Thursday, February 16, 2012

Hey there blogosphere! Rob K here.
First, I must apologize for the lack of blogging on my part recently. We appreciate you reading and are making a better effort at more frequent entries.

So what's been going on? Well, we had a great 2nd half of 2011. Japan was incredible, as was Alaska. We are hoping to get back to both those places soon. Our gig at Hardly Strictly in Golden Gate Park gave us chills. So many people out there. Playing a GD show just yards from where the original was played. A truly unforgettable day.

2012 is off to a great start. The crowds are growing and we are playing really well. There is a great energy between the band and fans happening during the shows, and that really takes it to another level. Thank you!!

Lots of exciting stuff coming up. We are really looking forward to returning to Europe in a few weeks. Ready to take it to London for the first time. Tickets are selling well, and I am really excited to let the English heads know what we are about.

We are in Cleveland right now. We had the day off here yesterday and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We had the honor of taking a behind the scenes tour of the Archival Storage area. They are getting ready for a big Grateful Dead special exhibit and we got to see some of the artifacts up close. It opens in April and promises to be very cool. If you can get to Cleveland to see it, I would recommend it.

As I am sure you all know, we have announced our Jam in the Sand for March 2013 in Jamiaca. This is going to be an amazing time. Rooms are selling quick, so get those deposits in. Don't miss out on this great musical vacation!

Look for some more big announcements in the near future.
As, always, folks, thanks for your support. We couldn't do this without you.

PEACE--ROB K

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

...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.