Grateful Dead Music Forum

So, I have been playing with this group of guys, pretty standard stuff with just a little Dead sprinkled in here and there.

One of the guys is a really accomplished player; guitar, mandolin, fiddle, bass.....not a true blue-grasser, but pretty darn close....can hold his own in that realm, but more country roots, I would say. But he loves the stuff I have introduced to the group, Dead and otherwise. He knew some Dead tunes, Friend Of The Devil, Uncle John's Band, and the Old And In The Way stuff.

So, he had mentioned I Know You Rider. He knew the song, didn't know the Dead did it (many of those situations). So I made a CD for him of some Dead tunes and started it off with China->Rider from Europe '72. I didn't know how he'd react to the China Cat or the Jam, you know, the whole licorice thing.....so I said, "just give me 5 minutes of your time and get through that part til Rider comes along".

Well, here was his feedback.....

Well, I just drove back from dinner listening to those first 2 Dead songs for the 4th time today!! You were wrong about me having to just "get through" the that first jammin stuff before "Rider" starts! That whole intro/song thing before they go into "Rider" and Rider itself is just PHENOMENAL!! I can hardly get enough of it! Never been a "dead head", kinda missed all that! I never realized how good all the players are! drummer, bass, just fantastic, and those 2 lead guitars!! OMG!!

You have SAVED him! SAVED!
But I'm likey not all that objective on this point.

Nothing left to do but ....

Well done, sir, well done!

ebick wrote: you know, the whole licorice thing.....

2 lead guitars?

gr8fullfred wrote:2 lead guitars?

ebick wrote:.so I said, "just give me 5 minutes of your time and get through that part til Rider comes along".

gr8fullfred wrote:2 lead guitars?

Most of that Europe 72 China --> Rider segue is Bob

gr8fullfred wrote:2 lead guitars?

I've heard that before....from an outsider's perspective, what Bobby does is really way beyond the typical rhythm guitar player. I also think, when taking the China Cat part into the equation, it's Bobby doing that main riff, and then when you get to the break where it modulates to E and Jerry's playing lead over that riff, it can really sound like two leads.

In the early 70's, the China> Rider segue was one of Bob's prime opportunities to stretch out with leads. Compare any from say '70-'74 to ones from '77 and later, and you'll notice the difference.

I was pretty surprised watching Festival Express at how much lead Bobby was playing at that time. And I was there

TI4-1009 wrote:I was pretty surprised watching Festival Express at how much lead Bobby was playing at that time. And I was there

What other tunes?

Well, I just drove back from dinner listening to those first 2 Dead songs for the 4th time today!! You were wrong about me having to just "get through" the that first jammin stuff before "Rider" starts! That whole intro/song thing before they go into "Rider" and Rider itself is just PHENOMENAL!! I can hardly get enough of it! Never been a "dead head", kinda missed all that! I never realized how good all the players are! drummer, bass, just fantastic, and those 2 lead guitars!! OMG!!

Gave me goosebumps. I've been trying to turn on my drummer but it just isn't happening.

I'm dying to find some like minded musicians to start playing the catalog again.

john in san diego

I play in a jamband (Must Stash Hat) and have been trying for years to get the band to play more dead. The guys tell me "we don't want to be known as a dead cover band"

WE do play; shakedown, dark star, scarlet>Fire, bertha, friend of the devil, eyes of the world, G.d.r.f.b, rider

But I want to play more!

tumbledownshack wrote:I play in a jamband (Must Stash Hat) and have been trying for years to get the band to play more dead. The guys tell me "we don't want to be known as a dead cover band"

WE do play; shakedown, dark star, scarlet>Fire, bertha, friend of the devil, eyes of the world, G.d.r.f.b, rider

But I want to play more!

Side project , man

Ya, good call.