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12/27/12 - One new Bob Weir Solo Acoustic date is up: NYCB Theatre, Westbury, NY 06/25/13.

12/19/12 - Jambands.com: RatDog Members Join Bob Weir and Jackie Greene

12/11/12 - Bob Weir will play the first annual Merry Minstrel Musical Circus at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on December 20.

12/06/12 - From the Phoenix New Times:

Up on the Sun: Speaking of being real together, Furthur seems to be firing on all cylinders right now. After the Grateful Dead ended there were various attempt to find that groove again with The Other Ones and later The Dead. What did it take to get to this point?

Bob Weir: It's a matter of finding the right combination of people and then putting in the time together, which was pretty much the same method we used with the Grateful Dead. We just had a lot of gigs. The time you spend together on stage is the time you spend finding the center of a band and learning to work from there.

12/06/12 - From the Phoenix New Times:

If there were ever a musician who deserved a little rest and relaxation, it might be the tireless Weir. Instead, the songwriter is really only at rest when he's busy playing his guitar, which, in the solo acoustic context, offers yet another level of musical fulfillment.

"I get to hear the song all by itself, just me and the guitar," he explains by phone from his Marin County, California, home. "Basically, in most cases, it's the way I wrote it. Oftentimes that gives me insight to the song, places to take it — that kind of thing."

Playing songs stripped down and naked also offers Weir a chance to really hear his own voice.

"Singing is a big thing. In the bands I play with, particularly Furthur, my dynamic range is kind of limited because that band is real loud. So there are a lot of things you can't do with your voice and a microphone in that situation," he says. "This gives me a lot more room to try things when I'm playing solo. I have little discoveries and whatnot that I can bring back to my other endeavors."

12/05/12 - From the Bakersfield Californian:

Matt Munoz: What other projects do you have lined up next year?

Bob Weir: More touring with Phil Lesh and our main band, Furthur, solo acoustic shows, working on another symphonic collaboration as I did last year with Marin Symphony Orchestra, hopefully with an East Coast orchestra this time. In the Bay Area, more unique projects out of TRI Studios and fun at Sweetwater Music Hall.

12/04/12 - Dead.net: Bob and Mickey Soar at Fillmore Rex Benefit

12/03/12 - Jambands.com: Bob Weir Joins ALO Trio, Mickey Hart Band and More at Saturday's Rex Benefit

11/30/12 - Furthur Colorado February Run dates are up.

11/23/12 - From Jambands.com:

During the interview [in the December issue of Relix], Lesh also says that Furthur will play both Terrapin Crossroads and Bob Weir’s TRI Studios in January.

11/19/12 - Phil Lesh said before the 11/18/12 donor rap, "this is my last night in New York for a while; I'm sad to see this come, but at the same time I think we gave you a rousing farewell."

11/16/12 - From Jambands.com:

I wondered about [John K's] current plans with Furthur, the ever-present rumors that Phil Lesh was preparing to step down, and questions surrounding how long he, Phil and Bob Weir plan to play music together.

Kadlecik answered matter-of-factly. “It goes until it doesn’t anymore, which is true for everything in music. Nothing is forever. Phil recently told an interviewer that he and Bob were in agreement that I’m the guy they want to play with for the foreseeable future. That could change tomorrow.”

11/15/12 - Jambands.com: Bill Kreutzmann & Friends to Play Hawaii’s Homegrown Music Festival

11/10/12 - Jambands.com: Bob Weir Announces All-Star Sandy Relief Show

10/26/12 - From TerrapinCrossroads.net:

Grate Room Gala!
Nov 29, 2012 - 8:00PM
Celebrate the Re-Opening of the Grate Room!

Featuring Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Jackie Greene and many special guests

10/25/12 - From the Huffington Post:

Mike Ragogna of KRUU-FM: So you're working on... another Bruce Hornsby project with full lyrical songs, all that?

Bruce Hornsby: Well, yes and no. I am writing songs with Robert Hunter. I wrote one for my last record with Hunter called "Cyclone," which I love, and I wrote another one that we've been playing called, "Might As Well Be Me." Hunter sent me some lyrics -- you know who Robert Hunter is, right?

MR: Oh, yeah.

