Ratdog
| Ratdog | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | skirt |
| founding | 1995 |
| Website | www.ratdoglive.com |
| Founding members | |
| Bob Weir | |
| Rob Wasserman (until 2002, 2012-2016) | |
Guitar, harmonica , vocals |
Matthew Kelly (until 1998) |
| Jay Lane | |
| Current occupation | |
Guitar, vocals |
Bob Weir |
Drums |
Jay Lane |
Guitar, vocals |
Mark Karan (since 1998) |
Keyboard , vocals |
Jeff Chimenti (since 1997) |
Saxophone , vocals |
Kenny Brooks (since 2000) |
Bass , vocals |
Robin Sylvester (since 2003) |
| former members | |
Keyboard, vocals |
Vince Welnick (1995) |
Keyboard |
Mookie Seal (1996-1997) |
Keyboard, vocals |
Johnnie Johnson (1996-1997) |
saxophone |
David Ellis (1996-1999) |
guitar |
Dave McNabb (1998) |
bass |
Rob Barraco (2003) |
Ratdog is an American rock band from the Grateful Dead area , founded in 1995 by Bob Weir , the rhythm guitarist of the Grateful Dead, and bassist Rob Wasserman .
history
The band Ratdog emerged from the many years of stage collaboration between Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman, who had performed together as an acoustic duo on guitar and double bass since 1988 . In the spring of 1995, drummer Jay Lane and guitarist Matthew Kelly (ex- Kingfish ) joined them and the band Ratdog was born. The first concert took place on April 22, 1995. At first Ratdog performed in small clubs and at festivals such as Wavy Gravys HogFram Picnic. At the Furthur Festival in 1996 and 1997 they became known to a larger audience.
Ratdog's music was initially a mix of electric and acoustic blues , rock and roll and country tracks, as well as numbers from Bob Weir's solo albums. After Jerry Garcia's death and the resulting end of the Grateful Dead , Weir concentrated his live activities on Ratdog, which brought about a change in repertoire and musical style. While the Weir / Wasserman duo were initially at the center, Ratdog - expanded to include keyboard , saxophone and lead guitar - were on their way to becoming a collective improvising band in the style of the Grateful Dead . Weir brought numerous Dead titles to the repertoire - including some that Garcia had sung - and wrote several new titles.
Over time, the band went through several personnel changes. Especially the departure of Matthew Kelly in 1998 and the inclusion of guitarist Mark Karan in the same year changed the sound of Ratdog significantly.
In the summer of 2002 Ratdog completed a tour through Europe with performances in London, Paris, Cologne, Hamburg, Amsterdam as well as at the Montreux Jazz Festival , the Burg-Herzberg-Festival and at some blues festivals in Italy. In August 2003 they played five more concerts in England.
At the end of 2002, Rob Wasserman also left Ratdog. The increasing touring obligations left him too little space for other projects. In the meantime, many deadheads had found a new home at Ratdog concerts.
Ratdog released a studio album ( Evening Moods , 2000) and a live CD ( Live At Roseland , 2001). Since the autumn tour 2003 Ratdog have been offering direct recordings of all their concerts as CDs or downloads for sale.