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2001 Archive

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Tour info: Dead.net Hotline | GDTSTOO | GDTSTOO Announcements | PollStar | TicketMaster | MetroEnt
Official websites: RatDog | Rusted Root | Karl Denson | Keller Williams | DJ Logic | Furthur | Mickey Hart
Fan websites: RatDog.org | The Rat Trap | Furthurmore | OtherOnes.net | Rabhan.com photos | GD Resources Galore | On The Road

Updates and Articles

11/13/01 - On the 11/13/01 Live Cyber chat with Mickey Hart, Mickey posted, "No Further in 2002." Near the end of the chat, in response to repeated questions about Phil and the GD, he posted, "I hope everyone Peace and Health and don't worry about the Phil thing. Maybe someday it might work out. Who knows?"

11/10/01 - Ken Kesey passed away today at the age of 66.

11/09/01 - From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

This summer, [DJ] Logic found himself in another place where DJs aren't likely to be found: playing to the Grateful Dead crowd on the So Many Roads tour with Ratdog, Rusted Root, Karl Denson and Keller Williams.

"The Grateful Dead crowd hasn't seen someone spin with Grateful Dead members. That was something different," he says. "I have Grateful Dead records and I love some of the grooves and the way they blend and segue certain songs behind each other. That's how I was when I played with them. They would play and [Ratdog leader] Bob Weir would step off and me and [drummer Jay Lane] would go into something and people would be like 'What? Where's that coming from?' And then they'd shine a spotlight on me and it was like, 'What? A DJ?' It turned out great. Bob Weir told me 'I didn't know that this hip-hop thing was going to work out, but it sounded great. This tour was one of the best tours.' "

11/06/01 - There are already two Furthur-2002-related discussions up on Dead Net Central: Down the Road: A Rumor Mill and Suggestion Box for Future Tours and Imagining A Summer Tour 2002.

10/01/01 - Rob Wasserman interview from JamBase (talks a little about SMR Tour)

09/19/01 - Kenny Brooks interview from JamBands.com (talks a little about SMR Tour)

09/17/01 - Keller Williams interview from JamBase

09/05/01 - JamBands.com: Karl Denson, Andy Cleaves, DJ Logic Sit in with Ratdog (Boise)

09/04/01 - SMR reviews page at RatDog.org (unofficial site)

08/31/01 - Los Angeles SMR review from Reuters

08/31/01 - JamBands.com: Jane’s Addiction’s Stephen Perkins Sits in with Ratdog (Los Angeles)

08/31/01 - Los Angeles SMR review from Rock-Is-Dead.com

08/31/01 - Karl Denson article from The Idaho Statesman

08/29/01 - Relix.com: Johnnie Johnson, DJ Logic Sit in with Ratdog (San Diego)

08/29/01 - On DJ Logic's website is a behind-the-scenes report on the first week of SMR from Logic's road manager Adam. The report starts on the main page and continues on another page.

08/28/01 - JamBands.com: DJ Logic, Mike Dillon Perform with Ratdog (Denver)

08/28/01 - Chicago SMR review from ConcertLiveWire.com

08/24/01 - Relix.com: Mike Dillon, DJ Logic Jam with Ratdog (Indianapolis)

08/24/01 - Bob Weir article from Denver Post

08/24/01 - SMR review from Indianapolis Star

08/23/01 - JamBands.com: DJ Logic Performs with Ratdog (Cincinnati)

08/22/01 - JamBands.com: Karl Denson Sits in with Ratdog (Cleveland)

08/22/01 - SMR review from Cleveland Plain Dealer

08/22/01 - SMR review from Asbury Park (NJ) Press

08/20/01 - Jones Beach SMR review from JamBands.com

08/20/01 - JamBands.com: Karl Denson, DJ Logic Perform with Ratdog (Philadelphia)

08/19/01 - From the Chicago Sun-Times:

[Bob Weir says,] ''For this tour, we're probably doing half the size crowds that the Grateful Dead got, maybe less. And there's half the attention. There's considerably less scene and considerably less attention these days, and that just means that we can concentrate on the music and not have to duck the attendant problems that used to follow us around.''

