• https://www.dead.net/features/news/dead-covers-project-2012
    The Dead Covers Project

    What a wonderful month it's been, sharing our love of the Grateful Dead through song and video! We applaud all the hard work and effort that you, the fans, put into the DEAD COVERS PROJECT, and we hope you'll continue to watch and support all the amazing participant videos on YouTube until we fire up the DEAD COVERS PROJECT again next February.

    Throughout the month of April, we'll be shining our lovelight on a handful of artists that really made the grade. You'll get to know each of these five artists and find out just what made them connect with the Dead in our exclusive DEAD COVERS PROJECT profiles, but for now we'd simply like to congratulate the following participants (in no particular order)...

    Now Playing In The Band...

    The project may be over for 2012, but you can continue to check out some of the "Top Rated" videos that were submitted and "Like" them here.

    <?php $youtubeurl = 'https://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/videos?q=DeadCoversProject&max-results=10&orderby=rating&time=this_month&start-index=2&v=2'; $xml = simplexml_load_file($youtubeurl) or print '

    There was a problem loading the youtube API xml

    '; $count = '1'; foreach ($xml->entry as $entry) { $media = $entry->children('https://search.yahoo.com/mrss/'); $attrs = $media->group->player->attributes(); $videourl = $attrs['url']; $attrs = $media->group->thumbnail[0]->attributes(); $imageurl = $attrs['url']; print '
    '; print '

    '; print $count++; print '

    '; print ''; print ''; print ''; print '

    '; print ''; print $entry->title; print ''; print '

    '; print ''; print '
    '; print '
    '; } ?>
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What a wonderful month it's been, sharing our love of the Grateful Dead through song and video! We applaud all the hard work and effort that you, the fans, put into the DEAD COVERS PROJECT, and we hope you'll continue to watch and support all the amazing participant videos on YouTube until we fire up the DEAD COVERS PROJECT again next February.

Throughout the month of April, we'll be shining our lovelight on a handful of artists that really made the grade. You'll get to know each of these five artists and find out just what made them connect with the Dead in our exclusive DEAD COVERS PROJECT profiles, but for now we'd simply like to congratulate the following participants (in no particular order)...

Now Playing In The Band...

The project may be over for 2012, but you can continue to check out some of the "Top Rated" videos that were submitted and "Like" them here.

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'; $count = '1'; foreach ($xml->entry as $entry) { $media = $entry->children('https://search.yahoo.com/mrss/'); $attrs = $media->group->player->attributes(); $videourl = $attrs['url']; $attrs = $media->group->thumbnail[0]->attributes(); $imageurl = $attrs['url']; print '
'; print '

'; print $count++; print '

'; print ''; print ''; print ''; print '

'; print ''; print $entry->title; print ''; print '

'; print ''; print '
'; print '
'; } ?>
" data-num-posts="20" data-width="500">
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What a wonderful month it's been, sharing our love of the Grateful Dead through song and video! We applaud all the hard work and effort that you, the fans, put into the DEAD COVERS PROJECT, and we hope you'll continue to watch and support all the amazing participant videos on YouTube until we fire up the DEAD COVERS PROJECT again next February.

