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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REVIEW: Music of the Spheres with the Mickey Hart Band | La Zona Rosa Downtown Austin April 26 2012

Clearly, Mickey Hart is taking music making in cosmic directions.

It’s another perfect segue for the legendary drummer of the Grateful Dead.

With his knack for innovation, he’s leaping light years here, from using his son’s in utero heart beat for his album Music to be Born By to this: harnessing the sounds of the universe through the conversion of radio waves, light rays. and electromagnetic vibrations into music.  Truly, this is “Music of the Spheres

Recently, he brought his band to La Zona Rosa, a club in downtown Austin, the heart of Austin’s famous music scene. With a talented ensemble, he wove songs from his new album Mysterium Tremendum around Grateful Dead favorites.

They opened with a cover of Buddy Holly’sNot Fade Away.” This was tantamount to really turning things on their head, as the song had always been a popular show closer for the Dead.  Other popular Grateful Dead originals included “Bertha,” “West L.A. Fadeway,” and the Hart-Robert Hunter penned “Fire on the Mountain.”

The songs from Mysterium Tremendum transported us to realms we’ve never before been.  As a veteran of more than a hundred grateful Dead shows, I can honestly say this brought it all back home.  Considering his source for Music to be Born By, Hart takes a leap from the micro to macro with “Heartbeat Of The Sun.”  Other songs from the album included “Time Never Ends,” “Slow Joe Rain,” and “Starlight Starbright.”  No doubt Hart intends to hang the sun, the moon, and stars and he delivers.

With lyrics from Robert Hunter, Jerry Garcia’s long time writing partner and verily, the VOICE of the Grateful Dead, the music manages to integrate the legacy of the Grateful Dead with new sonic forms and innovative explorations in cosmic creativity never before heard.

The Mickey Hart Band features Crystal Monee Hall on vocals, Nigerian percussionist Sikiru Adepoju, Dave Schools, the bassist from Widespread Panic, Ian “Inkx” Herman on drums, Tim Hockenberry on keyboards, and Gawain Mathews on guitar. And of course, you’ve Mickey Hart at the helm of this sonic starship. Make it so, Mickey!

If you’re a Deadhead or even if you’re not, you won’t know what you’re missing until you surfed the cosmic sound waves with the Mickey Hart Band.

 

MICKEY HART BAND
La Zona Rosa
Austin, Texas
Thursday – April 26, 2012
Download an AUD of the show here: http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=554645

1st set
Mickey’s intro….
Not Fade Away
Who Stole The Show
Starlight Starbright
West LA Fadeaway
Time Never Ends
Slow Joe Rain
Fire On The Mountain

2nd set
Heartbeat Of The Sun
Supersonic Vision
Drums/Bass/Space
This One Hour
The Other One
Cut The Deck
Bertha

Encore: Iko Iko

Musicians:
Mickey Hart – Drums, Percussion, Vocals on Iko Iko
Dave Schools – Bass, Background Vocals
Sikiru Adepoju – Talking Drum
Crystal Monee Hall – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion
Tim Hockenberry – Vocals, Keyboards, Trombone, Percussion
Ian “Inx” Herman – Drums
Gawain Matthews – Guitar, Background Vocals
Ben Yonas – Keyboards