[upbeat music]
[wind howling]
[man 1] Dreams are funny,
aren't they?
Some are good, some are bad,
some replay the past,
but some give us what you need
to move forward in life.
It was the last type of dream
I had on the anniversary
of my mother passing,
the dream of my next
Kenny Royce on the Scene story.
This dream was full
of happy people,
dancing like
no one was watching,
like my mom.
[projector whirring]
[man 1] At her wake, they showed
footage of her dancing,
and the image of her living free
kept playing on a loop
over the words
my stepdad Zeke said.
My mom always said
that living her days
as a Deadhead were the best days
of her life.
I remember
ever since I was a kid,
she told me stories
of how the Deadheads lived.
[man 1] Deadheads were
a mobile tribe of people
who lived on the land
guided by their own rules
and followed
the Grateful Dead incessantly.
Year after year,
selling their wares to survive
just to see another show.
They were folk in search
of something beyond themselves
that they found
in music and in lyrics,
so they created their own world
to be part of it.
I dreamt of being there
amongst the people,
living that life
of music and travel.
This was it!
This was the story I needed
to tell the world.
This was my next
Kenny Royce on the Scene,
but bigger.
A big-scene journal
showing life as a Deadhead,
walking in my mother's
footsteps across the USA.
[vehicle whooshing]
[man 1] So when Dead & Company
announced
this was the last time
they were going on tour,
I felt this was my last chance
to be on the scene.
Hi, this is
Kenny Royce on the Scene.
What is going on
with these f*cking birds?
[birds chirping]
[Kenny] That's what I do.
I film stories on location
as I see them.
I've done a ton of stories,
filmed on my phone,
put up on the internet,
but this dream was different.
It wasn't about
bad housing conditions
or how to never judge a taco
by its price.
It was about living
my mom's dream
and living the human experience
in the world of the Dead,
to find the real story
behind these fans
and their way of life.
[upbeat music]
Taco price unfair now
It's Kenny Royce
on the Scene
Birds up in your head now,
now
Kenny Royce on the Scene
I'll take it
to the next level
'Cause I got a big dream
That my mama gave me now
Yeah,
this is My Dead Summer
So come on along with Kenny
Royce on the Scene, yeah
Ha, ha, it's Kenny Rodgers
Royce, y'all
Come on,
it's My Dead Summer
Everybody now,
My Dead Summer
Oh, My Dead Summer
My Dead Summer
[Kenny] My first day on tour
with Dead & Company
is in my hometown
of Los Angeles.
After the last four LA shows
in December of 1994,
my mother hung up
her dancing Dead shoes
and decided to settle down
to raise me
in the City of Angels.
She said it was perfect timing
since she was about to pop
and the tour
was on its last leg.
She named me
Kenny Rodgers Royce.
Kenny Rodgers, thinking
its gambling spirit
might give me
a little luck in life.
My last name Royce
is after my father,
whom my mom met
on the Dead tour.
She said that they always
did it in a Rolls-Royce,
but couldn't be certain.
[projector whirring]
We're on the scene,
and we are going to see LA Dead.
I decided to leave
our production dog, Lily Pad,
at home for the first two shows
so I can really immerse myself
in the Dead culture.
So I ventured out
with my small film crew.
Now, they didn't wanna use
their real names,
I don't know why,
but I got around to calling them
Defer 1 and Defer 2.
They're called Defer
because they'll work
for deferred pay.
It's basically a fancy way
of saying
that they'll get paid later
on a release date.
It's a complicated
movie business thing,
but they're very still much
professional, though.
Can you open the f*cking door
for me, please?
[upbeat music]
On the Scene with Kenny Royce.
[indistinct speech]
This is Kenny Royce.
Kenny Royce, this is
On the Scene.
This is, uh...
This is LA.
This is-- this is--
this is Dead & Company.
Most amazing thing I think
that I've ever put myself into.
Let's walk around.
What is up with the...
What is up with these balloons?
[indistinct chatter]
How you guys doin'?
[woman 1] Huh?
I-- I said I-- I was asking
how you guys are doing.
From there, it was time
to head to a place
they call Shakedown Street,
the main Deadhead hangout.
[upbeat music]
[indistinct chatter]
This is essentially
what Shakedown Street
is all about.
Everybody sells merchandise,
a lot of balloons
that are happening.
Just when you see somebody
with this,
it means, um,
they need a ticket.
As I walked through
the sea of people,
I felt like Odysseus
on his journey in The Odyssey.
-[man 2] Yeah?
-Like--
[man 2] yeah, yeah,
it's like a-- like an oat bar
kind of a thing,
and then it's got weed in it.
Oh, yeah?
[man 2] Yeah. It's a good ball.
It's oat cheese on it.
So, o-- it's o-- it's o--
[man 2] These guys are making
[overlapping speech]
Where-- where-- where--
where are these guys--
-Where are these guys set up?
-[man 2] Right here.
He's making grilled cheese
and then sh*t.
Oh, oh, this-- that--
that guy right there?
[man 2] Yeah, yeah.
Thank-- thank you, guys.
Thank you, guys.
Uh, my name is Kenny.
[Mitch] Kenny, Mitch.
Nice to meet you.
Mi-- Mitch. Mitch.
-[Mitch] Yeah.
-Thank you.
[Mitch] Have a great concert.
I do-- I-- what do you think--
What do you think
they're gonna open with?
-Probably-- is that-- is that...
-[Kenny] [indistinct speech]
-No, yeah.
-Same, same.
I think they're gonna open up--
West LA
[together] Fadeaway
Doo, doo, doo
That's what I'd like to see.
Hey, have a good show.
Check the band out.
[Kenny] And just as he was drawn
to the singing of the sirens,
I, too, was mesmerized
by the lost cacophony of music,
chatter,
popping balloons,
and nitrous hiss.
Whip it, whip it, whip it.
[Kenny] I stopped to think
about what it would be like
for my mom, as she lived
her life as a Deadhead.
[Kenny] What do you do?
Well, I was here, and 'cause
I wasn't selling nitrous--
-[indistinct speech]
-They made me go in my car.
[Kenny] Okay.
[overlapping speech]
So that's like-- uh-oh.
Uh, they are--
they're gonna be here.
We are filming.
Uh, so but, Melanie,
tell me about--
Melanie?
Tell me about...
My name's not Melanie.
Oh, it's not Melanie?
[Ellen] Ellen.
Ellen. It's, uh, uh, Ellen.
-So, Ellen--
-[Ellen] Wait.
Ellen is selling
Morning Dew candles.
And with a-- and with a--
Dot com.
[laughs]
-With, um, dot com. It's a--
-My favorite song.
Is it?
So I just photocopied
all my tickets,
'cause over the years,
I just had, like, a box
I'd, like,
throw all my tickets in.
But you can open this up
and put your own ticket
in there.
-So-- so you are a big fan?
-Oh, yeah.
What is your favorite song?
All right. Oh, Morning Dew, man!
-Okay. I-- I-- I--
-Look at that!
I-- I-- I-- I-- I-- I-- I-- I--
Hearing Melanie's love
of the Dead
and seeing her make crafts
of her long experiences
on the tour was an inspiration.
[indistinct chatter]
[woman 2] Oh,
is that [indistinct speech]
[Kenny] Wait, an engine.
[overlapping speech]
[woman 2] Priorities.
We don't need an engine.
We need a cooler.
It's my first, uh, Dead show,
but this thing is a--
-[woman 3] Oh, what?
-[woman 2] Are you serious?
It's is, yeah.
[woman 3] Wait, where'd you get
the cool shirt?
-[woman 2] Awesome.
-It's-- I...
Well, I-- I put it out
'cause almost-- 'cause, like,
I wanna be almost like a--
like--
[woman 2] Yeah, you want to
fit in, like--
-Yeah, I know the feeling.
-[woman 2] Right.
[woman 2] Do you want a snack?
-Well, what-- what are you--
-[woman 2] I mean.
[Kenny] As I enjoyed the--
the satur-- shatir
or sh-- shattery,
the grace and such
with these kind people,
I realized Deadheads
now and then
have the same giving spirit.
I feel like a sponge,
soaking in the spirits
of a legacy from generations
both new and old.
[woman 2] So this is
your first show?
Yeah.
[woman 2] Are you ready to
not sit down for three hours?
Like, the whole entire place
will be on their feet.
The whole entire place.
[Kenny] As these fancy Deadheads
continued to give me
show advice,
the weed cookie
that I ingested earlier
began to take hold.
[trippy music]
[woman 2] Straight hour.
And you don't sit down
for three straight hours.
Don't sit down.
Three straight hours.
You don't sit down.
You don't sit down at all?
-[woman 2] No.
-Well--
[woman 2] Especially not
during Drums and Space.
Well, I had-- I had about
10% fear before I was--
I was going into this,
and 90-- 90% excitement.
What you just said,
I think I now have, like,
30-- 30% fear.
-[overlapping conversation]
-[chuckles]
[woman 2] You're about to
go hard.
[Kenny] With the fancy Deadheads
warning echoing in my mind,
I bought some merchandise
from a roving vendor,
took a pee, and went
to my first Dead & Co. show.
