Celebrate the Grateful Dead at Kepler’s on October 7

“Roy Kepler and the staff at his bookstore in Menlo Park allowed us to exist in an intellectual atmosphere with a built-in library. People heard there was a scene and fell by.”

So wrote Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter in The Silver Snarling Trumpet, his long-lost manuscript that will at last be published next week.

In these pages, readers are privy to the early days of Hunter and Jerry Garcia, who sit at coffee shops sharing a cup of coffee because they lack the funds for more than one. Follow these truth-seeking souls into Kepler’s Books(!), Swain’s House of Music, and through the countryside on mind-expanding road trips. Witness impromptu jams, inspired pranks, and a dialogue that is by turns amusing and brilliant and outrageous. Five years after Hunter’s death, readers can explore the origin of his genius and his craft, and dive into his thoughts on creativity and collaboration.

The Silver Snarling Trumpet features an introduction by author and historian Dennis McNally. He will take the Kepler’s stage on Monday, October 7 at 7:00 pm, alongside radio and album producer David Gans, to celebrate the birth of the Dead — at an institution that served as its cradle. Marching Bear or tie-dye attire is not mandatory but certainly encouraged!