
Growing Up Dead
The Hallucinated Confessions of a Teenage Deadhead
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Chris Andrew Ciulla
-
By:
-
Peter Conners
About this listen
Told against the backdrop of the American landscape of the late '80s to the mid-'90s, Growing Up Dead is the story of Peter Conners's journey from straight-laced suburban kid to touring Deadhead. Peter discovered the Grateful Dead in 1985, at the age of 15, through friends who exchanged bootleg tapes of live Grateful Dead concerts. A teenager living in the suburbs of Rochester, New York, he became exposed to an entirely new way of life, and friends who were enjoying more freedom and less parental guidance. At the age of 16, he attended his first Grateful Dead concert on June 30, 1987 - he was hooked.
Between 1987 and 1995, Conners would attend Dead 'shows' all over the United States. He traveled with a makeshift 'family' of other Deadheads in a Volkswagen camper, selling drugs and whatever else would provide gas money to the next concert. His hair was a wild, unkempt bush and baths were infrequent. In short, he had progressed from suburban kid, to Grateful Dead fan, to full-blown Deadhead. Chronicling this progression, which culminates with the 1995 death of Jerry Garcia, Conners reveals the truth behind Deadhead culture and history. The result is a riveting insight into the obsessive fandom that made The Grateful Dead the most successful touring band of all time, as well as a cultural phenomenon.
©2009 Peter Conners (P)2014 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tom Wolfe - one of the 20th century’s foremost voices in cultural criticism - went from local news reporter to international icon in 1968, with the publication of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Now voiced with vivacity and vigor by Audible Hall of Fame narrator Luke Daniels, the non-fiction swan-dive delves into the world of hippies, hedonism, and everything in between.
-
-
Maybe it resonated with a different time and place
- By S. Phillips on 04-11-19
By: Tom Wolfe
-
No Simple Highway
- A Cultural History of the Grateful Dead
- By: Peter Richardson
- Narrated by: David Gans
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For almost three decades, the Grateful Dead was America's most popular touring band. No Simple Highway is the first book to ask the simple question of why - and attempt to answer it. Drawing on new research, interviews, and a fresh supply of material from the Grateful Dead archives, author Peter Richardson vividly recounts the Dead's colorful history, adding new insight into everything from the Acid Tests to the band's formation of their own record label to their massive late career success, while probing the riddle of the Dead's vast and durable appeal.
-
-
Best of the dead bios
- By Dan Fenyvesi on 03-09-22
By: Peter Richardson
-
Jerry on Jerry
- The Unpublished Jerry Garcia Interviews
- By: Dennis McNally - editor, Trixie Garcia - foreword
- Narrated by: Jerry Garcia
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These never-before-published interviews with Jerry Garcia reveal his thoughts on religion, politics, his personal life, and his creative process. Jerry on Jerry provides new insight into the beloved frontman of the Grateful Dead in time for the 50th Anniversary of the band. Released by the Jerry Garcia family and made available to the public for the first time, these are some of the most candid, intimate interviews with Jerry Garcia ever published.
-
-
JG dominates the rap, jack, with much new to give
- By gallegos on 01-27-16
By: Dennis McNally - editor, and others
-
Searching for the Sound
- My Life with the Grateful Dead
- By: Phil Lesh
- Narrated by: Phil Lesh
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Phil Lesh first met Jerry Garcia in 1959 in the clubs of Palo Alto, California. At Garcia's suggestion, Lesh learned to play the electric bass and joined him in a new group that blended R&B, country, and rock 'n' roll with an experimental fervor never before heard.