Unfortunately, Defer 1 and 2
weren't allowed in the venue
because of their cameras,
but I took footage from inside
using my phone.
[trippy music]
[Kenny] As you can see,
the weed cookie
really took a toll on me,
but it was a good show, I think,
from what I remember.
Thank God, there's a day two.
[rock music]
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] After last night's show,
my body and legs were aching
like never before.
I unfortunately forgot
to set an alarm,
and instead of waking me up,
Defer 1 and Defer 2
went and got coffee.
We were running late,
and Shakedown Street
waits for no one.
Let's go. Let's roll.
Let's roll.
We arrived downtown late.
Traffic in Los Angeles
can be unpredictable,
and when we got to the lot,
fog was engulfing the area.
The day itself felt ominous.
You can't get good sound
here in LA
because we're-- we're
right over LAX,
so it's-- like, it's close.
It is, and, um, it's--
Hey, everybody.
How're we doing?
[woman 4] Yeah.
-Hey.
-[woman 4] Good.
Have a good journey.
Same-- same to you.
It felt like something
special was gonna happen,
and after yesterday,
I wanted to stay sober
for this show.
I met up with a couple
of friends
I had made the night before.
This is my friend Gary,
and Gary is a--
He's a solid Deadhead.
A not too uncommon occurrence
at shows on a tour
is running into somebody
that you saw the night before.
And just like coworkers
at a water cooler,
you'll often find yourself
going over the set list
or talking about a song.
That's really what I'm enjoying
about this community,
seeing the people
and seeing how the music
makes them feel.
During our embrace,
Gary just offered me
more Orange Sunshine.
For those who don't know,
Orange Sunshine is
lysergic acid diethylamide,
or LSD.
Created by a Swiss chemist
who accidentally ate some
himself,
years later it would even be
administered by the government
to experiment on prisoners
at Alcatraz.
But ultimately, it became
a popular drug choice
for its psychedelic effects,
which explains a lot more
about my behavior
after last night's show.
I politely declined
Gary's offer,
and as I continued
to hear him talk
about the stuff
I don't remember from yesterday,
that's when I saw her.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] She was a free spirit,
just dancing.
She reminded me of my mom.
And like a force of nature,
with every twirl on the asphalt,
she just drew me in closer,
and I knew that I just had
to talk to her.
What's your name?
I'm Fiona.
-[Kenny] Hi, Fiona.
I'm-- I'm-- I'm--
I'm-- my-- my-- my--
My-- I-- I'm...
Um, um, uh, okay-- I-- my-- my--
um, okay, okay, uh, okay, okay.
Time just stopped.
My lips might have been moving,
and we might have been having
a conversation,
but I don't remember a word
that I said
or a word that she said
after her name, Fiona.
And the name just kept echoing
in my head, Fiona.
And as I stared at her as if
she were a Greek goddess,
and how could she not be
with that name, Fiona,
I didn't even hear the planes
that were screeching
over our heads anymore.
I didn't feel sober.
Maybe it was the effects
of last night's weed cookie
and Gary's LSD,
but I had this sudden rush
of euphoria over my body
and over my head.
I wasn't the composed
documentarian that I had been.
And then I heard something
like, "Let's dance."
As I danced with Fiona,
the sh**ting pain from my leg
smashed me back to present time
and reminded me
to focus on the interview
and ask her
what brought her on the tour.
[Fiona]
Lost?
Right here.
[Kenny] After talking
and dancing with Fiona,
I could see the magic
this gathering of people
brings to all those who attend.
Connection,
deep and real connections,
something that we all
long for every day,
these Deadheads had found.
I'm excited to find out more.
So before I went into the show,
I stopped to talk
to a group of Deadheads that
were looking for a miracle.
So it's not a miracle,
it's a-- it's-- it's--
-[woman 4] It's a weiracle!
-It's a-- it's a weiracle.
So you guys
are looking for a weiracle?
-[woman 4] Yes.
-Yeah!
[Kenny] Oh, my God,
that's incredible!
And it's our first show.
My first time ever being here.
All right, but my first show
was last night, and, uh--
-Oh, my God!
-Yeah, no, no, so...
And, like, I do, I have--
I have-- I have--
[Kenny] A miracle is hoping
to get tickets
to a sold-out show.
It's a person's last chance
to be part
of that night's experience.
So-- and, like, I do, I have--
I have--
I have some cameras
here with me,
because I'm documenting it all,
and it's-- and it is, like--
-[woman 4] That's amazing.
-Yeah, yeah.
And so we're, like, it's--
it's awesome.
-I think that is badass.
-[woman 4] Thank you.
I think it is. All right.
Well, I don't wanna keep you
from the-- the-- the--
The weiracle.
-So, like, we'll--
-Wait, wait.
All right, okay.
[Kenny] As we were talking,
an official from the tour
gave them their miracle,
free tickets.
Unfortunately, the official
also gave me something as well.
A free trip
right out of there!
A warning that I had to leave
the lot,
because I lacked the permits
to film,
another complicated
movie business thing.
[Defer 2] It's, uh, it's- it's--
g*dd*mn f*cking rain!
And like Icarus,
who flew too close to the sun,
my wings were melted,
and I fell to the earth.
God, f*cking cut.
f*cking cut!
I'm f*cking done.
I just-- I need a--
I need a f*cking break.
Not to be deterred,
I bought Defer 1 and 2
bacon-wrapped hot dogs
an LA street cart delicacy,
and I called the only person
I knew that could figure out
this permit problem
and get me back on the tour.
Has you or a loved one
been injured
while acting in an adult film?
[rock music]
[Kenny] My stepdad/lawyer,
Zeke.
No one answered,
so I left a message
that Lily Pad and I
were coming to his office.
Hey, Zeke?
Zeke!
Zeke?
-[Kenny] Zeke.
-[Zeke] f*ck! What the f*ck?
There you go!
[Kenny] Man, what the hell,
Zeke?
I'm havin' a burger social!
Get the f*ck out of here!
[Kenny] What the f*ck
is a burger social?
Get out!
[Kenny] Ze-- I-- Zeke, Zeke,
they tried shutting me down.
They tried shutting down
my phone.
What are you doing in here?
Well, this is-- this is my crew.
This is-- these are the guys.
I was explaining Zeke
what happened on the lot.
The lack of permits
and getting kicked off the tour.
He was as angry as I was.
Oh, hi-- hi-- hi, Monica.
-[Kenny] Hi!
-Hi, how are you?
I lost my phone.
You wanna help her look
for her phone or what?
Uh, uh, I'll-- I'll help her
look for the phone.
[Zeke] Where are your ba*ls,
Kenny?
Why didn't you say,
"I'm here to film
my f*ck' film, all right?"
They never had
any f*ck' permits back then.
How many videos went
from one person to another, huh?
Did they have f*ck' permits?
-I-- I-- I--
-Did they have permits?
They didn't have permits.
Which is why I'm coming
with you on the tour.
I'll have the permits,
and I'll have your back.
I can see that.
You-- you want some?
[Kenny] As you can see,
Zeke is kind of an intense guy,
but he's always had my back,
and I feel pretty good
about that,
knowing that Phoenix
is the next stop on our tour.
What are you doing?
[Defer 1] Uh, we're
[overlapping speech]
Let's go.
Monica needs a break. Come on.
[Defer 1] Oh, yeah.
[Kenny] My mom always referred
to her time in Arizona
as being saved by
the trip sherpa of Scottsdale.
How the story goes is that
she was unknowingly
a few weeks pregnant with me
when she took a huge toke off
of a nitrous balloon
and passed out into the arms
of this tall, goofy dude.
It was Zeke.
Mom always said that the comfort
and caring she felt in his arms
would make him the best
trip sherpa for us.
g*dd*mn it!
[sighs]
[Zeke] Get in the f*cking car
in five minutes.
I need
my 15 minutes to get ready.
[Zeke] Five minutes!
[Kenny] I wanna get back
to the people, talk to them.
I feel like I've just scratched
the surface with my interviews,
and I feel myself
longing for more.
And maybe there's a chance
I meet up with Fiona.
I hope.
I decided to bring Lily Pad
on this trip as well.
Zeke will be on the road
for a few weeks.
And I didn't find it prudent
to let her live on her own.
I asked Defer 2 if he wanted
to stay behind
to watch him feed Lily Pad,
but he said he didn't dog-sit
for deferred payment.
So with that, we hit the road.
What are you doin'?
Other side!
[Kenny] Me
and my stepdad tour sherpa.
[rock music]
Late 2017, I finally just
Completely came off
my hardcore meds.
Morphine, Vicodin, fentanyl.
Almost k*lled myself.
Touched it with my fingertips.
Methadone, Suboxones.
Ever since then,
I wheeze when I laugh,
which is why I only do
recreational drugs now,
from nature.
Jesus, Zeke,
I didn't realize
you were that bad.
[Zeke] Bad?
What do you mean, bad?
You like that?
[man 3] I do.
Uh-huh.
Zeke, do you have a--
do you have a--
Um, a-- a q-- a quarter?
