Friend of the Devil: My Wild Ride with Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead

The inside story of Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead from one of the few non-band members allowed in the band's inner circle: filmmaker, Len Dell'Amico. From 1980 to 1995, he witnessed brilliance, love, happy chaos, and pot. Lots of pot.

As a friend and a filmmaker, Len Dell’Amico was one of the few non-band members allowed into the inner circle of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, and he captured their lives for over 15 years. At a time of tremendous creative growth and record sales, Dell’Amico found himself at Garcia’s side as a trusted voice while Grateful Dead became a force in the 1980s. Using his skills as a multi-camera live video director, the band and Dell’Amico were able to create amazing concert films and music videos. Along the way, Jerry Garcia flashed his genius, eccentricity, generosity of spirit, and emotional depth through his music and relationships with the crew. Friend of the Devil is a rare look at Grateful Dead and how beloved Jerry Garcia was before he passed away at the age of 53.

Len Dell’Amico has spent his entire working life in the film and television business, editing, writing, but mainly directing and producing concert films and music videos with such artists as Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Hancock, the Allman Brothers Band, Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, Blues Traveler, The Neville Brothers, Carlos Santana, Reuben Blades, and Bonnie Raitt. 

He met Jerry Garcia in 1980, when he became Grateful Dead’s ‘video and film guy,’ and their friendship lasted for the rest of Garcia’s life.  In partnership with Garcia, they produced the historic first national pay-per-view broadcast in the USA, from Radio City Music Hall in New York in 1980, the best-selling award-winning home-video So Far in 1988, a series of ground-breaking live-concert broadcasts from 1987 to 1991, and two classic music videos, “Hell In A Bucket” and “Throwing Stones” to promote the band’s hit album In The Dark.

He currently lives in Fairfax, Marin County, California, where he continues to do free-lance screen-writing, producing, and directing, with a special interest in the environment and sustainability issues.

His most recent feature film is Welcome To Dopeland, currently streaming.

Web-site: lendellamico.com