BH: Okay, good, because a lot of people don't know Hunter's a great lyricist. He wrote so many great songs for The Dead. New Year's Day of this year, I got an email from Hunter: "Happy New Year, here's some words." I loved that. I love his writing, so I've written another one with him and now I've written another one with him this year called "Tropical Cashmere Sweater." We're still working that one up, we haven't had a lot of time. I hope to continue working with Hunter because I love it.

10/18/12 - Bob Weir Solo Acoustic Tour dates are up.

10/12/12 - Bob Weir, the Mickey Hart Band, and Special Guests To Be Announced will play on 12/01/12 at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA.

09/13/12 - Jambands.com: Bill Kreutzmann and 7 Walkers Cancel Shows

09/07/12 - From ABC News Radio:

surviving Grateful Dead members have reunited on occasion since frontman Jerry Garcia‘s death in 1995, but lately the band mates have been focusing on various other projects. Founding Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann says, for his part, he’d be glad to join musical forces again with the other key Dead members — singer/guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and percussionist Mickey Hart — but he admits, “It hasn’t been talked about.”

Speaking recently with ABC News Radio, Kreutzmann insists, “I’m totally open to doing that…And I believe Mickey is too,” adding, “I think the other guys would be too if it was put together properly.”

According to the drummer, the only member who likely wouldn’t be into taking part in a reunion is Lesh.

“I’m not really sure how much more Phil wants to play, really,” he says. “He’s got that nice club [Terrapin Crossroads] in San Rafael, California, now. And that’s a cool thing…He gets to play, have musicians come and play there. So, I’m not sure that that could happen.”

Meanwhile, Kreutzmann says he’s really enjoying playing with his current group, 7 Walkers, an outfit that mixes a bit of swampy New Orleans flavor into its rootsy jam-band sound. As much as Kreutzmann loved being a part of the Dead, he admits that there’s a bit less tension amongst his new band mates.

“There’s no competition in the band, for sure, and there’s no big egos,” he explains ABC News Radio. “Everybody’s there to play music together, and that really feels good. There’s no politics or anything.”

08/28/12 - Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Stu Allen & Mars Hotel plus special guests will play on 09/17/12 at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, CA.

08/04/12 - Rolling Stone: 'Move Me Brightly' Celebrates Jerry Garcia's 70th with All-Star Tribute

08/03/12 - "The Wheel" opener from TRI Studios 8/3/12 was performed by Weir, Lesh and Donna Jean (with Jeff Chimenti, Joe Russo, Neal Casal, Jonathan Wilson and John Graboff).

08/03/12 - Relix.com: Move Me Brightly: An Interview With Bob Weir

07/27/12 - From the Daily Record:

Though 7 Walkers is occupying most of his energies, Kreutzmann is not averse to reuniting with Hart, Lesh and Weir, under any name.

“I always leave that possibility open,” says Kreutzmann. “They’re my brothers.”

07/25/12 - Download Weir/Hornsby/Marsalis 7/19/12 All Good audio (from Archive.org)

07/23/12 - Download Weir/Hornsby/Marsalis 7/20/12 Gathering of the Vibes audio (from Archive.org)

07/23/12 - Relix.com: Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis "Franklin’s Tower" and "Dark Star" (videos)

07/23/12 - Jambands.com: Vampire Weekend’s Chris Tomson, Donna Jean, Yellowbirds, The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn and Tad Kubler and More Join Jerry Garcia Birthday Tribute (with Bob Weir, Jeff Chimenti, Joe Russo, Mike Gordon, et al.)

07/22/12 - From the Ct Post:

Fresh off stage after performing with Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and Bruce Hornsby, sax great Branford Marsalis arrived at the media tent to give his thoughts on the show, among other things.

"It's really an adventure," he said of the largely unscripted show. "We don't really know what we're going to do."

Especially when their set started.

"I didn't know what the hell (Weir and Hornsby) were playing," Marsalis said. "Bruce did, but I had no idea.

"There's no sheet music or anything like that, but it's kind of what I do. Growing up and learning to play in New Orleans, I'm used to that."

Though he said he "hasn't played festivals in years," it's not because Marsalis doesn't like them. In fact, he's a fan of the events.

"The spectacle of a festival is amazing," he said. "The energy of 25,000 or 30,000 or 50,000 people, you can't generate that kind of energy anywhere else.

"And an audience like this one (at the Vibes), they tend to listen more and are more open to accepting the music."

