Members Of Grateful Dead, National, Walkmen Come Together For 'Bridge Session' Webcast

Sam Cohen, Thomas Bartlett, Aaron Dessner, Conrad Doucette, Bob Weir, Bryan Devendorf, Scott Devendorf, Walter Martin and Josh Kaufman perform during the Yahoo! Music Presents 'The Bridge Session.'

An assemblage of East Coast indie rockers flew to the Bay Area to collaborate with the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir for a one-time-only performance on Saturday night. Called the Bridge Session, the nine-person collective included three members of the National – Aaron Dessner, Bryan and Scott Devendorf – along with Walt Martin from the Walkmen, Sam Cohen and Josh Kaufman from the Yellowbirds, Conrad Doucette of Takka Takka, and National contributors Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett and Kyle Resnick. The performance took place in front of a live studio audience of just over 100 at Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, California, and was webcast live on Yahoo! Music.

"For us, the night definitely exceeded expectations," Scott Devendorf told Rolling Stone immediately following the show. "We were surprised that it was even going to happen in the first place, and then as we were rehearsing it became more and more real."

Devendorf says that he and his National bandmates were "big fans of the Grateful Dead for a long time" and recently got back into them. Working with Weir – and seeing his dedication to the music during several 10-hour rehearsal sessions – "kinda blew our minds ... It was definitely inspirational for us."
Saturday's two-set performance drew mostly from the Grateful Dead's vast catalog. Weir led the pack through what was no doubt familiar territory to him but strange waters to his sudden bandmates, as they ripped through jams such as "The Other One," "Brown Eyed Woman" and "Friend of the Devil."

But given the nine-person ensemble – and the musicians' somewhat disparate musical backgrounds – Weir was forced to rethink some of his approaches and, in some cases, alter the arrangements on tunes he's been performing for decades. Instead of morphing into "Slipknot," as was the Grateful Dead's custom, "Help on the Way" segued into a cover of Cass McCombs' "Love Thine Enemy." And in "Standing on the Moon," Weir even experimented with the melody, deviating from the way Jerry Garcia used to approach it when he sang it with the Dead.

"This next one, I had to park for 20 years," Weir told the audience while introducing the buried rarity, "My Brother Esau," explaining that it was a song the other guys specifically asked him to dust off for the show. "And I'm kinda glad they did," he said, "because it forced me to rework the bridge." No pun intended, of course.

The Bridge Session included two National tunes – "Daughters of the Soho Riots" and "Fake Empire." Weir handled vocals for the former, which he tinkered with in a way that referenced the original but which met him halfway towards his more characteristic vocal delivery. It proved a great match. The group also covered Bob Dylan's "Most of the Time."

For their encore, the entire ensemble ventured into the middle of the audience and huddled around a microphone, holding all acoustic instruments, for a singalong to "Ripple," "Uncle John's Band," and "Brokedown Palace" – all of which appear on the Dead's stripped-down 1970 albums, Workingman's Dead and Reckoning.

The Disco Biscuits' Marc Brownstein served as the night's emcee. As he told the audience at the start of the show, the idea behind the Bridge Session was to literally bridge the gap between genres, geographies and ideologies. Images of both the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge – which reflected the musicians' two distinct home bases – served as a backdrop.

Between sets, Weir joined a roundtable political discussion moderated by Andy Bernstein of the voter registration group, HeadCount, which produced the event as a benefit for their organization. The discussion also featured independent presidential candidate Buddy Roemer, climate change activist Jessy Tolkan, No Labels cofounder Mark McKinnon and Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow. They debated topics such as money in politics, personal freedom and the upcoming presidential election. But, as Weir told Rolling Stone a few days before the show, his main goal for the night was to just "have fun." Mission accomplished.

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Members Of Grateful Dead, National, Walkmen Come Together For 'Bridge Session' Webcast

Sam Cohen, Thomas Bartlett, Aaron Dessner, Conrad Doucette, Bob Weir, Bryan Devendorf, Scott Devendorf, Walter Martin and Josh Kaufman perform during the Yahoo! Music Presents 'The Bridge Session.'

An assemblage of East Coast indie rockers flew to the Bay Area to collaborate with the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir for a one-time-only performance on Saturday night. Called the Bridge Session, the nine-person collective included three members of the National – Aaron Dessner, Bryan and Scott Devendorf – along with Walt Martin from the Walkmen, Sam Cohen and Josh Kaufman from the Yellowbirds, Conrad Doucette of Takka Takka, and National contributors Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett and Kyle Resnick. The performance took place in front of a live studio audience of just over 100 at Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, California, and was webcast live on Yahoo! Music.

