Episode 16

This week,  we welcome Nordy (Tom Nordwall), author of the book, Tour Head and long time road runner!  Nordy was first introduced to The Grateful Dead in 1978, with their appearance on SNL.  It just happened to be the first time he smoked weed!  These events would help shape the next 40 years of Nordy’s extensive Dead tour experience, all through the 80’s and picking up again in the later years with The Other Ones, Further and Dead & Co.  He saw his first show in ‘81 and was on the bus until ‘88.  The scene on the lot in late 80’s eventually started getting darker and the vibe wasn’t the same and Nordy thought it was time to explore some other passions.  Afterall, there is a lot more to life than following The Dead around.

Snowboarding was starting to get big around this time and Nordy quickly became the man to  know on Mt. Hood.  While he would still catch west coast shows but he really focused on his new career and eventually became sponsored and later a professional snowboarder.  He often told stories about life on the road and the crazy psychedelic adventures with his friends and acquaintances.  Finally after being told he should write a book, he decided to do it!  With the help of his friends to piece together the years he was able to write an amazing, page turning book. We even discussed the chance of Bob Weir wearing a Poonslayer shirt and much much more!

To Learn more about Nordy here:

Website/Book https://deadtourhead.com/