07/21/12 - From Billboard.com:

Phil Lesh and Bob Weir are in their fourth year of touring with their latest post-Grateful Dead aggregate, Furthur. And as far as Lesh is concerned, the road is where Furthur belongs, so don't expect to see the sextet in the recording studio soon -- or any time at all.

"Nobody's mentioned it to me, and certainly it's not anything I'm interested in doing," the bassist tells Billboard.com. "What's the point? Nobody makes money on recordings anymore -- a least the likes of us don't. And the longer I'm in music the less time I like the idea of freezing music in amber so that it's the same every time you play it back. I want it to be different every time, so I'm just not into recording, particularly."

Given that philosophy, then, it's not surprising that Lesh isn't impressed that 2012 marks the 45th anniversary of the Dead's self-titled debut album. "I don't really look at the past in terms of albums," he explains. "I'm grateful it lasted as long as it did in its original form, or something close to that, and I'm also grateful for the fact that the music was strong enough to be able to continue using it as repertoire and expand it in kind of unforeseen directions. And I'm certainly grateful for all the Deadheads who have loved the music and supported it all these years. And, of course, there's a younger generation that's coming in that's clearly too young to have ever seen Jerry (Garcia), so there's something there as well."

And Lesh says he and Weir are comfortable that, with Furthur -- which includes members of Weir's RatDog and the Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra -- they're offering Deadheads new and old an authentic experience.

"It's been a very interesting development," he notes. "It's to the point where we can play pretty smoothly together. Basically it started because Bob and I realized how much we enjoy playing together; we figured why don't we just play together if it's that much fun. We pulled these guys in and started playing, and it seems to have worked out. I'm enjoying it. It's always an adventure. It's not like I have to worry about it becoming boring; I never know what's going to happen, and that's what I live for, anyway."

07/21/12 - Jambands.com: Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann Perform (Separately) at Gathering of the Vibes

07/20/12 - Jambands.com: Phil Lesh and Bob Weir Perform With New Projects at All Good

07/16/12 - From the Hartford Courant:

"Friday is all about old-school Grateful Deadness with a little funk thrown in there," [Vibes founder Ken] Hays said.

07/01/12 - Jambands.com: Dickey Betts Sits in with Furthur

06/28/12 - Bob Weir Solo Acoustic will open for Bob Dylan and His Band at Hershey Park Pavilion in Hershey, PA on 09/09/12.

06/14/12 - From the Lexington Herald Leader:

And in the works [for Bruce Hornsby] is new music that marks a blooming songwriting partnership with the prolific Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.

"Our first attempts are already in a beautiful area. On New Year's Day, he sent me an email that said, 'Happy New Year. Here are some words.'"

06/13/12 - The band schedule for Gathering Of The Vibes 7/20/12 Friday shows a 90-minute set for 7 Walkers featuring Bill Kreutzmann, a 90-minute set for Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby featuring special guest Branford Marsalis, and a 4-hour slot for Phil Lesh & Friends.

05/11/12 - Rolling Stone: Phil Lesh Dedicates New 'Ramble' Site to Levon Helm

05/11/12 - From the Marin Independent-Journal:

Part of the reason for Terrapin was to give Lesh a place to play while he gradually winds down his life on the road.

"After 45 years, I'm done with touring," he sighed. "The music is still compelling, but I can't handle the buses, the hotels, the airplanes."

04/22/12 - Download Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby Alone And Together 4/1/12 Oakland audio (from Bruuuce.com)

04/21/12 - Jambands.com: Bob Weir Joins The Allman Brothers on "The Weight" at Wanee

04/11/12 - Jambands.com: Mickey Hart Band, Donna Jean Godchaux Band, 7 Walkers, Keller Williams and More Join The Dark Star Jubilee (Hart's band will play September 1st, and both Kreutzmann's and Donna Jean's bands will play September 2nd)

04/08/12 - From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

In the years since Garcia's death, the surviving Dead members have mounted several reunion tours.

When they'll get together again is anyone's guess.

"There has been no talk," Hart said.

"No talk, one way or another. Everybody's doing what they like to do, and it's time to do that. But as long as we're all above ground, anything is possible."

