With a Valentine's Day benefit concert at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre, the Other Ones will abandon their name in favor of one somewhat closer to their roots: the Dead. The surviving members of the Grateful Dead -- drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, bassist Phil Lesh, guitarist Bob Weir -- said in a statement that they made the decision "after some deep soul searching and out of our love and respect for what we had created together."
The band said that after its initial reunion shows last summer at Wisconsin's Alpine Valley, "we were all profoundly affected by a sense of awe and connection that none of us had felt since we played with Jerry," referring to the late guitarist/vocalist Jerry Garcia. "It was a magical occurrence that no one could have anticipated, yet one we all want to embrace. To us, this was the Grateful Dead -- without Jerry. We had stopped being the 'Other Ones' and were on our way to becoming something new but at the same time very familiar."
Shortly after Garcia's 1995 death, the surviving members retired the name Grateful Dead, but now acknowledge that its spirit has lived on in the years since. "Therefore, with the greatest possible respect to our collective history, we have decided to keep the name 'Grateful Dead' retired in honor of Jerry's memory, and call ourselves: 'the Dead.'"
Rounded out by guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Herring, and keyboardists Jeff Chimenti, and Rob Barraco, the Dead will be joined by as-yet-unannounced "special guests" at Friday's (Feb. 14) show. The event will benefit long-standing Grateful Dead charities the Unbroken Chain Foundation, the Rex Foundation, and the Furthur Foundation. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster and the Dead Ticketing.
A summer tour is also planned. No dates, cities, or venues have yet been announced, but an animated announcement for the Valentine show on the band's official Web site suggests the trek will cover the majority of the U.S.
As the Other Ones, the group followed the Alpine Valley reunion with a U.S. fall tour, on which it was augmented by contemporary blues singer Susan Tedeschi. In familiar Grateful Dead style, the act rang in the New Year with a Dec. 31 concert at the Oakland (Calif.) Arena.
The band said that after its initial reunion shows last summer at Wisconsin's Alpine Valley, "we were all profoundly affected by a sense of awe and connection that none of us had felt since we played with Jerry," referring to the late guitarist/vocalist Jerry Garcia. "It was a magical occurrence that no one could have anticipated, yet one we all want to embrace. To us, this was the Grateful Dead -- without Jerry. We had stopped being the 'Other Ones' and were on our way to becoming something new but at the same time very familiar."
Shortly after Garcia's 1995 death, the surviving members retired the name Grateful Dead, but now acknowledge that its spirit has lived on in the years since. "Therefore, with the greatest possible respect to our collective history, we have decided to keep the name 'Grateful Dead' retired in honor of Jerry's memory, and call ourselves: 'the Dead.'"
Rounded out by guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Herring, and keyboardists Jeff Chimenti, and Rob Barraco, the Dead will be joined by as-yet-unannounced "special guests" at Friday's (Feb. 14) show. The event will benefit long-standing Grateful Dead charities the Unbroken Chain Foundation, the Rex Foundation, and the Furthur Foundation. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster and the Dead Ticketing.
A summer tour is also planned. No dates, cities, or venues have yet been announced, but an animated announcement for the Valentine show on the band's official Web site suggests the trek will cover the majority of the U.S.
As the Other Ones, the group followed the Alpine Valley reunion with a U.S. fall tour, on which it was augmented by contemporary blues singer Susan Tedeschi. In familiar Grateful Dead style, the act rang in the New Year with a Dec. 31 concert at the Oakland (Calif.) Arena.
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