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I agree with some or your points (and I am not a person who had a vote in selecting videos--I was always recommending stuff on my own), but I think maybe you're overstating the competition side. Yes, there was a certain ranking and choices made in that regard, but it was never really presented as being a "contest" or suggested there was some grand prize at the end. At least I never read it that way. It's more like on NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" where winning and points are really an afterthought and the game itself is the fun. Yes, I would have liked to see videos I championed get even more exposure., but for me, as a fan first, the joy of the whole thing was going in every couple of days and digging through the new pile and discovering gems on my own. Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is don't take any of this too seriously. It was always meant to be a fun exercise and I think it definitely succeeded on that level. And I think it's safe to say it FAR exceeded anyone's expectations. I'm sure there will be tweaks along the way. And there's always room for improvement! I salute anyone who posted a video and anyone who watched one!
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Hi all,I enjoyed this project. It motivated me to at least try a version of mountains of the moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaN-rGHe8DE&feature=plcp&context=C35e788… I also enjoyed so much, seeing a lot of others videos, and the ways they had adapted the songs, whilst remaining within the spirit of the Grateful Dead. It's a little lonely being an Aussie deadhead, so it was nice to see how there is a community of diverse people in the states, who, despite having different musical backgrounds and stylings, reference the Grateful Dead, and their great but under recognised song catalog. Finally, a couple of other Dead Cover covers from me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgAEjlvUAyQ&feature=plcp&context=C344ce0… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8Gbvi95I34&feature=plcp&context=C37008a… Sorry the URLs are so long. Keep the trip going. Mike Webster.
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Great project, thanks to organizers and all the wonderful players. Tallmarc
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Great project, thanks to organizers and all the wonderful players. Gives me faith that the music really will never stop. Tallmarc
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Great project, thanks to organizers and all the wonderful players. Gives me faith that the music really will never stop. Tallmarc
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16 years 5 months
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Great project, thanks to organizers and all the wonderful players. Gives me faith that the music really will never stop. Tallmarc
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Great project, thanks to organizers and all the wonderful players. Gives me faith that the music really will never stop. Tallmarc
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So that's why I never wear a watch! This was a really cool event/project/thingie and I didn't really see it as a beauty pageant in the traditional sense. More like a mass celebration. I had intended to post a submission myself but limited access to requisite technology proved to be too much to overcome. Well, that and actually getting a take that I was prepared to have hung out in perpetuity. May still post one up if I can just for the halibut...
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But seriously.. I think many of us would like to hear an admission from the powers that be that the "contest" as it were (yes, there were prizes.. being among the ten featured / recognition IS a HUGE prize) is NOT based purely on talent and musical ability and interpretations of the Dead tunes, but more on how many "Likes" the band can get on Youtube. So, if one band had a techie in the group, or a huge supply of devotees that could spend 4th dimensional resources campaiging to harvest Likes into the multi thousands, that band would be more likely to achieve the pinnacle of recognition. ...whether or not there was another band that had a version of the same song that blew it away (vocally, instrumentally, etc) but had few Likes, perhaps owing to having started out late in the game, or being technologically challenged, yet managing to post by the deadline, thinking some panel of human judges would be viewing all the ones that were shared (at least on Dead.net's BB bulletin board with a link to the song on their YouTube channel). The reason I feel it is important to be answered (not just for myself but for all the participants) is that going forward, what can we expect for next year? Obviously all of us who entered will be keeping our entries up on YouTube. So for next year, do we simply resubmit them through this portal, on this BB, to say "hey, check out this one!", or must we record new ones, and if we are using existing ones from this year, how will the # of accumulated Likes figure in at that point? From what I've read both on the BB and on various participating artists' YouTube pages and comments, is that many of us jumped through hoops to get submissions up by he deadline, but it amounted to naught, and not due to lack of talent either. When the contest was announced, the challenge was "Do you have what it takes to cover the Dead", and not "do you have what it takes to make your video go viral and have more people "Like" it. Important concerns, IMHO. That having been said, I was extremely impressed with some of the top featured choices. My favorites were Brandon McCoy, Aaron Gibson, Jugtown Pirates, & Packy Lundholm, not necessarily in that order, and would like to congratulate them (as well as the others) for achieving this distinction. I'm also curious as to what extent if any, the members of the Dead and their repsoective offshoot groups see or have any input into what songs "made the grade" (ie the featured list). Thanks in advance for your response. - Mark The Harper
