Furthur Festival 2000 Announced |
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Summer, 2000 |
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The most common Grateful Dead icons relate to bones and skeletons, but in the new millennium it should probably be the phoenix, the force of energy that eternally arises from its own ashes to shed light again. The Other Ones arose from the Grateful Dead in 1998, and Dead Heads rejoiced and danced at the Furthur Festival in cities across the nation.
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| The fire's still burnin'. And it's time to go Furthur again, this time with 2000's version of The Other Ones. |
| Grateful Dead Productions and Metropolitan Entertainment are pleased to announce the return of The Other Ones to Furthur: Mickey Hart (percussion, vocals), Bruce Hornsby (keyboards, vocals), Bob Weir (rhythm guitar, vocals), Alphonso Johnson (bass), Mark Karan (lead guitar, vocals), and Steve Kimock (lead guitar). |
| Supported by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Furthur will tour North America in late August and September of 2000. In certain lucky selected cities, other special guests will be included -- check local listings. The tour will play in amphitheaters as well as arenas, and fans can anticipate more than two hours of music nightly from The Other Ones. |
| Furthur is not your average tour. As producer John Scher said, "Furthur was a concept that was created for the fans, the Dead Heads. It's not only music, but a unique musical and sociological experiment, and the fact that the musicians want to continue the experiment into the new century is just plain great." "We had something pretty damn powerful," said Bob Weir, " -- and real nice -- put together the last time we were out. Our aim is not to pick up where we left off but to exceed that. We know what we're doing, and we know where we've been, and it'll be fun to see where this all takes us." "The Other Ones were a blast the first time around," said Mickey Hart. "We have new songs, great energy, and the will to play. Missing a year has us just increased our thirst for playing music with each other again." "I'm with those guys," said Steve Kimock. "Seriously, the first Other Ones tour was the trip of a lifetime for me, and I have no doubt that this one will be even better. I really am looking forward to hitting the road again." Let Bruce Hornsby have the last word: "Once again the embattled warriors of Grateful Dead land, bruised and battered by the internecine warfare of the past two grim seasons of Richard Dawson-esque Family Feuding, embark on a month-long tour of the American shed circuit. Why have we decided on another stroll down counter-culuture memory lane? Because two years ago our Other Ones' tour was musically very special, and we would like to try to create that same feeling once again." |
| In addition, the tour will be preceded by a Hybrid Recordings release of Furthurmost, another in the series of Furthur compilation CD's containing material from each artist on the tour. |
| Stay tuned; this movie isn't over. |
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Bios: |
| Mickey Hart, percussion, vocals. Mickey is best known for his thirty years as percussionist with the Grateful Dead. He is a trustee at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress, the executive producer of the World series of music for Rykodisc, founder of "Planet Drum," author of Drumming at the Edge of Magic, Planet Drum, and Spirit into Sound, and composer of film scores, including the percussion soundtrack to "Apocalypse Now." His latest album is called "Spirit into Sound." He won the first World Music Grammy ever awarded, for his recording, Planet Drum. |
| Bruce Hornsby, vocals and keyboards. In 1987 Hornsby and his then-band "the Range" opened for the Dead near Monterey, and his relationship with the Dead progressed from there. Impressed with his music, Garcia sat in on several of Hornsby's albums, and when the Dead sought assistance in the keyboard realm in 1990, Hornsby ended up being a "permanent part-time" member of the band for the next two years. He is of course the notable singer, composer and pianist of such tunes as "The Way It Is," "The End of The Innocence (with Don Henley), and "Harbor Lights." He's been nominated for 10 Grammys and won three. |
| Bob Weir: rhythm guitar, vocals. Weir was a founding member of the Dead after a background in folk music, and has also had a distinguished parallel career with solo albums like Ace and Heaven Help the Fool, side bands like Bobby and the Midnites, and currently, Ratdog, and a duo project with Rob Wasserman. His songs "Sugar Magnolia" and "Playing in the Band" are among the all-time Dead Head favorites, and of course it is his "That's it for the Other One" that gives this band its name. |
| Alphonso Johnson: bass, vocals. Alphonso Johnson has been touring since he was 17. He worked with the Woody Herman Orchestra, Chuck Mangione, Weather Report, Santana, and Jazz is Dead. He scored the film "Sound of Sunshine...Sounds of Rain," which garnered him an Oscar nomination. Having been part of "Bobby and the Midnites," he was the logical choice to fill The Other One's bass chair. |
| Mark Karan: Guitar, vocals. Karan was born in San Francisco and spent 18 years in Marin County, playing with Dave Mason, Paul Carrack, Huey Lewis, and the legendary Alex Call ("Clover"). Recently he landed in Los Angeles, where he has played with Sophie B. Hawkins and The Rembrandts. He is a member of Ratdog. |
| Steve Kimock: guitar. Kimock first came into the Dead's orbit in 1980, when he joined with Keith and Donna Godchaux in "The Heart of Gold Band." After Keith's death, he and Greg Anton formed "Zero," still a popular Bay Area ensemble. An inveterate jammer, Steve has participated in a number of projects, including "KVHW." He now concentrates on the "Steve Kimock Band." |
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| The essence of the Dead scene was family and a distinguished heritage, which made the choice of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers to join them on Furthur the easiest pick in the world. Ziggy, his brother Stephen, sisters Cedella and Sharon, and their most highly esteemed musical legacy as the children of Bob Marley, will bring something special to the tour. From their first album, Conscious Party, to their most recent, Spirit of Music, they use reggae to find the spirit, in a way that every Dead Head will appreciate. |
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Tour Dates |
| 8/23 Coors Amphitheatre, San Diego 8/24 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, CA 8/25 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA 8/27 The Gorge, George, Washington 8/29 Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre, Denver 8/31 Alpine Valley Music Theatre, E. Troy, Wisconsin 9/1 Buckeye Lake Music Center, Columbus, Ohio 9/2 Darien Lake Amphitheatre, Buffalo, NY 9/4 Pine Knob Music Center, Detroit 9/7 Blossom Music Center, Cleveland 9/8 Coors Light Amphitheatre, Scranton, PA 9/9 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut 9/10 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 9/12 On Center, Syracuse, NY 9/14 Nissan Pavilion, Washington, DC 9/15 Fleet Center, Boston 9/16 Sony Entertainment Center, Camden, NJ (Philadelphia) 9/17 Bryce Jordan Center, State College, PA 9/20 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia 9/21 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina 9/23 Suwanee Music Park, Live Oak, Florida 9/24 Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta |