ATTENTION FANS OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD, SAN JOSE HISTORY AND GROOVY STUFF IN GENERAL

We want to do something very cool. But we need your help.

This is the 60th anniversary year of the Grateful Dead, the Bay Area’s foremost musical export.  On December 4, 1965, the band’s first performance took place in a Victorian house that once stood on the current footprint of San Jose City Hall.  On December 4, 2025, we want to commemorate that milestone event by unveiling a plaque to mark the site. San Jose officials have approved that mission if we raise the money privately for the plaque and commemoration.

That’s where we are asking for your assistance. San Jose Rocks, the non-profit group dedicated to recognizing and honoring the South Bay’s role in popular music history, is sponsoring the fundraising campaign to pay for the marker and a public celebration. It will permanently denote the location where the Grateful Dead played its first gig under that name, pointing current and future generations to the spot where this landmark musical happening took place.

If enough people support this golden idea with unlimited devotion–whether those folks are Deadheads or history afficionados–we can get it done.  And you can become part of the Dead’s legacy, even as the current Dead and Company configuration continues to sell out shows at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

To accomplish our goal, we must fundraise at least $35,000 by June 30, 2025. We think that’s realistic. In Southern California, fans of the Beach Boys raised $60,000 to underwrite a marker on the site of the Wilson family home where the band first rehearsed in Hawthorne.  Around the country, plaques have been placed at other historic music locations, paid for by fans and civic-minded contributors.

Any amount that you can contribute, from a few bucks to the cost of a front row Dead & Company ticket at the Sphere, will be most appreciated. It all matters. Those $10 or $20 donations will add up and get us to the finish line. And all donors will have their names listed online. But for those who wish to contribute at a higher level, we are offering some unique and, yes, very groovy premiums.

Stanley Mouse

Legendary artist Stanley Mouse, who created so many classic posters for concerts at the Fillmore Auditorium and Winterland Ballroom that included the Grateful Dead’s famous skull-and-roses iconography, has agreed to design a special poster that will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the very first Dead performance, which took place as part of an “Acid Test” organized by counterculture figure Ken Kesey near the San Jose State campus. And donors will have three options to obtain a reproduction of Mouse’s printwork, based on the date of that event, which took on 12-4-65:

  • Supporters who contribute $124.65 or more will receive a 5-inch-by-7-inch handbill version of Mouse’s poster, much like the handbills that were passed out at those 60’s ballroom shows.
  • Supporters who contribute $412.65 or more will receive a copy of Mouse’s commemorative poster, mailed in a protective tube.
  • Supporters who contribute $1,246.50 or more will receive a poster autographed by Stanley Mouse and special recognition at the unveiling ceremony.

Here’s How To Donate:

  1. You can contribute online by clicking through below to the donation page for the San Jose Parks Foundation, which is handling our bookkeeping for this project. When you are prompted to designate the fund to which you wish to contribute, click the drop-down menu and select the line that says: GRATEFUL DEAD PLAQUE/SJ ROCKS. Fill in the blanks. You’ll receive a confirmation from the San Jose Parks Foundation that we’ve received your tax deductible donation.

 

2. If you’d rather go old school and mail in your donation, please write a check to “San Jose Parks Foundation” with “San Jose Rocks” in the memo line and send it to: San Jose Parks Foundation, P.O. Box 26001. San Jose, CA 95159

All donations are fully tax-deductible through our partner, the San Jose Parks Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

How we got here and how San Jose City Hall is aboard:

Earlier this year, the San Jose City Council’s Rules Committee unanimously approved the creation and installation of a plaque that will mark the site of The Grateful Dead’s first-ever performance under their iconic name in 1965. You can check out this video featuring Dan Orloff (Founder, San Jose Rocks), David Borough (American Federation of Musicians, Local 6) and Mark Purdy (Lead Researcher, San Jose Rocks) as we presented our case before the committee and told the story of that first Dead show:

THANK YOU to Mayor Matt Mahan, Vice Mayor Pam Foley, Councilmember Carl Salas, Councilmember Peter Ortiz, and Councilmember Domingo Candelas for advancing the memorandum to the Rules Committee, led by Councilmember David Cohen and Vice Mayor Pam Foley. Also, much gratitude to the city staff for setting the mission into motion. All of their support—including the authorization for San Jose Rocks to raise funds for the design, manufacturing, and installation of the plaque—is truly appreciated!