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I had a great time, and I think most everybody else had a great time. Unfortunately the world is round and there are all types. So I guess there are whiners too. It seems like comparing apples to oranges to make a contest out of music. But if that is what some will want go ahead and give it to them. What is important is that now we know there are great bands out there still playing Dead. And now we know where they are etc.. We also know that there are tons of Deadheads out there playing amateur versions of Dead tunes. We also know there are tons of Regular folks out there who are also playing dead tunes........ And hopefully the Dead know that we love them and will never give up.... And whenever some of them want to retire the music wont stop. It will be okay.
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Thank you Harp-Unstrung for articulating a point of view that I’m willing to bet represents the perspective of the MAJORITY of participants in this project. This project came out of left field, was not particularly thought through prior to launch, was over before anyone even understood the ground rules, and in dead.net’s own words had an overwhelming response. If the likes of Mickey Hart are to be believed, the current mission of dead.net is to tap into the massive consumer market that the grateful dead brand has inspired. I’m sure there are many in the organization who are stung by that statement but I say more power to you. Why? Because if wealth and power must be concentrated somewhere I would rather it be held by organizations like the Grateful Dead. I don’t know Blairj’s connection to dead.net but since he responded in defense of the status quo his statements are a good place to begin. Harp-Unstrung already addressed some of Blairj’s comments as well as elucidating some key practical issues so I’m just gonna expand on a few things and try to frame out the fundamental difference between this project and every other facet of dead.net. Blairj admonishes that I not take things too seriously because this project was meant to be a “fun exercise”. I researched some of Blairj’s posts and nowhere on this forum have I read anything more passionate than his outrage over Rolling Stone Magazine’s ranking of Garcia as #47 guitarist of all time and I couldn’t agree more. I was actually pissed off when I saw that issue and anyone who knows me will tell you I don’t do anger. But it was a ratings contest for the entertainment of its readers, nothing was at stake, no effort required by the participants who were all highly recognized musicians. When Blairj espouses on how successful this was as a fun exercise he is spot on in that this has got to be a ratings bonanza for dead.net which is in the business of tapping the consumers of the Dead Brand. Honestly, while everything dead is new to that next generation of teens being introduced to the long strange trip, this project represents the only truly fresh and new content on dead.net. So yes it was a success, the deadheads love it but Harp-Unstrung nailed it when he points out how many very talented musicians, technicians, artists, and promoters jumped through hoops for what frankly turned into a joke. Not to take away from the five winners who are all deserving and were obviously picked thoughtfully by an individual or small committee, nor the ten featured above who are an interesting cross-sectional representation of the hundreds of entries but Harp-Unstrung is correct; they are all reaping huge benefit just by virtue of their seat on this page. And what about the Canadian band that sat at #1 with 2700 likes for most of the month. I’m dying to hear your explanation just by virtue of what delicious gossip it will be – although in court, that story would get your whole event thrown out the window. I think my point is that with power comes responsibility and the deadcoversproject has so far been a fairly reckless exercise of power. This project ought to be about the performers, musicians, artists, technicians who among other things are struggling to make a living with their skills. A living totally dependent on being recognized for what they are. The dead are to be commended for their sense of responsibility toward their fans over the years and no one can blame them turning a buck off of the sheer numbers of deadicated deadheads that thrive off of being a part of the clan but I would argue that this band has far greater responsibility to their fellow entertainers who, in many cases, were inspired by the dead to become what they are. I think somebody over there at dead.net had a great idea here but I they seem clueless regarding what it takes to make a video. Sure, a solo performer need do little more than tape themselves singing in the shower but to do what the dead did takes a coordinated organization (which is yet a whole nother topic) This project became a mandatory assignment once announced. You don’t pass up this kind of opportunity if you are a musician. Don’t underestimate the resentment the execution of this “project” will generate if you continue to handle the artists involved like so many trained monkeys. While your fans are eating this up, your peers in the music business are like WTF? Unlike the multitude of fans out there your fellow musicians aren’t asking for a miracle, just a fair shake and equal opportunity. The dead know it is a great leap from society’s comfort zone to choose music as a career, and rarely does it pay back what it has for the dead but . . . there but by the grace of Jerry they go. There’s an easy fix. You named it a project, make it a project. Recognize that this is the resource side of your business, not sales. Make it ongoing, you’ve got the infrastructure already (see my earlier post), use it to bring all this talent together, don’t pit them against each other and for God’s sake DON’T MAKE THEM WEAR WATCHES! And no Semper Fire, a contest is exactly what this whiner for one does NOT want. ziph
