Comments by Joan Schuman

Comment for "The Latvala Files: Hangin' Out in the Vault"

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Review of The Latvala Files: Hangin' Out in the Vault

Dick Latvala is indeed a colorful character. With his gravel-voiced and spit-fire storytelling mode, I was hooked, and I'm not even a fan of the Grateful Dead, though I'm always nostalgic for an era that side-swiped me. How can you pass up finding out that the very day Latvala is being interviewed marks the 31st anniversary of his dropping acid? Or that he offered the shirt off his back and cavorted around a Grateful Dead concert topless because someone commented that they liked his tie-dyed shirt? Latvala is easily the appeal of this documentary, even more than the GD music. I can hear it in a variety of programming venues from music nostalgia, to the drug-addled sixties culture (and subsequent eras), to the importance of keeping a band alive. Neither GD nor Latvala are with us anymore.

There's plenty of music, as would be expected, but I was hungry for longer clips as sometimes they stop short before I'm done grooving. Perhaps a DJ would program this half-hour documentary by breaking it into shorter, thematic sections and weaving more music in fully for an entire two-hour show featuring the band. That could better split up some of the rambling tone of Latvala's voice and stories.

I was confused about who the commercial-tinged narrator was and his disappearance then abrupt reappearance as he introduces two segments (Bill Walton, the host of a Sirius Satellite radio show; and Mikey Hart ? both of whom wax nostalgic about Latvala); I was also unclear about who the main interviewer was, though he asks great questions of Dick Latvala in an accessible style. Perhaps this would be easily clarified via a host intro.

Overall this is a great story told by an even more appealing character, which lends a credence to the entire piece. I look forward to future Latvala file entries.