If enough funds can be raised, a celebration in conjunction with the plaque dedication will honor that 1965 evening’s role as a seminal event for a cultural revolution that spread throughout the Bay Area and intertwined Grateful Dead history with the entire region’s history. The public will be invited to the celebration, as downtown San Jose comes alive with happenings, exhibits, and immersive experiences celebrating the band’s lasting impact on multiple musical and societal levels.

But the plaque dedication will be more than a San Jose moment. It will embrace Northern California’s deep connection to The Grateful Dead, from the South Bay to San Francisco to Marin County to the East Bay. From their groundbreaking Acid Test performances to their influence on the counterculture movement, the Dead’s journey began here, shaping a legacy that continues to inspire.

Please follow San Jose Rocks on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated and learn how you and others can get involved in our mission.

San Jose City Hall Dedication & The Grateful Dead Celebration December 4, 2025

On December 4, 1965, a Victorian house at 43 South Fifth Street in San Jose served as the launching pad for a musical phenomenon. That night, The Grateful Dead gave their first official performance under their iconic name. On the 60th anniversary of that historic milestone, plans are for San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and the City of San Jose to dedicate a plaque that marks the site of that event, which is now occupied by San Jose City Hall.

In conjunction with the plaque dedication, a celebration is being organized to honor that 1965 evening’s role as a seminal event for a cultural revolution that spread throughout the Bay Area and intertwined Grateful Dead history with the entire region’s history. The public will be invited to the celebration, as downtown San Jose comes alive with happenings, exhibits, and immersive experiences celebrating the band’s lasting impact on multiple musical and societal levels.

Honoring the Legacy of December 4, 1965

The very first Grateful Dead gig has always been a tough event to reconstruct with 100 percent accuracy.  It took place in downtown San Jose at an “Acid Test” house party organized by author and counterculture figure Ken Kesey on the evening of December 4, 1965.

Kesey picked the location and the date because the Rolling Stones were playing that night at San Jose Civic Auditorium—two shows, on one of their early American tours.  Kesey hoped to lure fans of the Stones to the “Acid Test.” He brought his “Merry Prankster” followers to San Jose in their infamous psychedelic “Further” school bus from their base in the Santa Cruz mountains and sent the “Pranksters” to the Civic Auditorium exits, where they passed out flyers inviting people to the party as they left the Stones shows. Kesey had previously negotiated with residents of a large Victorian house on South Fifth Street, just six blocks from the Civic, to let him rig up the home with flashing lights and sound equipment to accompany experiments with LSD, then a legal substance.

The Warlocks. Photo by Herb Greene 1965

The footprints of both houses are now occupied by the campus of the current San Jose City Hall, which was constructed in 2005 and required structures on South Fifth St. to be leveled or relocated. The house at 43 South Fifth was moved 11 blocks away to 635 St. James Street, where it still stands.  The 38 South Fifth house was demolished after an arson fire damaged the structure beyond repair. The footprint of 43 South Fifth places it directly beneath the current San Jose City Council Chambers. The footprint of 38 South Fifth Street places it beneath a plaza across from the Council Chambers, on the south side of the City Hall campus.

Kesey also wanted live music to augment the entire experience and engaged a band from nearby Palo Alto and Menlo Park to perform. The group had played for several months under various names, including the Warlocks, but days before the “Acid Test” in San Jose had decided to call itself The Grateful Dead.

Descriptions of the party, including a chapter in author Tom Wolfe’s book, “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test,” havefocused on its wild nature. But those accounts have lacked specific details, such as the exact address where it all happened. For decades, the house’s location has been pegged at 43 South Fifth Street, based on information and recollections from people who occupied the home after Kesey’s party had taken place and by at least one person who attended the party. However, in March of 2025, an auction house offered up for sale a previously undiscovered hand-drawn flyer that Kesey’s followers drew up to advertise the “Acid Test.” It lists the party address as 38 South Fifth, across the street from 43 South Fifth.

Historians still puzzle over which “Acid Test” address of Fifth Street was the correct one. Clues continue to surface. But for a band that has lyricized about a “long strange trip,” it is probably appropriate that the precise spot of their first performance as the Grateful Dead may forever remain hazy.

