AUSTIN TEXAS:  DeadEye's Long Strange 5-Year Trip  #weareeverywhere

AUSTIN TEXAS: DeadEye's Long Strange 5-Year Trip #weareeverywhere

Austin Jam Band Tribute Scene – 3 Part series

(Joe Rossi’s first in a 3 part series focusing on Jam Band Tributes in Central TX.  Beginning with DeadEye, Austin’s Premeire Dead Tribute Act, we will then take a look at Panic Stricken, our Widespread Panic tribute and A Live One, a tribute to Phish.)

DeadEye’s 5-Year Long Strange Trip

~Taking Austin Deadheads where they’ve never gone before ~

By Joe Rossi

dead
Austin TX – It’s been three years since I first hooked up with the members of DeadEye an Austin TX based Grateful Dead tribute band and shared their story with the readers of Deadheadland.

It’s been 5 years since they first set sights on becoming a first-rate tribute to the Grateful Dead, something Central Texas definitely needed. As I said then and I’ll say it now: these guys manage to pay tribute while at the same time infusing the music with originality and jams. Contrast that with the Dark Star Orchestra, a touring giant among tribute bands, who recreate certain Grateful Dead shows note for note. I remember seeing them Austin a few years back and while I enjoyed myself,  I was a little disappointed because it seemed more carefully staged then spontaneous and improvisational.

shad

Shadd Scott

DeadEye is able to grab this bull by the horn make it both familiar and fresh. By sharing leads guitarist Keith Sennikoff and Joe Faulhaber do away with the idea a tribute band needs  a “deadicated Jerry.” On Jerry songs Joe sings and play lead guitar but Keith steps in as Jerry on Bob Weir songs; however, instead of pink izods, blue cut offs and spit up front Bobby is behind the drum kit, where Shadd Scott ~ sounding uncannily like Mr. Weir ~ all the while blazes away on his drum kit as both Mickey and Billy. On his three in one role, Shadd tells me: “Playing multiple roles in the band is something that came naturally to me and I try not to think about it. Singing and drumming is a challenge, but I love a good challenge. I love DeadEye and hope it lasts for years.”

Would he consider doing the full on two drummer thing the Dead themselves were known for? “As far as two drummers go: we have tried the double drums on occasion. It’s fun, but a challenge to rehearse enough to make both drums roll into one.” he said. “The five of us can achieve great heights and enter the sacred realm where the magic happens. Austin’s Dead scene has been very supportive and helped us achieve liftoff. The shows have been ceremonies, the clubs transform into temples and we often have enlightened experiences there. The tighter we get, the easier it is to access this spiritual space.”

Lee Braverman

Lee Braverman

Sennikoff agrees: “We enter a place, a higher place,” saying at times the band is unified like a group mind. During the extended trademark free-flowing improvisational jams, he notes at times they are so well-connected that in listening to recordings of the shows he sometimes finds it hard to tell his parts from Faulhaber’s.

Keith

Keith Sennikoff

With the recent 50 year anniversary hoopla, Faulhaber weighed in on Fare Thee Well and Dead & Company.  Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio had the daunting task of stepping into Jerry’s shoes. “He seemed to relax a little more there and was absolutely explosive at times.”

On John Mayer, a relatively young Deadhead by any conventional means is blowing minds with Dead & Company  “What’s obvious though is that he’s really done his homework and he is genuinely digging the whole thing. Gotta love him for that. I love both of those guys for being a part of the dead world. I only want this music to live on. If the boys wanna keep playing then I’m glad there’s other weirdos out there ready to fill in where needed.”

On keyboards is Trevor Nealon. In the years shortly before Brent passed and through the rest of the Grateful Dead’s career before Jerry Garcia died, Bruce Hornsby sat in as both a guest and regular member. I asked Trevor how he would feel about sharing keyboard duties. “Playing with Hornsby would be amazing. I’ve been a fan of his since I was very young.”  He describes seeing Hornsby with his father in his youth and “Hornsby would always play a Dead song or two. As far as two keyboards in a band, it obviously doesn’t happen as much in the rock setting but there are some wonderful exceptions.”

trevor

Trevor Nealon

Bassist Lee Braverman fills in as Phil and even sings a few Phil Songs. I asked him how he felt about Oteil who is touring with the boys in lieu of Phil. “I can’t really give a straight forward answer to Phil or Oteil. They each come from such different background and approach the music completely differently. They are both great in their own way and I’ve always admired both of their playing but I guess if I had to choose, strictly on the subject of Grateful Dead music it would be Phil hands down.”