Gone are the security hassles, the problems caused by a multiday Deadhead occupation of each venue's parking lot, the ongoing negotiations with local law enforcement bodies, the ticket scams and gate crashers.

Simplicity is itself a simple pleasure.

''We don't have to assign people to take care of the parking lot,'' says Weir. ''We don't have to have a press secretary or spinmeister who travels with us. We just go from town to town and play.''

08/18/01 - RatDog saxophonist Kenny Brooks explains on the official RatDog website how Bob Weir's hand was injured before last night's show in Holmdel, NJ.

08/17/01 - From the Cincinnati Post:

. . .So Many Roads is different [from Furthur, Bob Weir] says, in more than name. ‘‘The bands get to play a little longer, and that’s good,’’ Mr. Weir explains by cell phone, as he flies to the first date of the tour.

With the Dead’s penchant for three- and four-hour shows, he could play his fill. Furthur, with its short sets, ‘‘wasn’t particularly fulfilling for any of us,’’ he explains.

08/17/01 - Karl Denson article from Bridgewater (NJ) Courier News

08/16/01 - JamBands.com: Brothers Past Added to So Many Roads Tour Date (Philadelphia)

08/16/01 - JamBands.com: DJ Logic, Rob Barraco Sit in with Ratdog (Long Island)

08/14/01 - Pittsburgh SMR review from McKeesport Daily News

08/14/01 - Pittsburgh SMR review from JamBase.com

08/13/01 - SMR review from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

08/13/01 - JamBands.com: Karl Denson Sits In With Ratdog (Pittsburgh)

08/13/01 - Bob Weir article from Baltimore Sun

08/11/01 - From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

. . . on the So Many Roads tour, [Keller Williams will] play some of the same lawns he danced on as a fan. "I was there at Star Lake and Alpine Valley and Deer Creek," says Williams, who saw more than 100 Dead shows between 1987 and 1995. "I was always on the lawn, too. So to be backstage, and then to be playing these same places ... it's surreal."

08/10/01 - In a new Wilkes-Barre Times Leader article, Bob Weir explains RatDog's approach to working within an hour-and-45-minute time slot on the SMR Tour:

"We'll be on for about an hour and 45 minutes, and that's real short for us," says Weir. "I think we have a plan for that. For the most part, we're thinking about dropping or at least shortening the acoustic part we've been opening with."

The first set also served as an opportunity for the band to find its footing before steamrolling into the second half after an intermission. Weir hopes to make up for some of that lost warm-up time by rehearsing intensely backstage.

"We won't hit the stage cold," he says. "The idea is to hit the deck running and start stretching out from up front."

08/10/01 - According to GDTSTOO, "the Elkhorn Resort Amphitheater date in Sun Valley, ID on September 3rd has been moved to Sandy Point Beach at Lucky Peak Dam in Boise, ID."

08/10/01 - From the Newark Star-Ledger:

[Karl Denson] doesn't know how much he will be jamming with the other musicians [on SMR 2001], though he does anticipate playing with DJ Logic, who appeared on Denson's last album, "Dance Lesson #2" (Blue Note). "We're good friends and we like playing together, so if we're in the same place together, we're definitely going to be working together," he says.

08/10/01 - Karl Denson article from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

08/08/01 - An interesting SMR preview from Pittsburgh Weekly.

08/08/01 - Rusted Root article from Scranton Weekender.

07/28/01 - According to The official RatDog website, "Bob Weir and Ratdog are in rehearsal for the So Many Roads Tour."

07/24/01 - The advertising for So Many Roads 2001 so far has emphasized the connection between SMR and The Furthur Festival: some of the venues' local newspapers have called this tour "So Many Roads / Furthur Festival" or just "The Furthur Festival," this Metro Ent. SMR poster reads, "So Many Roads Traveling Furthur," the official RatDog website refers to a "So Many Roads/Furthur Down the Road Tour," and the front page of last year's Furthur website Furthuron.com now has a So Many Roads announcement.

