SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Deadheads descended on the Haight-Ashbury house the band called home in the 1960s to say goodbye to Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh on Friday.

“They had a huge influence on our lives. And so I like to think about the happy memories,” said Joan Durbin, who was visiting from Atlanta with her husband.

“When we heard the news that Phil had passed away, we decided we wanted to come here and pay our respects,” she said. “It’s like watching some of your friends get older and everyone gets older, and so people die and the music goes on,” added Mark Durbin.

And the music could be heard across the road in a Volkswagen van.

“It’s surreal, I mean the dead were getting old,” said Johnny Greavu. “I thought this day would come, but not so soon.”

RELATED: Bay Area founding member Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead has died at 84

The band is the symbol of the counterculture movement of the sixties.

“If you look at that house and think about the people who walked up and down those steps and those special years, that was a very special moment in time,” Michael Seiler said.

“Deadheads are, you know, that’s where all the runaways, outcasts, addicts are,” Greavu said. “It’s a whole community of misfits in a way, and it’s home to a lot of people who don’t feel like they have a home.”

The band’s music defines a generation and inspires generations of fans to follow.

“The energy from that moment is still here, you can feel it. We’re sitting in a van, there’s people walking up and down the streets who know this music, it just never stops,” Seiler said.