Bob Weir And Kingfish 1984-1987

The 1999 Kingfish album Sundown On The Forest, recorded over many years

After an extended three year run by Bobby And The Midnites, including many live shows and two studio albums, the band ground to a halt at the end of 1984. By this time, it seems that Bob Weir had crossed over, like his bandmate Jerry Garcia, and become a musician who had to be constantly performing. While there may have been an economic motive, since the Dead had not released an album since 1981, and the band's finances were reputedly quite dire, nonetheless in his thirties Weir may have realized he had a chance to tour and perform as much as he wanted to, and he seems to have enjoyed the opportunity.

This post will document Weir's extracurricular activities as a part-time member of Matthew Kelly's band Kingfish, from 1984 through 1987. This is not an exhaustive look at Weir's live performances during this period, nor is it any more than a series of intermittent snapshots of Kingfish during the same timeframe (the numbering system is arbitrary, and exists only to facilitate Comments). Nonetheless, it is an interesting perspective on Weir's activities during that time, when it seemed like the Grateful Dead had sort of peaked and would never get any bigger than they already were. All of my information comes from carefully writing down whatever was announced on the Grateful Dead hotline, supplemented by information from the San Francisco Chronicle or Relix magazine. Some shows or personnel may have been changed at the last minute. Anyone with additional information, insights, corrections or recovered memories (real or imagined) is encouraged to Comment or email me.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #11a (Kingfish Revue)
First show: October 24, 1984 Keystone Palo Alto
Last show: October 26, 1984 The Stone

Garth Webber-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Rahnie Raines-vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards,vocals
Dave Margen-bass
Dave Perper-drums

Notes: Matt Kelly had reactivated Kingfish, which had only existed intermittently since Weir had departed the band in August of 1976. For the Fall of 1984, the band called themselves 'The Kingfish Revue,' and Weir joined them for two shows in the Bay Area. Kingfish would play a set, and featured some songs by singer Rahnie Raines, Weir would then play a brief solo acoustic set, and then he fronted Kingfish for some classic songs from his previous endeavors with the band. A few other guests showed up, most notably including guitarist George Thorogood one night at the Stone (on October 26).

Garth Webber was an exciting young guitarist, largely unknown during the time that he played with Kingfish. By 1986, however, he had replaced Robben Ford in Miles Davis's group, a clear benediction of his skills. Keyboard player Barry Flast had gone to college at Boston University in the 1960s, and had ended up in the group Tom Swift And The Electric Band. That group (with Billy Squier on guitar) became a sort of 'house band' at Boston's Psychedelic Supermarket, opening for everyone who came through town, including the Grateful Dead. David Margen had been in Santana in the 1970s.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #11b (Kingfish Revue)
First show: December 22, 1984 Keystone Palo Alto
Last show: December 26, 1984 The Stone

Garth Webber-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Rahnie Raines-vocals
unknown-keyboards, vocals
Dave Margen-bass
Bill Kreutzmann-drums

Notes: For some reason, Barry Flast was apparently not available for these shows, but I'm not sure who filled in on the keyboards (I'm not even sure how I came to know that).  Chris Herold was a guest at the Keystone Palo Alto on December 22. Herold had been the original drummer in Kingfish, and before that in the New Delhi River Band, but he was probably largely retired from music by this time. The most interesting detail about these two Kingfish shows was Bill Kreutzmann's presence on the drums.  

Kingfish #12
First show: January 5, 1985
Last show: February 14, 1985

Garth Webber-lead guitar
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards, vocals
Dave Margen-bass
Bill Kreutzmann-drums
plus: Brent Mydland-organ, vocals (Jan 21, 22, 24)

Notes: Kreutzmann's flurry of activity in the mid-80s has always been an indicator to me that members of the Dead were always looking for a little extra cash. I recognize that the occasional gig in Garberville or at a Keystone was often just for a laugh, or to get out of the house. I also understand that musicians often like to play challenging music at times, just because they they need to do it. However, Bill Kreutzmann would not have done a 16-date East Coast tour, playing simple rock and blues with Kingfish in the Winter, unless he needed the cash. I have to assume there was good money in playing the shows, since Brent Mydland must have been flown out for the three dates in late January.

The Winter 1985 Kingfish tour has the unique distinction of being the only Kingfish tour with Grateful Dead members who were not Bob Weir. However, the tour ended with an ugly incident. According to San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, Matt Kelly ended up suing Kreutzmann for damages after a violent altercation near the end of the tour. The case was settled, apparently, and the details remain obscure, and probably better left undiscussed. I would note, however, that although Kelly and Weir remain friends and collaborators to this day, Matt Kelly never again played with the Grateful Dead after this tour.