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Best part of the contest is it put a whole bunch of great content on YouTube. I love looking for great covers of all my favorite tunes and now I have a ton of them of my favorite band. Will be watching them regularly and decide on my own Favorites. Thanks for thinking this concept up. Can't wait for next year.
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This is in response to some recent comments (harp unstrung, ziphler, etc...) Like with everything Grateful Dead, you can't always get what you want, but if you try, you get what you need. I fully 80% believe this more than 50% of the time. We put up a Darkstar by Dali with fairly extensive psychedelic creative video editing. I heard about the dead covers project and was psyched to remix this great living room jam Darkstar we had and create a video in the vein of some other artistic video work I have been doing recently. After the music was created and mixed, I spent 40 hours plus about 40 hours of rendering time (computer crunching video all night) in a fairly intense way and got the tune posted at 1:00 AM on Feb. 1st. Perfect project at the moment! Very enjoyable! And i did get more hits and comments than anything else I've posted. Though the chordal structure is very continuous, I think this was a truly whole hearted psychedelically adventurous piece of music with many improvisational elements. I believe this Darkstar is good (good enough to listen to, if you like psychedelic Grateful Dead music). Don't take this comment the wrong way, but most of the chosen songs and tunes in dead covers project are just that, songs and tunes. They aren't psychedelic adventures. From the first notes, and the first singing, it's easy to project ahead and fill in the gaps. You know what the second verse of deal is going to sound like. You know what the guitar solo will sound like. Don't get me wrong No ONE LOVES Grateful Dead music more than me - the classic repetoire from the late 60's thru the early 80's. Huge neural pathways are sliced thru my mind and all the tunes flow right through them easily. I love all of it, the country, the bluegrassy, the ballads, about 100 tunes that are just Grateful Dead and nothing else, and all the long "second set" material.... Terrapin, Playin, Estimated, Darkstar, Eyes, Help Slipknot. Alright, where am I going with this.... I agree, you can't squeeze this into a "contest" and I think it is wrong to view it as such. Everyone benefits. Musicians and video people can put stuff up, listeners and viewers can watch. But if it is framed as an annual thing and the process is what it is, I think there are legitimate concerns. - There are multiple styles of Grateful Dead music. Big, psychedelic jam tunes by live bands were largely ignored in the picks du jour. - No Bob tunes in final picks... I don't really view things that way, but it is fairly traditional to sub-divide to Bob and Jerry tunes, and there are distinct stylistic differences across large percentages of each. - I agree that videography and video editing seemed to be largely ignored. Birdhouse doing Here Comes Sunshine was sweet - I mean they had to go out in a field and nail a performance, at the exact time the sun is poking through the trees, and a pretty smooth camera operator was shooting the video - and the tune is excellent. And the editing and production was great. The point is that I agree the videography, and sound quality, seemed to be less of an issue, than some aspect of novelty in the performance which sometimes I found difficult to pinpoint or appreciate. There are many kinds of Deadheads and will be many kinds in the future. Most of my friends are jazz musicians and various other types, some like the Dead, others don't. Many people are impressed with the virtuoisity of the musicianship and complexity of certain material. I think there will be many young people - I mean, next generation, after next generation, who will get into Grateful Dead music in different ways. I wonder if you are brand new to it all, and you dial in the top 5 covers picked to be promoted in March what you will think.?? Do you think, "cooked hippies" or do you think "vast array of incredible music and creativity"? Again, don't get me wrong. I am a cooked hippie myself. I suggest CATEGORIES: - Bluegrass/Country - "other" 1st set material (late 70's > 80's "first set" material - "Second set" material - Non-traditional styles (punk, rap, metal, classical...) - Quality videography - Creative video editing, effects, etc. I further suggest maybe 5 tunes get picked per day, or a tune in each category perhaps, and then several dozen featured at the end of it all. I guess I like the concept of it as an ongoing thing and not contest. Hilarious comment by someone on Deadheads wearing watches... Also, I'm not a big Facebook self promotion guy. Yes, I have my business and stuff which I'd like to see grow via social networking, but I hate playing games and trying to get all my friends to Like me on you.tube and facebook. I like to put out some interesting music and art, but let interested people take interest, and other just won't. Again, the whole thing was great, I fully enjoyed and will continue to check out hundreds of videos. I laughed and cried a bunch of times. It's amazing how great music passes inter-generationally and binds humanity through time. Thanks again Grateful Dead, Furthur, and all the fans!!
