| Author | Message | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 1394 Registered: 1-2005 |
Did anyone else make it to this? Some great footage of the Godfather (including Phil playing several songs with his fingers - I always thought of him as exclusively a pick player) - it sounded great as well! I also spotted Alembic-style witch-hat knobs on Jerry's Strat! Here's an article about it with some footage: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/watch-grateful-dead-groove-on-playing-in-the-band-for-upcoming-movie-20140716 | ||
| harald_rost
Advanced Member Username: harald_rost Post Number: 236 Registered: 6-2002 |
Beat-Club was such a good German TV Show with many great bands from England and USA, all live-music - heavily missed now! | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11431 Registered: 5-2002 |
That was a great version of Playing in the Band! | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Advanced Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 327 Registered: 6-2012 |
Was at the Phoenix showing last night. Agreed - excellent close-ups of the instruments and hands - plus decent sound quality. I believe Jerry's Strat had been "Alembicized" prior to the Europe '72 tour. Also interesting to note that his only effect was a Colorsound Wah. His FX rig certainly got more complex as the 70's progressed. | ||
| hifiguy
Senior Member Username: hifiguy Post Number: 418 Registered: 10-2006 |
Great video! | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 5799 Registered: 7-2004 |
Harry, thanks for posting the video. I attended an acoustic jam last night where we played "Friend of the Devil" and "Wharf Rat" in honor of the "Meet Up". After viewing the video, I have one question: "Were we really ever that young?" lol Bill, tgo | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1745 Registered: 10-2006 |
Great! Thanks, Harry. And wonderful camera work; usually when the Dead were filmed, it seems the camera stayed on Jerry 90% of the time. Gots to see the whole thing! Peter | ||
| wfmandmusic
Member Username: wfmandmusic Post Number: 85 Registered: 1-2012 |
Yes thanks for posting this. Beautiful vintage vid. It's funny but I think most people don't understand how complicated Bobby's parts were at times. I use to really enjoy playing this song. The bass part is so wonderful and so fun to improvise to it. I hope they release this piece. | ||
| dead_head
Junior Username: dead_head Post Number: 36 Registered: 5-2014 |
Thanks, Harry. Really enjoyed this. | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1747 Registered: 10-2006 |
"...I think most people don't understand how complicated Bobby's parts were at times." I have long held that he is the world's only actual rhythm guitar genius; perhaps the most overlooked & underrated player of all time. Tell me I can have the chops of any player in history for the asking & I wouldn't hesitate to say "Bob Weir, of course!" Jerry was amazing, as were the drummers & (each in his own way) all the keyboardists but Vince (great player, wrong band) but what made the Dead the Dead for me was always the unique stylings of Phil & Bobby. Jerry once said of Bob "His playing provides the only context in which my playing really makes sense." Peter | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3537 Registered: 5-2009 |
Peter , that makes sense to me as well ______ That rhythm guitar method that Bob Weir presents is so much pavement for the Grateful Dead vehicle of musical performance . Got to have if for this style . | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 5801 Registered: 7-2004 |
+1 on Bobby. Other unique/original rhythm players I love include Keith Richards and the guy who used to play for the Neville Brothers a long time ago. The "Bobby" chair in a Dead band or any two guitar jam type band is where I enjoy myself the most. I'm listening to both the lead and the bass, and trying to create a fabric that blends the two. I also see my role as a bit of a quarterback, standing in the figurative center of the sound and acting as a conduit through which we can all musicially communicate. All the while often playing "lead with chords". I learned this watching and listening to Bob Weir. Bill, tgo | ||
| wfmandmusic
Member Username: wfmandmusic Post Number: 86 Registered: 1-2012 |
I made that statement about Bobby because most dead bands I've played with had a struggle with that chair. As we worked through the parts and tried to figure them out most of the time I said to myself, man I'm glad I'm not trying to do that, the bass part is hard enough! I agree about the road map. People were always down on Bobby on tour, but I always had the most respect for his contributions, even the cheesy ones..... | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 11435 Registered: 5-2002 |
Glad to see all the positive comments on Bobby's guitar work. The more videos I watch, especially the close-ups of his playing, the greater my appreciation for what he's doing, both in the structured passages and in the improvisational passages. The whole band is amazing to watch; I would love to be in a band that had that kind of communication. | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1750 Registered: 10-2006 |
"....the guy who used to play for the Neville Brothers a long time ago." Shane Theroit? Peter | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 1807 Registered: 5-2002 |
"I have long held that he is the world's only actual rhythm guitar genius;" Perhaps in the rock world. I know a half dozen jazz guys who do what he does in their sleep and jazz history is littered with them. Considering that Weir spent time analyzing McCoy Tyner along with string quartet inner voicings, it's not surprising he ended up where he did. I have to say that in almost 20 years of seeing the Grateful Dead, I never saw him have an off night on the guitar (slide playing notwithstanding). I don't think I've seen him since 1995 and I hear he's had a couple of rough ones, but back in the day, the same could not be said about anyone else in the band. There are so many signature licks and parts that are Bobby, not Jerry. I'm a huge fan, and I agree with the above, when playing this music, finding someone who can really nail these parts, or even play the proper role, is difficult. The rock guys don't have the concept or the chops and the jazz guys can't be bothered. Once in a while you find someone who really gets it. I really enjoyed the movie. In a number of ways, I liked it better than Sunshine Daydream. It was more focused and concise, plus Pig was still there. It was interesting to see Phil playing with his fingers. I realized where that sound that I love so much comes from. I'd bet anything that the Wharf Rat from Skull and Roses was also fingers. My only complaint: the camera crew missed Phil's intro to The Other One. I really hope this comes out on DVD. | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3540 Registered: 5-2009 |
Phil's finger style sound is" top shelf " from that era in my book of tone . I have been a huge fan of that sound since I first heard him play like that in the early 1970's. His Alembic modified Gibson EB-3 type with the Guild/Hagstrom Bi-Sonics with darlington pair circuit had a wonderful sound from that period . |