I don't have a quarter.
-Yeah.
-[Zeke] Just take a sh*t there.
Look, like-- it's like somebody
already did.
Listen, I'll hold it in.
I'm gonna hold it in, okay?
Road trips with a parent
is like cuddling
with an older cat.
They're super cuddly,
warm, and fuzzy,
that is, until you doze off,
then they'll steal your breath.
What is it, Kenny, the...
It's Kenny Royce on the Scene.
[sighs]
God, I think, uh, you know,
how do you [indistinct speech]
How are people gonna wanna look
at something called
Kenny Royce on the Scene?
I made this three months ago.
It's already got 55 views,
and look at my comments.
Most of those are all comments
from you.
It doesn't matter.
I'm not gonna force you
to do any drugs on the tour.
I'm just sayin'
if you want the experience
the Dead had experienced,
you might need to get your feet
a little wet.
Kenny Royce, are you
an investigative reporter?
Uh, no, I'm a documen--
documentarian.
I'm telling-- I'm telling--
[Zeke] When you say
"On the scene",
it sounds like they're gonna see
somethin' about an, you know,
an expos
on a politician or something.
Is that you would call it?
Yes, exactly,
and you need to get used
to disappointment.
Comment is a comment.
"Great job" is how many words?
That's two words, Kenny.
[Kenny] Yeah, t-- t-- two.
Uh-huh, and then you just
be looking for free handouts.
Life isn't about
free handouts, all right?
Yeah, but-- but--
[Zeke] You gotta do it yourself.
Then they talk about Long Beach,
and that's way more
than two words.
That's four words. Great--
[Zeke] I'm just sayin'
you need to know your audience,
and you need to sell yourself.
People look, and they wanna see
on a video
how many comments there are.
It doesn't matter
who they're coming from.
All right,
we'll work on the title later.
Just-- just look at the
comments on your video, huh?
[chuckling]
[Kenny] So for this trip,
I decided to stay alert
and focused Zeke on sharing
his road knowledge with me
instead of stealing my breath.
[Zeke] Hey, Lily wants in there
with you.
-[Kenny] No, Lily. Zeke.
-[Zeke] All right.
[Kenny] Zeke, stay out there.
Stay, Zeke.
It's Kenny Royce
on the Scene
Oh, it's Kenny Rodgers Royce,
y'all
Hell no
It's Kenny Royce
on the Scene
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] Zeke informed us we had
to stop in the Salton Sea
to pick up some tour enhancers.
Kenny Royce on the Scene,
yeah
[Zeke] Let me do the meeting,
he knows me,
and you do your stuff.
[Kenny] Okay.
Let's-- let's, um, let's do it.
[Zeke] Oh, fine!
-Let's, uh, let's just--
-[Zeke grunts]
[Kenny] Knowing too well
that tour enhancers
was actually drugs,
I was so nervous
about Zeke's pickup
that I forgot to hit record
on my phone for On the Scene.
Instead, I got
a series of still photos.
[camera clicking]
[Kenny] But all I can tell you
is that my stomach
was doing flips.
It was probably because
I was so excited
and anxious to get to Phoenix.
It is.
It's, um, it's exciting.
I think we're-- we're gonna be
on the scene.
f*ck, get in the car!
Get in the f*cking car!
Kenny, get in the f*cking car!
Get in the f*cking car!
[Kenny] Zeke. Zeke, Zeke.
What-- what-- what-- what--
what?
[tires screeching]
[car vrooming]
-Every man for himself, Kenny.
-Zeke, Zeke, Zeke.
-Every man for himself.
-Zeke, Zeke.
Rule number one.
-Zeke.
-Okay?
[Kenny] While Zeke explained
to me
the tour rules and whatnot,
his words began to turn
into noises
that actually made
my ears hurt.
I think Lily felt the same way,
so I took her out for a walk.
When I got back to the car
and took a toke
from my vape pen, it happened.
[screams]
-[Defer 1] f*ck! Oh, my God.
-Call 911.
[Kenny] According to the WHO,
dehydration is what happens
when your body
loses electrolytes.
[Defer 1] Can we record
anything?
[Kenny] It can cause heatstroke
and possibly put you in a coma,
which it did.
[wind swooshes]
[Kenny] Remember how I said
dreams were funny?
[ominous suspense music]
[Kenny] Sometimes they show
worries,
sometimes they replay events,
sometimes they show you
where to go.
Well, coma dreams
aren't any of that.
Coma dreams are f*cking nuts!
Has you or a loved one
been injured while in a film?
[distorted] Injured
while in a film.
Has you or a loved one
been in a film?
[distorted] Has you
or a loved one been in a film?
A loved one in a film?
[wind swooshes]
[tense music]
[Zeke] Kenny, Kenny, are you
an investigative reporter?
[distorted] Investigative
reporter.
Investigative reporter.
Kenny Royce
on the Scene
[Kenny] [echoing] I'm-- I'm a--
I'm a doc-- doc--
Document-- a documentarian.
It's Kenny Royce
on the Scene
[Zeke] I'm not--
not gonna force you to do any--
[distorted] Not--
not gonna force you.
It's Kenny Royce
on the Scene
[Zeke] Life-- life is
not about free handouts.
[distorted] Free handouts.
Kenny Royce on the Scene
[Zeke] You need-- need
to get used to disappointment.
It's Kenny Royce
on the Scene
[Zeke] [distorted]
Disappointment.
[Kenny] [distorted]
It's Kenny Royce
On the Scene
[Zeke] [distorted]
Get used to disappointment.
[wind swooshing]
[upbeat music]
Kenny!
Kenny, wake up!
Kenny!
Kenny, Kenny, wake up.
Wake up.
[Kenny] But Zeke being
an excellent trip sherpa
and a questionable adult
broke me out of the hospital
and detoured to Vegas.
-Zeke.
-[groans]
-Zeke, hey!
-[Zeke] Let's get out of here.
-[Zeke pants]
-[elevator bell dings]
[Zeke] Oh, f*ck.
All right, let's go see Fiona.
[rock music]
[Kenny] Zeke.
It's time to play a little
game.
Okay, come on. In the car.
There you go. Get in the car.
We gotta go. We gotta go.
-[Zeke] Get in the car.
-[Kenny] Holy f*ck, it's Fiona--
[Kenny] This is
a really nice car.
-[tires screech]
-[Zeke] Yeah.
[Kenny] As I rested in the car
to stay out of the heat,
Zeke and Defer 1 went to get
supplies to keep me hydrated.
[trolley wheels whirring]
[Zeke] I think--
I don't think Kenny
needs to drink quite yet.
You have to wait a little bit
for the heat
to kind of take effect
before you get the full effect
of the water
rehydrating
the cellular tissues.
So, uh, why don't you shut
that thing off?
We're just gonna take
a little quick break there,
and, uh, we'll see you back out
in the parking lot, all right?
[indistinct background chatter]
[trolley wheels whirring]
Uh, we've been parked over here.
I haven't had this car
that long.
[Kenny] My mom used to tell me
whenever the tour
was goin' south
and needed some positive juju,
Zeke would take her
on what he called a Zeke freak.
A Zeke freak is when you're
dressed up in outrageous clothes
to get a negative reaction
from the squares
in a public place.
It's supposed to pass off
the negative vibes to them
and reset our mindset
to accept the positive ones.
Wow, who knew
a personal injury lawyer
for the adult entertainment
business was so spiritual?
I don't know if it was
the Zeke freak
or the fact that I survived
a heatstroke coma,
but I could really feel
the good vibes,
and I was excited to get back
on the tour with Zeke
to meet new friends
and see Fiona.
[Zeke] Feeling good, Kenny.
-[Kenny] Feeling good, Zeke.
-[Zeke] [bleep] drive!
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] While we
were on the road to St. Louis,
we made multiple stops
for Zeke to pick up supplies.
Did you steal anything?
[exhales]
No, but I hurt my back
running out here
to see if my briefcase
was still in the car.
Well, you know you're not
really supposed to run
more than five feet.
[exhales]
It was longer than five feet.
-Yeah.
-[Zeke] Yeah.
[Kenny] So we had to take
a little bit of a detour,
Defer 2?
-[Defer 2] Good God.
-[Kenny] Yeah.
[Zeke] f*ck' detour.
-[Zeke] Hey!
-[Kenny] Is that the Circle K?
[Zeke] That's the Circle K.
[Kenny] Did we just do
one big loop?
[Zeke] How did you do that?
[Kenny] What's going on?
-[Zeke] Wait, what am I--
-[Kenny] I don't know.
[Kenny] Zeke took on the duty
of finding hotels.
The first one he got
was the haunted hotel
him and my mom used to stay at
on every Grateful Dead tour.
Excited to capture
a ghost on film,
I took the camera from Defer 1
and set it up while we slept.
[ominous music]
[tape fast-forwarding]
[Kenny] I caught a ghost,
all right,
the most terrifying ghost ever.
-[Kenny] Zeke.
-Come on, come on. Come on.
-Look, look.
-Zeke.
It's not the first time
I've run into this, okay?
