BRATTLEBORO-The members of the band Deadgrass - a group of seasoned musical pros exploring the life works of Jerry Garcia on the instruments that first inspired him - will play their inaugural Stone Church show on the second night of their The Days Between tour with their show on Friday, Aug. 2.
The name of the show refers to Aug. 1–9. Jerry Garcia, cofounder of the Grateful Dead, was born on Aug. 1, 1942, and he died on Aug. 9, 1995, so these dates are seen by fans of the iconic band as a symbolic representation of Garcia's life. The name "The Days Between" comes from the band's song of the same name.
Deadgrass, a five-piece string band that explores Garcia's musical world, hails from New York City and the Hudson Valley.
Members are Kris Bauman on banjo and vocals, C Lanzbom on acoustic and electric guitar and vocals, Dave Richards on bass and vocals, Kensuke Shoji on fiddle, Boo Reiners on banjo, and Matt Turk on acoustic guitar, mandolin, and vocals.
In 2017, Turk and Lanzbom co-founded Deadgrass, drawing from several of Garcia's musical incarnations, including Old & In the Way, JGB, his jug band days, and the Grateful Dead.
Since then, Deadgrass has been on the road constantly, touring from Virginia to Maine. The band has a Colorado run planned for early next year.
A seasoned recording artist and multi-instrumentalist, Turk is a veteran performer who has performed and recorded with Pete Seeger, opened for Judy Collins, the Doobie Brothers, Fiona Apple, and the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart.
He has performed at the Clearwater Festival, Gathering of the Vibes, Atlanta's Music Midtown, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Beacon Theatre. Turk has recorded for Warner Bros. Records with Gaby Moreno & Matter.
Lanzbom, a Grammy winner, is a touring and studio guitarist with producing, performing, writing, and engineering credits with Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, Crystal Bowersox, Shlomo Carlebach, and Soulfarm.
He has numerous television and film song placements.
Richards performs in Hamilton on Broadway and has recorded and performed with the Indigo Girls, Rosanne Cash, Buster Poindexter, Madeleine Peyroux, Jewel, and Richie Havens.
He has toured throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States, appearing at Ottawa Jazz, Toronto Blues Festival, the Hollywood Bowl, and Austin City Limits.
At the age of 17, Richards was playing jazz five nights a week in Orlando, Florida with Billy Peebles, the drummer for Ray Charles on many classic Atlantic recordings.
Reiners is a multi-instrumentalist who has performed, recorded, filmed, and toured with Dispatch, Phil Lesh, Al Kooper, Pete Seeger, Charlie Louvin, Steve Martin, Tony Trischka, Michael Moore, Amy Poehler, Natalie Merchant, Martin Sexton, and many others.
In the studio and on tour with world music pioneers The Klezmatics, he helped the group to win a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album for Wonder Wheel: Lyrics by Woody Guthrie.
Shoji, born in Gifu, Japan, joined his father's bluegrass band as a teenager. As a young adult he moved to the U.S.A. to study jazz violin with Berklee College of Music String Department chair Matt Glaser, and world-renowned violinist Christian Howes.
Dedicated to improvisation, Kensuke moved to New York City in 2013 to play with Alex Hargreaves, Barry Harris, Jacob Jolliff, Maria Muldaur, and others.
When asked what it is about this particular genre of music that makes the fans turn up in large numbers, Turk said in a recent phone call with The Commons, "These compositions have become part of the American songbook. It's the approach to playing the music, the melodies and arrangements and the improvising. Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter's music is still so relevant today. They set such a high bar of quality."
It's collaboration at its best.
"We collaborate with the audience who loves this music. They know the words and melodies and they dance and they celebrate the music with us," he says.
"We just played Dead of Summer Festival in Manchester, Vermont last week for the fifth time and love Vermont. We also love Vermonters," added Richards.
* * *
Deadgrass celebrates the life of Jerry Garcia with an inaugural show at the Stone Church, 210 Main Street in Brattleboro on Friday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m., with doors open at 7 p.m.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit stonechurchvt.com/events.
For more information about Deadgrass, including other performances on the Days Between Tour in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, visit deadgrassband.com.
This Arts item by Victoria Chertok was written for The Commons.