 

The Grateful Dead’s Spawning Ground: San Jose and the South Bay

The Grateful Dead are often thought of as a San Francisco band. That was certainly true after 1966, when the group planted itself in Haight-Ashbury and occupied a “band house” there. But the group’s formation and early musical adventures occurred miles southward on the Peninsula and in the South Bay — leading epically to that first show in San Jose.

The key bullet points documenting that history:

  • Summer of 1962:Menlo Park resident Jerry Garcia begins hanging out at Swain’s Music Store on University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, buying picks and strings to start playing acoustic guitar. His ambition is to one day perform at St. Michael’s Alley down the street. This bohemian hangout, which had launched the career of Joan Baez, eventually gives Garcia his first shot, where he plays banjo on the sidewalk out front to draw people inside.
  • May 1963: Jerry Garcia and his new wife, Sara, play their first gig at the Top of the Tangent in Palo Alto. This folk club becomes a regular spot for Garcia, where he performs with various bluegrass groups. Among the regular audience members is teenager Bob Weir, an aspiring musician from nearby Atherton.
  • Summer of 1963: Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, a group that includes Garcia, Weir, and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, begins playing regularly at The Offstage in downtown San Jose. The dingy coffeehouse on South First Street is a welcoming spot for an emerging counterculture. Future Bay Area icons such as Janis Joplin, Paul Kanter and Jorma Kaukonen are frequent performers. It’s here that Garcia’s musical vision starts taking form, eventually leading to the formation of “The Warlocks” with drummer Bill Kreutzmann and bassist Phil Lesh.
  • December 4, 1965: Ken Kesey holds one of his first “Acid Tests” at a house believed to be located at 43 South Fifth Street in San Jose. He needs a band. He turns to his Palo Alto friends who have recently renamed themselves “The Grateful Dead.”  They perform an electrifying and loud set of songs under their new name, flipping the “on” switch for what will become one of America’s greatest and most beloved musical institutions.
  • Summer of 2002: When the 43 South Fifth Street property is sold to make room for San Jose’s new City Hall, the house is relocated eight blocks northeast to 635 St. James Street, where it is renovated and remains a privately-owned residence.

Introducing the Team Behind The Grateful Dead San Jose Dedication

The dedication of a plaque on San Jose City Hall property as a landmark commemorating the Grateful Dead’s first performance under their iconic name is a collaborative effort led by two San Jose residents: Dan Orloff and Mark Purdy  Together, they bring decades of expertise, passion, and dedication to preserving the Bay Area’s rich cultural and musical history.

Dan Orloff: Championing the Bay Area’s Musical Legacy

Dan Orloff, founder of San Jose Rocks and principal of Orloff Marketing (formerly Orloff Williams) since 1992, brings strategic leadership and a deep commitment to cultural preservation to this effort. With over three decades of experience in branding and promoting cultural institutions, Dan has been instrumental in fostering partnerships and promoting the Bay Area’s music and technological heritage. A longtime member of the Rotary Club of San Jose—one of the largest Rotary organizations globally—Dan’s network and influence extend across the region, enabling collaboration among diverse stakeholders.

Dan’s work includes directing marketing efforts for major South Bay music venues and festivals like the Montalvo Arts Center and the Mountain Winery, as well as promoting downtown San Jose as a destination for arts and culture and corporate headquarters during his tenure as the city’s Director of Marketing. His founding of San Jose Rocks in 2006 has underscored his commitment to spotlight the region’s contributions to music and innovation. Inspired by family ties to music—he is a cousin of legendary songwriter Bob Dylan and his father is a Nashville’s Harmony Hall of Fame inductee—Dan combines personal passion with professional expertise to celebrate the Bay Area’s unique cultural heritage.

Mark Purdy: Curating the Stories of a Landmark Moment

Mark Purdy, an award-winning journalist and four-decade Bay Area resident, is curating the stories surrounding the Grateful Dead’s historic first performance on South Fifth Street. During a 43-year career, Purdy worked as a reporter or columnist at San Jose Mercury News, Los Angeles Times, Cincinnati Enquirer, and Chicago Tribune. He earned recognition as one of America’s Top 10 sports columnists by the Associated Press and Wall Street Journal. In 2014, the California Newspaper Publishers Association honored him for writing the state’s best newspaper column.