Zeke, are you naked?
After three hours
of convincing Zeke
I wasn't my mom,
we agreed to never speak
of the Zeke creep again.
-Yeah, that'd great.
-Okay, good.
I mean, actually,
what we do with...
But just to be safe,
I slept in the bathroom.
[upbeat music]
-[bleep] house?
-[Zeke] Yeah.
[Kenny] At breakfast
the next morning,
Zeke was embarrassed
about last night's events.
Even though we agreed
not to talk about it,
his behavior
told a different story.
I mean, you can see,
my-- my body movement,
I'm just-- I'm just staring
straight ahead.
You're the one that's actually
moving around, like, left--
So we hit the road,
and I had Zeke focus
on getting us to the next hotel.
[Zeke] ...reviews, huh?
10 out of 10, exceptional.
Oh, my God, Miss Pamela
and her staff were--
You think that's Pamela Anderson
works there?
I-- I hope she is.
-The hotel.
-I've seen While I--
All right, we're gonna-- we
don't need to talk
about f*ck' money.
We're talkin' about a hotel.
We're just gonna get a hotel.
-[Lily farts]
-Oh, my God, Lily. Oh.
[coughs]
[Kenny] I told you
not to feed her that turkey.
f*ck is this?
"We regret to inform you
that..."
So they will not be able
to accommodate
your f*ck' rooms.
-[Lily farts]
-God, Lily!
Oh
-[Zeke coughs]
-[Kenny] Let her be!
-[Zeke exhales]
Look at her, she's depressed.
[Zeke exhales]
[Kenny] She's not...
[Zeke] Yeah. Okay.
[Kenny] Since I had Lily,
I suggested Zeke get
a tour companion
to keep him company,
one that doesn't fart so much
and would keep him
from creeping.
[door squeaks]
[Kenny] So he found Gallop.
[country music playing
in background]
[Gallop whinnying
and galloping]
[Gallop whinnying]
[door squeaks]
[Zeke cheering]
[Zeke] Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
Wooh!
Let's go!
Get the f*ck in the car!
Hey, press the ear.
Makes a noise.
[indistinct speech]
[Gallop whinnying]
[laughs]
[Zeke laughing]
This is great.
[Defer 2] And so I take it
you never got anything like that
when you were a kid there,
Kenny, did you?
-Whoa, there.
-Well--
-God!
-f*ck you, Defer 2.
-Yeah, Defer 2.
I think--
[Gallop whinnying]
When we get to the show,
you just carry Gallop around.
Anytime somebody does something
that you don't like...
Yeah, I think so.
Problem is, the batteries
are non-replaceable.
What?
And it's-- and they may explode
or leak.
What a rip-off!
Yeah, so, um, that's the thing.
We're only gonna have to have,
uh, about--
Battery life is 400 times,
approximately.
400, that's it?
So now we only have 397 left.
Oh, my God.
No, I pressed it twice
in the store.
And then once
when I was running out the door
on it.
[Zeke sighs]
[Zeke] [indistinct speech]
[bleep]
-It's all right.
-It's all right.
f*ck 'em.
It worked.
Kenny Rogers Royce, y'all
Come on, it's My Dead Summer
Everybody now,
My Dead Summer
Ah
My Dead Summer
My...
[Kenny] Let's go
with butterfinger.
[Zeke] All right.
So, you'd like a butterfinger
in Uranus?
Dead Summer
My Dead Summer
[Kenny] As we rolled
into St. Louis,
the big silver arch
welcomed us.
[Defer 2] So the Arch's there.
Look at this, guys.
Look at that.
Zeke told me
that he and Mom
used to throw rocks
in the Old Mississippi
to make a wish for a good tour
and a safe return.
That may be what Zeke
wished for,
but I wished to see Fiona.
So we headed back to the hotel
for me to do
an on-the-scene update
before the show.
[Kenny clears throat]
[Kenny] Uh, this is Kenny Royce
on the Scene.
Uh, so our bathroom didn't work,
our toilet didn't work.
[Zeke] I'm peein' in the sink!
That's great, Zeke.
[Zeke] Surprised?
Oh, Zeke, it's a...
Oh, it's one of my--
it's-- it's--
It's a Steal Your Face shirt.
Thanks, Zeke.
[Zeke] Yeah! Yeah, Kenny.
-[Kenny] Well, thank--
-[Zeke] Ready for the concert.
Well, everybody, if you know,
I had my heat stroke.
[screams]
And, um, I lost all my clothes
when Zeke rushed me
out of there.
[Zeke] Yeah, the nurse had it,
so, you know?
Oh, the nurse had it?
What were you doing
with the nurse?
Well, I had to get you
out of there
before we had to pay, so...
Well, this is Kenny Royce
live on scene.
With my
Steal Your Face T-shirt back,
I knew I was ready for the tour.
I took a power nap
in case I ran into Fiona again.
[wind swooshes]
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] This time,
I wanted to be ready
to dance all night with her,
not like the last time.
[chokes, coughs]
Hey, before I forget, all right,
if anything happens on the tour,
...uh, you know, all right?
It's Marco Polo, right?
So when you can't find me,
just Marco, but not Marco.
It would be...
Polo?
No, uh, Zeke.
-You'll call back--
-[Zeke] I'll say Kenny!
You'll call back and say Kenny.
Yeah.
-[Kenny] Zeke.
-Yeah.
What was that?
Uranius fudge.
Oh, that's the fudge?
That's the fudge.
[sighs]
Was it good?
Yeah, but it-- it-- it-- it--
it tasted almost,
uh, uh, like--
It tasted, like, medicinal.
My taste buds were right.
The fudge that Zeke slipped me
when I was asleep
was dosed with Molly.
Molly isn't a person.
Molly is a street term for MDMA,
or methylene--
methylenedioxymethan--
Methamphetamine.
It is a stimulant
and a minor psychedelic.
Side effects can be
dancing till dawn,
touching yourself
or others uncontrollably,
and an unquenching thirst
for orange juice.
It's been used in clinical
trials to help PTSD,
and even social anxiety,
which Zeke said
I was diagnosed with as a child.
He got this batch from a client
in Canoga Park,
a film producer,
so you know it's good Molly.
I trust Zeke.
He's always lookin' out for me.
So I welcomed
my first ride with Molly.
[sighs]
Defer 1,
he gave me f*cking Ecstasy.
Do you know what it's like
to be on f*cking Ecstasy
right now?
It's f*cking incredible.
Zeke, why did you have
to give me f*ck' Ecstasy?
I just--
I just f*ck' peed on myself.
[man laughs in background]
[Zeke] Did you?
Hey, good God!
[Kenny] Here's the thing,
I was trying to do, like,
a rub-out.
You were trying to do a rub-out?
You were trying to rub one out?
I wasn't trying to rub it out.
Trying to-- trying to rub out...
I said, "Okay."
You gotta realize this, Zeke,
this Ecstasy is f*cking--
absolutely f*cking bonkers.
[man 4] Hey, guys, look,
look at my artwork.
What's your work?
[Kenny] What you got there?
What-- what's goin' on?
[man 4] All the prints.
[Kenny] These all--
these are all yours?
[man 4] Yeah, these-- these--
that's you know?
[Kenny] As we looked
at the amazing artwork
our new Deadhead friend
showed us,
the Molly really started
to kick in.
It made me more focused
on the awesome complexities
and fine craftsmanship
of the lithographs.
For Zeke, the Molly made him
focus on other things.
There's boobs on one of 'em.
[Kenny] Yeah, it--
The one did have boobs.
[man 4] That's a medallion.
It was a medallion, I know,
but I was-- I was actually
gonna go with the Jerry Garcia.
[man 4] Oh, the Jerry?
[man 4] Yeah, that says
"In the land of the dark,
the ship of sun
is drawn by the Grateful Dead."
You don't like boobs?
[Kenny] With that, we headed
into the show with Gallop,
and left Lily behind
with Defer 1 and 2,
since all three of them
weren't allowed in the venue,
because of cameras
and Lily being a dog.
Seriously,
what is your problem?
Armed with our phone cameras,
Zeke and I shot footage
from inside the venue.
Everybody, this is, uh,
Kenny Royce, uh, on the Scene.
Hey.
Uh, I am f*cking tripping
my f*cking ba*ls off.
-[Zeke] Yeah, you are.
-I am on f*cking--
-[Zeke] Your angelic ba*ls.
-I'm on f*cking Ecstasy,
and I'm just trying
to find a way
to get into the f*cking--
-[Zeke] I think we're good.
-Into the place.
[Zeke] Go.
Zeke, you deserve the best.
-[Zeke] Why, thank you, Kenny.
-You deserve the best,
and then the restroom's
right there.
[Zeke] Okay.
-[groans]
-[Zeke] Sudden.
Uh, yes,
but so we're on the scene.
-[Zeke] Oh, oh.
-You all right, sir?
-You got it? You okay?
-[Zeke] You all right?
-[man 5] Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine.
-[Kenny] All right.
No, I know that's heavy.
You want me to carry it for you?
[man 5] No, no, it's not heavy.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] Zeke.
Yeah?