"For us, the night definitely exceeded expectations," Scott Devendorf told Rolling Stone immediately following the show. "We were surprised that it was even going to happen in the first place, and then as we were rehearsing it became more and more real."

Devendorf says that he and his National bandmates were "big fans of the Grateful Dead for a long time" and recently got back into them. Working with Weir – and seeing his dedication to the music during several 10-hour rehearsal sessions – "kinda blew our minds ... It was definitely inspirational for us."
Saturday's two-set performance drew mostly from the Grateful Dead's vast catalog. Weir led the pack through what was no doubt familiar territory to him but strange waters to his sudden bandmates, as they ripped through jams such as "The Other One," "Brown Eyed Woman" and "Friend of the Devil."

But given the nine-person ensemble – and the musicians' somewhat disparate musical backgrounds – Weir was forced to rethink some of his approaches and, in some cases, alter the arrangements on tunes he's been performing for decades. Instead of morphing into "Slipknot," as was the Grateful Dead's custom, "Help on the Way" segued into a cover of Cass McCombs' "Love Thine Enemy." And in "Standing on the Moon," Weir even experimented with the melody, deviating from the way Jerry Garcia used to approach it when he sang it with the Dead.

"This next one, I had to park for 20 years," Weir told the audience while introducing the buried rarity, "My Brother Esau," explaining that it was a song the other guys specifically asked him to dust off for the show. "And I'm kinda glad they did," he said, "because it forced me to rework the bridge." No pun intended, of course.

The Bridge Session included two National tunes – "Daughters of the Soho Riots" and "Fake Empire." Weir handled vocals for the former, which he tinkered with in a way that referenced the original but which met him halfway towards his more characteristic vocal delivery. It proved a great match. The group also covered Bob Dylan's "Most of the Time."

For their encore, the entire ensemble ventured into the middle of the audience and huddled around a microphone, holding all acoustic instruments, for a singalong to "Ripple," "Uncle John's Band," and "Brokedown Palace" – all of which appear on the Dead's stripped-down 1970 albums, Workingman's Dead and Reckoning.

The Disco Biscuits' Marc Brownstein served as the night's emcee. As he told the audience at the start of the show, the idea behind the Bridge Session was to literally bridge the gap between genres, geographies and ideologies. Images of both the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge – which reflected the musicians' two distinct home bases – served as a backdrop.

Between sets, Weir joined a roundtable political discussion moderated by Andy Bernstein of the voter registration group, HeadCount, which produced the event as a benefit for their organization. The discussion also featured independent presidential candidate Buddy Roemer, climate change activist Jessy Tolkan, No Labels cofounder Mark McKinnon and Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow. They debated topics such as money in politics, personal freedom and the upcoming presidential election. But, as Weir told Rolling Stone a few days before the show, his main goal for the night was to just "have fun." Mission accomplished.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Members of Grateful Dead, the National Form Band for 'The Bridge Session'

Bob Weir performs with Furthur at the Murat Theater in Indianapolis.

Fresh from a collaboration with Phish's Trey Anastasio, members of the National have announced a project with another towering figure of jam rock, the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir. Anchored by the National's Scott and Bryan Devendorf, and fronted by Weir, the all-star group will perform a special one-off concert under the name the Bridge Session on March 24th. The show will go down at Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, California which means that only around 50 fans will be in attendance – but the show will be webcast live, for free, to anyone with an Internet connection.

"They're a good, young band and this is going to be fun," Weir told Rolling Stone, en route to the Mayan ruins in Tulum, Mexico where he is vacationing.

Fans can expect a selection of National tunes, Grateful Dead classics and politically-minded cover songs. The Bridge Session's title reflects the event's aim to "bridge the gaps" between people of different ideological standpoints while also nodding to geography – TRI Studios is located just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, while the National live a stone's throw from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Between sets, Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow will anchor a roundtable discussion, alongside Weir, discussing unifying issues such as First Amendment rights and Occupy hot topics like getting the money out of politics. Home viewers will be able to interact directly through social media and submit questions to the panelists, in real time, via Twitter. Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein will act as the evening's MC.