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It was certainly bound to happen. The comments stating "it SHOULD be done THIS way, not THAT way," and, "Here's how you SHOULD have done it." Come on, folks. Remember when you'd walk into a show and you were hoping to catch your first "Dupree's"? Or you really wanted a "Lost Sailor," that night? Then, they didn't do it. And sometimes they'd even, "play 'Day Job' again." It goes to show, you don't ever know. Take things for what they are. I submitted about 10 videos - 8 or 9 of me playing solo and a couple with theCAUSE and not one of them got 'liked' more than about 9 times. I did no campaigning of any kind and I knew, once I saw how people were making the 'Top 10' that if I wanted to be there, I had to campaign hard. Not interested. But you know what? I did get ONE reply to my "Reuben & Cerise" solo video that was a really nice compliment. Someone I didn't know - that wasn't already a fan of my band - watched it and told me they liked it. Even if that didn't happen, I was happy to participate. Sure, it would have given me (Mingle)wood to see one of my videos in the Top 10, or get featured for a day. But it didn't happen and life goes on. If you're hell-bent on a contest and are truly upset by how this little project played out, I suggest you hit the pavement HARD with your music and work it to the point where you become as successful as you want to be with it. This project was just a place to put your stuff. Whomever watched it, 'liked' it or shared it is completely inconsequential. Did you enjoy making it? Did you enjoy listening to others? Great. If your only concern was that the almighty finger of the Grateful Dead reached out and plucked your submission because it was so awesome, you were probably doing this for the wrong reason. It was just a chance to share it with some like-minded people. The rest is icing on the cake. If you, like me, didn't get to the icing - be thankful you had some cake and move on.
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I feel like my post might have sounded overly critical and some others too. I fully agree with Pappypgh. Etiquette is not always my forte. Nonetheless. I believe conversation, dialogue and communication are all healthy, normal activities. A person can make a comment and that may not reflect everything that person thinks on a matter, or who that person is. I think it's great Dead.net created the Dead Covers Project. But like everything else in the world, I think things can often work better, be better etc. It's not negativity on the past and now. It's optimism about the future. I think it's always worthy to ask across the scope of human activity, shall we modify, grow, expand, be better, be more positive, or do we remain stagnant. Like I said, I agree with Pappypgh, but I pose the question: Should everything remain the exact same, dead covers project, and everything else in the world, or will things evolve? And how will they evolve? Everything is always changing and evolving. Why not have discussions and conversations and be proactive in positive evolution? In regards to musicians and artists being disappointed in not receiving recognition: I guess there is a fine line between being egotistical and caring enough about what you do that you'd like someone to look at it or listen to it. I think this is a great ongoing battle in the brains of many creative people. Tension, and angst, and desire often push artistic expression. I agree that motivated musicians should have bands and take them on the road. But some people, have life, family, health issues which prevent this, other people are studio musicians, other people do photography, or are visual artists, or shoot video. Part of the theme of my post is that there are not only many kinds of dead heads there are many kinds of musicians and artists who play GD music or tie into the scene somehow. I think multiple categories and more "top Picks" would be better for everyone and the world. I think the project would end up distributing more listener/viewer time and energy across a wider range of videos and music. It's not a big Wow thing, it's just an idea. Also, I saw 97 Grateful Dead shows between '83 and '95 and didn't see Lost Sailor once. Yes, I was disappointed. Of course I think Augusta '84 was completely quintessential, but I was in high school and lived in California. I saw Lost Sailor in Amherst last fall by Further. Complete disaster. Just because I say these things doesn't mean I am less mentally and emotionally advanced than other people. It just means I really liked early to mid 80's Lost Sailor > Saints and wished I had seen one. There's no reason for me to feel guilty about this.
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Certainly I don't think you should feel guilty! My point was (and I used both of those songs, as I NEVER got to see either of them performed by the Grateful Dead and they are 2 of my favorite GD tunes) simply that we should take what we get. If you don't like it - don't worry about it. If you do, enjoy it. Simple. Can things get 'better'? Sure, but don't forget - one man spills what another man gathers (sorry for the awful paraphrase). So, what's better for me, might not work so well for you. These guys put this up and it got huge response (of course, as the Deadhead community is massive). Lots of great players were put up. Personally, there were some videos selected over the course of the weeks that I thought were 'just okay'. But I harbor no resentment. Do I think that some of my performances were 'better'? Well, I'm a little biased.... ;0) No worries, though. I'm glad Dead.net did this. I had fun shooting the videos. I play the songs regularly with a band, but thought it'd be cool to try some solo stuff and 'leave it all hang out in the wind', so to speak (keep it clean, people). For the record, my favorite video I saw was Senor Pesca's "King Solomon's Marbles" - he cracked the top 10 and he only took 1 day to learn the song. Great work.
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alrighty, just to be clear. I usually don't get sucked into online threads. But I got sucked in. I really like Brandon McCoy's Golden Road, Giving Tree Band Brown Eyed, Nicki Blum and Gambler's Deal, and Cubensis doing Sugaree. And I really liked many of the daily picks thru February, and dozens and dozens of other tunes.
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Friday, February 17th marked the first of what we hope will be many "Saturn Sessions" — an in-studio video / live music performance for family and friends — featuring Saturn Returns and our first special guest — singer / songwriter Taro Hart, son of Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, and a talented musician in his own right! We had about 30 folks in attendance, had a great time and shot over an hour's worth of video! More info on the sessions and how to be considered as a future guest act or band at www.saturnreturnsband.com
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12 years 11 months