Oh, sorry, that was your beer.
Zeke!
[Zeke] Yeah?
Whatever the f*ck you gave me,
I'm f*cking tripping
my f*cking a*s off.
[Zeke] And it feels, what, good?
I do. Well, the-- the Grate--
Dead and Company
just played Deal,
and it's f*cking amazing!
And made LA, the first night.
LA went great, first night.
Second night... [bleep] [bleep]
...shut me down.
[indistinct speech]
With a, uh, great.
But I just saw a recent
[indistinct speech]
I think I-- I think I-- I think
I just burst my appendix.
As we were walking in the crowd,
I thought I spotted Fiona.
[woman 5] Like, from Shrek?
From-- from Shrek?
No, Fiona was a girl
that I was trying to meet,
and, uh, uh, uh, oh, yeah.
She's from Shrek.
[Kenny] But it wasn't Fiona.
It was some other girl
who looked nothing like Fiona.
You see, not Fiona.
I think it was just
the Ecstasy.
[upbeat music]
Well, Zeke, like, I-- Zeke,
look, we're at-- we're at...
Like, I gotta say I'm, like,
I'm, like--
I'm on f*ck' Ecstasy.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
[Kenny] All in all,
it was a really good show,
and I think I got
all the footage that I needed.
Oh, my God, Lilypad!
Lilypad, what's goin' on?
Hi.
Hi.
-Am I you?
-Hi. I-- I--
Well, hold on. Y-- you're me.
-Okay.
-So, it's, like, start--
-Hold on, I'm-- okay.
-Start dancing. Start dancing.
-[Kenny] Start dancing.
-[grunts]
Yeah, but that-- that--
I was not dancing with Ecsatcy.
-Yeah.
-That was not how I was dancing.
That's not--
I didn't see Fiona,
and I didn't get to dance
with her,
but there's always
the next show.
You ready to head to the show?
[Defer 1] Oh, thank you, Lily.
[Kenny] It was time to get
on the road to the next hotel.
Zeke said hotel prices
at the last minute,
after the show, will be cheaper.
I'm impressed.
Zeke really is taking
his hotel responsibilities
seriously.
[Zeke] Yes, a dog.
It's locked.
[door rattles]
[Kenny] As we got to the hotel,
Zeke decided that we needed
to turn the room.
It think it's a ghost.
[Kenny] f*cking ghost!
Great, thank you.
Basically, turning the room
is a time-honored tradition
of Zeke's,
back from when he was a roadie
in Scottsdale, Arizona,
with a band called
Pregnant Necromancer.
[heavy metal music]
[Kenny] They would tear up
their hotel rooms
like the rock bands of old.
But my mom always warned me
if I ever saw
Zeke's roadie rage
and his tendency
to go off the rails,
that I should watch out.
What?
[Kenny] Yeah, well, you put
the sheets on the ground,
and it's, like, all the pillows,
and...
You want me to put it all--
You want-- you want-- oh, yes.
Sorry, Miss Daisy.
[Kenny] [indistinct speech]
With the room cleared,
we hunkered down for the night
so we could get up early
to start our two-day journey
to Saratoga Springs.
Hey, everybody, this is
Kenny Royce on the Scene.
[Zeke] Shut up!
Zeke, you know how important
this is to me.
[Zeke] Shut up.
Okay, guys, signing off.
Kenny Royce on the Scene.
-Bye.
-[Zeke] Shut up.
[knocking on door]
[birds chirping]
What's goin' on?
[bleep] are you?
Bathroom is a little bit, um...
[Zeke] That's 'cause you
took a sh*t and it won't flush.
That's--
Well, I-- but I took a sh*t
after you took a sh*t.
I was peeing.
[Kenny] You were--
you were peeing--
You were peeing basically
sitting down.
That's-- that's right, you
know?
I don't actually
pee sitting down, Zeke.
[Zeke] I have prostate problems.
What do you mean
you have prostate problems?
I'm old.
[groans]
[Kenny] [indistinct speech]
Right, and my legs are, too.
I told you, I met a girl,
Fiona, at-- at-- in LA,
and that's--- that's-- that's
who I wanna go find.
So, kinda a one-girl guy?
It's not about being
a one-girl guy.
It's just that she was a--
she was a really pretty girl.
I wanna find her.
-Yeah...
-What's wrong with that?
You're looking for her later.
[Kenny] I chalked up
Zeke's sourpuss mood
to just being old,
so I checked my
On The Scene page
for any possible messages
from Fiona and saw nothing.
But this nagging question
kept rolling through my head
like waves crashing ashore,
why is Zeke here?
Why is Zeke here?
Why is Zeke here?
I mean, I didn't have
any more permit problems
or tour officials creeping
around to kick me out,
so why was Zeke here,
and what was driving
his outrageous behavior?
Hey, tubby, need a ride!
[Zeke laughing]
You just take-- take the car?
I got a bigger clue to the why
as Zeke took me to visit
a tour friend, Nitrous Ned.
[Kenny] I was surprised
Zeke called Nitrous Ned
just a tour friend,
because my mom always said
Ned and Zeke were tied together.
Nitrous Ned was the most famous
and fastest balloon filler
on the tour,
and Zeke, the Scottsdale Sherpa,
was his assistant.
Nitrous Ned gave my mom
the balloon
that sent her into Zeke's arms
and into her life.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] Our visit
to the gravesite
really seemed to shake Zeke up,
but we said goodbye
to Nitrous Ned
with some memorial shots.
[coughs]
[Kenny] Here's to you, Ned.
Again?
[Kenny] Thanks for your balloons
and getting my mom high,
even if you were a d*ck.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] I pushed Zeke
for one and two
to get us to Saratoga Springs
so we could make sure that
we were at Shakedown Street,
and I could hopefully see
Fiona.
[Kenny] Really, the guy's
really on us.
[Zeke] Well, look at this guy.
[Kenny] I don't know about you,
but I think the drugs
are kicking in.
Which one?
[Kenny] The green ones.
Yeah.
Yep, they're probably
kickin' in.
Just, uh, sit tight.
Man, detour really got us.
Highway.
[Kenny shushes]
[Zeke] Highway.
Like the last 20 minutes
of my life back.
[Zeke] Yeah, me, too.
I gave you a point.
I'm taking it away.
[Zeke] You gave him a point?
Well, I did in the beginning,
'cause then it started moving
around 50 miles per hour,
and then we got stuck again,
and then--
[Zeke] Well, I think you should
take away more than a point now.
[Kenny] Take away two?
[Zeke] Yeah.
[indicator ticking]
[Defer 1] Uh, guys, so, uh,
[bleep] and I are gonna go in
and get f*ck' coffee.
The camera's gonna be rolling.
Mic's gonna be rolling.
So, uh, yeah, you can let loose.
Let's look up the reviews
on Resse's-- Resse's Coffee.
[Defer 1] You guys want anything
at this expensively wonderful
coffee shop?
Uh, regular coffee.
[bleep] gonna see
what it's about.
Well, the thing is, you know,
I think you're right
about the Folders incid--
-I mean, next time we can--
-Yeah.
Why can't we just
get a f*cking--
I'm gonna get a cameraman
that can do regular coffee.
I tip every transaction
and visit once or twice a day,
at least try to be friendly.
Today, the manager told me
I make 'em
employees uncomfortable.
Think if he makes 'em
uncomfortable.
-Well, f*cking Defer--
-What-- what about Defer 2?
Defer 1 and Defer 2.
[both laugh]
[grunts]
Man.
I mean, we're trying to get
to the concert.
All right, well-- well,
you know what?
We'll talk about that later,
yeah.
Excellent.
[Defer 2 groans]
All right, everybody got--
got their f*cking coffees?
Okay,
we got the f*cking coffees.
-[Defer 2] Yeah.
-Great.
-I got-- I got you a-- a tall--
-[Zeke] Yeah, thanks, thanks.
Ethiopian black.
There's fingerprints on this.
Yeah.
[Kenny] After all the detours
and coffee stops,
I thought we'd never make it
in time for the show,
but we did, five hours early.
So we all took naps at our hotel
in Saratoga Springs.
This should also be
a really great show for Zeke,
since this is the venue
that he and my mom
went together as a couple
for the first time
to see the Grateful Dead.
And who knows,
maybe I'll finally run into
Fiona here,
and see her at the concert
or on Shakedown Street.
Love is in the air
in Saratoga Springs.
I can feel it.
[Defer 2] All right. Okay.
[Kenny] But-- so I woke up, uh,
you know, and so Zeke is gone,
and so what I understand
is that Defer 2
went for some more coffee,
and so Zeke went with him.
Kenny Royce on the Scene.
Uh, it's now been five hours.
Uh, I am, uh, I am drinking
here in the hotel room.
[gulps]
It's now been five and a half
hours,
uh, and I have nothing
from Zeke.
Ze-- Zeke?
[Zeke] Yeah.
-Zeke!
-[Zeke] What?
[Kenny] What the f*ck
is going on?
The left side
of my f*ck' p*nis is numb.
[Kenny] Why is the left side
of your p*nis numb?
