Phil Lesh & Friends There and Back Again

American musician

Phil Lesh
Phil Lesh performing at Terrapin Crossroads Dec 6, 2013
Background information
Nascency name	Philip Chapman Lesh
Born	(1940-03-fifteen) March fifteen, 1940 (age 82) Berkeley, California
Genres	Stone psychedelia jazz jam
Occupation(southward)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Bass guitar trumpet vocals
Years active	1961–present
Labels	Warner Bros. Grateful Dead Records Arista Columbia
Associated acts	Grateful Dead Phil Lesh and Friends The Other Ones The Dead Furthur
Website	world wide web.phillesh.net

Musical artist

Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940)^[1] is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their xxx-twelvemonth career.

Afterwards the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of Grateful Dead family music with side project Phil Lesh and Friends, which paid homage to the Expressionless's music by playing their originals, common covers, and the songs of the members of his band. Lesh operates a music venue called Terrapin Crossroads. He scaled dorsum his touring regimen in 2014 but continues to perform with Phil Lesh & Friends at select venues. From 2009 to 2014, he performed in Furthur alongside former Grateful Dead bandmate Bob Weir.

Background [edit]

Lesh was born in Berkeley, California, Usa,^[one] and started out as a violin role player. While enrolled at Berkeley Loftier School he switched to trumpet and participated in all of the school'southward music-related extracurricular activities. Studying the instrument under Bob Hansen, conductor of the symphonic Gold Gate Park Band, he developed a bully interest in avant-garde classical music and free jazz. After attending San Francisco State Academy for a semester, Lesh was unable to secure a favorable position in the school's ring or orchestra and determined that he was not prepare to pursue a higher education. Upon dropping out, he successfully auditioned for the renowned 6th Regular army Band (then stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco) with the assistance of Hansen, but was ultimately adamant to be unfit for military machine service.

Shortly thereafter, he enrolled at the Higher of San Mateo, where he wrote charts for the community college's well-regarded large band and ascended to the first trumpet chair. (A snippet of tape of Lesh on trumpet at CSM can exist heard on "Born Cross-Eyed" from the Grateful Dead'southward 1968 release Anthem of the Lord's day.) After transferring with sophomore standing to the University of California, Berkeley in 1961, he befriended future Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten earlier dropping out again after less than a semester. At the behest of Constanten, he studied under the Italian modernist Luciano Berio in a graduate-level course at Mills College in the spring of 1962; their classmates included Steve Reich and Stanford University cross-registrant John Chowning.^[2]

While volunteering for KPFA as a recording engineer during this flow, he met bluegrass banjo thespian Jerry Garcia. Despite seemingly opposite musical interests, they shortly formed a friendship. Following a cursory catamenia as a Post Office Section employee and keno marker in Las Vegas (initially rooming with Constanten, who soon departed to study nether Berio and other members of the Darmstadt School in Europe); a second stint with the Post Office in San Francisco; and a collaboration with the likes of Reich, Jon Gibson and Constanten upon the latter's return from Europe under the auspices of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Lesh was talked into becoming the bassist for Garcia's new rock group (then known every bit The Warlocks) in the fall of 1964. This was a peculiar turn of events, as Lesh had never played bass before. According to Lesh, the first song he rehearsed with the band was "I Know You Rider".^[2] He joined them for their third or fourth gig (memories vary) and stayed until the stop.

Since Lesh had never played bass, information technology meant that to a neat extent he learned "on the job", yet it besides meant he had no preconceived attitudes about the musical instrument's traditional rhythm section role. In his autobiography, he credits Jack Casady (who was playing with Jefferson Airplane) as a confirming influence on the direction his instincts were leading him into.^[ii] While he has said that his playing manner was influenced more by Bach counterpoint than by contemporaneous stone and soul bass players, one can also hear the fluidity and power of a jazz bassist such as Charles Mingus or Jimmy Garrison in Lesh's piece of work, along with stylistic allusions to Casady.^[iii] Lesh has likewise cited Jack Bruce of Cream as an influence.^[four]

