A truly all-star Deadcast examines the infinite approaches to playing Dead music, from traditional to radical, with a massive span of musicians who’ve played it, from jazz arrangers to indie rock heroes, from actual Dead members to Japanese cover bands.
Playing Dead, part 2, supplementary notes
by Jesse Jarnow
Musicians have been studying the Grateful Dead for decades, both formally and informally, or somewhere in between. We discussed the origins of the Grateful Dead’s particular school of music in Playing Dead, Part 1, though both Dead’s musical influence and the presence of cover bands have multiplied exponentially in the quarter-century since Jerry Garcia’s death.
Recently, Ned Lagin posted his transcription of Jerry Garcia’s guitar solo from “Dancing In The Streets,” 5/6/70, a way of getting inside a musician’s music the same way Ned once studied transcriptions of Charlie Parker solos.
In this episode, we speak with Bob Weir and Oteil Burbridge of Dead & Co., Jeff Mattson of Dark Star Orchestra, Jake Rabinbach of High Time, Sir Joe Russo of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Shu-Hey Iwasa of the Warlocks of Tokyo, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement, Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo, Holly Bowling, David Gans, Steven Bernstein, Dave Harrington of Darkside, and more. There might be people playing Grateful Dead music in your town tonight. Check GratefulDeadTributeBands.com or consult local listings.
Some of the music we highlighted in this episode includes:
High Time with Ira Kaplan at Brooklyn Bowl, December 15, 2019
Holly Bowling, “Weather Report Suite”
David Gans with Fragile Thunder, “Dark Star (acoustic)”
Sex Mob, “Ripple”
We also played some original music by musicians influenced by the Dead.
Yo La Tengo, “Georgia considers the two blue ones (Thursday)”
Mapache (featuring members of Grateful Shred)
Take a trip to the Oshino Dead festival at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan:
Comment
Well done!
Great to hear two podcast episodes about playing music that don't shy away from talking about music theory! So often, discussions of musical topics in media display a phobia of discussing any aspect of the how and why musical passages sound the way they do and evoke the emotions that they do. That really made these episodes so refreshing. The podcast overall is always fascinating and well paced. Keep up the good work!
Robert Hunter Special, Play Dead Part 1, and Play Dead Part2
Wow! These Deadcasts are incredible. Between the Robert Hunter Special, Play Dead Part 1, and Play Dead Part2, I have learned so much. Any chance that a complete list of the referenced recordings, books, etc, from these Deadcasts could be made available?
Playing Dead
I really enjoyed both of the Playing Dead podcasts.
I'd love to hear more of …
I'd love to hear more of "Owen's Picks". Where can I find it? Google search gave me nothing...
I'd love to hear more of "Owen's Picks". Where can I find it? Google search gave me nothing...
I really enjoyed both of the Playing Dead podcasts.
Wow! These Deadcasts are incredible. Between the Robert Hunter Special, Play Dead Part 1, and Play Dead Part2, I have learned so much. Any chance that a complete list of the referenced recordings, books, etc, from these Deadcasts could be made available?