#eric krasno

Grateful Dead Co-founder and Bassist Phil Lesh Dies at 84

Phil Lesh, the co-founder and former bassist of the Grateful Dead has died at age 84.

Lesh “passed peacefully” the morning of Oct. 25, his family said.

“He was surrounded by his family and full of love,” they said in a statement. “Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love.”

“Rest in peace, Phil Lesh,” Tinsley Ellis said. “A very sad day indeed.”

No cause was given, but Lesh had a liver transplant in 1998 and survived cancer and a couple of bouts with COVID-19.

“Phil Lesh - rest in peace,” said String Cheese Incident’s Jason Hann. “Wow, what a powerful musical influence on our community. Godspeed.”

Big Shrimp echoed Hann, writing on social media: “Without Phil Lesh there would be no Big Shrimp. Rest easy Phil, thank you for the music.”

The Empire State Building will be aglow in tie-dye in Lesh’s honor tonight.

“Phil was the big brother I never had,” former Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten said.

“Sixty-three years ago he introduced me to his friend Jerry Garcia. Too many things to say, memories, adventures. Maybe in a day or so, as the numbness abates.”

Lesh joined the Warlocks in 1965, just before they changed their name to the Grateful Dead. He stayed with the group until it disbanded in 1995 after Jerry Garcia’s death.

“I will never forget Phil and his impact on my life and music,” Greensky Bluegrass’ Dave Bruzza said.

Though he didn’t compose as much as Garcia and Bob Weir, Lesh’s “Box of Rain” and “Unbroken Chain” were among the Dead’s most-revered songs.

“I will sing ‘Box of Rain’ tonight in Ann Arbor,” Steve Poltz said on social media. “Phil Lesh, RIP.”

Post-’95, Lesh toured with his revolving band of Friends, co-founded Furthur with Weir and played with his former bandmates in the Others Ones and the Dead.

“My life would be completely different without Phil Lesh,” Eric Krasno said in a statement.

“Millions of others would say the same. He taught me and many other musical Friends that it was way more important to move together than to try to shine on our own. When we are all in sync together anything is possible. … Thank you, Phil, for bringing us all together, and thank you for endlessly sharing your gift and letting us tag along.”

The so-called Core Four - Lesh, Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart - last shared a stage in 2015 as Fare Thee Well.

“Thanks for the music, Phil,” Hyryder said. “Our love will not fade away.”

Video for Aaron Neville and Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s "Stomping Ground" which won the GRAMMY Award for Best American Roots Performance. ___________________ Stomping Ground Songwriters: Dave Gutter, Eric Krasno and Aaron Neville

Song Review: Eric Krasno and Otis McDonald - “Sugar Magnolia”

The interesting thing about Eric Krasno and Otis McDonald’s cover of “Sugar Magnolia” is how the pair stick so close to the Grateful Dead’s American Beauty version, yet stray so far.

The result is like a musical Rubik’s Cube - easy to be enamored with but nearly impossible to determine what, exactly, is the allure.

The departures are subtle: slight twists on the melody, rhythm and background vocals; sneaky aural allusions to the Allman Brothers Band; and a slickness the Dead typically eschewed.

All of the which render Krasno and McDonald’s “Sugar Magnolia” a track that’s difficult to crack - part remake, part reinterpretation and neither of the preceding.

Grade card: Eric Krasno and Otis McDonald - “Sugar Magnolia” - B

Song Review(s): Phil Lesh & Friends - “I Second that Emotion,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Sugar Magnolia,” -> “Scarlet Begonias” -> “Fire on the Mountain” (Live, Oct. 29, 2022)

Maybe it’s not miraculous, but Phil Lesh and Friends’ performance of “I Second that Emotion” smoked the Grateful Dead songs the group attempted.

The band comped a generous batch of five numbers - plus a verse of “Friend of the Devil” - from its Oct. 29 show/livestream from New York state. And while Eric Krasno and Nicki Bluhm found a nice vocal blend and the players latched on to a groove for Smokey’s joint, things didn’t fare as well on the Dead material that followed.

The band was scattershot, with keyboardist Jason Crosby and drummer Tony Leone channeling Little Feat and guitarists Krasno and Marcus King aping the Allman Brothers while Grahame Lesh sang the Dead’s “Tennessee Jed” and “Sugar Magnolia.”