04/06/12 - Download Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby Alone And Together 3/31/12 Oakland audio (from Bruuuce.com)

04/03/12 - SFGate.com (blog): Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart will again back President Obama

04/02/12 - Jambands.com: Bob Weir and Bruce Hornsby Share the Stage

04/02/12 - From Billboard.com:

Friday, July 20, will be "pretty much about the Grateful Dead" according to Vibes founder Ken Hays, including performances by bassist Phil Lesh & Friends, guitarist Bob Weir with Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis, and percussionist Bill Kreutzmann with his latest group, 7 Walkers. Percussionist Mickey Hart and his new band -- promoting the "Mysterium Tremendum" album that comes out April 10 -- will appear on Saturday, July 21.

• • • •

But neither Hays nor Hart would commit to the Dead members playing together in any way since they'll all be in attendance. "You just never know," Hays says. "They're all getting along beautifully together and making incredible music. I think all that we can do is lay out the framework and let the possibilities and their inspiration decide." Hart adds that "everyone's doing what they really want to do and really enjoying it. Everybody's having a good musical life. I'm always up to play with (the others); then the times right, perhaps that'll happen."

03/30/12 - From a Grateful Web Interview w/ Gathering of the Vibes Founder, Ken Hays:

KH: There’s nothing too radically different that’s going to be happening this year [at Gathering of the Vibes]. We got a strong solid lineup. You know, nothing too over the top, The Stones aren’t going to be performing [laughs]. But its great that all of the living members of the Grateful Dead WILL be joining us again (!!) along with a bunch of other artists, some that we’ve seen before and others that we haven’t. I look forward to showing people what’s in store with our artist announcement this Monday.

03/30/12 - From the Southern Oregon Mail Tribune:

"I just wrote a new song with Robert Hunter of the Dead that I'll premiere at the show with Weir," Hornsby says.

03/23/12 - Jambands.com: Mickey Hart Band, 7 Walkers, New Riders and More to Play A Bear's Picnic (both Hart's and Kreutzmann's bands will play August 18th)

02/21/12 - Phil Lesh & Friends, Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby (and the Noisemakers) featuring special guest Branford Marsalis, and the Mickey Hart Band have been confirmed for All Good. Phil Lesh & Friends and Weir/Hornsby/Marsalis will play Thursday, July 19th, and Hart will play Sunday, July 22nd.

02/16/12 - From the Boulder Weekly:

“Basically, that’s what Terrapin Crossroads is all about,” he says. “I’m not going to slow down, but I’m just not going to travel as much. It’s like 10 minutes from my home, so that will cut down on my travel time considerably.”

02/13/12 - Jambands.com: Bob Weir, Warren Haynes, Chris Robinson, Jackie Greene and More Will Help Phil Lesh Open Terrapin Crossroads

02/12/12 - From Twitter.com/TerrapinXRoads:

TerrapinXroads Terrapin Crossroads
Lots of exciting things will be happening soon at TX! Be sure to check the website, FaceBook & Twitter on Monday for the latest. - Phil xo
16 hours ago

02/12/12 - From the Spartanburg Herald Journal:

These days, Hornsby tours as a solo act, as a jazz trio, with a full band, and (later this year) with guys such as Bob Weir.

02/10/12 - From Twitter.com/TRI_Studios:

TRI_Studios TRI Studios
There are some serious musicians jamming out in our living room right now. #StayTuned
2 hours ago

02/10/12 - From the Aspen Times:

The return of Phil & Friends is accompanied by the latest innovation in the realm of the Dead. On Feb. 23, Lesh will open a venue called Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, Calif., the town where the Grateful Dead had its longtime headquarters, Club Front. The venue, in a space formerly occupied by a seafood restaurant, will be home base for three of Lesh's groups: the Ramble Band, featuring Lesh's sons, Graeme and Brian, and Jackie Greene, and which is modeled after the Midnight Ramble house concerts thrown by Levon Helm, former drummer of The Band, in upstate New York; the Terrapin Allstars, which includes musicians from the San Francisco area; and Phil & Friends, for which Lesh has big plans.

“I'm hoping to bring in everybody I've ever played with. And more,” the 71-year-old said from his new office at Terrapin Crossroads. Lesh said he plans to sit in to play some casual, after-dinner music on Feb. 23, with a bigger bash set for March 17.

• • • •

During his time with the Grateful Dead, Phil Lesh never looked ahead to a time when there was no Grateful Dead. . . “I never gave it a moment's thought,” the 71-year-old said from California. “The Grateful Dead was eternal. It was a cosmic phenomenon.”

