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23-594: The first half of the album contains very early recording sessions by the New Riders. Some of the songs are performed by the original lineup of the band, which consisted of John "Marmaduke" Dawson , David Nelson , and three members of the Grateful Dead — Jerry Garcia , Phil Lesh , and Mickey Hart . The second half of the album contains experimental music created by David Nelson, called "The Backwards Tapes". The first four songs on Before Time Began are from

46-683: A developing village centered on the Millbrook stop. However, it was not until 1895 that Millbrook was incorporated as a village. Millbrook is the site of the Hitchcock Estate , which Timothy Leary made a nexus of the psychedelic movement in the 1960s and where he conducted research and wrote The Psychedelic Experience . Millbrook was also the location of the campus of the former Bennett College , which closed in 1978. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York operated St. Joseph's School in Millbrook which closed in 2013. Millbrook

69-592: A number of country rock songs, a development coinciding with Garcia's newfound interest in playing pedal steel guitar . Joined by Nelson, they formed the New Riders of the Purple Sage. The New Riders became the opening act for the Grateful Dead, and their original lineup included three Grateful Dead members — Garcia on pedal steel, Phil Lesh on bass, and Mickey Hart on drums. Within a year, Dave Torbert replaced Lesh and Spencer Dryden replaced Hart in

92-511: A succession of three bassists: Torbert, Skip Battin (best known for his work with the Clarence White -era Byrds ) and Roger McGuinn Band veteran Stephen A. Love . In 1982, David Nelson and Buddy Cage left the band. John Dawson and the New Riders carried on without them, taking on more of a bluegrass influence with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Rusty Gauthier and singer/guitarist Gary Vogensen ( https://garyvogensen.com ) to

115-647: Is a village in Dutchess County, New York , United States. Millbrook is located in the Hudson Valley , on the east side of the Hudson River, 90 miles (140 km) north of New York City . Millbrook is near the center of the town of Washington , of which it is a part. In the 2020 census, Millbrook's population was 1,455. It is often referred to as a low-key version of the Hamptons, and is one of

138-544: Is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ) (2.60%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,429 people, 678 households, and 361 families residing in the village. The population density was 764.3 inhabitants per square mile (295.1/km ). There were 744 housing units at an average density of 397.90 per square mile (153.63/km ). The racial makeup of the village was 95.90% white , 2.70% African American , 0.20% Asian , 0.30% from other races , and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.00% of

161-569: The Grateful Dead . Dawson was also heavily influenced by the Bakersfield sound genre of country music . After a stint at Occidental College , Dawson remained in the Los Angeles metropolitan area for several years. By 1969, Dawson had returned to Los Altos Hills to attend courses at Foothill College . Along with Nelson, he also contributed to the sessions for Aoxomoxoa , the Grateful Dead's third studio album. He also began to write

184-584: The Millbrook School near Millbrook, New York . While at Millbrook, he took courses in music theory and history and sang in the glee club. Dawson's musical career began in the mid-1960s folk music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area . There, he met fellow guitarist David Nelson , and was part of the rotating lineup of Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, a jug band that included Jerry Garcia and several other future members of

207-582: The New Riders lineup, with Garcia continuing to play in both bands. In 1970 and 1971, the New Riders and the Grateful Dead performed many concerts together. In November 1971, Buddy Cage replaced Jerry Garcia as the New Riders' pedal steel player, allowing NRPS to tour independently of the Dead. During this same period, Dawson continued to appear as a guest musician on Grateful Dead studio albums, including Workingman's Dead (1970) and American Beauty (1970). With Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter , he co-wrote

230-559: The New Riders' first studio session, at Pacific High Recording in San Francisco, California , in November 1969. This is the only known studio recording made by the band's original lineup. In the following two years, NRPS often performed as the opening act at Grateful Dead concerts. In 1970, Dave Torbert replaced Phil Lesh as the New Riders' bass player, and Spencer Dryden replaced Mickey Hart on drums . The next two songs on

