By: Concert Vault
Playlist Description
On an interview on this site, Jerry Garcia claims his reason for playing with the Jerry Garcia Band wasn't so much to make his own personal music as it was for him to express what he likes about music as a whole, giving him a chance to play music he's a fan of. It's a healthy outlet to be sure and, along with the other members' side projects, probably one of the main reasons for the Grateful Dead's longevity.
This playlist features one-time members of the Grateful Dead playing with various friends, either in full-fledged side projects, as guests sitting in for a jam, or in their other careers before they became members of the Dead. While the genres and recording quality contained here vary greatly, there is an underlying sense of looseness and fun in all of these songs, showing that those that were chosen for playing in the band did have something in common...intangible as it may have been.
1. Co-founded by Bay Area musicians Matthew Kelly and Dave Torbert in 1973, Bob Weir was a member from 1974 - 1976.
2. This track features "Jellyroll" Troy on bass and vocals, Martin Fierro on sax, and Bill Atwood on trumpet. This set had a number of guests on stage at different points.
3. Jerry sitting in with the ABB.
4. One of the original members of The Tubes, Vince Welnick, would replace Brent Mydland on keyboards in 1990. He remained with the Grateful Dead through 1995. During his early tenure with the Dead, he was often supplemented on grand piano by...
5. Bruce Hornsby. Although slated to be the next Elton John or Billy Joel after winning the Best New Artist Grammy in 1987, you can hear in his live shows that he also had a propensity to keep it improvisational (including covering "I Know You Rider" in his live sets before joining the Dead). I also couldn't help but pick a song he wrote for Huey Lewis, who took part in San Francisco psychedelia with his band Clover (he says his mom is a DeadHead on his interview on the site).
6. Featuring Billy Cobham (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles
