The Best Gifts for Grateful Dead Fans, According to Deadheads
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
Though theGrateful Deadmay have hit its stride inthe ’70s, it’s safe to say the band has never been celebrated by as varied a range of fans as it is today. Within the past few years, John Mayer began fronting the group’s latest incarnation, Dead and Company; Jimmy Fallon playedG.D. trivia gamesonThe Tonight Show; and unofficial Deadhead merch provider Online Ceramics (whose wares are seen frequently onGQstyle editors and Jonah Hill) received its very ownNew Yorkerprofile. To find out what you should get theDeadheadsin your life this holiday season, we asked some of today’s biggest fans — from Harvard Law students, tocactusfarmers, toNFL players, tolibrarians— for the 16 gifts they’d most like to receive, from anArtistsfor Bernie Sanders windbreaker to a limited-editionBe Here Nowtee.
New! You can now save this product for later.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Olivia Burr, an artist in California, is forever repurchasing “active ferments and functionalcondiments” from the Los Angeles–based, fermentation-focused condiment brand Darkhorse Organic. The brand sells turmeric-infusedketchup and mustard, but Burr says, “The Umami BouillonandProbiotic Vinaigretteare top of my list.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
In the late 1960s, beforeBe Here Nowcemented his fame, Americanspiritualteacher Ram Dass opened for the Dead on tour. Long before his book reached Steve Jobs’s desk, it was printed and distributed by the Lama Foundation. Burr also has her eyes on the Foundation’shand-dyed, organiccotton tee, which celebrates the book’s iconic cover design.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Nicholas Hine, a Dead follower and Harvard Law student, is hoping for aRed Aglaonema. “I saw one in a smallplantshop in Beacon Hill, Boston, a few weeks ago and have been thinking of it ever since. I’m relatively new to theplant game, but the red leaves make it more beautiful than your average pothos, and it’s (apparently) just aseasy to take care of.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Artist Timothy Uriah Steele has followed the Dead since he was in high school and Jerry Garcia was still alive. This holiday season, Steele has his sights set on a pair of Red Wing Iron Rager boots. “I used to work as a carpenter building staircases” Steele says, “And the old journeyman carpenters always wore Red Wingboots.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Steele is also hoping for a jar or two of thisWeed Sport rub, which he swears by foraches and pains(his generally stem from high-intensity Muay Thai classes and his daily cycling commute to his Sunset Park studio). Thebalm, which “lets the hemp do the heavy lifting,” comes in a satisfyinglycannabinoid green.
New! You can now save this product for later.
He’d also like ahoodiefrom Filson. “I wear a lot of Filson,” Steele says. “Everything from there lasts forever, and their products only get better with age. If I got thisC.C.F. Pullover Hoodie, I’d immediately bleach tie dye it myself at the studio.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Aaron Schafer, a host ofNo Simple Road, a podcast for devoted Dead and Company followers, says “thisrecorderis something any old Head would love to have. All of us fans have old bootlegcassette tapesin a box collecting dust somewhere. Thislittle gadgetallows you to convert those old bootlegs to MP3 on a USB drive. Pretty nifty for preserving the memory of those shows.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Once those cassettes are converted, Schafer says thisSonos systemwould be the perfect thing to play them through at home. “So many Deadheads areaudiophiles. We love our sound quality. Sonosspeakershave that clarity, solid bass response, and can be controlled with a word. As the Dead sang, ‘Let there be songs to fill the air.’”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Max Martin, the owner ofThe Cactus Store(which operates year-round in Los Angeles, and throughout the summer in New York City) and devoted Deadhead, is eyeing a trio of “super efficient, thoughtfully-designed, warm light-emittinggrow lights” that make it possible fordesert plantsto thriveindoorsin the winter months. “Gone are the days of insane blue and redlights,” he says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
“I play the Dead most often while I’mcooking,” says painter Nell Brookfield, currently a student in Pratt’s M.F.A. program. “I fantasize about owning anorangeLe Creuset pot, to imitate my dad and all the things he makes with it back in England.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Gordon Kenny’s Instagram,@bernyourface, is primarily a showcase for his tie-dye shirts, which feature images of both Senator Bernie Sanders’s face and the Grateful Dead. “All I want forChristmas,” Kenny says, “is the “Artists for Bernie Sanders”windbreakerfrom his official website.
New! You can now save this product for later.
In recent years, Online Ceramicsshirtsand hoodies have become the unofficial uniform of the Dead. It’s no surprise, then, that a number of fans we spoke to shoutedtheir piecesout as holiday holy grails, including artist and Dead fan Justin Cole Smith, and both of theNo Simple Roadhosts. All of them say the brand has “single-handedly changed the aesthetic of Grateful Dead culture.”
New! You can now save this product for later.
Smith would also like to receive a couple ofPentel P200s, which he says are his favorite mechanicalpencils for drawing and design. “These are a safe bet for any artists and designers in your family and friend group,” he says.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Hoodies and tees fromUC Santa Cruz’sweb store featuring the university’s Banana Slug mascot inDead Head attiresit at the top of rare-booklibrarianJessica Pigza’s holiday wishlist. “Purchases support the preservation of the Grateful Dead Archive,” she adds.
New! You can now save this product for later.
And lastly, Romeo Okwara, a defensive end for the NFL’s Detroit Lions (and frequent Dead and Company show-goer) is hoping for a Hypervoltmassage device. “It’s an athlete’s best friend,” he says. “It really helps relax thosetight musclesthat need tending to.”
The Strategistis designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the bestacne treatments,rolling luggage,pillows for side sleepers,natural anxiety remedies, andbath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
