Andy Cohen Recounts Doing Mushrooms at a Grateful Dead Concert in High School – Thanks Parents for Trusting Him
Bravo executive Andy Cohen reminisced about going to a Grateful Dead show in another state when he was 18 years old – and marveling that how his parents trusted him to have that experience.
Andy’s parents Lou and Evelyn joined their son in the Watch What Happens Live Clubhouse as bartenders and he made the revelation during the After Show. He added, to his parent’s surprise, that he spent the weekend doing mushrooms while living out of his dad’s car. And said because his parents allowed him to go, he now has this lifelong love of the Dead.
Andy Cohen and his parents recall his Grateful Dead adventure to Wisconsin
Andy recounted a conversation he had with his parents during dinner about going to the Grateful Dead show as a teen. “My mom said to me, we were talking about me going to all these Grateful Dead shows,” Andy said on the WWHL After Show. Evelyn then recalled giving Andy permission to travel to the show in another state.
“He was a junior in high school,” she recounted. “And he goes he’s going to Wisconsin. Could he take … ” Lou added, “My car!”
“To Wisconsin to see the Grateful Dead,” Evelyn continued. The Cohens lived in St. Louis, Missouri.
Andy admits he did mushrooms the entire time but is glad he was allowed to go to the show
Andy said he slept in the car in the parking lot when he got to the Grateful Dead show. “And my mom let me go and sleep in the car in the parking lot,” Andy continued.
Of course, Evelyn piped in that she can’t believe she let her son do that. But Andy thought that the fact his parents trusted him helped him develop this love of the Grateful Dead. “And I really thought about it and I said, this is actually a beautiful thing because you trusted me,” Andy said, recalling the conversation he had with his parents at dinner.
He then admitted, “Now, I did do mushrooms all weekend in the parking lot. But it was OK. Because the truth is, I think it was so great because you trusted me. It all worked out. I still love this band. It was part of the fabric of my experience of life that I wouldn’t have had if she didn’t trust me at the time.”
Andy Cohen says the Grateful Dead is the ‘great equalizer’
Evelyn and Lou said they were either ignorant or naive. But Andy didn’t see it that way. “My mom said, I can’t believe I let you go,” Andy said.
“By the way, Vicki [Gunvalson] was rage texting me Friday,” he added. “I was at the Grateful Dead show. I was like, stoned. She’s texting me about something. And I said to her, I’m not doing this right now. I go, I’m at a Grateful Dead show. And she said to me, oh, my God, I love the Grateful Dead. Have fun. And I was like, Isn’t that great? That’s the great equalizer. I mean, it was like the perfect storm.”
WWHL guests Tamra Judge and Vicki Gunvalson turned to Lou and Evelyn to ask how they felt about their son getting stoned. “Not happy about it,” Evelyn replied.
Tamra then wondered if Andy would allow his daughter to follow in his footsteps in that respect. To which he said, “Well, we’ll talk about it.”
