Joe Russo's Almost Dead is an American
rock band formed in 2013 that mainly covers the music of the
Grateful Dead. Formed by
Furthur and
Benevento/Russo Duo
The Benevento/Russo Duo (or The Duo for short) is an alternative jazz/ rock band from New York City, featuring Marco Benevento on keyboard instruments and Joe Russo on drums.
History
Benevento and Russo met while in junior high school in New J ...
drummer
Joe Russo, the band played their first show on January 26, 2013 at the
Brooklyn Bowl in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. In addition to drummer Joe Russo, the band also includes
Ween
Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band a ...
's bassist
Dave Dreiwitz
Dave Dreiwitz (born January 2, 1966) is a multi-instrumentalist, best known as the bassist for the band Ween since 1997.
Biography
Dave Dreiwitz was born on January 2, 1966, in New York City, New York to traditional jazz musician parents, Richa ...
, keyboardist
Marco Benevento,
Scott Metzger
Scott Metzger (born October 12, 1977) is an American guitarist. His work touches on many styles including psychedelic rock, soul, country, jazz, and surf rock. His collaborations with other artists include Phil Lesh, John Scofield, Joe Russo, J ...
on guitar and vocals, and
Tom Hamilton of
Brothers Past, Ghost Light, and
American Babies
American Babies are an indie rock / Americana (music), Americana band from Philadelphia that is led by guitarist and producer Tom Hamilton Jr., Tom Hamilton. Since forming in 2007, the band has released three full-length records and two EPs. The ba ...
on guitar and vocals.
Performances
2013
The band's first concert was on January 26, 2013, at the
Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, New York for the second night of the Freaks Ball XIII. As Joe Russo recalls in the September 2017 Relix Magazine interview, he was supposed to play in the Dean Ween Group (
Mickey Melchiondo
Michael Melchiondo Jr. (born September 25, 1970), better known by his stage name Dean Ween, is an American guitarist, singer and a founding member of the alternative rock group Ween. He is currently active in the groups Ween, Moistboyz and The ...
from
Ween
Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band a ...
's side project) on that second night but shortly before the date, Mickey cancelled the Dean Ween Group appearance and Joe pulled together Bustle In Your Hedgerow (Russo, Dreiwitz, Metzger and Benevento's
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
band) and added Tom Hamilton to form Joe Russo's Almost Dead. JRAD played one more show that year at the
Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on December 27, 2013.
2014
JRAD slowly began playing more shows in 2014, including several sets at summer festivals including the
Gathering of the Vibes in
Bridgeport, Connecticut, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco, California, and
String Cheese Incident's Hulaween Festival in Live Oak, Florida. They played two nights in Chicago and two nights in Colorado ending in a New Year's run on December 29, 30, and 31, at the
Capitol Theatre, in Port Chester, New York, with the
Grateful Dead's own
Phil Lesh on bass filling in for Dreiwitz. The JRAD run with Phil Lesh was dubbed "PhilRAD." JRAD played a total of 10 shows in 2014.
2015
Forty-six shows were listed on the band's website for 2015, including performances at
Electric Forest,
All Good Festival
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All al ...
,
Mountain Jam and
High Sierra Music Festival.
2016
JRAD had their debut appearance on Jam Cruise in January performing two consecutive nights in the Pantheon Theatre and a Pool Deck set. In July they would play their first show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in support of
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American jam band originally from South Bend, Indiana. The band experiments with many musical styles, including rock, metal, funk, jazz, blues, reggae, electronic, bluegrass, country, and folk. They have toured regularl ...
. In February 2016, it was announced that Joe Russo's Almost Dead would play a three show run at
Brooklyn Bowl for Freak's Ball XVI, from March 24-March 26.
With Ween returning to tour,
Dave Dreiwitz
Dave Dreiwitz (born January 2, 1966) is a multi-instrumentalist, best known as the bassist for the band Ween since 1997.
Biography
Dave Dreiwitz was born on January 2, 1966, in New York City, New York to traditional jazz musician parents, Richa ...
missed JRAD's five-night 2016 New England spring tour. Jon Shaw of
Shakey Graves
Shakey Graves (born Alejandro Rose-Garcia; June 4, 1987) is an American Americana musician from Austin, Texas.
His music combines blues, folk, country, and rock and roll. Rose-Garcia received his stage name at Old Settler's Music Festival in 20 ...
and
Cass McCombs
Cass McCombs (born November 13, 1977 in California) is an American musician and songwriter. Since 2002 he has released ten albums, an EP and a B-sides compilation under his own name. McCombs’ music blends elements of many styles including Ameri ...
filled in for Dreiwitz. In August, they played two performances at
Lockn' Festival in Virginia, which featured two headline performances by Ween and
Phish.
Keyboardist
Jeff Chimenti
Jeff Chimenti (born October 21, 1968) is an American keyboardist, best known for his ongoing work with former members of the Grateful Dead. Since May 1997 he has played with Bob Weir & RatDog, and has also played on every tour of The Dead (incl ...
filled in for Benevento at two performances in
in April 2016.