Look, Lily Pad gets anxious,
dude.
-[Kenny] She gets anxious--
-I'm not-- here. Okay.
[Zeke] This is gonna help you,
okay?
Is that another tab of Ecstasy?
[Zeke] It sure was.
No fudge this time,
so I do apologize for that.
That's fantastic.
That's fantastic.
All right, well,
Kenny Royce on the Scene.
Once Defer 1 and Defer 2
are ready to go,
we are heading over
to Saratoga Springs,
the Performing Arts Center,
night two.
See you guys there.
This is gonna be great.
I'm excited.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] Outside of Shakedown,
Zeke and I drink it.
[puking]
You-- you-- we're rollin' in.
So, um...
[Zeke gags]
Are you-- are you throwin' up?
[Zeke retches]
[Kenny] Are you throwing--
-[overlapping speech]
[groans]
-Here we are.
-[Zeke] Oh.
-Saratoga Springs, night two.
-[Zeke burping]
I'm...
So, someone's havin' a--
someone's havin' a rough time,
eh, Zeke?
[Defer 1] How you feeling,
Kenny?
No, I feel great.
I-- I-- I feel-- I-- I feel
f*cking fantastic.
I mean, I don't know, like,
the Ecstasy normally--
Yesterday I was, like,
a little bit like, "Oh, yeah."
But now with the Molly,
I just-- like, I-- I feel
like I'm--
[screams]
[Kenny] So it's like
I feel really good.
Hey, Lily's eatin' my vomit.
[Kenny] No, that's not good.
Just why-- why would you
f*cking ever do that?
[Zeke] I didn't.
She came over to it.
[Kenny] Yeah, but why would you
just-- why would--
You let her leash go.
[Kenny] Well, I didn't let her
leash go.
So-- so she just ate your vomit?
[Zeke] Yeah.
Zeke, can you handle
one of these?
Can you-- like, this is, like,
this is just for a bit,
-One of these?
-[Kenny] Yeah, this is for--
Lily Pad. Lily Pad.
This is pissy stuff.
I can handle that.
[Kenny] Lily Pad, get away
from the f*cking vomit!
[Kenny] Get away from--
-[vomits]
[Kenny] Get...
Okay, get away from the--
get away from the vomit.
I can totally handle this.
Uh, this is, um,
so but this is
Kenny Royce on the Scene.
And, uh, here we are,
Saratoga Springs, night two.
Uh, Zeke, obviously,
is not in his, uh, good form.
Uh, you know, 'cause again,
you know, five hours, you--
Five hours you guys were
f*cking missing.
[burps]
[Kenny] And, uh, you know,
here we are that, you know,
we're showing up
a little bit late.
We're gonna cross
through the woods.
We'll brave the ticks.
We'll brave,
'cause we are in New York.
Ticks?
Brave the ticks.
[Zeke] I'll brave the t...
[vomits]
Zeke, you think this is
maybe the Molly?
[vomits]
[Zeke laughs]
[Zeke] You all right?
[coughs]
Hey, uh, Lil-- Lily will get it.
[Kenny laughs]
I think-- I think I-- I don't--
I don't think
that f*cking Molly is any good.
[Zeke] Yeah, well, I mean,
you got so many of drinks.
I don't think it's any good.
I don't think it's any good,
Zeke.
Zeke, how the f*ck am I supposed
to do interviews like this?
Zeke, what the f*ck?
-[spits]
-I don't know.
[Kenny] Either way, we manned up
and found our way
onto Shakedown
through a hole in the fence
to talk to the people.
Over here?
[Kenny] Right.
Right, it's down this way.
[thudding]
[man cheering in distance]
[Kenny chuckling]
-[Kenny] Zeke, are you okay?
-[Zeke] I'm great.
[Kenny] Okay, Zeke, I know--
like-- my-- my--
I can't really feel
my f*cking feet right now.
I don't know what's going on,
but, like, so--
This is a typical riot, Kenny.
[overlapping chatter]
[man 6] What's in
that briefcase?
[Zeke] Everything!
[man 6] Everything.
[indistinct chatter]
Oh, my God, what's going on
there?
All right,
so we're on Shakedown Street.
On the scene with Kenny Royce.
And, uh, this is, uh, uh, Zeke.
Jesus Christ!
You're not looking right at all.
[Kenny] [distorted]
It's Lily Pad.
[woman 6] [distorted] Lily Pad.
Hi. Lily pad.
[Kenny] [distorted] Oh, Pad,
you wanna say hello?
Lily pad.
[woman 6] Hi, Lily Pad.
You're so cute.
[Kenny] There's so many people,
Zeke's gettin', like, uh,
he's just [distorted speech]
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God, Zeke, what the f*ck
is going on with you?
You don't look good.
[distorted speech]
[indistinct chatter]
[Kenny] My worst fears
were confirmed.
Zeke was off,
a little off on a bad trip.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] A bad trip is caused
by taking hallucinogenics
in a negative mind space.
The first telltale signs
can be incontinence,
profuse sweating,
mental confusion,
impaired motor skills,
and immobility.
Maybe it was caused
by the memories
of Saratoga Springs with my mom,
or from the visiting the grave
of a long-lost friend,
Nitrous Ned.
Who knows?
But he was on a bad trip.
Zeke, the sherpa of Scottsdale,
always said,
"When Deadheads are
on a bad trip,
they need guidance, caring,
and understanding."
Get in the f*cking car.
Get in the f*cking car.
[Kenny] Since Defer 1 and Defer
2 were still holding cameras,
I took up the cause, just like
Zeke did for me my whole life.
You're a g*dd*mn failure!
You f*cking passed out
on the g*dd*mn f*cking--
Zeke, look at you.
[Kenny] I can tell you
personally
one bad trip
can lead to another.
Come on, let's go.
[Kenny] And Zeke took me with
him.
Get in the f*cking car!
[Kenny] Other symptoms of a bad
trip can include
emotional detachment
and erratic mood swings.
But as Zeke always said,
"With any bad trip,
usually you are in the clear
once you can let
all your demons out."
Or in my case,
puking my brains out
and missing the show.
Oh, my God.
Give, uh, I don't give a sh*t,
Zeke, I don't--
Oh, sh*t.
[retches]
[Zeke] Hey, Kenny.
[Kenny] We missed the show
at Saratoga Springs,
and I missed getting
any interviews.
[Zeke] What's that smell?
[Kenny] And I missed
my chance to run into Fiona.
[Zeke] It smells like dog sh*t.
[Kenny] There was no scent
of love in the air in Saratoga,
only the smell of puke,
piss, and sh*t.
Yeah.
[Zeke] Oh, my God.
[Kenny] Saratoga Springs might
have been a bad trip bust,
but we had Boston
and New York City
still in our sight.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] We were scheduled
to make it to Boston,
but the bad trip continued
as we missed the Boston show
by a week.
Hey, Zeke.
[Zeke] Huh?
Isn't it supposed to be
a Dead & Company show there?
Ah.
[Kenny] There's nobody here,
Zeke.
Yeah, it's not until, like,
the 24th to the 25th in Boston.
[Zeke] That's, uh...
[Kenny] That's next week.
That's next weekend.
What the f*ck, Zeke?
I mean, while we're here,
you could at least ride Gallop
on Lansdowne.
Come on.
[Zeke laughs]
Atta boy, Zeke.
Atta boy.
[Zeke laughs]
[tense music]
[Kenny] I tried to talk to Zeke
about how the trip
was going off the rails
as we meandered around the city,
but I was getting nowhere.
Yeah, this is the third day
you've given me f*cking Ecstasy
and...
you know, yesterday,
we were supposed
to go to Saratoga Springs.
You said we had front row seats,
and then you pissed yourself,
and then you f*ck' vomited
all over the f*ck' Shakedown.
What the f*ck's wrong with you?
You know well.
[indistinct speech]
piss running down my legs,
vomit all over my jacket,
and you said
some hurtful things.
You think you know all about me?
I don't pretend
to know everything about orphans
just because I watched
Little Orphan Annie
on the f*ck' stage,
and I can sing every song.
So just because
I've seen the musical Annie,
I know about your life?
Does that make sense?
What?
[tense music]
Oh, f*ck it.
[Kenny] His stubbornness
to talk about anything real
was causing the film,
my on-the-scene reporting,
and the entire trip to suffer.
Maybe it was the Ecstasy,
but I had a moment of clarity.
I needed to do something drastic
to get this trip and Zeke
back on track.
So with a few days
before New York City's show,
I told Zeke we had to exorcize
his demons from this tour
that were haunting him.
That's when Zeke finally told me
where he took the Defers
for five hours
in Saratoga Springs.
Zeke went to the place
where he and my mom
used to get away and have what
he called a pick and poke.
Unfortunately,
their romantic picnic spot
was now a dog park
at the side of a highway.
The loss of this memory
was too much for Zeke to bear,
and this was the reason he said
why he f*cked us up
and put the tour on tilt.
I put my foot down.
This mayhem had to end.
He was ruining my tour,
my movie, everything.
They're right here.
Why don't we just tell 'em
right now?
They're right here.