The latter segued into “Scarlet Begonias,” which found the front line singing joyfully if not entirely harmoniously. From there, an out-of-synch King botched “Fire on the Mountain” so badly the abrupt end of the stream seemed almost merciful.

Grade card: Phil Lesh & Friends - “I Second that Emotion,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Sugar Magnolia,” -> “Scarlet Begonias” -> “Fire on the Mountain” (Live - 10/29/22) - B/C/C-/C+/C-

Song Review: Oteil & Friends - “Midnight Moonlight” (Live, April 9, 2022)

Like a multi-generational tape recording, Oteil & Friends covering the Jerry Garcia Band covering Old & in the Way’s “Midnight Moonlight” loses something in the process.

Captured April 9 at the Skull & Roses festival and recently issued on professional video, it’s a game version by the Dead & Company bassist and his Friends, who include JGB’s Melvin Seals on organ; guitarist Eric Krasno; multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby; the world’s-tallest Dead Head, Bill Walton, on percussion; and others.

Yet, there’s a bar-band feel to the performance, something Burbridge can’t seem to shake outside the Allman Brothers and Dead & Company. He and the group are clearly having a good time; it just seems - to use the previous analogy - too many generations removed.

Grade card: Oteil & Friends - “Midnight Moonlight” (Live - 4/9/22) - C+

Song Review(s): Phil Lesh & Friends - “Aiko Aiko,” “Cold Rain and Snow” and “China Cat Sunflower” -> “I Know You Rider” (Live, Oct. 14, 2022)

With seven Friends joining Phil Lesh on stage, things can be exuberant, sloppy or a bit of both.

Couch surfers got to hear all of these elements in “Aiko Aiko,” “Cold Rain and Snow” and “China Cat Sunflower” -> “I Know You Rider,” the gratis tracks from Lesh & Friends’ Oct. 14 gig/livestream in New York State.

Guitarists Eric Krasno, John Scofield and Grahame Lesh; keyboardist Ivan Neville; Karl Denson on sax, flute and percussion; drummer Alex Koford; and harpist Mikaela Davis were Lesh’s band this time out. Davis was mostly inaudible until the octet dissolved into a “Space” segment between “China” and “Rider,” but there was still an abundance of cooks.

Neville sung “Aiko” and while the groove was deep, there was some toe-stepping where solos belonged. Denson shined on flute and intruded on tambourine.

The namesake bassist took the mic for “Cold Rain and Snow,” a ramshackle version with vocal flubs and traffic jams on stage.

“China Cat” fared better, with Koford on lead vocals and the players having found their spots. The segue was going in interesting directions before it morphed to “Space” and cracked into “Rider.”

The latter had rough harmony singing and relatively smooth playing.

Lesh, 82, has eight more shows with a revolving cast of players scheduled at the Capitol Theatre through Oct. 31. And that’s the most-important thing here.

Grade card: Phil Lesh & Friends - “Aiko Aiko,” “Cold Rain and Snow” and “China Cat Sunflower” -> “I Know You Rider” (Live - 10/14/22) - B+/C/B/B-

Song Review: Circles Around the Sun with Eric Krasno - “Gilbert’s Groove” (Live, Jan. 8, 2020)

All hail Eric Krasno.

At the 2020 Jam Cruise, the guitarist faced the difficult prospect of stepping into the late Neal Casal’s impossibly large footwear as Circles Around the Sun continued their journey without their founder and creative leader.

When it was first announced, the idea of a post-Casal CATS sounded like a mistake waiting. But, for this performance at least, the Krasno-era CATS, augmented by a percussionist alongside drummer Mark Levy, sounds spectacular.

This performance is the just-released, pro-shot video of “Gilbert’s Groove” from the 2020 Jam Cruise. On it, Krasno proves completely up to the task even as he declines to mimic Casal. The new CATS man has a grittier tone, yet he immediately finds his place in the band, whether he’s leading the jam, filling space between Dan Horne’s thick bass notes or twisting his strings around Adam MacDougall’s spacey keys.

Inspired by “Shakedown Street” and taken on a circuitous detour by Casal and Company, this Interludes for the Dead instrumental has, like CATS, found new life as the group uses a revolving door of guitarists while it ponders next steps.

All hail Eric Krasno.

And long live Circles Around the Sun.

Grade card: Circles Around the Sun with Eric Krasno - “Gilbert’s Groove” (Live - 1/8/20) - A