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“My relationship to the Grateful Dead was fairly limited until I started getting tapes of their music when I was about 17,” acknowledges artist and author Mark A. Rodriguez. “I only had three Grateful Dead albums, so I wasn’t a completist in terms of their studio discography. I had Anthem of the Sun, Wake of…
In 1998, Bassist Alphonso Johnson joined his longtime friend and fellow jazz luminary, drummer Billy Cobham in co-founding an all-new instrumental project. The pair teamed with keyboardist T Lavitz and guitarist Jimmy Herring to interpret the music of the Grateful Dead in the aptly titled Jazz Is Dead. This ensemble has performed intermittently over the…
Justin and Stephanie Kreutzmann at the premiere *** “The film turned out way more personal that I had expected,” director Justin Kreutzmann says of Let There Be Drums! his entertaining and enlightening new documentary. “It’s certainly a doc about drummers, but it’s also a story about family. I think the family stuff is just as…
On Saturday, Oct. 29, Greensky Bluegrass hosted their one-off Halloween celebration at The Warfield in San Francisco. In classic Grateful Dead style, the show kicked off with a Bill Graham-inspired announcement, which was conducted by renowned Grateful Dead photographer Jay Blakesberg, in the beginning of the show introducing each member of the band by name,…
Today Greenwich Entertainment released the Justin Kreutzmann-directed documentary, Let There Be Drums!. The film examines the essential role of drumming and the passing of influence and inspiration from generation to generation. The through hours of interviews with drumming legends, including the late and legendary Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, Ringo Starr, The Police’s Stewart Copeland, the…
photo credit: Gabi Porter *** “There’s something about Grateful Dead songs. I think of them as friends because they have personalities, and I miss them when we don’t play them. It’s like missing people; I’ve never experienced that with a song before, where I couldn’t wait to play it again and I was really glad…
“This isn’t a work of fiction and it isn’t a memoir, it’s a burlesque,” explains Ken Babbs of his new book, Cronies: Adventures with Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady, the Merry Pranksters and the Grateful Dead. As the subtitle suggests, Babbs explores his friendships with numerous larger-than-life personalities, much like himself. The author acknowledges, “I’m an…
“This isn’t a work of fiction and it isn’t a memoir, it’s a burlesque,” explains Ken Babbs of his new book, Cronies: Adventures with Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady, the Merry Pranksters and the Grateful Dead. As the subtitle suggests, Babbs explores his friendships with numerous larger-than-life personalities, much like himself. The author acknowledges, “I’m an…
photo credit: Rashad Bedeir The pioneering post-hardcore musician finds his way to the Grateful Dead during the depths of recovery. *** My name is Wade MacNeil. I’m a recovering alcoholic and addict, and I’m a Deadhead. For many people, drugs and the Dead go hand in hand. But for me, it wasn’t until I got…
photo credit: Carlotta Kohl *** Jack Antonoff is both a dynamic live performer and a studio craftsman. Going all the way back to his days in Steel Train through his current performances with Bleachers, he has connected with audiences through his natural blend of ebullience and affability. Yet, as his Grammy nomination for Producer of…
Betty Cantor working with the Grateful Dead in Herouville, France, 6/21/71 (Photo credit: Rosie McGee) *** “It was an interesting period. We didn’t quite slow down; we just went in different directions. A lot of stuff was happening,” Betty Cantor says, as she thinks back on the Grateful Dead’s creative output from the late ‘60s…
photo credit: Jay Blakesberg As we continue The Days Between, the stretch that runs from Jerry Garcia’s birthday (August 1, 1942) to his passing (August 9, 1995), we revisit this piece, which looks back at the outset of Garcia’s career. ** With the release of Built To Last, the Grateful Dead have reached another pivotal…
Photo by Les Kippel In a 1980 issue of Relix, Robert Hunter walked through the Dead’s “Greatest Hits” with Jeff Tamarkin. To celebrate the late songwriter’s birthday, we look back on that rare peek behind the curtain. TRUCKIN’: I wrote that in several different cities, starting off in San Francisco. I finished it up in…
Today, May 24, 2021, marks Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday. The legendary musician was born on this day in 1941 in Duluth, Minn. He released his debut, self-titled record in 1962, and since then has been a fixture of American music and pop culture, with a career spanning over 60 years. In 1987, Dylan embarked on…
“For the longest time, my aspirations were to be an environmental activist,” observes Rex Foundation executive director and former Grateful Dead manager Cameron Sears. “Right after high school, I became a river guide and I also worked specifically to save a river in central California, the Tuolumne. It was the birthplace of the Sierra Club…