• • • •

Most significant in Lesh's view, the music is being handed over to other musicians. The membership of Phil & Friends has included singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, guitarist Derek Trucks, Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson, soul singer Joan Osborne and members of Phish, moe. and Little Feat. The song titles remain the same, but the playing of them evolves, and the catalog itself becomes like classical music or the Great American Songbook — something meant not just for the musicians who originally created it, but to live on, constantly being re-imagined.

“As far as it can be defined, I wanted to treat the music like repertory — bring in different musicians, allow them to read these songs, bring different perspectives to them, mix it up. Stretch them out, make them faster, slower,” Lesh said. “I guess you'd have to say my prime directive was to take it further.”

A few decades ago, it would have been a good bet that the Grateful Dead would go into sharp contraction once there was no Jerry Garcia to gravitate to, no Grateful Dead bus per se to jump on. But Lesh says the music was structured as a positive feedback loop — the music has sustained itself.

“I'm not surprised [at the continuing popularity] because the material lent itself to openness,” he said. “I think it was by design that we made music that could be extended and elaborated upon. It's not surprising that other people have taken hold of this and brought it to new dimensions. I find it very gratifying, actually.”

• • • •

I invited Lesh to look forward for a moment: Would the Grateful Dead's music last forever?

“With all the people who seem interested in playing this music, it's hard to tell,” he said. “But that said, everything fades away sooner or later. It's in god's hands, not for us to know.”

02/03/12 - From the March 2012 issue of Guitar World:

WEIR: We can dust the Dead off every now and again and take it out and see if anything changes, and we will have some fun doing that.

• • • •

[Furthur] is the longest running post-Grateful Dead collaboration. Is it an ongoing band?
WEIR: Oh, yeah. I'm not sure we're going to do four tours a year. Next year we might do three, because we don't want to run ourselves out of gas.

01/27/12 - From USA Today:

Such ongoing collaboration may even lead the quartet [of Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann and Hart] to one day play at [Sweetwater Music Hall and Terrapin Crossroads], called by both the music and a vibe from the past.

"In the mid-'60s, bands would show up at each other's gigs and cross-fertilize," says Lesh. "We can have that again.

"I'll be at Bobby's club and he can come to mine. Our new places are just two sides of the same coin."

01/26/12 - Rolling Stone: Grateful Dead's Bob Weir Reopens Sweetwater Music Hall

01/21/12 - Jambands.com: Bill Kreutzmann: Fulfilling Jerry Garcia's Promise

01/17/12 - From Rolling Stone:

Kreutzmann said, "But the thing that was missing was a band that could fill the level that I like to have with music that the Grateful Dead did. And I don't mean a copy band of any sort; the bands that I played in afterward, the Dead and the Other Ones and all that, up until 2009, they were okay bands – the musicians were always really great – but I always missed one guy. I couldn't help that in my heart. The Grateful Dead without Jerry Garcia was like the Miles Davis Band without Miles Davis."

01/16/12 - Bruce Hornsby has rescheduled a New England 4/20/12 show in order to play Wanee (with The Noisemakers) instead on that date, the same day Furthur and Mickey Hart Band will play there.

01/05/12 - From the Marin Independent-Journal:

[Phil Lesh] said the Grate Room [at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, Calif.] will be a venue for him to "reactivate the various lineups that I've put together over the past 10 years."

He plans a "revolving door" schedule of acts with Phil Lesh & Friends and other notables; a Family Ramble Band with his two sons, Grahame and Brian; a Terrapin All Stars featuring local musicians; a big band night with dancing; and an experimental night with electronica and improvisational groups.

"It's for all the things I've always wanted to do and couldn't do in a touring context," said Lesh, 71, who still plans to tour with Furthur, the band he formed with Dead bandmate Bob Weir. "But one of the reasons we're doing this is to stay off the road a little more."

01/01/12 - During the Sirius NYE broadcast, Gary Lambert made some interesting remarks about the possibility of more Weir/Hornsby shows: "On March 31st, 2012 'Bob Weir & Bruce Hornsby Alone And Together' [are scheduled to perform] at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California, and it is hoped there will be more of this, because when Bob and Bruce played together at Levon Helm's Ramble this past summer I was lucky enough to be in attendance, [and] they had such a good time that they immediately started kicking around the idea of doing something together. . ."

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At The Festival
2012 Archive