joeJoe Faulhaber

Joe Faulhaber

DeadEye played three sets of music at the One To One Bar, a small intimate stage in Austin’s legendary 04 zip code. It’s become something of a minor residency for them along with Threagills an outdoor legendary venue near the heart of downtown Austin. At One-To-One they opened the evening with an acoustic set which ended with Ripple. Leo Bingleys definitely a familiar fixture at the shows and along with myself manage both a group and a page on Facebook dedicated to the Central Texas Deadhead scene summed it up succinctly “The set seemed intentionally designed to evoke deep emotions and it did! They nailed the set closer “Ripple.”

DeadEye has three upcoming shows:  Friday December 4th 8 p.m. at the One2One Bar 1509 S. Lamar, Austin TX 78704 ~ Saturday December 5th 7 p.m. at the Cottonwood, 3422 N. Shepherd Drive, Houston TX 77018 and to close out the year, a New Year’s Eve Celebration at the South Austin Brewery 415 E. St. Elmo Rd. Austin TX 78745.

DeadEye’s Website

 

 

Grateful Dead Tribute Band DeadEye Shakes up Downtown Austin, Texas

Don’t Tell Me This Town Aint Got No Heart!

Grateful Dead Tribute Band
DEADEYE
Shakes up Downtown Austin

By Joe Rossi

Downtown Sixth Street, to many the heart of Austin’s legendary music scene, is considered over-rated by many others, because in recent years it’s become more about style and bar-hopping than about good music. So as I strolled out of the Flamingo Cantina on Saturday on June 2, having caught a show by Deadeye, a relatively new Grateful Dead tribute band from South Austin, a line from the Grateful Dead song “Shakedown Street,” which they opened their second set with, popped into my head.

Nothin shakin on Shakedown Street. Used to be the heart of town.
Don’t tell me this town aint got no heart you just gotta poke around!

Deadeye brought an ample amount of the Dead’s legendary heart and soul to Sixth Street, while at the same time evoking a sense of originality and uniqueness, which is what I want from tribute bands.  It evoked in me memories of legendary Southern California tribute band Cubensis, headed by my old friend guitarist Craig Marshall. To this day, Cubensis has  always managed to imbue their tribute with originality.

Deadeye in ActionI  

I remember seeing Dark Star Orchestra, one of the country’s most recognized Dead tribute bands when they visited Austin awhile back. And I remember walking away with the sense that while it was good to hear the music and the band were very professional and tight, it just did not come across as “genuine” as I wanted, as there was in my view too much emphasis of being “just like the Grateful Dead” as opposed to emulating the quintessential jam band’s  style and bringing their songs to life with innovation and creativity. Such was the case with Deadeye.  The music felt real and not simply imitated but rather emulated while staying true to the songs and the arrangements.

I met and chatted with several members of the band on the upstairs patio. Most of the members were too young to have seen the band, so I shared my own experiences and memories.   It was refreshing, to say the least, to see such passion for a band from young people seeing how many young people have no awareness of the band or its historical impact on music as the quintessential flagship jam band.  The band has been together for about one and ½ years. They said that they a repertoire of 120 songs and are working on more. So embracing the legacy of both the originals and covers that the Dead performed for 30 years shows how DEADicated Deadeye is keeping the music alive.

A rocking first set opened with “Here Comes Sunshine,” followed by a cover of Dylan’s “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again.” Other Dead originals included “Row Jimmy “ and “Ramble on Rose.” Keeping up with his job as Bob Weir’s vocals, drummer Shadd Scott did a great job with “Looks Like Rain.”   They closed the first set with a blistering Help On The Way – > Slip Knot -> Franklin’s Tower. In addition to “Shakedown Street,” the second set featured “Estimated Prophet,” “Truckin’” and they closed the show with Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”

Dancing to Deadeye!

Deadeye is comprised of Joe Faulhaber on guitar and vocals,  Trevor Nealon on keyboards and vocals, Shadd Scott on drums and vocals, Lee Braverman on bass and vocals Keith Sennikoff on guitar.

Upcoming shows include:
The Texas Music Theater in San Marcos on June 16th
Stubbs on June 28th 
The Rattle Inn on July 14th
Antones on August 2nd

For Booking: P.J. Harrington 513-518-4980

http://www.deadeyeaustin.com

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