It will remain one of life’s great ironies how artists and the generation which supports them are loathed by governments and the establishment one day, only to have said artists be welcomed into the royal palaces and state houses with open arms years later. Yet, that’s where members of the Grateful Dead somehow found themselves back in 2009 during the Barack Obama administration when the band was invited to take a private visit of the White House.
Justin Kreutzmann, the filmmaking son of Dead drummer Billy Kreutzmann, was on hand to document the day’s events, which were of course filled with an abundance of weirdness. This was back when the surviving members of the Grateful Dead were simply known as The Dead, and featured Warren Haynes on lead guitar and future Dead & Company member Jeff Chimenti playing keyboards.
The music heard playing throughout the two-minute clip features a loop of verbal-based audio pulled from an Obama speech from drummer Mickey Hart, which the band would use as a sample during the “Drums” portion of their show on that tour. In typical Prankster fashion, Hart can be seen wearing a Wavy Gravy-esque clown nose with a giant grin across his face as he and the band approach the White House. It is a rather hilarious irony that the house band for Ken Kesey‘s Acid Tests was welcomed to the government headquarters with open arms. What a long strange trip indeed.
The members can all be seen sharing a laugh and having fun with one another in the newly shared video seen below. There’s even footage of Obama explaining how Queen Victoria built the desk that sat in his White House Oval Office.
The Dead 2009 White House Visit Home Video
[Video: Justin Kretuzmann]
Related: Grateful Dead Fan Timothy Tyler Has Been Granted Clemency By President Barack Obama
Their visit in 2009 came shortly after the historic election of Barack Obama as the country’s first African-American President. Although they remained apolitical throughout their 30-year lifespan, the members of the Grateful Dead have been outspoken in their support for certain politicians in more recent years. The band helped campaign for Obama in hopes of getting him some California votes during the state’s 2008 primary, and were asked to perform at the Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball following his inauguration in January 2009.
Obama graciously welcomed the band and their fans to his former home in Chicago with a letter shared during the Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well reunion in 2015.
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