Music [edit]

Lesh was an innovator in the new function that the electric bass developed during the mid-1960s. Contemporaries such every bit Casady, Bruce, James Jamerson and Paul McCartney adopted a more than melodic, contrapuntal approach to the musical instrument; before this, bass players in rock had generally played a conventional timekeeping part inside the beat out of the song, and within (or underpinning) the song'south harmonic or chord structure. While not abandoning these aspects, Lesh took his own improvised excursions during a vocal or instrumental. This was a characteristic attribute of the so-chosen San Francisco Audio in the new rock music. In many Dead jams, Lesh'southward bass is, in essence, as much a lead musical instrument as Garcia's guitar.

Lesh was not a prolific composer or singer with the Grateful Dead, although some of the songs he contributed or co-wrote (including "New Potato Caboose", "Box of Rain", "Truckin'", "Unbroken Chain" and "Pride of Cucamonga") are amid the best known in the band'due south repertoire. Lesh's high tenor voice contributed to the Grateful Dead's iii-part harmony sections in their group vocals in the early days of the band, until he largely relinquished singing high parts to Donna Godchaux (and thence Brent Mydland and Vince Welnick) in 1976 due to song cord impairment from improper singing technique. In 1985, he resumed singing lead vocals on select songs as a baritone. Throughout the Grateful Dead's career, his interest in avant-garde music remained a crucial influence on the group.

In 1994, he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame every bit a member of the Grateful Dead.^[5]

Post-Grateful Dead [edit]

After the disbanding of the Grateful Dead, Lesh continued to play with its offshoots The Other Ones and The Expressionless, too as performing with his ain band, Phil Lesh and Friends.^[6] In 1999, he co-headlined a tour with Bob Dylan.^[7]

Additionally, Lesh and his wife Jill administrate their charitable system, the Unbroken Chain Foundation. The couple have two children together, Grahame and Brian. Both Grahame and Brian follow in their father'south musical footsteps. The three frequently play together both publicly and privately, for example in an annual do good concert grouping known as Philharmonia, dating to 1997, most recently on December 18, 2011 at a Christmas gig including Bob Weir and Jackie Greene at the Tenderloin Eye School cafeteria attended by 250 people.^[eight]

In 1998, Lesh underwent a liver transplant as a result of chronic hepatitis C infection; since then, he has become an outspoken abet for organ donor programs and when performing regularly encourages members of the audience to go organ donors (tracks identified every bit the "donor rap" on the live recordings of his various performances).

In April 2005, Lesh'southward book Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead (ISBN 0-316-00998-9) was published. The book takes its proper noun from the lyrics of a Grateful Dead song titled "Unbroken Chain," from their album From the Mars Hotel. "Unbroken Concatenation" is one of the few songs Lesh sings. This was the only volume nearly the Grateful Dead written past a member of the band until 2015, when Bill Kreutzmann released his memoir, Deal: My Three Decades of Drumming, Dreams and Drugs with the Grateful Expressionless.

On Oct 26, 2006, Lesh released a statement on his official website, revealing that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer—the illness that killed his father—and would be undergoing an performance in December 2006 to have it removed.^[9] On Dec 7, 2006, Lesh released a argument stating that he had undergone prostate surgery with the cancer existence removed.^[10]

In 2009, Lesh went back on tour with the remaining members of the Grateful Dead. Following the 2009 summer tour Lesh proceeded to found a new band with Bob Weir named Furthur, which debuted in September 2009.^[xi]

In 2012, Lesh founded a music venue chosen Terrapin Crossroads, in San Rafael, California. The venue officially opened on March 8, 2012, with a outset of a run of twelve concerts past Phil Lesh and Friends.^{[12] [13]} When not on tour, Lesh's sons, Grahame and Brian, serve as the house band at Terrapin Crossroads^[xiv] In improver to songs from the Dead catalog, Lesh played textile by Mumford & Sons, Zac Dark-brown Band and other contemporary acts with his sons.^[15]

Lesh began performing once again with Phil Lesh and Friends in 2012. Furthur disbanded in early 2014 and, at age 74, Lesh ceased touring full time. Since then he has performed regularly at Terrapin Crossroads with various Phil Lesh and Friends line-ups every bit well as with the Terrapin Family Ring. He also performs select show at venues throughout the United States, notably the Capitol Theatre, also as at festivals.

