugaree [7:14]
- Me and My UncleMe and My Uncle"Me and My Uncle", often also written "Me & My Uncle," is a song composed by John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, and popularized by the Grateful Dead and Judy Collins...
[3:00] - Deal [4:39]
- Black-Throated WindBlack-Throated Wind"Black-Throated Wind" is the second track from Bob Weir's solo debut Ace. The song was written by Weir and lyricist John Perry Barlow about the experiences Barlow had on a road trip from New York to San Francisco in 1971...
[6:31] - China Cat Sunflower [7:59]
- I Know You Rider [6:04]
- Mexicali BluesMexicali Blues (song)"Mexicali Blues" is a song from Bob Weir's 1972 Ace solo album that, like the rest of the material on that record, was de facto by the Grateful Dead. Indeed it appears on the 1974 Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of Grateful Dead compilation....
[3:30] - Bertha [5:40]
- Second set
- Playing in the Band [18:13]
- He's Gone [8:50]
- Jack Straw [4:57]
- Bird Song [12:16]
- Greatest Story Ever Told [5:22]
- Third set
- Dark Star [32:09]
- El Paso [4:24]
- Sing Me Back Home [10:23]
- Sugar Magnolia [8:26]
- Casey Jones [6:07]
- One More Saturday NightOne More Saturday Night (song)"One More Saturday Night" is a song written by Bob Weir and performed by the Grateful Dead. Weir is credited with writing "One More Saturday Night", although there is evidence that the song was originally written with Robert Hunter, with different lyrics...
[4:33]