...asked these questions for a recent email interview.

Hey Kids,

I was recently asked these questions for an article. As long as I answered them I thought i'd pass them on to the DSO Blog.

From the writer:

Here's what I'd need:
The band member's name and their position in the band (singer, instrument, whatever)
Their top five songs, listed individually with the album they're from.

My answers:

Dino English - drummer stage right.

Nothing is stagnant about this music so my top five Grateful Dead songs change from day to day but I'll talk about a few of my favorites. Although I do enjoy the studio albums, I much prefer live versions. It's hard to nail down specific performances that I would like to feature because there are so many gems to choose from.

Comes A Time: I will credit the song "Comes A Time" as the reason for me first "getting" the Grateful Dead and becoming a Deadhead. They played it out of "Space" at my first show at Sandstone Amphitheater June 25, 1991. The combination of many factors including Garcia's poignant delivery of this ballad and Hunter's lyrics took my head off and I never was the same since.

Scarlet Begonias: Scarlet is a bouncing tune that will make a stadium full of people dance their but off. It's another great Garcia / Hunter song but this one is upbeat and made for grooving. It contains one of Hunter's most reveled lyrics which resonates with many Grateful Dead fans... "Once in awhile you get shown the light In the strangest of places if you look at it right".

Crazy Fingers: Another example of a Hunter / Garcia song but this one evokes a laid back dance groove with well crafted harmonic chord changes set to Hunter's lyrics. The beauty of most of Hunter's lyrics is that they can change meaning to the listener over time always seeming to be reflective of their current situation. This song is a good example of that. I could easily drop in any numerous Hunter / Garcia compositions as the title of this paragraph.

The Music Never Stopped: No discussion of Grateful Dead songs would be complete without mentioning the song writing team of Bob Weir and John Barlow. I view the Weir / Barlow team as the yang to Garcia / Hunter's yin complementing a balanced approach that accentuates the other authors style when juxtaposed. "The Music Never Stopped" is an upbeat slightly funky number that describes the ongoing events at any Grateful Dead style show "While the music plays the band".

The Other One: Many songs in the Grateful Dead repertoire open up to a free form jam and "The Other One" is a perfect example. This song is almost completely open with only two short verses set to a rolling triplet feel. Sometimes the rolling effect of the jam can even disintegrate and take off into any musical direction. This song gives reason to why the Grateful Dead became the pioneering jam band.