It's like you're surfing... The same wave that can be a source of pain can be a beautiful flowing grace and source of power. It's all a matter of how you respond to it.

Music has always been my protection against the world, from a very young age. I feel safe inside of a jam.

We want to have a spontaneous adventure. You can't plan an adventure, or it ceases to be one.

Set the gearshift for the high gear of your soul. You've got to run like an antelope, out of control.

Ideally the point of music is community, not the player. Musicians are simply channels to link the audience to the music and to each other.

If there's one thing I discovered since I came back from hiatus, it's that you can't go backwards.

I'm not trying to pull the rug out from under anybody, but the music really does tell you where to go.

Creativity is the antidote to destruction.

What happens if you start drawing squares? Well, I'd say the answer to that is, don't get famous for drawing circles.

My life was a complete catatrophe. I was very, very sick from drugs and alcohol.

Jerry Garcia was a great American master and the Grateful Dead are not just a genuine piece of musical history, but also an important part of American history.

When you cannot find a pill for it, try taking a full dosage of responsibility

What's the point of having a book club if you don't get to eat brownies and drink wine?

If an animal does something, we call it instinct. If we do the same thing for the same reason, we call it intelligence.

Give a moment or two to the angry young man with his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand.

Usually in the first performances I'm completely panicked. And I pull myself together. By the time you get to the end of the play, you really start to have fun.

The word and the shadow of the word / makes a thing both itself and something else / till we are metaphors and not ourselves . . .

The Fire Department has traditionally considered architecture a priority only when it’s burning down.

My government will respect the will of the people.

Good morning, God, I love You! What are You up to today? I want to be part of it.

The mistakes of the Iraq war are not only tactical and strategic, but historical. It is essentially a war of colonialism, attempted in the post-colonial age.