JRAD played a total of 36 shows in 2016.
2017
In 2017 JRAD performed forty shows including their first headlining indoor arena show, their first headlining
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind ...
show and a return to the Dominican Republic for their second year in a row at Dominican Holidaze. Their first headlining arena show at the
1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado was a sold-out show originally scheduled for Red Rocks Amphitheatre but due to a late spring snowstorm, the concert was relocated overnight to the 1stBank Center. The band also performed twelve sold-out nights at the Brooklyn Bowl in New York City during the Spring and Fall of 2017. On March 9, the first night of the spring
Brooklyn Bowl run and the band's one-hundredth concert, they premiered Russo and Hamilton's "Keeping it Simple", their first-ever original song. For three of the
Brooklyn Bowl performances
Oteil Burbridge
Oteil Burbridge is an American multi-instrumentalist, specializing on the bass guitar, trained in playing jazz and classical music from an early age. He has achieved fame primarily on bass guitar during the resurgence of the Allman Brothers Ban ...
filled in for Dreiwitz while on
Ween
Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band a ...
tour. On August 31, 2017 the band headlined a sold-out performance at
Red Rocks
Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind th ...
with
Oteil Burbridge
Oteil Burbridge is an American multi-instrumentalist, specializing on the bass guitar, trained in playing jazz and classical music from an early age. He has achieved fame primarily on bass guitar during the resurgence of the Allman Brothers Ban ...
on bass guitar filling in for Dreiwitz out on
Ween
Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band a ...
tour. In October, between the dates of the 5th-7th and the 12th-14th, the band performed the latter six sold-out shows at the
Brooklyn Bowl. JRAD's 125th show saw
John Mayer, current lead-guitarist of Dead & Company, sitting in on guitar on Friday, October 13 in the first and second set of the show.
2018
JRAD started off 2018 with three sold-out nights in January at the
Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York followed by a spring tour beginning on February 15 in Nashville, Tennessee with guest vocalist
Nicole Atkins performing 'Doin' That Rag'.
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
named JRAD's Peach Festival performance "Best Scene-Stealer", saying that, "JRAD takes improvisational jam rock to the nth degree."
Members
*
Joe Russo – drums, vocals
*
Dave Dreiwitz
Dave Dreiwitz (born January 2, 1966) is a multi-instrumentalist, best known as the bassist for the band Ween since 1997.
Biography
Dave Dreiwitz was born on January 2, 1966, in New York City, New York to traditional jazz musician parents, Richa ...
– bass, vocals
*
Marco Benevento – keyboards, vocals
*
Scott Metzger
Scott Metzger (born October 12, 1977) is an American guitarist. His work touches on many styles including psychedelic rock, soul, country, jazz, and surf rock. His collaborations with other artists include Phil Lesh, John Scofield, Joe Russo, J ...
– guitar, vocals
*
Tom Hamilton – guitar, vocals
Live Substitutes
*
Phil Lesh – bass (December 30 & 31, 2014)
*Jon Shaw – bass, vocals (Spring 2016 tour), (6/3/2017), Rabbit Rabbit Asheville NC (4/29/22 and 4/30/2022), (Sweetwater Fest 5/01/2022)
*
Jeff Chimenti
Jeff Chimenti (born October 21, 1968) is an American keyboardist, best known for his ongoing work with former members of the Grateful Dead. Since May 1997 he has played with Bob Weir & RatDog, and has also played on every tour of The Dead (incl ...
– keyboards, vocals (April 2016, 2 shows)
*
Oteil Burbridge
Oteil Burbridge is an American multi-instrumentalist, specializing on the bass guitar, trained in playing jazz and classical music from an early age. He has achieved fame primarily on bass guitar during the resurgence of the Allman Brothers Ban ...
– bass, vocals (March 2017, 3 shows; 8/31/17 at
Red Rocks
Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind th ...
; 10/20/18 at
The Anthem)
*
John Mayer – guitar, vocals (November 9, 2018) at Wiltern Theatre
*Evan Roque – drums (July 27 and 28, 2019)
*
Ben Perowsky
Ben Perowsky (born May 12, 1966) is an American drummer, percussionist, composer, and music producer. He is the drummer on stage in the 8 TONY award winning Broadway musical Hadestown. Perowsky leads the Ben Perowsky Trio, Moodswing Orchestra and ...
– drums (July 27 and 28, 2019)
References
External links
*
*
*{{Twitter
Joe Russo's Almost Deadon
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
*
Joe Russo's Almost Dead on
Live Music Archive
The Live Music Archive (LMA), part of the Internet Archive, is an ad-free collection of over 170,000 concert recordings in lossless audio formats. The songs are also downloadable or playable in lossy formats such as Ogg Vorbis or MP3. The web ...
Tom Hamilton sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interviewMarco sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interviewScott sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interview
2013 establishments in New York City
Musical groups established in 2013
Musical groups from Brooklyn
Rock music groups from New York (state)