Dead & Company

Dead & Company
Background information
Genres Rock
Years active 2015–present
Associated acts
Website deadandcompany.com
Members
Dead & Company at Madison Square Garden on November 1, 2015

Dead & Company is a band consisting of former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir (guitar), Mickey Hart (drums), and Bill Kreutzmann (drums), along with John Mayer (guitar), Oteil Burbridge (bass/drums), and Jeff Chimenti (keyboards).[1][2][3]

History

Mayer recounts that in 2011 he was listening to Pandora and happened upon the song "Althea" by the Grateful Dead, and that soon Grateful Dead music was all he would listen to.[4] In February 2015, while Mayer was guest hosting The Late Late Show, he invited Grateful Dead guitar player Bob Weir to join him in a studio performance. A bond developed between the two, and while Weir and the other three surviving core members of the Grateful Dead were preparing for their 50th anniversary shows, dubbed Fare Thee Well, Mayer began practicing the band's large catalog of songs. That August, Mayer and original Grateful Dead members Weir, Hart, and Kreutzmann formed the band, along with keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and bassist Oteil Burbridge. Mayer expressed a particularly strong enthusiasm toward playing with the new band.[5][6]

Phil Lesh, the original bassist for the Grateful Dead, declined to join.[7][8] Mike Gordon of Phish briefly auditioned for the bassist role but had to withdraw due to being too busy with other matters.[5]

Dead & Company initially announced only one concert date on October 31, 2015 at Madison Square Garden in New York but announced a full tour shortly afterwards.[9] The shows were called "magical" (Billboard) and the tour was very well received.[10]

Following the band's final 2015 performance on December 31, 2015 John Mayer told fans that they could expect more Dead & Company concerts in 2016 and this was confirmed by Bob Weir when he was interviewed on Periscope.[11] The band initially had one performance confirmed for 2016 at the Bonnaroo Music Festival[12] but announced a full summer tour on February 8, 2016.[10][13] On February 18, 2016 the band performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote the tour.[14]

In 2016, Mayer and Weir expressed strong optimism about the band's future, including the possibility of new studio recordings. Mayer said he "will never close the door on Dead & Company, ever."[15] Weir spoke of a "cosmic, out-of-body vision" he had, and a subsequent dream, of the band continuing for decades hence:

"We were playing...and suddenly I was viewing this from about 20 feet behind my head, and I looked over at John from that point of view and it was 20 years later and John was almost fully gray. I looked over at Oteil and his hair was white. I looked over to my left and Jeff's hair was all gray." [Then, looking to where he, Hart and Kreutzmann would be playing,]  "it was new guys, younger guys holding forth, doing a great job...playing with fire and aplomb....It changed my whole view of what it is that we're up to. I find myself wondering, 'Well, what are they gonna be saying about this new approach or this honoring of this tradition? What are they gonna be saying about that in 200 or 300 years at the Berklee School of Music?' That's the kind of stuff that goes through my head now because this legacy here, there's a chance now that they'll be talking about us in years to come. So I find it incumbent on myself to think in those terms."

— Bob Weir, Billboard[15]

When Dead & Company played their first festival performance at the 2016 Bonnaroo Music Festival, former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux sat in with the band for several songs. She joined the band again for their shows at Citi Field in Flushing, NY on June 25 and 26, 2016, and at Fenway Park in Boston, MA on July 15 and 16, 2016.

On December 1, 2016, Dead & Company officially announced their 2017 Summer Tour.[16] The tour began on May 27, 2017 and wrapped up on July 1, 2017. The tour consisted of 20 shows in 15 cities.

In a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Phil Lesh praised the band's performances, saying “I think they’re doing a great job. They’re bringing the music to the people just like we always wanted to do, and I commend them for it. I hope they’re having a good time. It’s not something I could do myself. I’m done with that kind of touring.” [17]

On September 7, 2017, Dead & Company officially announced their Fall Tour 2017.[18] The tour began on November 12, 2017 and was scheduled to wrap up on December 8, 2017. However, on December 5, 2017, John Mayer was hospitalized for an emergency appendectomy, which promptly postponed the New Orleans show that night. Dead & Company subsequently postponed the remaining tour dates, rescheduling them in February, following several independent shows in Mexico. The Fall Tour consisted of 16 shows in 14 cities.

On 30th May, 2018, the band began their 2018 summer tour, originally set to end on July 14th[19] but extended to include two shows at the Lockn' Festival on August 25 and 26.[20][21]

Discography

As of July 2018 the band has released no studio recordings, but all of the concerts from their 2016, 2017 and 2018 tours have been (or are being) released on CD, on iTunes, and through their Livedead.co website.

Members

Tours

Standalone shows

The band has played five concerts that are not officially part of any tour:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dead & Company (Official Facebook Page)". Retrieved 2017-04-17. Dead & Company is: Mickey Hart - Drums / Percussion; Bill Kreutzmann - Drums / Percussion; John Mayer - Guitar / Vocals; Bob Weir - Guitar / Vocal; Oteil Burbridge - Bass; Jeff Chimenti - Keys
  2. ↑ "The Dead rise again: Dead & Company on tour". CBS News. 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2017-04-16. The group includes three of the Grateful Dead's surviving core four: Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzman and Bob Weir, joined by John Mayer ("I'm going in tonight, like a 1930s boxer," he exclaimed); former Allman Brothers bassist Oteil Burbidge; and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.
  3. ↑ Fricke, David (2016-05-31). "Bob Weir on Dead & Company's Future, John Mayer's 'Classicist' Style". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  4. ↑ "John Mayer Talks Grateful Dead Legacy, Fare Thee Well and Learning to Play 'A Universe of Great Songs'". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  5. 1 2 Kreps, Daniel (August 5, 2015). "Grateful Dead Members, John Mayer Form Dead & Company". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ Stosuy, Brandon (August 5, 2015). "Grateful Dead Members to Tour as Dead & Company With John Mayer". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ Lawrence, Jesse (August 5, 2015). "Could Dead & Company Ticket Prices At MSG Reach Levels Of Fare Thee Well Shows?". Forbes. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Phil Lesh & Friends Fall Shows at Capitol Theatre". JamBase. March 17, 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  9. ↑ Halperin, Shirley (August 5, 2015). "The Grateful Dead Is Resurrected Once More, This Time with John Mayer". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Dead & Company To Launch 2016 Tour, New York Times, February 8, 2016, retrieved April 8, 2016
  11. ↑ "Bob Weir Promises More Dead & Company and Ratdog". Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Bonnaroo 2016 Lineup Announced". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Dead & Company Announce Summer Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  14. ↑ [Updated] Dead & Company To Perform On ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’
  15. 1 2 "John Mayer Says He'll 'Never Close the Door on Dead & Company, Ever'". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  16. ↑ "Dead & Company Announce Summer Tour 2017". JamBase. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dead-company-detail-fall-tour-w501739
  19. ↑ "Dead and Company Begin Summer Tour: Set List and Video". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  20. ↑ 2018 Lock'n lineup
  21. ↑ "Dead & Company". Dead & Company. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Dead & Company Invite Fans To Free Fillmore Show". CBS SF Bay Area. 2016-05-18. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  23. ↑ Bernstein, Scott (November 10, 2017). "Dead & Company, Metallica & More Band Together For Northern California Fire Victims". JamBase. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Playing In The Sand". Dead & Company. Retrieved January 24, 2018.

Further reading

  • Mansfield, Brian (August 5, 2015). "New life for Dead & Company". USA Today. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
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