Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart: Jam band tradition is essential
news.excite.com:80/news/uw/000915/entertainment-music-7
Updated 12:00 PM ET September 15, 2000
By Justin Stranzl
Daily Collegian
Pennsylvania State U.
(U-WIRE) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- John Lennon's unfortunate death didn't stop the Beatles from
releasing "Free As a Bird" in 1995.
At 55, Pete Townshend could be seen throwing out his back on windmill solos when The Who reunited this
summer.
And at 57, Mick Jagger is still trying to strike sexy poses on stage while donning the same tight pants he
wore in the '60s.
Occurrences like the above are enough to make anyone call for a mandatory retirement age in rock 'n' roll.
But not everyone who makes music after the age of 50 has to embarrass him or herself. At 57, Mickey Hart
will lead his Other Ones - the post-Jerry Garcia incarnation of the Grateful Dead - through a set of timeless
music as part of the Furthur Festival, coming Sunday to the Bryce Jordan Center.
Hart argued their music is as relevant today as it was when the Dead started playing 35 years ago.
"What we play is timeless. It's rooted in American roots music, and it's improvisational in nature," said
Hart. "We never play it the same each time, so it's constantly a work in progress."
The improvisation of the Other Ones' performances is exactly why the band is still significant.
A fan who catches every show on the Other Ones' present tour will undoubtedly not hear the same set two
nights in a row, which is one of the reasons why tape trading among fans of the Dead and other similar
bands is extremely popular.
For most pop bands, live performances aren't drastically different from studio recordings. And even in the
case of bands who turn their efforts up a notch when they take the stage, set lists rarely vary by more than a
song or two from show to show.
Sets from the Other Ones and their like are different, thanks to the tremendous amount of jamming they do
on each song. Because jamming often turns one song into another, these bands can't put together set lists
even if they try.
"Usually before the show we put together a list of some of the stuff we might want to play, but we can't
always stick to it," said Hart. "There are certain things we'll always try to play, but because of the style it's
hard to stick to a list. Once we start playing we just hit a groove and go with it."
The Other Ones have been going with that groove for awhile, and they don't see a reason to stop any time
soon.
"When we get too old and can't walk anymore, then we'll go away gracefully," said Hart. "But the
improvisational nature keeps you young."
Hart concedes that while retirement is nowhere on the horizon, there will come a time when the Other Ones
no longer tour, and, as he says, "there needs to be this kind of music in the air."
Thankfully, several other bands are ready and willing to carry the torch.
The most obvious example is Phish, which has drawn as many as 80,000 fans to a single concert. The band
has been on the road seemingly forever, and despite very little radio or MTV airplay, ended up on the cover
of Entertainment Weekly this year for the first time.
Like the Dead, Phish has won its fans by taking to the road night after night.
In State College, Phish is indeed the most popular group that subscribes to the jam-band aesthetic.
But there are plenty of others garnering attention, said Ken Kubala of City Lights Records, 316 E. College
Ave.
"String Cheese Incident is popular. Disco Biscuits and Widespread Panic we sell a lot of, and, of course,
Phish. Those are definitely the biggest ones."
These bands might come and go, said Kubala, but the style of music they play isn't going anywhere.
"There's kind of a precedent that these people uphold," he said. "It's a tradition."
Hart is quite proud of having set that precedent with the Dead, and while he's happy other bands are willing
to lend a hand in spreading his style of music, he's not ready to watch from the sidelines just yet.
"We love Phish," he said. "But music has to be passed down, and we're doing it. We're not stopping now." |