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leafcuttermultimedia, I like the way you think and thanks for jarring my memory about Birdhouse. They brought tears to my eyes in the best Here Comes Sunshine ever and a perfectly executed video. Now if only I could find this jam band that was playing on one of those mystic hot springs videos. They totally smoked, touched down on cumberland blues briefly then were off on intense jams. When I first visited this project ready to upload samplings from a few bands I've been in and others I'm just filming they were the first video I encountered. Once I heard them I dropped all pretense and delusion that any of my entries would place and humility is a good thing cause it allows one to stand for whats right without personal agenda. PAPPYPGH, 9 likes is better than anything I put up got but each video did garner one or two comments that were really nice and like you they made me feel pretty good. I'm listening to leafcuttermultimedia's dark star now and am impressed. everyone, check it out: You and PAPPYPGH are about 20 years yonger than me. My decade with the dead was the 70's. I probably only saw them 10 to 20 times in the eighties and maybe 5 times in the 90's but they nevertheless completely altered the trajectory of my life. I studied Phil lesh in detail and was a technical guy so I understood what he and alembic were going for and am amazed that to this day few emulate his style even though he and alembic invented the modern bass guitar that all bass players play. I also learned to play blues, a place Lesh, oddly, never really went to.This is my entry like your dark star an out of the box jam that makes it way to part of truckin and a lame bossman but thist guitarist I had the honor of playing with still brings chills to my spine 32 years later, you'll need 30 minutes to listen to it though: This project has the potential to bring deadhead musicians together for a collaboration big enought to spark an era that would make the dead's run look like a rehearsal. I totally agree it's not about the whining about what was, but what this could be. I don't want to race birdcage I wanna play with them or spomehow see all of us pitch in to create an ongoing event as reliable as a deadshow was to provide a really good time cause I don't know about you guys but I miss those shows. I don't much feel like waiting til dead.net's clock says quarter to february
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I love that last post of yours. Hell yes! Collaboration is the greatest. I love playing with new players (and look at me - I'm not at all hurt that you posted one of leafcutters vids but not one of mine...hahahahaha)!!!I am looking forward to my boss leaving so I can check out that 30 minute jam you put up! I play a party every year that is a gathering of musicians & a bunch of our friends. It's rather small - only about 200 or so show up every year (and that's the way we like it). But it's a weekend of musical exploration. Each of our bands play, and there are several long jams with much crossover. Lots of GD tunes, original songs & other psychedelia. :0) I wish I had the equipment to start, or add to, a jam where one records 10 minutes or so of jamming, then mails it onto the next person and they lay a track on top of it, etc.... Could be killer.
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12 years 11 months
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ha ha, i don't even know how to find your vids. are they posted under your youtube name and is it the same as your dead.net name? I think all dead bands do that. annual party thing. What state are you in?
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17 years 4 months
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Pennsylvania - and yeah, my screenname here is the same as YouTube. But I was only messin' withya.. ;0) www.theCAUSEjams.com is my band's website, if you're interested!
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16 years 8 months
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A friend of mine was listening to one of my DSO albums. She noted "they're very good but,,,they're just not as EXCITING as the Dead,,,".The same could be said of every one of these quite Dedicated musicians. The Grateful Dead were beyond expert at skating the edge. Nearly everybody else gets five feet from it and,,,no closer. It's that "edge" that makes the difference. Sometimes, Cubensis gets within about four feet,,depending on who's performing with them.
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12 years 9 months
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Two bands that come to mind have gone way over and beyond. The bands NOT THE DEAD and Punk Is Dead which posted for this 'lil experiment.
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12 years 11 months
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Well they say "put up or shut up" and I've been sufficiently inspired by this vehicle to try to nudge it toward a more inclusive trajectory. So, as long as they let me get away with it, I'm gonna run my own little featured list. Who the fuck am I you may ask or more likely you've already noted my obvious self-indulgent nature. Hey, I'm an Aries and have accepted my place at the center of the universe which is why I can say to dead_naked_drummer, who by the way with such a cool name has got to be a pretty hip cat in his own right, without reservation that if there was even an inkling of truth to his declaration then we might as well kill ourselves now because there must be no flame fueling our universe. Fortunately even dnd has to know better deep down but this diversion allows me to cheat right out of the box by presenting an entry that was never submitted to deadcoversproject (I'm not setting precedent, that occurred with the posting of son of Mickey Hart's powerhouse, saturnreturnsband) yet nevertheless ought to qualify as the oldest dead cover band in existence and while the banjo player is pretty sparky, taken in total I doubt this video would have been recognized or made it to the featured set last month. So please, like em if ya got 'em and enjoy this, the very first . . . . . . . .