Weir recently built TRI Studios – which stands for Tamalpais Research Institute – precisely to host events such as this. The state-of-the-art performance space broadcasts live HD video and audio streams to a variety of end user equipment including mobile devices, game consoles, tablets, computers and Internet equipped HDTV. The research facility is currently exploring ways to support interactivity among an audience of fans the wide world over by way of real-time social media.

The Bridge Session is being produced by HeadCount, a non-profit voter-registration organization that has found ways to promote discussion of the democratic process at live music events and has encouraged political involvement among music fans. Weir serves on the Board of Directors.

While anybody and everybody will be able to watch the Bridge Session from their iPads or MacBooks or whatever, if you want to be an actual part of the studio audience, HeadCount is giving away two tickets through an online contest. Visit HeadCount's official website for details.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Billy Strange, Session Guitarist for Elvis, Dead at 81

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Billy Strange, who played guitar for Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra and on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album, died Wednesday in Nashville at age 81. 

Strange, a member of the great L.A. session group known as the Wrecking Crew, was perhaps best known for stepping into the spotlight on some of Nancy Sinatra's biggest hits. He was the arranger on "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and "Something Stupid," the singer's duet with her father, and his tremolo guitar was her sole accompaniment on "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)." He also played on countless hit records, for Ricky Nelson, the Everly Brothers and Phil Spector, to name a few.

Strange had writing credits on many songs, including Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation" and Chubby Checker's "Limbo Rock." He was a member of the Musicians Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. "He added raw insight to every session he sat in on," songwriter Van Dyke Parks told the Los Angeles Times.

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Billy Strange, Session Guitarist for Elvis, Dead at 81

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Billy Strange, who played guitar for Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra and on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album, died Wednesday in Nashville at age 81. 

Strange, a member of the great L.A. session group known as the Wrecking Crew, was perhaps best known for stepping into the spotlight on some of Nancy Sinatra's biggest hits. He was the arranger on "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and "Something Stupid," the singer's duet with her father, and his tremolo guitar was her sole accompaniment on "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)." He also played on countless hit records, for Ricky Nelson, the Everly Brothers and Phil Spector, to name a few.

Strange had writing credits on many songs, including Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation" and Chubby Checker's "Limbo Rock." He was a member of the Musicians Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. "He added raw insight to every session he sat in on," songwriter Van Dyke Parks told the Los Angeles Times.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon Music and MP3 Center

Read more »

Members of Grateful Dead, the National Form Band for 'The Bridge Session'

Bob Weir performs with Furthur at the Murat Theater in Indianapolis.

Fresh from a collaboration with Phish's Trey Anastasio, members of the National have announced a project with another towering figure of jam rock, the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir. Anchored by the National's Scott and Bryan Devendorf, and fronted by Weir, the all-star group will perform a special one-off concert under the name the Bridge Session on March 24th. The show will go down at Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, California which means that only around 50 fans will be in attendance – but the show will be webcast live, for free, to anyone with an Internet connection.

"They're a good, young band and this is going to be fun," Weir told Rolling Stone, en route to the Mayan ruins in Tulum, Mexico where he is vacationing.

Fans can expect a selection of National tunes, Grateful Dead classics and politically-minded cover songs. The Bridge Session's title reflects the event's aim to "bridge the gaps" between people of different ideological standpoints while also nodding to geography – TRI Studios is located just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, while the National live a stone's throw from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Between sets, Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow will anchor a roundtable discussion, alongside Weir, discussing unifying issues such as First Amendment rights and Occupy hot topics like getting the money out of politics. Home viewers will be able to interact directly through social media and submit questions to the panelists, in real time, via Twitter. Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein will act as the evening's MC.

Weir recently built TRI Studios – which stands for Tamalpais Research Institute – precisely to host events such as this. The state-of-the-art performance space broadcasts live HD video and audio streams to a variety of end user equipment including mobile devices, game consoles, tablets, computers and Internet equipped HDTV. The research facility is currently exploring ways to support interactivity among an audience of fans the wide world over by way of real-time social media.

The Bridge Session is being produced by HeadCount, a non-profit voter-registration organization that has found ways to promote discussion of the democratic process at live music events and has encouraged political involvement among music fans. Weir serves on the Board of Directors.

While anybody and everybody will be able to watch the Bridge Session from their iPads or MacBooks or whatever, if you want to be an actual part of the studio audience, HeadCount is giving away two tickets through an online contest. Visit HeadCount's official website for details.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon MP3 Download Center

Read more »