Ron “Pigpen” McKernan Episode 2: A Life-Changing Car Crash, Mind Experiments, and Hanging onto the Blues

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan could already feel his influence in the band waning from early on. Even back when the Grateful Dead were still known as the Warlocks. Whereas Pig subsisted on raw power fueled by alcohol and blues music, the rest of the members of the band were functioning on a completely different level. They listened to music, talked literature, and explored the cosmos...while loaded to the gills on LSD. Pig did not partake. He found himself not just playing in a band, but navigating a world of merry pranksters, acid tests, and long, strange trips.

[A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead\, by Dennis McNally](A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead\, by Dennis McNally) [Garcia: An American Life\, by Blair Jackson](Garcia: An American Life\, by Blair Jackson) [Searching for the Sound\, by Phil Lesh](Searching for the Sound\, by Phil Lesh) [The Grateful Dead FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Greatest Jam Band in History\, by Tony Sclafani](The Grateful Dead FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Greatest Jam Band in History\, by Tony Sclafani) [Drugs and the 'Beats': The Role of Drugs in the Lives and Writings of Kerouac\, Burroughs and Ginsberg by John Long](Drugs and the 'Beats': The Role of Drugs in the Lives and Writings of Kerouac\, Burroughs and Ginsberg by John Long) [Living with The Dead: Twenty Years on the Bus with Garcia and the Grateful Dead\, by Rock Scully with David Dalton](Living with The Dead: Twenty Years on the Bus with Garcia and the Grateful Dead\, by Rock Scully with David Dalton) [Jerry Garcia & Sandy Rothman travel down south](Jerry Garcia & Sandy Rothman travel down south) [High Flying Bird – Jerry Garcia](High Flying Bird – Jerry Garcia) [Kepler's Books 60th Anniversary](Kepler's Books 60th Anniversary)