253-648: The album are from an even earlier studio session, before the New Riders of the Purple Sage had formed. This session took place at Pacific Recording in San Mateo, California , on July 31, 1968. These tracks are credited to "Marmaduke and friends". According to the album liner notes, which were written by David Nelson, these are "two songs John [Dawson] cut in 1968 in San Mateo with the help of Garcia and some members of Doug Sahm 's group," indicating that Jerry Garcia plays pedal steel guitar on these tracks. Bob Matthews

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276-409: The average family size was 2.88. In the village, the population was spread out, with 21.0% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males. The median income for a household in the village

299-611: The group. NRPS continued to tour intermittently and released the occasional album. Then, in 1997, Dawson retired from the music business, moved to Mexico, and became an English teacher, and the New Riders disbanded. In 2005, David Nelson and Buddy Cage revived the New Riders of the Purple Sage, without Dawson's participation but with his agreement and moral support. Subsequently Dawson made several guest appearances at New Riders concerts. Dawson died in Mexico of stomach cancer on July 21, 2009. Millbrook, New York Millbrook

322-440: The mid 1980s. Nelson had become interested in speaking, singing, and playing music backwards, so that the lyrics and melody would be correct when the tape was played back in reverse. "The Backwards Tapes" were made using a multitrack analog tape recorder , and contain different combinations of tracks that were recorded backwards or forwards. In the album liner notes, Nelson explains this process, and also comments briefly on each of

345-601: The most affluent villages in New York. Millbrook is part of the Poughkeepsie – Newburgh – Middletown Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York – Newark – Bridgeport Combined Statistical Area . According to the United States Census Bureau , the village has a total area of 1.901 square miles (4.92 km ), of which 1.9 square miles (4.9 km )

368-406: The population. There were 678 households, out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.8% were non-families. 40.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and

391-484: The song " Friend of the Devil ". In the years that followed, Dawson and Nelson led a gradually evolving lineup of musicians in the New Riders of the Purple Sage, playing their psychedelic influenced brand of country rock and releasing a number of studio and live albums. Songwriting duties were generally divided between Dawson (who grew gradually less prolific before enjoying a resurgence on the band's final studio album) and

414-482: The songs. For example, "Deh Rominap" is an interpretation of the chorus of the New Riders' hit single "Panama Red", from their album The Adventures of Panama Red . Nelson recorded himself singing the words and playing the guitar backwards, to sound forwards when played back in reverse. The song "Deh Rominap" has three parts. First the tape recording is played backwards, sounding like the chorus of "Panama Red" performed forwards, but eerily and humorously distorted. Next

437-520: The tape recording is played forwards, so the listener hears Nelson's backwards performance. Finally the tape is played backwards again. The name of the song is a transcription of the phrase that Nelson found he had to sing to produce the words "Panama Red" when played back in reverse. Part 1 – Early New Riders Part 2 – The Backwards Tapes Tracks 1 – 4 Tracks 5 – 6 Tracks 7 – 12 John Dawson (musician) John Collins Dawson IV (June 16, 1945 – July 21, 2009), nicknamed " Marmaduke ",

460-528: The years before the American Revolution , two nearby settlements - Mechanic and Hart's Village - were established within the confines of the modern Millbrook. In 1869, the Dutchess and Columbia Railroad commenced operating with a stop called Millbrook, named after an adjacent farm. This new rail stop lay between Mechanic and Hart's Village and the economic opportunities it afforded soon led to

483-432: Was $ 68,552, and the median income for a family was $ 96,473. Males had a median income of $ 67,917 versus $ 57,400 for females. The per capita income for the village was $ 49,114. About 1.0% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over. The site of present-day Millbrook was originally part of a much larger land grant given in 1697. In

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506-705: Was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the leader and co-founder of the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage . He sang lead vocals on most of the band's songs. Dawson was born in Chicago . His family moved to California in 1952. The son of a Los Altos Hills, California , filmmaker, he took guitar lessons from a teacher and friend from the Peninsula School in Menlo Park, California . For high school he attended

529-405: Was the audio engineer at both studio sessions. Along with Betty Cantor , Matthews recorded many Grateful Dead concerts, and co-produced their albums Live/Dead and American Beauty . He also played bass at some early New Riders concerts when Phil Lesh was not available. The final six songs on Before Time Began are "The Backwards Tapes". This experimental music was recorded by David Nelson in

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