The truth is out: In the interest of full disclosure, I played in a Grateful Dead cover band in high school. I feel like a weight has been lifted and my soul is liberated from the shackles of skeletons in the closet. This story ran in the Union-Tribune on Thursday, Feb. 26. Check it:
POP MUSIC
Welcome to Bob Weir's world of improv
By Chris Nixon
February 26, 2004
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DATEBOOK
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Bob Weir & Ratdog
9 p.m. tomorrow; 4th & B, 345 B St., downtown; $27 and $30; (619) 231-4343
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Tie-dyes and high-tech. Birkenstocks and binary code. Patchouli and PCs normally live in two separate worlds. But Bob Weir – grandpa of the jam band revolution and Grateful Dead vet – figures on using current technology to record a few studio projects in the place he spends the most time: on the road.
"It's still the notes you play and the notes you don't play," commented Weir during a recent telephone conversation from his Northern Californian home. "All the technology can be confounding at times. It always has been and always will be a double-edged sword. Back when the piano was the latest thing in musical tech, it was a double-edged sword. Franz Liszt, for instance, got hung up on making music that wasn't as lyrical as it could have been, because he was trying to show off the size of his hands and show off that he could do certain things no one else could do. There is always going to be that in music, the new technology not withstanding.
"At the same time, this technology allows us to make a studio album on the road, which is where we are most of the time anyway," said the 56-year-old singer-songwriter. "So there may be more studio albums coming out from the outfits I'm working with."
Weir's currently playing with the Dead (with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead) and his band Ratdog, which will perform tomorrow at 4th & B downtown.
Originally called the Warlocks, the Grateful Dead started playing around San Francisco in 1965. During its 30-year existence, the band revolutionized the music industry by providing an alternative model for success and by adding improvisation to the palette of rock 'n' roll.
By utilizing a grass-roots fan base fueled by constant touring, the Grateful Dead became one of top grossing musical acts of the 1980s and '90s. Since the Dead's groundbreaking formula, bands like Phish, Particle, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, Leftover Salmon and the Slip have taken to the road to spread the good word.
During its steady rise to fame, members of the group dabbled in side projects: Jerry Garcia with his bluegrass band Old and in the Way and his collaborations with mandolin player David Grisman, and drummer Mickey Hart with the Diga Rhythm Band and Planet Drum. With his work in Kingfish (beginning in 1974) and Bobby and the Midnites (in 1978), Weir has probably been the Dead's most prolific member.
When the Dead wasn't touring, Weir searched for new collaborations to explore. In the mid-'90s, he found bassist Rob Wasserman and the band Ratdog. Soon after, on Aug. 9, 1995, the 53-year-old Garcia died of a heart attack due to complications from his long battle with drugs.
"(Ratdog) started out as a departure – just a little vacation – from the stuff I was doing with the Dead," said a relaxed Weir, who seems to be at peace with his past. "When Jerry checked out and the band stopped playing, I was already full sail with Ratdog. At the time, I didn't really feel like going back into the Dead repertoire, so I just kept doing what I was doing with Ratdog."
With Garcia's death, the Grateful Dead decided to call it quits and Weir's side project morphed into his main gig. But he took a few valuable lessons with him: "Learning to stay fast on my feet, so to speak. Learning to improvise quickly and freely and learning to recognize a new direction whether that be coming from me or whoever's offering it."
Weir's improvisational view of rock helped develop Ratdog's style. Along with Wasserman, the former Dead singer cultivated his own interaction with Ratdog. Drummer Jay Lane, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, guitarist Mark Karan and sax player Kenny Brooks joined the musical conversation too. In early 2003, bassist Robin Sylvester added his voice as Wasserman moved on to other projects (he's currently touring with Particle, according to Weir).
Ratdog looks to release another studio album in the near-future, touring in the meantime. Weir will also tour this summer with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, known simply as the Dead. So the veteran musician still has a lot of songs to write, a lot of technology to discover and many more musical conversations to engage in.
"Practice makes perfect," said Weir. "The more you do it, the better you get. I'm enjoying singing more than I ever have before. I intend to be around for quite a while. I won't say that I'm just getting started, but at the same time I'm nowhere near done."
Chris Nixon is a San Diego writer.
