Originally published at: Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, RIP - Boing Boing
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Not a big dead fan, but all my respect to someone who can do what they love in life, especially if it makes others happy.
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I’m not a fan so could people who know take the opportunity to post some tunes that particularly highlight Phil Lesh’s contribution?
I don’t mean I’m an unfan, just not actually a fan. They made a lot of music and I don’t know where to start.
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“Such a long, long time to be gone
And a short time to be there”
RIP to a great electric bassist.
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Oh no. So sorry to hear it.
Phil’s bass playing was essential to the sound of the Grateful Dead, with his low notes sometimes called “Phil bombs”. When I used to collect GD tapes, I would judge them in part by how clear Phil’s bass was.
Jerry Garcia lured me into the Dead, but it was Phil and the rhythm section (Mickey Hart and Bob Kreutzman) that hooked me.
eta: corrected bass bomb to Phil bomb.
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It’s all a dream we dreamed one afternoon, long ago.
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We usually honour bass players as part of the rhythm section too. When we are being nice and respectful to them!
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Lesh came from an avant classical background, having studied with Luciano Berio, and he brought an edginess to the band that worked well against the other members bluegrass or blues backgrounds. I knew Deadheads who considered him their favorite member of the band (which is odd considering the adulation Jerry got in that crowd.)
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I meant Phil and the rest of the rhythm section. For sure.
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Besides Jerry, none of the band particularly stuck out tremendously in terms of their contributions, but each locked in well enough into their respective roles to make each of them valuable and essential. Phil brought a lot of fun and it really showed up on how he played with the music
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He took an electronic music workshop I was teaching in Berkeley a number of years ago. I didn’t recognize him. When I was first helping him, though, his car keys were sitting next to his laptop. The Ferrari key tipped me off that he might be a bit unusual. I asked one of the other teachers and they let me know who he was.
He was very curious and nice. Those workshops were always very collaborative, and he seemed like just another (slightly older than average) music nerd wanting to know about Max programming—because, that’s what he was. The fact that he was also a massive superstar didn’t really come up. He was having fun doing what he enjoyed and didn’t let the fame go to his head.
Great guy!
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I read something today that I found was a very good way to describe what he did, which makes perfect sense when you listen. The writer noted “Lesh refused to merely underpin the the songs by playing root notes, instead providing both rhythmic and contrapuntal lines, weaving in and out of the other instruments.”
This is my favorite video of all time from the Dead. Their arrangement of a classic they covered many, many times is so good.
Below that is the greatest intro to a band ever recorded. Love how Lesh comes in when Graham says his name (and a trio of songs that were staples for decades).
Lastly, starting with Cornell 77 is a pretty damn good way to get to know live Dead.
#NotFadeAway
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