Bingo.
the dead still suck though.
okay - that's harsh - blues for allah and shakedown street kicked.
But the 98% of the rest....
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Your opinions on Phil Lesh
- Thread starter Jherrera
- Start date
ha ha. dead wrong in public. what they did might not appeal to you, but saying they sucked is like me saying Rush sucks. They don't obviously, but I can't stand what they do...(moving pictures had its moments). the dead were a jazz band playing rock and roll and folky tunes and who for awhile explored what they could make out of 'psychedelia' a brand new concept that stumbled more times than it flew. They could be sloppy or out of sync some nights, thats what can happen when you aren't recreating the same setlist robotically for a crowd of people paying a babysitter and expecting to hear what is engineered in a studio verbatim.
AND, the 70's. It was a different time. Casual was the aesthetic. Even your pastor had long hair. Drugs were celebrated rather than tolerated. So, often your keyboardist, Jerry himself, and a drummer maybe (any combo you want) would be onstage with a hangover of some kind. meanwhile your rhythm guitarist decided the second night of four would be a good time to do a bunch of blow and not tell anyone.
but the next night! whoo boy! there are a whole lot of musically knowledgeable people who dug the dead A LOT. A lot of air headed, dreadlocked, guatamalan pants wearing, patchouli splashing, hillbilly scenesters with that permanent stoner accent too. doing those silly dances and juggling sticks.....but most heads were pretty acute and knew what and why.
AND, the 70's. It was a different time. Casual was the aesthetic. Even your pastor had long hair. Drugs were celebrated rather than tolerated. So, often your keyboardist, Jerry himself, and a drummer maybe (any combo you want) would be onstage with a hangover of some kind. meanwhile your rhythm guitarist decided the second night of four would be a good time to do a bunch of blow and not tell anyone.
but the next night! whoo boy! there are a whole lot of musically knowledgeable people who dug the dead A LOT. A lot of air headed, dreadlocked, guatamalan pants wearing, patchouli splashing, hillbilly scenesters with that permanent stoner accent too. doing those silly dances and juggling sticks.....but most heads were pretty acute and knew what and why.
I respect Mr. Lesh and all he helped the GD to accomplish. I can't play the way he does and I would not want to. I like many of the classic songs written by the GD (Ripple, Friend of the Devil) but almost prefer to hear them performed by other bands........ I approach Bob Dylan the same way. I get hired by a variety of band leaders and singer/song writers because I am a "pocket" player, not a noodler. Give me Jamerson, Jemmot, Wille Lee, Chuck Rainy, Ron Carter, Bob Moore, Ray Brown etc.... As far as "jam band" bass players go , Bobby Vega is the man. He played bass in Zero with Steve Kimmock for many years (lyrics by Robert Hunter) and toured with Steve Kimmock after Zero broke up. The great Alphonso Johnson has been playing with Kimmock more recently. Bobby of course has also played with Billy Preston, Sly Stone, Etta James, Tower of Power, Santana etc... He can "jam", play amazing fills with his fingers, a pick or his thumb. He can also lay down a monster groove. No disrespect for Mr. Lesh......but if I tried to emulate his playing...almost no one would hire me LoL. I play a number of dead songs with folk,country, Bluegrass and Americana bands (Deal, Sugaree, Friend of the Devil). Mainly on upright though. Mr. Lesh certainly is an important part of American musical history and has my respect and admiration. Just my two cents.
In light of the same working musicians union that they all belonged to... I always liked Jefferson Airplane, CSN and Quicksilver Messenger Service music more so. But, Phil Lesh is a monster player.