07/06/01 - It looks like we can expect to see some Furthur-style cross-pollination between the bands on the SMR 2001 tour: in last month's JamBands.com interview, Karl Denson said he is "hoping to sit in with" Keller Williams, and DJ Logic's news page says Logic will be "spinning solo in between sets and sittin' in with various artists."

06/26/01 - This may have implications for Furthur 2002: According to Mickey Hart's official site, Mickey has a new ensemble called Bembé Orisha, a "world beat musical celebration."

06/25/01 - Interestingly, Keller Williams' news page now shows a revised SMR band schedule, without start/stop times.

06/22/01 - There's some SMR Tour content in this JamBands.com interview with Karl Denson.

06/21/01 - GDTSTOO now shows DJ Logic on the So Many Roads bill. Keller Williams' news page gives the bands' start/stop times ("the line up runs a little something like this"):

DJ Logic 6:00 PM 6:15 PM
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe 6:15 PM 7:15 PM
DJ Logic 7:15 PM 7:45 PM
Rusted Root 7:45 PM 9:00 PM
Keller Williams 9:00 PM 9:30 PM
RatDog 9:30 PM 11:00 PM

06/21/01 - Is Hornsby still a Furthur mainstay after all? This SonicNet article from a couple of weeks ago gives an interesting variation on the reason this year's festival tour is not called Furthur: "Weir decided against using the Furthur moniker for this outing, since Dead percussionist Mickey Hart and keyboardist Bruce Hornsby. . . are unavailable this summer, according to a Grateful Dead Productions spokesperson."

06/07/01 - According to The official RatDog website, "Bob Weir and Ratdog are in rehearsal for upcoming dates with Phil and Friends and the So Many Roads 2001 Tour in August."

06/04/01 - Not one of these new articles contains any new info, but I thought it was interesting that each title implies something different about the same information:
Weir Founds New Tour - Rolling Stone 06/04/01
Furthur Fest Morphs Into So Many Roads - Billboard 06/01/01
Ratdog, Rusted Root head up Further-like festival - Live Daily 05/31/01
Furthur By Another Name - PollStar 05/31/01

05/30/01 - The Dead.net Hotline has announced So Many Roads tour dates:
8/10/01 Scranton, PA Coors Light Amphitheatre
8/11/01 Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
8/12/01 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
8/14/01 Baltimore, MD Pier Six Concert Pavilion
8/15/01 Long Island , NY Jones Beach Theater
8/17/01 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
8/18/01 Philadelphia, PA Tweeter Waterfront (formerly E-Center)
8/19/01 Burlington, VT Champlain Valley Fairgrounds
8/21/01 Cleveland, OH Nautica Stage
8/22/01 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
8/23/01 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
8/24/01 Chicago, IL Alpine Valley Music Centre
8/26/01 Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater
8/28/01 San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheater
8/29/01 Los Angeles, CA Universal Amphitheater
8/31/01 Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre
9/2/01 Seattle, WA Bumbershoot Festival
9/3/01 Boise, ID Elkhorn Resort Amphitheater

05/30/01 - According to the Keller Williams site, "Keller plays between Rusted Root & Ratdog" on the SMR Tour.

05/29/01 - GDTSTOO has announced the 2001 festival tour: it is called the So Many Roads Tour 2001 with RatDog, Rusted Root, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and Keller Williams. The two confirmed tour dates so far are: Wed 8/15/01 Wantagh, Long Island, NY Jones Beach Theater, and Fri 8/17/01 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center. GDTSTOO added in a message, "We are not yet able to let you have a full schedule for this tour. We do hope to have more information very soon."

05/28/01 - According to the Chicago Daily Herald, "Ratdog, the band featuring Dead guitarist and vocalist Bob Weir, tentatively may return in August on a bill with Rusted Root and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, a Dead spokesman said." Once again, if I'm reading it correctly, the writer means "may return" to Alpine Valley Music Theatre in E. Troy, Wisconsin.