Political reporter Jake Sherman laughs as he describes the quandary he often faces after he’s invited backstage at a concert. The inveterate music enthusiast recently launched Punchbowl News with fellow Politico Playbook alum Anna Palmer, his co-author of The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump’s America. Given his…
Bill Kreutzmann turns 75 today. This weekend, he will celebrate via Grateful Mahalo, a special three-night event in Kauai, Hawai’i featuring his Billy & The Kids band (Aron Magner, Tom Hamilton and Reed Mathis), Carlos Santana, Billy Strings and James Casey. The shows will be available at fans.live/mahalo. To celebrate, we’re looking back at an…
PRESENTED BY photo credit: Todd Michalek With a new opera, a concerto grosso and his long-awaited memoir in the works, Bob Weir remains as creative as ever, defying all notions of a pandemic pause. *** “I would be loath to give my muse short shrift,” Bob Weir declares. “I just couldn’t countenance doing that.” Weir…
On March 18, bassist Oteil Burbridge kicked off his first of three nights at the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Colorado, performing a single set of tunes with his trio format. Burbridge opened with “Elegant People” by Weather Report, a tune he recently told Bass Magazine was a favorite of his kids. From there, naturally,…
Photo by Jesse Faatz On Feb. 21, Billy Strings performed the fourth of six livestreamed shows at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., dubbed ‘The Deja Vu Experiment.’ The dates were chosen to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s February 1971 performances at the venue, which took place on the same exact…
Danny Zelisko and Bill Graham at Las Vegas, Nev.’s Sam Boyd Stadium, April 1991 “This was the field that chose me,” declares promoter Danny Zelisko, who was only two years out of high school when he produced his first show, a 1974 Mahavishnu Orchestra gig in Tucson, Ariz. “I wasn’t really equipped to be an…
Josh Agajanian, Mr. Bob Weir and Jacob Ullman It’s one of those situations where the quote ‘We are everywhere’ really applies. I think it probably hit a crescendo at the World Series, where everybody was watching and noticed, ‘Wow, they’re playing a lot of Grateful Dead and a lot of Phish,’” observes Jacob Ullman, senior…
Susana Millman’s Alive with the Dead: A Fly on the Wall with a Camera is now commercially available, offering keen insight to the Grateful Dead through the ’80s and ’90s. In addition to the stunning, intimate images, the book’s forward was written by drummer/Rhythm Devil Micky Hart and additional notations were provided by Millman’s colleague and…
Payne Linsey and Jake Brennan (photo credit Brett William) “I was fascinated by the Grateful Dead fanbase’s ability to solve something,” observes Payne Lindsey, halfway through the premiere episode of the new true-crime podcast Dead and Gone. “A connection among fans so strong that it could help clear a 20-year-old cold case. I knew there…
photo credit: Zach Pigg On her new album of covers, Molly Tuttle shares a variegated range of interests and affinities. “It just kind of happened organically. I wanted a fun project to work on and it was nice because it kind of re-inspired me during the pandemic,” Molly Tuttle explains, while discussing the origins of…
Sully and Shappy (photo credit: Jay Blakesberg) *** “I can’t think of anything else like it,” promoter Don Sullivan says, while looking back on Fare Thee Well from a distance of five years. He could apply that comment to many aspects of the highprofile event, which brought together the “Core Four” members of the Grateful…
You’ll hear a lot of artists say, ‘I don’t like to dwell on the past. I just like to move forward and think of the future,’” Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club co-founder Chris Frantz observes while discussing the origins of his new memoir, Remain in Love. “And that’s fine—I think of the future— but…
The Rex Foundation and The Jerry Garcia Family have announced ‘Daze Between,’ a nine-day livestream event that will include “exclusive musical performances and storytelling to celebrate the life and legacy of Jerry Garcia.” (Quote via press release.) The event begins on Aug. 1 and will run through Aug. 9. It will benefit the Rex Foundation,…
To stoke excitement for the release of their new Grateful Dead sneaker, Nike SB enlisted some of their pro skateboarders to show off the new collaboration to the tune of a 2/21/71 “Cumberland Blues.” Featured skaters include Elissa Steamer, Simon Jensen, Pedro Attenborough, Pierre Leze, Jose “Sixas” Vivero and Ryuhei Kitazume, in cities like San…
On Sunday, FANS.com will rebroadcast all three Fare Thee Well shows from Chicago on July 3-5 in which Grateful Dead alums Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart took the stage together to celebrate the Dead’s 50th anniversary, along with Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti. Relix produced three daily programs for…