David Gans

Biography

David Gans was born on October 29, 1953, in Los Angeles, California, and began his musical journey as a guitarist and songwriter in 1970, performing as a soloist and with various bands around the San Francisco Bay Area. In an unusual career pivot, Gans transitioned into music journalism in the 1980s, working for prominent publications including BAM magazine, Jann Wenner's Record, and Mix magazine, where he gained extensive access to musicians and producers. His journalism career provided what he describes as "a million-dollar education" through interviews with industry legends like Leo Fender, Randy Newman, and Fleetwood Mac. Gans's deep interest in the Grateful Dead led him to produce a radio show for a local station, which evolved into the nationally syndicated Grateful Dead Hour, launched in 1987 and broadcast on dozens of stations across the United States. After Jerry Garcia's death in the mid-1990s and the band's subsequent hiatus, Gans returned to his first love of making music, leveraging his journalism experience and connections within the Grateful Dead community. Since the mid-1990s, he has established himself as a solo artist, touring extensively across North America and releasing multiple albums, while simultaneously maintaining his role as a prominent Grateful Dead historian and radio broadcaster. Today, Gans is recognized as a multifaceted artist—musician, songwriter, journalist, and radio host—best known for his loop-based live performances, literate songwriting, and decades-long dedication to Grateful Dead scholarship and preservation.

Fun Facts

• Gans released one of the first independent musician DVDs in 2002, titled 'Live at the Powerhouse,' which documented an outdoor performance at a northern California brewpub and showcased his virtuoso multi-tracking abilities performed live.
• In 1998, Gans released a topical single titled 'Monica Lewinsky' that received significant airplay and publicity, enabling him to expand his touring base beyond the Bay Area.
• Beyond music, Gans is an accomplished photographer who began with a Brownie camera as a teenager and later launched a freelance photography career alongside his journalism work; he named his album 'The Ones That Look the Weirdest Taste the Best' after a line from his song about the Grand Lake Market.
• Gans has maintained an almost 40-year career as a working musician without holding a traditional 'real job,' supporting himself through music journalism, radio production, touring, and self-published records.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Leo Fender - Interview subject who provided educational insights during Gans's journalism career (Fender guitar legacy) [1980s-1990s]
• Robert Hunter - Grateful Dead lyricist and songwriting collaborator (Co-wrote three songs with Gans) [1990s-2000s]

Key Collaborators

• Eric Rawlins - Berkeley singer-songwriter; duet album partner (Home By Morning (1997))
• Henry Kaiser - Co-producer of Grateful Dead compilation (The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead (1995))
• Blair Jackson - Oakland neighbor and co-author of oral history (This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead (2015))

External Links

• Spotify
• [Wikipedia](Not found in search results)