Best GD cover band I have ever been in, anywhere

[playingdead]

Rip and the Fatties, University of Miami, circa 1982.

Just saying

[Chuckles]

pot-stirer

[JonnyBoy]

Ballchinians Beard -- we ripped in the day.

[jdsmodulus]

I always really liked Mark Diomede with Solar Circus, Early Zen Tricksters, Jerry's Kids, Eatons old band I forget there name but thery were real good, they used to set up and play at shows on the East Coast. Also Crazy From the Heat. Farmer Ted and Shakedown Street. I saw them 20 years ago! There was a world before DSO but I think we have come a long way!

[playingdead]

That Eaton band was Border Legion, I think. They would play at the Wetlands a couple times a year. Sounded very much like 1972 Grateful Dead music, right down to the drum and guitar sounds.

I used to go see a band called Timberwolf in NY and NJ about 80-82. They were great, rhythm guitarist was a dead ringer for Weir, except taller (he had the beard and looked like Bobby circa 1975), and the lead guitarist and bassist were twin brothers. Lead player had a Travis Bean if I remember correctly. Rhythm guy had a blonde Ibanez. Great tone, they did old-school stuff like Doin' That Rag and Cosmic Charlie. They ripped it up. I think Barraco was their keyboard player for a while.

There was also the Volunteers on Long Island, which became the Zen Tricksters and, of course, also included Barraco eventually. Just to tie it all together, my keyboard player from Rip and the Fatties played keys with the Volunteers before Barraco came along. His name was Joey Moskowitz, and he went on to produce the "Fire on the Mountain" reggae plays the Grateful Dead CD.

[jahozer]

I always really liked Mark Diomede with Solar Circus, Early Zen Tricksters, Jerry's Kids, Eatons old band I forget there name but thery were real good, they used to set up and play at shows on the East Coast. Also Crazy From the Heat. Farmer Ted and Shakedown Street. I saw them 20 years ago! There was a world before DSO but I think we have come a long way!

Used to see Solar Circus all the time on the Jersey Shore before there were jam bands...just "dead cover".
Splintered Sunlight
LIving Earth
Rose Hill
New Potato Caboose

[gr8fulbluz]

There was also the Volunteers on Long Island, which became the Zen Tricksters and

Back in the day most 'dead cover' bands were just friends jammin together but i left long island in 84-85.
I mean all my friends were -Dead Heads- and we all played to some extent, some instrument.
However, I remember returning to LI for Holidays and I still have cassettes of the Zen Tricksters, just like live Dead. only local-er. . . . I Remember the Volunteers . . . !
Good times, sometimes I wish I has stayed in closer touch with the heads I left behind. Good peeps good musicians, Good times.

[Rusty the Scoob]

Only GD cover band I have ever been in is Fennario. I feel like I hit a home run in my first at-bat in the major leagues and just kept on slugging.

[ugly rumor]

I remember Timberwolf from 1975-76, when My best friend from East Rockaway and I used to go to their shows. I asked Rob Barraco once if he played with them, which I had heard that he had. He said yes, but at a later time, around 1979-80 or so. Timberwolf was the first Grateful Dead cover band that I was aware of.

[mttourpro]

Sandoz was Pittsburgh's first GD cover band and they played a lot in the early 80s into the early 90s. They got signed to Relix records for 3 CDs---too bad they all had serious careers and never toured----they couldda been big. I've played with those guys a good bit in other configurations. As for Mark Diomede, he's playing an annual gig called pUNKAPaLOOZa (at the old bass player for Sandoz' birthday fest) in 2 weeks with Juggling Suns in Pittsburgh. Those guys do very little GD anymore, but they are great as ever. Mark is just a sicko.

My favorite (not necessarily "the best") GD cover band I ever played in was Left for Dead in the 90s.

The longest playing I've been in was Fungus (18 years for me--21 for them I believe)---funny thing is, I've rehersed with them twice in that time.

theCAUSE is (of course) the best GD cover band I have ever played in!

[tcsned]

My favorite, best, and otherwise that I have been in anywhere is The Kind . . . of course that's the only one I've been in for the last 25 years unless my bluegrass band Crossties counts when we're playing FOTD or Cumberland Blues

There haven't been a lot of other Dead bands in this area - there was The Dayz that came along right before we did in the early 80s and a band called Eetwau that came along just after (late 80s early 90s). The music scene isn't too vibrant here anymore since the boom years from the early 80s to the early 90s. Too bad, there's a lot of good players in the New River Valley.

[jdsmodulus]

My old band was called Private Saunders...we played whole shows! good stuff. A little Fleetwood Mac drama or we would be playing today! It was the first band I ever saw with 2 drummers and a hammond cover the Dead! I was Bobby!

[timberwolf]

Here is a video of Timberwolf from 1980. Sound is pretty good, video is not so good http://youtu.be/EWimcp_w7Sk

[mkaufman]

That's a smokin' video. I'm pretty sure I saw them play in Westchester County, near where I lived.

Hey Timberwolf. Was this your band?

mk

[tcsned]

Here's an embed:


Very cool! Looks like a Bean/Fender/Mac/JBL rig for the lead guitar. Sounds awesome, if that was your band, you had a very good group there. Thanks for sharing