ziph's picks

By Ziph’s rules I’m thinkin any entry will be allowed to occupy up to three categories. The entry above for instance might appear in 1. Duets (but there's four. Ok,if they were a duet then) 2. No longer in circulation 3. Traditional bluegrass I’ll work up an entire category list soon but before I beat that horse it’s time to give Cubensis a little heat and after just scratching the surface of the more than 2000 entries I have already stumbled upon a veritable gold mine of solid, performances by “Playin’ Dead” out of Boston. These guys glide right out to dnd's edge and skimboard down the other side where they are the first to be nominated in the category: Nuts and Bolts Dead Bands These guys have been putting in the hours, are prolific, and got what it takes to soothe a worried mind. I expect they’ll be making many of my lists as we roll down the road. Like ‘em or leave ‘em Pretty good huh? Check out some of their other tunes; let me know your favorites. In fact, give a listen to Mr Charlie if you wanna see this southpaw in full regalia. And this wouldn’t be political without a little mutual back scratching. I would not have found Playin’ Dead if I had not listened to PAPPYPGH’s best solo performance, a very serviceable rendition of Dupree’s Diamond Blues PAPPYPGH has a powerful tenor voice that I suspect will really come into its own as he learns to belt it out and keep it out and he is a solid guitar technician who knows the chords and is neither tenuous nor sloppy. And it was PAPPYPGH’s Dupree’s that led me to this larger than life version by Playin’ Dead, where they demonstrate a cool as ice execution of this silly song. And that’s it for our first edition of Ziph’s Picks. I’m just kidding about the likes, go ahead and like what you want, we’ll be following traffic, not likes. ziph
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Come out and see the Jugtown Pirates live this coming Friday, March 16, at Hopmonk in Sebastopol. Have fun mingling with your fellow dead heads and see why they're becoming one of the hottest new jambands. You wont be sorry. The Haight comes to Sebastopol-Get on board the bus before it's too late!!!
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Come out and see the Jugtown Pirates live this coming Friday, March 16, at Hopmonk in Sebastopol. Have fun mingling with your fellow dead heads and see why they're becoming one of the hottest new jambands. You wont be sorry. The Haight comes to Sebastopol-Get on board the bus before it's too late!!!
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17 years 4 months
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Mighty nice of you - I look forward to future picks. Yep, Playin' Dead, IMO is as good as any of the top GD bands widely known (their "Bob" was in DSO before Eaton, if I'm not mistaken), such as DSO & Cubensis. Not quite on the same level as those guys, but a whole lotta fun is my electric band, theCAUSE. I encourage you to watch a few of our videos...here are just a few to whet your whistle. Take care! Pappy 1. Loose Lucy performed at our annual Potter County party with Special Guests, Patti Spadaro on Guitar & Andrea Pearl on Backing Vocals 2. Sittin' On Top Of The World from the same show with the same Special Guests. Our singer, Jill Paone Simmons, nails this. 3. Ramble On Rose from the previous year's party, still with Special Guest Patti Spadaro on Guitar and Cherylann Hawk on Vocals, as well.
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Come one come all to here some good old San Francisco Jams in Sebastopol at the Hopmonk Tavern! Both up and coming bands are making a good name for themselves in SF are heading up north to get down and party Sebastopol style! Hope to see you there! https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/114443658679867/?notif_t=event_name_…
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17 years 4 months
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Does anyone know where I can get a Chanel Replica handbag?
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17 years 6 months
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there was this spammer here just a little while ago...
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12 years 11 months
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Been buried in my day and night job but just checking in and seriously gratified that dead.net is moving forward in real time, no watches needed. Not only that but they have already discovered my new favorite band. OMG, these guys got it all - they are charismatic, good looking, obviously having the time of their lives, every one of them master of their instrument, a truly unique and refreshing style, choreography??!!, bluegrass space jams, phenomenal harmonies, expressive lead vocals, incredible mix and sound - they've taken the bluegrass genre into the 21st century. After you listened to "He's Gone" featured above check out this performance, it aint dead covers but there aint a dud in the set list: thank you dead.net for getting me off the hook with ziph's picks, its the other quality of Aries anyway - we got no follow thru - too busy smelling daisies after inciting random acts of (hopefully) kindness - not that I wont be still spouting off on occasion. Oh, and on top of killer vocals on He's Gone the heartthrob bass player does a version of walkin on the moon that leaves sting in the dust. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey PAPPYPGH , great band, wonderful vocals dont sell yourself short - I'm clueless about what the hell a "Chanel Replica handbag" is or what it has to do with spammers - later
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12 years 10 months
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Just wanted to say thanks a bunch for all that "liked" my Tennessee Jed video and helped me to be featured on this wonderful site in February...was truly an honor.
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12 years 11 months
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Here's a submission that may not be a dead tune but without a doubt this band and their video belong on the deadcoversproject. It's not easy to be funny and heart wrenching in the same breath but "Dear Jerry" performed by THE SAUCE out of San Pedro, CA pulls it off. Its puzzling, johnnyutensils, uploaded this to youtube in June of 2009 and his entire tenure on youtube is just that month (last visited in july 2009) so how did this get tagged deadcoversproject? Anyway i love it: Sweet! So still about this like thing. You know they're just joshing us about the like thing. As a measure of the recipient's political machinery there is no better. And why does dead.net continue to pretend they are actually using and ranking participants in the project by their likes. If they were this seizure evoking version of "Whats Become of the Baby" should be at the top of the stack having garnered a whopping 23,500 hits and 580 likes in just three weeks just "keeping 'em honest" as anderson cooper would say ziph
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12 years 9 months
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Hi All, Not Dead Yet will be playing many shows around Ottawa this year, we have just announced 5 shows for May and June. Details and sample tracks on our myspace page: www.myspace.com/not-dead-yet We hope all local deadheads will learn about us and support our efforts to keep this great music alive. Unfortunately Grateful Dead music is not very well known in Canada, and gets very little airplay. We were rewarded at a recent show by some young adults who had never heard of the Dead and were totally awed by the music. We've heard similar stories many times, young people who at first listen aren't very interested but get turned on to it at a live event, and learn what we all knew, there is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert! (or a Furthur show, since the GD ship has sailed) Anyway, please help us get the word out and support Grateful Dead music in Ottawa. Thanks!
