SOUTHBURY, Conn. — The famed “Wall of Sound,” which accompanied the Grateful Dead on their tour in 1974, was a technological marvel at the time – though it was simply too cumbersome to parcel from city to city.
While the Wall of Sound only lasted a year on the road, it’s legacy lives on.
Anthony Coscia, a Luthier - or guitar maker - who now lives in Southbury, has made it his pandemic project to create smaller-scale replicas of the Wall of Sound.
“It was the largest P.A. system of its time,” said Coscia, who is now working on his fifth replica of the Wall. "The fact that I started this during the pandemic when everyone was sitting home and there was nothing but bad news going on -- this was a great outlet for people to follow along."
For Coscia, a self-proclaimed “Dead Head” the question he gets a lot is “why?”
He said creating the Wall of Sound replicas are a good way to both educate and raise money for charity.
“There are two charities, ‘Spread Music Now’ and ‘TeachRock’ that both are doing everything they can to take the younger generation that loves music to the next generation and incorporate this into their education and help spread it to the next generation,” Coscia said.
Wall of Sound in Southbury
Coscia’s newest Wall of Sound is set to be at the show, “Zappa meets The Dead” on May 21 at the Bijou Theater in Bridgeport.
The fundraising efforts from the various Wall of Sound replicas will continue.
“The best part is probably when people come in and see it or go out and hear it and they’re just awe-inspired,” Coscia said.
To learn more about Coscia’s Wall of Sound projects, click here.
To learn about Coscia’s charities of choice, go to their websites.
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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