Here is the latest news from David Gans, producer and host of the Grateful Dead Hour.
Road music report
Rita and I left Oakland at 10 am and drove to Lee Vining CA via the Sonora Pass. Lunch at the Diamondback Grill, dinner at the Whoa Nellie Deli. After listening to a CD of the set I played Saturday night with Zac Matthews and Bear Kittay, we plugged the iPod into the stereo and heard the following (not necessarily in this order):
Zoe Keating, One Cello X 16 (complete EP). A looping artist I have been meaning to check out. VERY impressed with this work. I’m going to invite her to play on DTTW.
Won’t Get Fooled Again – Richie Havens, Nobody Left to Crown. I heard him live at SpringFest. Amazing.
Hardball in the Holy Land – Dirk Hamilton, More Songs from My Cool Life
Too Many Daves – Dylan Hears a Who
Don’t Piss in the Well – Earl Vickers, The Converted Garage Tapes. An old friend, not seen from in a while, popped up a few weeks ago to announce this album; I ran over to iTunes and bought a copy.
Green Girl – Jango Monkey
Stand By Me – Jesse Winchester, Love Filling Station. First JW album I’ve heard in many years. This is a beautiful cover of a beautiful song.
Maxwell Street – The Maxwells, Maxwell Street. I heard this on KBOO while on tour in February, called the station for some info, and then found this out-of-print album on a download site. Very cool stuff, with a vocal jam in the middle of a long instrumental jam.
Another Dawn Another Day – Mike and Ruthy, Waltz of the Chickadee. Ruth Ungar has about the sexiest voice since Dusty Springfield.
Baby – Mike and Ruthy, Waltz of the Chickadee. Parenthood agrees with these two – I met the baby at the Suwannee SpringFest.
Can I Smoke in Here – Ry Cooder, I, Flathead. The man is a treasure. This record is the third of a trilogy, a great piece of literature that is also a love song to a nearly-vanished California.
Scarecrow Jesus – Mr Smolin 11/15/08 Taix Lounge, LA. I was on this gig with Barry, and we had a great time. This song is from a new project he’s planning to record this summer.
Lookin’ for Trouble – Steve Goodman, Jessie’s Jig and Other Favorites. One of my all-time musical heroes.
Eight Days a Week – Rubber Souldiers Feb 6, 2009 Davis CA
In The Flowers – Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion. This band comes highly recommended by many friends. I’m just starting to listen.
My Wife’s Home Town – Bob Dylan, Together Through Life. Co-written with Robert Hunter. I am having fun imagining Bob and Bob collaborating on songs via email.
Gulf Coast Highway – David Gans and Eric Rawlins, 4-11-09 roughs. We will be editing and mixing in a couple of weeks.
All My Lovin’->Within You Without You/Rain – Rubber Souldiers w/ Eric and Suzy Thompson 4/2/09. We were driving down US 395 from Bridgeport to Mono Lake, admiring the heavy clouds all around; as “Rain” commenced, the rain commenced to fall from the sky! Amusingly, the rain stopped when the song ended.
Grateful Dead Hour no. 1078
Week of May 18, 2009
Part 1 39:50
Introduction
Grateful Dead, Road Trips vol 2 no. 2 (2/14/68)
ALLIGATOR
Interview: Bob Weir 7/18/84
Grateful Dead, Road Trips vol 2 no. 2 (2/14/68)
BORN CROSS-EYED
SPANISH JAM
Part 2 15:05
The Dead 4/19/09 DCU Center, Worcester MA
CREAM PUFF WAR
American Beauty Project 11/16/07 UMass Amherst
FRIEND OF THE DEVIL
The transcript of Bob Weir’s amusing tale is posted here.
That’s me singing lead on “Friend of the Devil.” I was delighted to be a special guest at this performance of the American Beauty Project, with Ollabelle; Jim Lauderdale; Larry Campbell; Teresa Williams; and Catherine Russell. The show included all the songs on Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, plus a bonus song or two. Fiona McBain’s arrangement of “Ripple” is one of the great treats of this presentation; I hope you’ll sample all the tracks at festivalink.
All the shows of the just-completed Dead tour are available for download as MP3s or (CD quality) FLACs.
Support for the Grateful Dead Hour comes this week from the All Good Festival July 9-12 in Masontown, West Virginia featuring Bob Weir and RatDog, Ben Harper and Relentless 7, moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Dark Star Orchestra, Keller Williams, BK3 featuring Bill Kreutzmann, Yonder Mountain String Band, STS9, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Tea Leaf Green, and dozens more with no overlapping sets. Complete information and tickets are available at allgoodfestival.com
Rubber Souldiers at the Freight tonight!
Rubber Souldiers top the bill at a “60s British Explosion Unplugged!” extravaganza at the Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison Street in Berkeley CA.
Also appearing at the Raveups (Yardbirds tribute); Drew Harrison of the Sun Kings; Steve Emerson; and Al Chan of the Rubinoos.
Rubber Souldiers fancy ourselves as “Beatles jam band” rather than a tribute or clone. We take these great songs, stretch them out, improvise, and reinvent. We’re having a blast doing it, and we hope you’ll join us. We’d like to play The Freight again, and so we need a good turnout tonight. Showtime is 8pm.
Rex Foundation’s new music stream
The Rex Foundation‘s home page now features a music stream with contributions from a great number of the musicians who support Rex by donating portions of their concert revenues and/or performing at Rex events. I am proud to be one of those supporters.
Also on the Rex page right now: a profile of Donna Jean Godchaux, who has hit the road with a new band this spring.
Drop by and check it out, and while you’re there, please make a contribution and join the mailing list. The Rex Foundation has been doing good works in the world for more than 25 years; this work needs to continue, and that will happen with our support.
Gans gig update
TONIGHT! Friday, May 15: With Zac Matthews and Bear Kittay, UNPLUGGED, at the Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland (near the Berkeley line)
Sunday, May 17: Rubber Souldiers, the Raveups, and others perform “’60s British Explosion Unplugged!” at the Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison Street, Berkeley
May 23: Desert Rocks Music Festival, Moab UT. ALO, Hot Buttered Rum, The Mother Hips, The Motet, and more.
Sunday, May 31, 2:15-3:45 pm: Rubber Souldiers play the Larkspur Flower and Food Festival, on Magnolia between Ward and King Streets, downtown historic Larkspur CA. Free! Info: Larkspur Community Association 415-924-3808
July 4 weekend: Grateful Fest at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, Garrettsville OH. Dark Star Orchestra and many more!
July 23-26: Gathering of the Vibes, Bridgeport CT
October 22-25: MagnoliaFest, at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL
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My CD The Ones That Look the Weirdest Taste the Best is getting airplay all over the country. If you aren’t hearing it on your local AAA, Americana, or jamband station/show, please help the cause by requesting it! And of course, buying a copy. https://www.dgans.com/weirdest for lots of info, audio samples, and several ways to buy it, either all at once or individual tracks.
Rubber Souldiers is a Beatles “jam band” with Lorin Rowan, Chris Rowan, David Gans, and friends. https://www.rubbersouldiers.com
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As always, more info at https://www.dgans.com/gigs.html