Zeke agreed, and we went
through a ritual Zeke called
a spiritual cleansing
and detachment
from the dark mother complex.
The process of this ritual
involves several stages.
Stage one is first achieving
enlightenment
through psychedelics
and purifying your habiliments
from any negative attachments
in purified or holy water.
A local laundromat on acid
would suffice
for the beginning stage.
[washer whirring]
I'm gonna put on some music,
and I want you to go nuts.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] Stage two involves
stripping down naked
as the day you were born
and finding a sanctuary
or a cave
to engage in sacred dance
with spiritual medicines.
Boxer shorts in our hotel room
and tour enhancers
met those requirements.
This is Fiona right here.
Hi, Fiona.
I came to realize
all of this really was a chance
for Zeke
to clean all the piss and puke
off his clothes
from Saratoga Springs,
holed up in the hotel room
for three days
to get rid of all the drugs
Zeke brought with him
in his briefcase,
but most importantly for him
to come to terms
with the loss of his one
and only true tour companion,
my mother.
[Zeke] That does not look
very inviting.
[Kenny] That's Char-- uh,
Charles Island.
[Zeke] Okay.
[Kenny] The final stage
for completing this ritual is
by making an offering
to the gods.
So we left Gallop on the beach
in memoriam of my mom
because she loved the ocean.
I felt pretty good about that.
I think Zeke did, too.
[Defer 1] Kenny!
Kenny, we're late, dude.
What-- what's goin' on?
[Defer 1] Dude, check out was,
like, an hour ago.
What'd you guys do last night?
[Zeke screaming]
[Kenny] Well, we just had--
we just had--
we just had some burritos and--
and--
[Zeke crying]
[Kenny] Zeke?
[Zeke crying]
[wailing]
[Kenny] Zeke, what's going on?
Zeke!
[Zeke] I left Gallop
on the beach!
What do you mean
you left Gallop?
[cries]
[Kenny] With the tour fully
cleansed
and Zeke's demons at bay,
it was time to get back
on the road to New York City.
Kenny Royce on the Scene,
live from Milford Cache.
[Zeke] Gallop!
[Zeke crying]
[upbeat music]
Uh, this is Kenny Royce,
live on, uh, on the scene
from, um, a what is Flushing,
New York.
Uh, you know, I actually
would think
that it was gonna be, um,
a lot prettier.
Uh, Zeke, how are you feeling
after, uh, last night?
Lily Pad left Gallop
on the beach.
Well, that's not exactly true.
I think that...
[indistinct speech]
But apparently the tide came in
and Gallop-- Gallop--
Gallop-- Gallop went away.
And maybe Gallop's with Wilson
now.
[Kenny] He's, like,
a horse at sea,
and that's the thing, he--
so he--
A horse at what?
So Zeke's-- Zeke's still upset
about leaving Gallop,
and, um...
But this is Kenny Royce
live on the scene.
We are gonna be in Citi Field,
uh, in a few hours,
and we're gonna hit
Shakedown Street,
so check it out.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] My mom's
second-favorite city,
only to Los Angeles,
is New York City.
She told me stories about
the amazing Grateful Dead show
she went to,
and how the energy, the smells,
and the sounds of New York City
just got on you.
Zeke seems to have a pep
in his step, too,
now that all the demons
are gone.
Right now,
we're pressed for time.
We need to get to Citi Field.
We need to get over there,
like, right, like-- like--
Like, pronto.
I'm ready to go.
All right.
So you're ready to go?
[Zeke] I'm ready to go.
[gulps]
Give me a couple of minutes.
[Kenny] Well, almost gone.
While Zeke and I finished up
our ritual,
Defer 2 got directions
on how to get to the show
from a local,
as we didn't wanna get lost
in New York.
[Defer 2] Yeah.
-Stained Glass?
-[Defer 2] Uh-huh.
That's the train station.
Get on the Manhattan-bound N
or W across the platform.
It's a one-stop.
Get off at Queensboro Plaza
and across the platform,
transfer to the 7 train
to Flushing.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] As we started
our adventure to Citi Field,
I could really feel
the renewed energy
from the dark mother complex
cleanse.
My Dead Summer
[Zeke] Yeah, right.
Over here.
-[Zeke] Italiano, though.
-Italiano.
[Zeke] Isn't that
the same thing?
Fine or continue.
Maybe we should go back
to English.
Zeke, don't hit continuare!
-[Zeke] Onolare.
-[Kenny] English.
-[Zeke] All right.
-[Kenny] Okay.
[Zeke] No bells accepted,
single ride.
[Kenny] Single ride
tickets only.
Single ride valid for two
hours. Okay.
[Zeke] What does that mean?
Credit c--
[Kenny] What Defer 2 forgot
to mention
was that this journey
was gonna take us
onto six different trains.
[jaunty music]
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct announcement]
[Kenny] By the middle
of the train hopscotch,
the full effect
of our hotel ritual
began to take hold.
I really wish one
of the stages of the ritual
was calisthenics,
because after being in a car
for several days,
we could have used the exercise.
[indistinct conversation]
[Zeke and Kenny laughing]
[Zeke] I'm not laughing, Zeke.
I'm actually crying.
Okay.
[Kenny laughing]
[Zeke] Zip it.
[Kenny laughing]
Go to sleep for a little bit,
okay?
-Safe for a while?
-It's okay.
-Are you safe?
-Yeah, we're safe.
[door shuts]
[Zeke] You have something
I didn't know about?
Kenny Royce on the Scene.
Uh, Fio-- Fio-- Fiona,
I'm on my way.
And so we're, uh,
we're gonna get-- make--
We're gonna make it there
to the Citi Field, to--
To Queens.
[Zeke] Did you tell Fiona?
[Kenny] But I pulled it
together,
and sent out a shout-out
to Fiona
in the hopes
that she saw I was in New York.
[train whirring]
[Kenny]
What I've learned on this tour
is that the more exhausting
the journey is to get there,
the payoff is always
an amazing show.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny]
I can see what my mother meant
by the electricity of the city,
the people.
It was invigorating.
I got a high-five!
Yeah, high-five, man!
It's all downhill from here!
[Kenny] As we got to Shakedown,
the crowds were insane.
It was almost a riot.
So we ditched that plan,
and we searched
for tickets online
to take the pressure off Zeke
after the last two
failed attempts.
All right, so Defer 1,
Defer 2, we are checking out.
-[Kenny] Do you have it?
-We got it.
[Kenny] You f*ck' have it!
I think so. Let's go
[Kenny and Zeke cheering]
[indistinct chatter]
Hey, everybody,
uh, Kenny Royce on the Scene
with, uh, me, myself, and Zeke.
That's it.
Uh, we're totally checking out.
This is, uh, Citi Field.
-Hey, how's it goin'?
-[Zeke] Hey.
A lot of people in New York
are not that-- they-- they--
They're-- they're not--
they're not that--
they're not that--
they're not that--
They're not that excited
to see us.
[Zeke] You're glowing, Kenny.
Am I glowing?
[Zeke] Look at the video.
You're glowing.
Tell me it says-- yes, it's
Front-row seat.
Uh, it's in the middle
right over there.
Oh, we're 525.
[Kenny] Five-- where is--
That's a long way, man.
Wait, it's this way.
It says that way.
[Kenny] All right,
so we're goin' up.
We're goin' up.
Where are we going?
We'll be moving on up
Up, up to the top
Yeah, that's...
[indistinct conversation]
Turning on up.
Section-- section five.
Oh, up there, yeah.
What is it? 55...
[Zeke] 25.
525, row four, uh, Citi Field.
[Zeke] What football player
is 525?
I don't know.
What are you talking about?
I don't wanna fight.
How are you, sir?
Um, I need to get you your--
get your-- get you-- your seat.
Get your seat,
and then we go
and get ourselves some beers.
Like, let's just--
[Zeke] All right, let's do it.
They're cheering for you, Kenny.
[crowd cheering and applauding]
My Dead Summer
[rock music]
[Kenny] This last show in
Queens was the best.
Zeke and I were really
in our form,
and we recorded on the scene,
which was my best yet.
Kenny Royce on the Scene!
Holy sh*t,
from f*cking Citi Field.
Holy...
I am f*cking just-- I am on--
I-- I'm on-- I'm so many--
I don't even know what I'm on.
Everything that, uh, that band
Dead Grateful said,
it's so--
it's been f*cking amazing.
It's so, I'm, uh, on the scene,
and it's f*cking amazing.
I just wanted
to just get the f*ck out
of this situation.
Look, how good we look.
What are you talking about?
-We look really good.
-What [indistinct speech]
It's Zeke and, um, Kenny
on the s-- on the scene.
It's been-- so it's been a--
it's been a...
Wild night.
So, uh...
[Defer 1] He's been doing
a face.
Myself and Zeke.
[Zeke] Uh, you're gonna
have to blur
that face behind him.
What? Blur what face?
So let's get it.
So I'm just saying, like, look--
Zeke, all we gotta do is--
-[Kenny] Tonight
-Tonight
-[Kenny] No, that didn't work.
-Do it again.