05/27/01 - According to the Harrisburg, PA Patriot-News, "The Furthur Festival. . . may be added to the summer list [i.e., if I'm reading it correctly, the concert series at Hersheypark Star Pavilion in the Harrisburg, PA area]."

05/27/01 - According to The official RatDog tour dates page, "Ratdog is still gathering dates for its August festival tour (w/ Karl Denson and Rusted Root). . ."

05/24/01 - GDTSTOO mentions the upcoming RatDog-led festival tour: "As for Ratdog, there are persistent rumors some kind of tour will happen in August/September. We will let you know as soon as we have any of this information confirmed."

05/23/01 - According to The Music Box (from two weeks ago, actually), "Ratdog, Rusted Root, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, and Keller Williams will tour in August and September."

05/23/01 - A venue rumor possibly worth noting: A camping website near Verizon Wireless Music Center (Deer Creek) in Noblesville, Indiana is still listing "Furthur Fest 2001: Sometime around August 21-25" as a "Rumored Date" for that venue.

05/19/01 - According to The Weekender, "A date still hasn't been confirmed for the Ratdog/Rusted Root tour, but one is expected for late August" at the Coors Light Amphitheatre at Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA.

05/16/01 - There is a pretty thorough roundup of available info about this year's festival tour at the Rusted Root site.

05/11/01 - A new message on the Dead.net Hotline Tours page reads, "........ Furthur 2001 ........ ........ To Be Or Not To Be ........ Right now, the only thing we know is that RatDog will be going out in the last three weeks of August with Rusted Root and Tiny Universe. Although this will obviously have a 'Furthur' vibe to it, we’re not sure at present what it will be named, nor do we have any info on dates. Stay tuned."

05/11/01 - According to USA Today, "Bob Weir's Ratdog and Rusted Root will deliver outdoor shows five to six hours long in August and September."

05/07/01 - More on the tour not being named Furthur, from this PollStar article: "One of loudest rumors is that the Furthur Festival will be revived this summer. 'Well, sort of,' [Dennis] McNally said. 'But it's not going to be called the Furthur Festival.' Percussion guru Mickey Hart is busy on a project with the Japanese drumming ensemble Kodo and won't be available to tour. 'It's not Furthur without Mickey,' McNally said. 'It will fill the function of Furthur but it won't bear the name.'"

05/07/01 - The official RatDog website tells us to "expect to see. . . Ratdog headlining a Furthur Festival in August."

05/03/01 - This JamBands.com article adds a few new tidbits: "An acoustic act will also be confirmed in the weeks to come. The tour, which is yet to be named, will hit 15-20 cities and will run from early August through September. The majority of the shows will be held at outdoors venues. Specific dates and venues will be announced soon."

05/02/01 - From a SonicNet article: "[Dennis] McNally said that tour may not be called the Furthur Festival, since former Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart, who played on the last Furthur Festival in 1998, won't be available this summer."

05/01/01 - According to a Billboard.com article, "A 2001 version of the Furthur Festival, with an official name yet to be determined, will play small amphitheaters in August through Labor Day, featuring ex-Grateful Dead principal Bob Weir's Ratdog, Rusted Root, and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe."

04/30/01 - Dennis McNally offerred the following about Furthur 2001 in an email: "I wanted to give you something definitive, but unfortunately I still can't. . . RatDog [will] tour in August. However, the arrangements for those dates aren't finished, and other than being sure it'll be the last three weeks of August, I don't know much."

04/18/01 - In a recent Des Moines Register interview, Weir speculated that the Furthur Festival will probably return in 2001 "in some shape or form."

03/28/01 - In a new Launch.com article, Hornsby says that Weir et al. are "trying to put together a Furthur Festival with Ratdog and a couple of other groups." The article's author Gary Graff adds, "The Furthur Festival camp is in the midst of putting together this summer's lineup, which is rumored to include funk legend George Clinton."

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