He took part in the 2015 Fare Thee Well concerts, and a brusque North American tour with Bob Weir in the jump of 2018.

In October 2015, Lesh announced that he had bladder cancer surgery. He stated that his prognosis was practiced and that he expected to brand a full recovery.^[16]

In Baronial 2019, Lesh announced that he had to undergo dorsum surgery, in which he and his band had to cancel upcoming engagements at the Outlaw Music Festival, Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, and Dirt Farmers Festival. He is expected to brand a total recovery.^[17]

Discography [edit]

The Other Ones:

• The Strange Remain (1999)

Phil Lesh and Friends:

• Love Will Run across You Through (1999)
• There and Back Again (2002)
• Live at the Warfield (2006)

Notes [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b} Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Pop Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 1464/5. ISBN0-85112-939-0.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Lesh, Phil (2005). Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead. New York: Little, Brown and Visitor. ISBN 0-316-00998-9.
3. ^ Jackson, Blair (1999). Garcia: An American Life. Penguin Books. p. 74. ISBN0-14-029199-7.
4. ^ Ferris, Jedd (Baronial 23, 2017). "A quick chat with Phil Lesh: Grateful Expressionless bassist talks Lockn' render and missing Jerry". C-VILLE.
5. ^ List of Stone and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
6. ^ Sullivan, James. "Phil'southward New Zone", San Francisco Chronicle, April 13, 1999
7. ^ Juanis, J.C. (December 7, 2012). "Watching The River Flow: On Tour With Phil Lesh And Bob Dylan (Fall 1999)". Relix.com.
8. ^ "Philharmonia 2011: Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Jackie Greene and More". Jambands.com. November 28, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
9. ^ Vaziri, Aidin (Oct 29, 2006). "Grateful Dead Founder Lesh Battling Prostate Cancer", SFGate. Retrieved Oct 17, 2015.
10. ^ "Phil Lesh Doing Well", JamBase, December eight, 2006. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
11. ^ "Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Joe Russo, Jay Lane, Jeff Chimenti and John Kadlecik Form New Band 'Furthur', Gear up Dates For September", JamBase, August xiv, 2009
12. ^ [one] ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
13. ^ Oksenhorn, Stewart (February 10, 2012). "With Phil & Friends, the Dead Live On", Aspen Times. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
14. ^ "Grahame Lesh'southward Family Values". Jambands.com. March 30, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
15. ^ "Phil at 80: Phil Lesh Talks Terrapin Crossroads in 2012". Relix.com. March 14, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
16. ^ Kreps, Daniel (October 17, 2015). "Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh Reveals Bladder Cancer Boxing", Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
17. ^ "Phil Lesh - This past weekend nosotros learned that Phil needs to have a minor back surgery. Per his Doctor's orders, he will need some time to rest and rehabilitate. Accordingly, and with deep regret, nosotros must announce that Phil'southward upcoming performances Outlaw Festival September 7th and eighth, Dirt Farmers Festival and Telluride Blues and Brews Festival must exist cancelled. A full and complete recovery is expected. Phil looks forwards to performing and doing what he loves nigh for everyone very shortly". Facebook.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2021.

References [edit]

• Philzone.com—Phil Lesh and Friends fan site
• Parker, T. Virgil. "Phil Lesh: All in the Music", College Crier
• Phil Lesh and Friends at annal.org
• Lesh, Phil (2005). Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead . New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN0-316-00998-ix.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Eatables has media related to Phil Lesh.

• Phil Lesh and Friends official website
• Terrapin Crossroads—Phil Lesh's new music and dining venue in San Rafael, CA (Marin County)
• Phil Lesh on the Grateful Dead'due south Official Site

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lesh

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