[dorrcoq]

This was posted on tapersection

Dear taper friends,
I thought you might like to know more about George (aka Perks) the man I love dearly and was a friend to many of you.

We met at the Bill Frisell late show at the Dakota on July 8, 2014. We sat across from each other at table 210. I was intrigued that someone would wear a hat indoors on a warm summer night, but ever so grateful he was quiet during the show. That night we talked about jazz and the Grateful Dead, closing the tavern across the street at 1 am. Our first date was at Studio Z, in St. Paul, on Jan 10, 2015. I knew nothing about taping, so imagine my surprise when after the show, one of George’s friends came up to me and said “He must really like you. He did not tape tonight!” In time I’ve learn quite a bit about the art and science of taping, and got accolades for blocking well. The first show I contributed to was at the House of Blues (2015 NOLA). George and I attended hundreds of shows and all but 2 or 3 were recorded.

After a show we would record notes about the evening, and at the end, George would say “recorded with peace and love by Perks and Anca” and I would say “good night everyone”. George taught me that “real tapers” listen to the recording on the way home, and so we did, especially on long drives like the one after the Alpine Valley shows (Dead & Co). George would nearly always download the recoding as soon as we got home and work on it the day after. He was meticulous about his notes and was grateful to the ones among you that helped identify the names of the songs. We plan on making all his recordings available. Stay tuned.

Over the years, we met some of you privately, and some at venues around the country. I felt privileged to have insight into your secret society, and immensely happy to know that you help document the fleeting and magic moments of art. I got my taper hat in Detroit and wore it sometimes, just to match George’s look.

George made time to join me for movies, dance, opera, and theater performances. We traveled a lot and travelled well together. He was a very good skater, and we skated lots on the frozen lakes of Minneapolis. He learned to kayak and loved it, so we would arrange for kayaking adventures wherever we went. He loved to ride his bike and was riding for smiles, not miles . George loved to make people happy. He was thoughtful, kind, and gentle. George was a huge deadhead, went on tour to see them for years, and had attended more than 300 shows. I never tired listening to his stories from the tour. We attended all 3 Fare Thee Well shows in Chicago (July 2015, not in the tapers’ section), and collected books, movies, and records.

George had a full life despite his health challenges. In the past two years his health had ups and downs, and on Jan 6, 2021 things turned for the worse. George passed peacefully on Jan 11, 2021, with me by his side and Jerry Garcia playing George’s favorite tune - Uncle John’s Band.
I would love to hear your stories about Perks. Please email me at [email protected]. Photos of George are now posted on my face book page (Anca Bejan). The page will remain open access for the month of January.

We plan to have a few events to celebrate his life, and I will share more when we can.

Peace and love,
Anca