-
-
Searching for the Sound
- By Brad Zerkel on 04-29-05
By: Phil Lesh
-
Deadheads
- Stories from Fellow Artists, Friends & Followers of the Grateful Dead
- By: Linda Kelly
- Narrated by: Gwen Hughes, Jamie Renell
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just what was it about the Grateful Dead that made them rock and roll's most beloved band? In Deadheads, those with the real story, who were there and are still listening to the music, explain it all. Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow talks about his lifelong friendship with Dead guitarist Bob Weir. Cajun chef Rick Begneaud shares his memories of feeding the Dead. John Popper of Blues Traveler recalls playing with the Dead at Bill Graham's memorial tribute .
-
-
A great read.
- By David Brancolini on 06-28-17
By: Linda Kelly
-
Home Before Daylight
- My Life on the Road with the Grateful Dead
- By: Steve Parish, Joe Layden - contributor, Bob Weir - foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steve Parish was never one to walk the straight-and-narrow, even during his childhood growing up in Flushing Meadow, Queens. Busted as a teenager for selling acid in the summer of 1968, Parish landed in Riker's Island. The experience changed him, and after getting out, he did his best to stay out of trouble, securing a job moving music equipment at the New York State Pavilion. The first show he worked was a Grateful Dead concert in July of 1969, and Parish was captivated by the music. A life seemingly headed nowhere had suddenly found its calling.
-
-
Narrator-Blaa
- By MORGAN NOTEL on 10-06-19
By: Steve Parish, and others
-
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tom Wolfe - one of the 20th century’s foremost voices in cultural criticism - went from local news reporter to international icon in 1968, with the publication of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Now voiced with vivacity and vigor by Audible Hall of Fame narrator Luke Daniels, the non-fiction swan-dive delves into the world of hippies, hedonism, and everything in between.
-
-
Maybe it resonated with a different time and place
- By S. Phillips on 04-11-19
By: Tom Wolfe
-
No Simple Highway
- A Cultural History of the Grateful Dead
- By: Peter Richardson
- Narrated by: David Gans
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For almost three decades, the Grateful Dead was America's most popular touring band. No Simple Highway is the first book to ask the simple question of why - and attempt to answer it. Drawing on new research, interviews, and a fresh supply of material from the Grateful Dead archives, author Peter Richardson vividly recounts the Dead's colorful history, adding new insight into everything from the Acid Tests to the band's formation of their own record label to their massive late career success, while probing the riddle of the Dead's vast and durable appeal.
-
-
Best of the dead bios
- By Dan Fenyvesi on 03-09-22
By: Peter Richardson
-
Jerry on Jerry
- The Unpublished Jerry Garcia Interviews
- By: Dennis McNally - editor, Trixie Garcia - foreword
- Narrated by: Jerry Garcia
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These never-before-published interviews with Jerry Garcia reveal his thoughts on religion, politics, his personal life, and his creative process. Jerry on Jerry provides new insight into the beloved frontman of the Grateful Dead in time for the 50th Anniversary of the band. Released by the Jerry Garcia family and made available to the public for the first time, these are some of the most candid, intimate interviews with Jerry Garcia ever published.
-
-
JG dominates the rap, jack, with much new to give
- By gallegos on 01-27-16
By: Dennis McNally - editor, and others
-
Searching for the Sound
- My Life with the Grateful Dead
- By: Phil Lesh
- Narrated by: Phil Lesh
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Phil Lesh first met Jerry Garcia in 1959 in the clubs of Palo Alto, California. At Garcia's suggestion, Lesh learned to play the electric bass and joined him in a new group that blended R&B, country, and rock 'n' roll with an experimental fervor never before heard.
-
-
Searching for the Sound
- By Brad Zerkel on 04-29-05
By: Phil Lesh
-
Deadheads
- Stories from Fellow Artists, Friends & Followers of the Grateful Dead
- By: Linda Kelly
- Narrated by: Gwen Hughes, Jamie Renell
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just what was it about the Grateful Dead that made them rock and roll's most beloved band? In Deadheads, those with the real story, who were there and are still listening to the music, explain it all. Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow talks about his lifelong friendship with Dead guitarist Bob Weir. Cajun chef Rick Begneaud shares his memories of feeding the Dead. John Popper of Blues Traveler recalls playing with the Dead at Bill Graham's memorial tribute .
