So what dissonant cultural forces commingled to bring us LeBron in the Dancing Bears? Probably the same ones that put the Dancing Bears on a pair of Nike Air Force Ones this summer, and that encouraged the designer James Perse’s Grateful Dead-focused collection from last summer and inspired street photographer Mister Mort to publish this summer’s Dead Style. He was only ten years old when Jerry Garcia, the Dead’s creative lead and reluctant patriarch, died of an overdose, and his pregame setlist veers more toward Meek Mill and 2 Chainz than the masters of American psychedelia. None of which explains LeBron’s affinity to the Dead. The dancing bear icon first showed up as stickers slapped on Bear’s amplifiers and other sound equipment. The Bear in question was Owsley “Bear” Stanley, the architect of the Dead’s distinctive sound and a pioneer in the production and distribution of early LSD. They’ve been showing up on bootleg t-shirts, bumper stickers, and even headbands since they first appeared on the back cover of the forgettable 1973 album The History of the Grateful Dead, Vol. Ever since then I have considered a Dead sticker to be far better for travel aid than a AAA sticker.The Dancing Bears, as they’re commonly known, are a staple of the Grateful Dead’s visual identity. Then they escorted me the rest of the way to Boulder right to my front door. They invited me to party with them at a friend's house in Wichita and we stayed there for three days. Boulder students living three houses down from the address where I would be staying for the summer. I talked with them about a Pittsburgh show with the Neville Brothers and told them where I was going. I signaled to pull over at the next rest area and they followed me. Then they hit the horn and threw me peace signs. So I pulled ahead so they could see my Dead sticker. I then passed them, and rolled my window down and yelled RED ROCKS! They looked at me like I was nuts. I slowed to get behind them and confirmed a Dead sticker on the bumper. I looked over and saw two guys in a van who seemed to be enjoying the same song. Suddenly in eastern Kansas a Dead song came on so I starting singing along. My tape deck was broken so only had fm radio.
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