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12 years 8 months
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I know I wrote all this in a dream before. Damn. Beautious in Maine today, grabbin a cold one outa the sun and writing a note real quick... Ziphler, your 79 jam truckin jam big boss is stellar. great Phil style bass for sure. I think his style is appreciated and incorporated more than you might think into tons of stuff...also tone, sound quality, instrument design, etc. Various local people I know, but also many "jam band" bassists take a lot from him. 5 or 6 strings and a pick is just the beginning. I think Mike Gordon would be the first to admit he is heavily influenced by Phil. Of course I love Stanley Clark, Jaco and Ron Carter, himself, but Mike is a giant, and Phil is right up there in terms of everything bass in the grand scheme of things. Phil's been blowing my mind for years, but Furthur Portland last fall was really amazing from the floor fairly close to the stage. My whole life has been connected thru shows at that place, starting with Portland 83, the greatest first set ever. Note, Keith, the bassist in our Darkstar posted only saw Portland 83. That's what happened to him. Puddle of liquids, and he's now like a small child (loves spongebob, totally hilarious - and he's a virtuoistic bass player who can't read a note of written music.) Ok ok ok. Some tangents. Your 79 jam had incredible clean, psychedelic bluesy guitar for sure. Many chills up the spine for sure. I think it's clean and modern ( 79 clean and modern at least - before rap even existed....ahh the world was perhaps a better place....) Pappy, great solo Reuben. Very nice vocals and guitar. Your band doing Loose Lucy is fantastic. Totally smokin!!! He's Gone by infamous string dusters is as good as it gets. A song worthy of such a great band and rendition. very cool black and white cabin video shoot. What's become of the Baby by Gelatinous Cube is intense. That's what I'm talking about. This is the most "out there" completely psychedelic piece of music and video I've seen on or near Dead Covers Project. Of course that tune is more related to Relics or Umma Gumma or some shit like that than San Fran 60's and 70's psychedelic rock, and one needs to be in a certain mood to "appreciate" the lyric sections - very weird dissonant music... but the synthesizer build/jam/video out of the lyrics is incredible. Outside the box. Yeah, it's kind of low quality, kind of low budget, but it's phenomenal. I checked a bunch of other stuff by them. I love Orb, Floyd and quality ambient techno, so I'm into it. refreshingly long, drawn out, weird, non commercial and psychedelic. Jamtronica for sure. Everyone should check out OK GO stuff. Currently my favorite artists of all time, beyond Salvadore Dali himself, or even Wayne Newton. Dial in This Too Shall Pass on you tube. The one with 35 million hits. Greatest piece of art ever. Yeah, simple pop music on all there stuff, but appropriate for what they do. The time, skill and creativity that goes into their videos is remarkable, but there is a grass roots, homegrown flavor to it. Just makes you feel good about humanity and the Universe. Like some things are going right... peace-
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Please check out my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/weingrad NEXT SATURDAY NIGHT, 3/31. I'll be posting a link to a LIVE STREAM of our little band, theCAUSE playing ALL NIGHT LONG with the incredible STEVE KIMOCK. We do this benefit concert for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank every year with local guests, but this year we've lucked out and Mr. Kimock will be jamming all night with us. I couldn't be more thrilled. So click in - hope you enjoy! Pappy www.theCAUSEjams.com www.kimock.com www.pittsburghfoodbank.org FOR TICKETS (if you wanna go - or just DONATE)... http://www.pittsburghfoodbank.org/Details.aspx?RecId=127&type=calendar
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12 years 8 months
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yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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12 years 8 months
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yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Awesome!! You gotta be psyched for Kimmock to jam with you guys! very cool, I'll dial it in and tell others
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16 years 1 month
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but you can also check out my Open Mic / Acoustic Jam on Sunday March 25th and the last Sunday of every month at The Club of Riverdale, 2600 Netherland Ave, Riverdale(Bronx) NY 10463. Please check out my Facebook page at Mark The Harper. Thanks, and God BLess
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12 years 8 months
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what do you all think of that "Handmade Groove" acoustic duo? Have you checked out their acoustic "Unbroken Chain?" they have a bunch of dead covers.... cubensis is also tight!!
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12 years 8 months
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Congratsulations to all who made the Dead Project Covers Project' final cuts, you are all fantastic Deadheads and Muscians and Brok'n Arrow salutes your artistry and fanship. It was both fun and an Honor to be in this with all of you and look forward to the next 'Dead Covers Project',again FANTASTIC JOB by all of you and especially these TOP 10!!! KEEP YOUR LOVELIGHT SHINING!!!!!
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12 years 11 months
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wow, Just came by to drop off another deserving entry and discover that the thread weavers have indeed been busy with comments, leads, suggestions, and even strokes from BroknArrow, leafcuttermultimedia, PAPPYPGH, new potato 15, and Harp-Unstrung; all of which I shall have to return for, digest, and undoubtably opine about but, not to be distracted just yet I am becoming increasingly amazed at the sheer volume of completely original approaches to the project and this entry is no exception. It is a clever, funny, thought provoking video with another hardcore mega talented musician/singer at its core (all I know is his YouTube name, otherones90210: well done! I'll be back ziph
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12 years 9 months
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Hi All - glad to see the DCP lives on!!! Here are a couple of vids I recorded (inspired to put these up after last night - Mickey Hart was sitting in my row at the Zakir Hussain concert in Berkeley and I got to say hello to my #1 hero! And: I also got to see Billy & 7 Walkers perform the night before that!):

These vids are different from my Looks Like Rain vid that was featured on this page in February (thanks again to the DCP folks for that unbelievable opportunity!). Less polished and the improv on piano is zanier (especially the last half of Let It Grow) - I modeled these covers after my favorite live recordings from the early 80's soon after Brent came on board (~7 years before my first Dead shows) - I tried to sound like a coked-up freight train that's perpetually on the verge of derailment.... Having a blast browsing all these DCP vids! Any feedback / input on my stuff is greatly appreciated! -Live Long and Prosper, Satish