-
-
A great read.
- By David Brancolini on 06-28-17
By: Linda Kelly
-
Home Before Daylight
- My Life on the Road with the Grateful Dead
- By: Steve Parish, Joe Layden - contributor, Bob Weir - foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steve Parish was never one to walk the straight-and-narrow, even during his childhood growing up in Flushing Meadow, Queens. Busted as a teenager for selling acid in the summer of 1968, Parish landed in Riker's Island. The experience changed him, and after getting out, he did his best to stay out of trouble, securing a job moving music equipment at the New York State Pavilion. The first show he worked was a Grateful Dead concert in July of 1969, and Parish was captivated by the music. A life seemingly headed nowhere had suddenly found its calling.
-
-
Narrator-Blaa
- By MORGAN NOTEL on 10-06-19
By: Steve Parish, and others
-
This Is All a Dream We Dreamed
- An Oral History of the Grateful Dead
- By: Blair Jackson, David Gans
- Narrated by: Holter Graham, Fred Berman, Oliver Wyman, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In This Is All a Dream We Dreamed, two of the most well-respected chroniclers of the Dead, Blair Jackson and David Gans, reveal the band's story through the words of its members, their creative collaborators and peers, and a number of diverse fans, stitching together a multitude of voices into a seamless oral tapestry. Capturing the ebullient spirit at the group's core, Jackson and Gans weave together a musical saga that examines the music and subculture that developed into its own economy, touching fans from all walks of life.
-
-
Really Good. Gave me a new appreciation for band.
- By Headhunter on 01-08-16
By: Blair Jackson, and others
-
Deal
- My Three Decades of Drumming, Dreams, and Drugs with the Grateful Dead
- By: Bill Kreutzmann, Benjy Eisen
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On their 50th anniversary comes a groundbreaking rock-and-roll memoir by one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead are perhaps the most legendary American rock band of all time. For 30 years, beginning in the hippie scene of San Francisco in 1965, they were a musical institution, the original jam band that broke new ground in so many ways.
-
-
Decent but not great
- By Monty S on 03-02-16
By: Bill Kreutzmann, and others
-
Bear
- The Life and Times of Augustus Owsley Stanley III
- By: Robert Greenfield
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The creator of the dancing bear logo and designer of the Wall of Sound for the Grateful Dead, Augustus Owsley Stanley III, better known by his nickname, Bear, was one of the most iconic figures in the cultural revolution that changed both America and the world during the 1960s. Owsley's high octane rocket fuel enabled Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters to put on the Acid Tests. It also powered much of what happened on stage at Monterey Pop.
-
-
wow
- By Brian Harnois on 10-12-20
-
Beastie Boys Book
- By: Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz
- Narrated by: Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz, various
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A panoramic experience that tells the story of Beastie Boys, a book as unique as the band itself - by band members ADROCK and Mike D, with contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more.
-
-
License to Listen - The Illest Communication
- By J. Combs on 12-12-18
By: Michael Diamond, and others
-
Born to Run
- By: Bruce Springsteen
- Narrated by: Bruce Springsteen
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl's halftime show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That's how this extraordinary autobiography began. Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life, bringing to this audio the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his songs.
-
-
Me Springsteen's book moved me beyond words...
- By Ellen O'Brien on 12-12-16
-
Life
- By: Keith Richards, James Fox
- Narrated by: Johnny Depp, Joe Hurley
- Length: 23 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Now at last Keith Richards pauses to tell his story in the most anticipated autobiography in decades. And what a story! Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records in a coldwater flat with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, building a sound and a band out of music they loved. Finding fame and success as a bad-boy band, only to find themselves challenged by authorities everywhere....
