December 2, 1966 Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley, CA: Country Joe and The Fish/Grateful Dead

This clipping from the December 1, 1966 San Francisco Chronicle reveals no new information about the Grateful Dead or their history, so strictly speaking it doesn't belong on my blog, but it cracks me up and its my blog.

The Chronicle, like most papers, used press clippings and photos sent in by promoters, agents or artists to fill space when they needed it. The blurb for this photo of Jerry Garcia and Pigpen was for the December 2, 1966 show at UC Berkeley's Pauley Ballroom in Sproul Plaza, and has the following text

FROM A JUG
Jerry Garcia, left, and Pig Pen are a special two fifths of the Grateful Dead, a blues rock band that will play a dance concert tomorrow night at the Pauley Ballroom, University of California. Garcia is the lead guitarist, Pen is lead singer and plays harmonica and organ. The group, which has been in existence for about 16 months, is one of the two most popular such organizations in the Bay Area. It evolved out of a jug band which included Garcia, Pen and Bob Weir, the Dead's rhythm guitarist. Phil Lest is the bassist and Bill Sommers is the drummer.

I wonder who wrote this? If the Dead are one of the two most popular such organizations in the Bay Area, who were the other? What falls under the category of "such organizations?"

Supposedly Bill Kreutzmann had a fake ID with the name "Bill Sommers," which is why his name sometimes appeared that way in early publicity. It may also be the reason that he is listed as "Bill The Drummer" on the back of the Dead's first album.