In 1972, Deb was living in New York City. She brought a broken transistor radio into
a repair shop one day and met a kind stranger (Bear, a soundman for a rock band) who
offered to try to fix it. He did, and mentioned that he worked for a rock and roll
band. Since that band was playing a few local shows he asked if she'd like to go.
That band was the Grateful Dead and soon after Deb left the east coast for the Bay
Area. For several years she did some office work for the band, and later moved to
Eugene in 1983.
In 1986, the original Dead Air radio show in
Garberville, CA, had to go off the air. This was the brainchild of Grateful Dead
soundman Dan Healy, studio producer and concert sound mixer, whose board tapes
were the core of its programming. Dan offered Deb the name of his show to carry on
the tradition. She got in touch with a favorite radio station and mentioned her
collection of quality soundboard recordings of the Grateful Dead... and the rest is
history. After being on and off several commercial stations in the Eugene area, Dead
Air found a home on KLCC in 1991. The Guardians of the Vault have faithfully added
to her tape collection over the years and the privileged access she enjoys is
reflected in the quality of her show.
The Dead's music goes anywhere and everywhere including rock, folk, blues, jazz,
world, contemporary, and improvisational. On Dead Air, Deb plays obscure, rare,
and excellent selections from the band's 30 year history. She accommodates
listener requests whenever possible and sometimes focuses the show on a special
tribute or theme. Her philosophy is "more music, less rap" and she lets the music
speak for itself. [Photo credits: unknown]
Whatever happened to Debbie Stern? Deb attended CLS in 1968 and would have graduated
the following year had she returned to the school. Above is a recent photo of Deb.