-
-
Ins and outs
- By Jesse on 11-07-10
By: Keith Richards, and others
-
Scar Tissue
- By: Anthony Kiedis, Larry Sloman
- Narrated by: Rider Strong
- Length: 14 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As lead singer and songwriter for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis has lived life on the razor's edge. Much has been written about him, but until now we've only had his songs as clues to his experience from the inside. In Scar Tissue, Kiedis proves himself to be as compelling a memoirist as he is a lyricist, giving us a searingly honest account of the life from which his music has evolved.
-
-
Not A Favorite
- By The Kruels on 08-16-11
By: Anthony Kiedis, and others
-
NOFX
- The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories
- By: NOFX, Jeff Alulis
- Narrated by: NOFX, Jello Biafra, Tommy Chong
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories is the first tell-all autobiography from one of the world's most influential and controversial punk bands. Fans and non-fans alike will be shocked by the stories of murder, suicide, addiction, counterfeiting, riots, bondage, terminal illness, the Yakuza, and drinking pee. Told from the perspective of each of the band's members, this audiobook looks back at more than 30 years of comedy, tragedy, and completely inexplicable success.
-
-
*%#!
- By Jonas on 10-10-16
By: NOFX, and others
-
Some New Kind of Kick
- A Memoir
- By: Kid Congo Powers, Chris Campion - contributor
- Narrated by: Kid Congo Powers, Raphael Corkhill
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kid Congo Powers has been described as a “legendary guitarist and paragon of cool” with “the greatest resume ever of anyone in rock music." That unique imprint on rock history stems from being a member of not one but three beloved, groundbreaking, and influential groups—Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the Cramps, and last but not least, The Gun Club, the wildly inventive punk-blues band he co-founded. Some New Kind of Kick begins as an intimate coming-of-age tale.
-
-
A queer Latino punk rocker memoir
- By Armando on 02-18-25
By: Kid Congo Powers, and others
-
It's So Easy
- And Other Lies
- By: Duff McKagan
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1984, at the age of 20, Duff McKagan left his native Seattle - partly to pursue music, but mainly to get away from a host of heroin overdoses then-decimating his closest group of friends in the local punk scene. In LA only a few weeks and still living in his car, he answered a want ad for a bass player placed by someone who identified himself only as "Slash." Soon after, the most dangerous band in the world was born. Guns N' Roses went on to sell more than 100 million albums worldwide.
-
-
This book just may save a life.
- By Katrina Hamilton on 10-16-16
By: Duff McKagan
-
Reckless
- My Life as a Pretender
- By: Chrissie Hynde
- Narrated by: Rosanna Arquette, Chrissie Hynde
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chrissie Hynde, the songwriter and front woman of The Pretenders in its various incarnations, has for 35 years been one of the most admired and adored and imitated figures in rock. This long-awaited memoir tells her life story in full and utterly fascinating detail, from her all-American Ohio '50s childhood to her classic baby-boomer seduction by the rock of the '60s to her sojourn in the crucible of punk that was '70s London to her instant emergence with her band, The Pretenders, in 1980 into stardom as a frontwoman and songwriter.
-
-
Too long to get to The Pretenders...
- By Greg on 04-20-16
By: Chrissie Hynde
-
A Long Strange Trip
- The Inside History of the Grateful Dead
- By: Dennis McNally
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 29 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 1965 to 1995, the Grateful Dead flourished as one of the most beloved, unusual, and accomplished musical entities to ever grace American culture. The creative synchronicity among Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan exploded out of the early 60s roots and folk scene, providing the soundtrack for the Dionysian revels of the counterculture. Dennis McNally, the band's historian and publicist for more than 20 years, takes listeners back through the Dead's history.
-
-
Amazing story!
- By Michael Knoll on 11-04-18
By: Dennis McNally
What listeners say about Growing Up Dead
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jonathan
- 05-29-23
I lived this too!
I am the same age and did all the things this guy did following the dead - great nostalgia story and was great listen - loved the book!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!