Purdy’s job also brought him in contact with iconic cultural figures. One such memorable encounter involved Ken Kesey, the counterculture figure behind the “Acid Test” parties that inspired The Grateful Dead’s evolution. In 1985, Kesey—hired by the Mercury News to write a piece for the Super Bowl at Stanford Stadium—borrowed Purdy’s thesaurus and never returned it. The anecdote has become a lighthearted reminder of Purdy’s proximity to some of the Bay Area’s most transformative moments and personalities. When the Grateful Dead sang the national anthem before a 1993 San Francisco Giants baseball game, Purdy asked Jerry Garcia if he had played Little League baseball. Garcia said he’d instead preferred softball and considered himself a good softball pitcher. Since retiring in 2017, Purdy has taught journalism classes at San Jose State and worked on various writing projects, including several published articles about South Bay rock history.

A Unified Vision for the Dedication

Together, Purdy and Orloff form an effective team, combining Purdy’s storytelling expertise and historical curation with Orloff’s strategic leadership and community-building efforts. While Purdy curates the accounts and content that illuminate the significance of this landmark event, Orloff focuses on fostering partnerships and promoting the project’s broader cultural impact. Their shared vision is to honor The Grateful Dead’s transformative influence while honoring San Jose and Silicon Valley’s role in the remarkable saga of Northern California rock ‘n’ roll history.

The San Jose plaque dedication and celebration is not merely the recognition of a single performance. It is a salute to the greater Bay Area’s enduring legacy as a hub of musical innovation and cultural change. With Purdy and Orloff at the helm, this effort promises to resonate with generations to come, inspiring an appreciation for the region’s singular contributions to global music history

The San Jose plaque dedication and celebration is not merely the recognition of a single performance. It is a salute to the greater Bay Area’s enduring legacy as a hub of musical innovation and cultural change. With Purdy and Orloff at the helm, this effort promises to resonate with generations to come, inspiring an appreciation for the region’s singular contributions to global music history

Expanding Across the Bay Area

Every corner of the Bay Area has its own The Grateful Dead story and contributions to our musical legacy. San Jose Rocks will encourage communities across the region to contribute their stories, including:

  • Marin County: The Dead’s long-time home and creative hub.
  • San Francisco: The epicenter of their cultural revolution.
  • Santa Clara County: Home of their Palo Alto birthplace and their first performance as The Grateful Dead.
  • Alameda County: The backdrop to some of the band’s most iconic performances, from the Oakland Coliseum to Berkeley venues that shaped the Bay Area’s folk and rock scenes.
  • Santa Cruz County: Home of the acid tests that shaped their sound.
  • Sonoma & Napa Counties: Where the Dead’s music merged with wine country culture.
  • San Mateo County:  Spawning ground for band members and early performances of The Warlocks in Menlo Park before the group changed its name.
  • Contra Costa County: A lesser-known haven for hidden gems in the band’s history.
  • Solano County: Part of the extended Dead family circuit.
  • Monterey County: Site of the Monterey Pop Festival that amplified the Dead’s reach.

How You Can Get Involved

Coming soon!

  • Share Your Stories: Submit photos, memories, and connections to The Grateful Dead. In the meantime, share what you can via our Tell Us Your Story” link
  • Spread the Word: Share this webpage with fellow Deadheads and music lovers.
  • Follow Us: Stay updated by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
  • Sign Up for Updates: Subscribe to our email list for the latest news on activities in San Jose and around the Bay Area.

Looking Ahead

This initial celebration in San Jose marks the first step in building a platform, that could become The Bay Rocks, that connects the Bay Area’s music and cultural stories. Future phases will:

  • Expand digital storytelling across all eleven counties.
  • Develop educational programs highlighting the region’s musical and technological impact.
  • Collaborate with local organizations to preserve and share regional stories.

Whether you’re in Marin or Monterey, Oakland or San Jose, we invite you to join San Jose Rocks in celebrating how the Bay Area’s musical legacy continues to inspire. This isn’t just about revisiting the past—it’s about uncovering the connections that make our region unique and bringing them to life through cutting-edge technology and immersive experiences.

Save the Date:  December 4, 2025

Experience a milestone in music history. Together, let’s honor The Grateful Dead’s legacy and celebrate the Bay Area’s unparalleled cultural contributions.