The Other Ones will live on as The Dead
By Kim Curtis
Associated Press
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| Phil Lesh, left, and Bob Weir performed last year in East Troy, Wis.
Associated Press library photo |
Bassist Phil Lesh, guitarist Bob Weir and drummers Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart will inaugurate their new name — which has served as their unofficial nickname for years — at a benefit concert today in San Francisco.
"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,' " the band said.
After the death of Garcia, their lead singer and guitarist, the Grateful Dead retired their act, which was a perennial top concert draw. The band's surviving members put on a show every now and then as The Other Ones.
But last summer, all four surviving founding members performed two reunion shows in Wisconsin. The shows were so successful that they staged a fall tour.
In a press release posted Saturday on the band's Web site, the musicians called the Wisconsin concerts "magical."
"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," the group said.
A summer tour for The Dead also is likely, their publicist, Dennis McNally, said.
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