What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

If you haven't heard the Dharma Lady single from Geronimo Jackson then you're in for a real treat. It's from 1977 and a fictitious band, but it's really not too bad for a Grateful Dead rip-off. (I don't mean that in a negative sense) From the band's logo to their groovy sound this band is obviously an homage to the Dead. (Huh, that's an interesting thought in and of itself) While I love 70s music and the throw back is great, it has a Almost Famous/Stillwater feeling to it, but my question is why? With Lost, fans always look for the deeper meaning, so I'm diving down the rabbit hole to try to figure this one out.

Let's start with the bands logo: It's obviously a Grateful Dead style image with a rabbit skull. So what does the rabbit represent, let's go to wiki to find out:

• Rabbits are often used as a symbol of fertility or rebirth, and have long been associated with spring and Easter as the Easter Bunny. The species' role as a prey animal also lends itself as a symbol of innocence, another Easter connotation. (This could be reference to the Islands power to make men more potent.)
  
• Additionally, rabbits are often used as symbols of playful sexuality, which also relates to the human perception of innocence, as well as its reputation as a prolific breeder. (This could be a reference to the free spirit of the 70s and the Dharma Initiative.)
  
• The rabbit often appears in folklore as the trickster archetype, as he uses his cunning to outwit his enemies. (This has Sawyer written all over it, he's the conman. Not to mention the rabbit that Ben put the fake pacemaker in and way back in season one Sawyer read Watership Down a book about rabbits.)
  
• On the Isle of Portland in Dorset, UK, the rabbit is said to be unlucky and speaking its name can cause upset with older residents. This is thought to date back to early times in the quarrying industry, where piles of extracted stone (not fit for sale) were built into tall rough walls (to save space) directly behind the working quarry face; the rabbit's natural tendency to burrow would weaken these "walls" and cause collapse, often resulting in injuries or even death. (I like that it's the Isle of Portland and the Island is not quite in Portland, but that aside the survivors have had nothing but bad luck.)

So any or all of these could be the reasoning behind the use of the rabbit or maybe it's just to get people like me to write things like this. Next up the name of the band Geronimo Jackson, I know how those producers and writers love them some anagrams, so I popped Geronimo Jackson in the anagram server. It came with a lot of useless results but there were a few that caught my eye.

• A Romances Joking
• Karmic Jean Goons
• Jack Reaming Soon
• Jack Agonies Norm
• Jack Insane Groom
  
• Jack Moaning Rose(not remotely relevant, but just an opportunity to say where's Rose?)
• Ignore Jacks Moan
• Conman Rigs A Joke
  

So this is my analysis of Geronimo Jackson, make of this what you will, but I'd love to hear your take on it.
You can get the Dharma Lady single at iTunes for free, I suggest you do.

Update:
I found some more info on the band, plus more anagrams, so I thought I'd share.
Things the producers have said about the band:

• Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse seemed to suggest that the band was real. "They're a band not a lot of people have heard about. They just pressed one very obscure album in the mid to late '70s". (Official Lost Podcast/January 09, 2006)
• They later claim that the band made two albums and "did most of their recording in the early 70s." (Official Lost Podcast transcript/May 15, 2006)
• The producers again insisted that the band was a real but obscure group from the "Haight-Ashbury scene" in a March 2009 podcast, which also promoted an upcoming release of a Geronimo Jackson track on iTunes. (Official Lost Podcast/March 5, 2009)
• An Easter egg on disc four of the Season 2 DVD features a short video clip of supervising producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz elaborating on the band's back story. They claim it was the brainchild of Keith Strutter, a Kentuckian who ran away from home in the 1960s and wound up in San Francisco. The band's first gigs were at burlesque shows, working their way up to play clubs like the Avalon and the Filmore. They never headlined, but put out one album, Magna Carta, which has been out of print for some time. Kitsis claims that the band disappeared into obscurity in Woodstock, NY in 1971. It was put into Lost as a tribute to an under-appreciated band.

On ABC's website:
Keith Strutter formed the rock band Geronimo Jackson in the mid 60s in Detroit. Gathering a solid reputation for their sold-out string of performances in local burlesque clubs, the band packed up their gear and made way to the Excelsior District of San Francisco. From there they released their first album “Magna Carta,” receiving much acclaim and star status to locals in the industry. Reported to be making their long awaited follow-up album, the band retired to Woodstock in 1972, never to be seen or heard again.

Other facts about the band:

• The album title Magna Carta is an anagram of "anagram act".
• The band's name Geronimo Jackson is an anagram for "Jack, go sin no more", Magna Carta is also an anagram for "At crag aman". Crag means cliff, and Aman is the name of a location in J. R. R. Tolkien's books also known as the Undying Lands. Jack nearly fell off a cliff on the island chasing after his father in the first season episode, "White Rabbit".
• Charlie's middle name, Hieronymus, means "sacred name" in Ancient Greek, and is a variant of the name "Geronimo".
• Geronimo was a famous Apache leader and medicine man.
• A group named Magna Carta was founded in 1969.
• The Magna Carta (1215) is widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy.
• There is a record label Magna Carta Records.
• There is a band from the 1970s called Geronimo Black, who produced one album. The third track of this album was entitled "Other Man".
• The surnames of the two directors of Disney's Alice in Wonderland are Geronimi and Jackson.

Make of this what you will and let me know your theories on Geronimo Jackson.