So we're gonna try to-- Zeke,
Zeke, all we gotta do is--
-[Kenny] Sing it for me.
-Tonight
[Kenny] Once again,
I felt like Odysseus
on his journey back
to find Penelope.
Only I found myself focused
on looking for Fiona.
So much so
that I was missing out
on what was
right in front of me.
The story of an amazing
show with my stepdad,
tour sherpa,
friend of the devil, Zeke.
Okay.
[crowd cheering]
[screaming]
-Wait, wait, so--
-Yeah.
Hold on.
So I just talked to all those
people [overlapping speech]
Yeah!
-With LSD?
-And?
No wonder why everyone looks
at me like I was f*cking weird
because I was wearing an L--
-Why?
-I was wearing an LSD cap.
Yeah, because you're taking
LSD, baby!
Hey, right there!
Are you okay, hey?
[Kenny] With the culmination
of the New York City show,
Defer 2 stayed in New York City
to sh**t a coffee commercial,
and Zeke had to leave the tour
to go take care
of some client business.
True,
it was the end of our roadie.
But with Zeke in my life,
the adventure never really ends.
You f*ck with a Marine!
What'd you expect?
[Kenny] But I was bummed.
Out of this whole tour,
I never seemed to catch up
with Fiona.
So I took a week off
to recuperate,
then make my way
to Dead & Company's final show
on their long, strange trip,
to a place where my mother
never actually visited,
to the place where the music
started
and this Deadhead movement
got a foothold
in the staid American lexicon
and danced their way
into a psychedelic dream.
This is, uh,
this is Kenny Royce.
-I'm here with, uh, Defer 1.
-[Defer 1] Mm.
We're about-- we're about
four hours out of,
uh, San Francisco,
and we're, um--
[Defer 1] [indistinct speech]
We're on the scene.
This is the last--
I don't wanna say it's the last,
this is the final day,
'cause they're not playing
anymore this summer.
But I don't wanna say
that it's the last.
There's a chance,
there's a chance that--
That this is--
That it goes on,
and not even that,
the music,
the music always goes on.
uh, it is--
it's f*ck' hot as sh*t!
I am ready to go.
I'm on the scene.
Couple more hours,
San Francisco, here we go.
[upbeat music]
[Kenny] Cool, man.
As I wandered around
San Francisco,
I really missed
my tour companions:
Zeke, Lily, Defer 2,
and even Gallop.
But I had no time to waste
for sentimentality.
I had a show to get to,
a few more on-the-scenes
to report,
and just maybe find that miracle
I've been looking for all tour.
Hey, everybody, this is
Kenny Royce on the Scene,
Uh, checking in.
But here I am,
I'm in San Francisco.
It's been a hard ride.
It's been a hard, tough--
tough tour.
The thing is that...
Fiona? Fiona!
Oh, my God!
Wait, Kenny.
Oh, my gosh, how are you?
Kenny Royce.
-I know. How are you?
-[Fiona] Hi. Good.
I have been looking for you.
You have?
All tour.
I mean, I mean, obviously, I'm--
You are going to the show?
You-- are you-- are you--
Duh! I mean do--
Do birds sh*t in the woods?
Uh, do they?
Yes, in the woods.
-[Fiona] Yeah.
-[laughs]
I've been looking for you
and looking.
And it's like-- it's like trying
to find a needle in a haystack.
Why don't we go to the show?
[Fiona] Well,
I would take yes for it.
Then it is a date.
-[Kenny] All right.
-Come on, this way.
[Kenny] Let's do it.
[Fiona] I'm in. Holy...
This way.
[Kenny] Walking down the street
with Fiona,
the whole meaning of this tour
became crystal clear.
For me, this tour
was the last chance
to discover new people, places,
and hear the stories
of their lives,
to live their life.
For Zeke, this tour
was the last chance
to say goodbye to the past:
the people, the places,
and the passing
of his ride-or-die, my mother.
For the Deadheads,
this last tour was everything,
their way to gather
with family and friends
and celebrate the waning days
of their special community,
guided by the soundtrack
of their lives
that ring ever long
in their ears,
seen through a psychedelic sheen
that forever holds their hearts.
And for this brief
moment in time
that I embarked
on the long, strange trip,
I felt it, too.
I finally understood
why these were the best days
of my mother's life.
Why, when she spoke
of the people, places,
and things, she glowed.
Why, to her,
these days never ended.
It was in the music.
It always was.
It always will be.
[upbeat music]
[Defer 1] Hey, Kenny, close.
Uh, so we-- so we--
so here we are--
San Francisco,
wildest thing ever.
Uh, we just got
through security.
This is amazing!
Somebody got rejected.
Gate crush.
He had the Ecstasy tick him.
It's like what Zeke did to me
in Boston.
[upbeat music]
Uh, so here we are.
[Fiona] We're in.
We're in.
Me and Fiona are in.
Is that normal, Fiona,
that, you know,
there's always, like,
a long line for that, right?
[Fiona] Yeah, that's why
I've definitely gone
to the bathroom
in the men's room.
I did.
[upbeat music]
[crowd clapping and singing]
[Kenny] You know my love
will not fade away
Hey, everybody,
it's Kenny Royce.
I'm here at Oracle Park.
Uh, it's the end of the show.
The entire tour is done.
This is it.
This is the, uh, last time
it's Kenny Royce on the Scene
and I think as the band said
tonight really-- really well
with Brok-- Brokedown Palace,
fare thee well.
I'll s-- I'll see you guys
all very soon.
Kenny Royce on the Scene.
Hit.
Okay, I'll give you a hit.
I'll give you a hit.
-Ready?
-[indistinct speech]
I'ma--
I'ma put it to your mouth.
-Ready?
-Give me that. Give--
[Kenny screams]
[man 7] [indistinct speech]
So we're just tryin'--
tryin' to-- tryin' to get--
[indistinct speech]
[man 7] That the same thing
you doin'.
[man mimics air hissing]
[man 7] Okay.
Hey-- hey, Fiona, I got--
I got the ice here.
I got ice ready for our drinks
and--
Great.
[crowd clapping in rhythm
and cheering]
Kenny Royce on the Scene,
yeah
Ha-ha,
it's Kenny Rogers Royce, y'all
Come on, it's My Dead Summer
Everybody now,
My Dead Summer
Ah
My...
[upbeat music]
Trying to find my way
on down the road
Trying to find my way
on down the road
I'm gonna take another turn,
oh, the last time I got burned
The highway's long
and it always takes me home
Yes, f*ck' these--
uh, all f*ck' day,
these guys have been hammering
and f*cking hammering,
and I'm trying to f*ck' sh**t
what I'm trying
to f*ck' sh**t.
Myself.
Oh, oh, oh, sh*t.
Uh, selfie.
f*ck!
[indistinct speech]
I didn't realize
that I was still filming.
Be around.
-They're, uh, this, uh--
-[Defer 1] Hey, guys.
[Kenny] Uh, so...
Uh, my lawyer, uh, Zeke. Go.
Royce on the Scene.
Um, we are
in downtown St. Louis.
Lily Pad is excited.
They just fired some cannon.
[burps]
[Kenny] What was that?
Mm, St. Louis looks all right.
[Kenny] Zeke,
what are you doing there?
[Zeke] Exercises, Kenny.
[Kenny] It looks like you're
dry humpin', uh, you know,
like, a, uh, something.
We're waiting on Defer 1
and Defer 2.
[Zeke] Yeah, they're probably
getting f*cking coffee.
[Kenny] And they probably
got lost from Defer 2's
navigation skills.
Absolutely.
Uh, we're a little bit scared
because, uh,
the car's not here anymore.
[Zeke] Hey, let me give you
a ride!
[Zeke laughing]
This is Kenny Royce
live on the scene.
[dryer whirring]
Someone was-- someone was
really drying their hands there.
I'm in the middle of my podcast.
[Zeke screaming]
[Zeke groaning]
This is Kenny Royce live
on scene in-- at the Kum & Go.
[Zeke] Hey, Marvin,
go f*ck yourself!
[Kenny] Who's Marvin?
It's the guy from last night.
Do you not remember last night?
I-- I don't remember last
night. What do you mean?
[Zeke] Ah, don't worry about it.
And, uh, see, uh--
Zeke, is that more Molly?
[Zeke] Yes, it is, Kenny.
Gallop?
[Zeke] Gallop.
[Gallop whinnying]
[traffic whooshes]
[Kenny] I'd like to change
at some point.
I've been wearing--
[Defer 1] You f*ck' lit me
right up.
Are we goin' up?
Yeah, we're going up, right?
Yeah, I'm just so confused.
We're always stuck in
elevators.
We haven't gone anywhere, guys.
Nobody hit a button.
[Zeke] Uh...
[Defer 1] We're still
on level three.
The car is right down there.
Level four, we went up.
[Zeke chuckles]
[Defer 1] You guys ever
operated an elevator?
Because I got the permit.
But it's not about the permit.
You think I practice law
with a law license?
My God. All right?
-You just-- what?
-What?
The highway's long
and it always takes me home
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My Dead Summer (2026)
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