Kingfish #12 performances

• January 5, 1985 Country Club, Reseda, CA w/Zero
• January 6, 1985 [Southern California?]
• January 21-22, 1985 Lone Star Cafe, New York, NY [Brent Mydland on organ and vocals]
• January 24, 1985 Paradise Club, Boston, MA [Brent Mydland on organ and vocals]
• January 25, 1985 Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ w/Jorma Kaukonen/NRPS/Leon Russell 
• Brent Mydland was advertised for the Capitol show but did not appear. Bill Kreutzmann came out from behind his kit and went to the mic to apologize to the crowd  

• January 26, 1985 Tower Theater, Upper Darby,  PA
• January 28, 1985 Hunt's, Burlington, VT
• Kingfish was late to the show, except for Bill Kreutzmann. Bill came to the front of the stage and gave a 40-minute monologue. Tape exists. The band eventually arrived.
• February 1, 1985 Lupo's, Providence, RI
• February 2, 1985 Key Largo, Islip, NY
• February 3-4, 1985 Lone Star Cafe, New York, NY
• February 7, 1985 Mabel's, Champaign, IL
• February 8-9, 1985 Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL
• February 10, 1985 Headliners, Madison, WI
• February 13, 1985 Rainbow Theater, Denver, CO
• February 14, 1985 Glenn Miller Ballroom, U. of Colorado, Boulder, CO

There were two shows announced on the Hot Line that were canceled: March 8 at The Stone and April 11 at New George's in San Rafael. I assume that this was because of the altercation between Kelly and Kreutzmann. It's not impossible that some of the last shows on the main tour were not played as well.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #13
First show: March 1, 1986 Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ w/Sounds Of San Francisco/Zero
Last show: March 2, 1986 The Palladium, New York, NY w/Sounds Of San Francisco/Zero

Garth Webber-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Anna Rizzo-vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards,vocals
Steve Evans-bass
Dave Perper-drums

Notes: Kingfish toured steadily throughout 1985, and underwent various personnel changes. Bob Weir joined them for two high profile shows in Passaic and Manhattan. At the time, this triple-bill was a sort of homage to psychedelic San Francisco, and it seemed about as relevant as The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Sounds Of San Francisco was a sort of all-star band, put together for East Coast tours. This time out, the Sounds were John Cipollina, Greg Douglass, David Margen, Dave Perper and vocalist Alex Ligterwood (Santana). Zero also featured Cipollina at this time. Weir would not have needed to rehearse much, if at all, in order to sit in with Kingfish. Weir played a solo set as well.

On Sunday, March 2, Bob Weir appeared on an NBC Radio show called 'Sunday Night Live,' recorded at the Hard Rock Cafe in Manhattan. During the show, Bob Weir, Matt Kelly and Albert Collins sat in with Paul Shaffer and the David Letterman Show band for a version of "T-Bone Shuffle." I'm not sure whether Weir's booking on NBC Radio caused him to sit in with Kingfish, or the other way around, but I'm inclined to the latter scenario. Artists are usually only paid union scale to appear on TV or radio, so it would make sense that Weir was already there for a paying concert.

On Monday, March 3, Weir made a solo appearance at a Philadelphia club called Pulsations. According to Relix, John Cipollina apparently sat in.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #14
First show: April 26, 1986 River Theater, Guerneville, CA
Last show: October 31, 1986 Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA

Steve Kimock-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Anna Rizzo-vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards,vocals
Steve Evans-bass
Jimmy Sanchez-drums

Kingfish with Bob Weir #14 performances (Spring)

• April 26, 1986 River Theater, Guerneville, CA
• April 27, 1986 Keystone Palo Alto

Notes: In the Spring of 1986, Steve Kimock replaced Garth Webber as Kingfish's lead guitarist. In fact, it's not totaly impossible that Kimock played the March shows in New York with Weir and Kingifish (if anyone knows, please mention it in the Comments).  Singer Anna Rizzo had also joined. Rizzo was (and no doubt still is) an excellent, bluesy singer, but had never gotten a real opportunity to shine. She had been in various mostly Berkeley-based ensembles, including Sky Blue, Grootna and Country Joe's All-Star Band. She was also a pretty good drummer, although she didn't get any opportunity to prove it in Kingfish. Weir played two gigs with Kingfish in the Spring.

On April 28, Weir headlined a show at Wolfgang's, called "A Benefit For A Sick Friend." As far as I know, Weir played solo, although I wouldn't be surprised if he had played a little with David Nelson and Tom Stern, who were also on the bill (as were Tom Constanten and the Tim Ware Group).

On May 29, 1986, Weir made a solo appearance at an East Village disco called The Saint for an event called 'The Great Sixties Ball.' The other acts on the bill were Country Joe McDonald and Buffy St. Marie. This was significant, since in its prior incarnation The Saint had been The Fillmore East. Weir was joined at various points by Matt Kelly, Barry Flast, Jorma Kaukonen, Anna Rizzo and Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary).

Update: I have discovered that Kingfish played an Anti-Nuke Rally in Corte Madera on June 7, 1986 (at least one song is accessible on YouTube), and also at the Rainbow Music Hall in Denver, CO on August 11, 1986.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #14 performances (Fall)

• September 7, 1986 Ranch Rock, Pyramid Lake, Nixon, NE Mickey And The Daylites/Kingfish with Bob Weir/Robert Hunter and The Mystery Band/Problem Child/Zero
• October 29, 1986 Arlington Theater, Santa Barbara, CA w/Robert Hunter
• October 30, 1986 Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA
• October 31, 1986 Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA w/JGB

Notes: On July 8, 1986, Jerry Garcia went into a diabetic coma, and the entire Grateful Dead universe was thrown into upheaval. Although band members were too proud to make a point of it, there had to be a serious cash flow problem for everybody. Weir was better positioned than others to make a little money touring, but he had broken his arm in a mountain biking accident, and was limited to being just a vocalist until the end of the Summer.

Various bands associated with the Grateful Dead played at an outdoor event at Pyramid Lake in Nevada (hot enough for ya?). Weir appeared with Kingfish, but only as a singer, since he couldn't play guitar. The Mickey And The Daylites and Robert Hunter and The Mystery Band ensembles were unique configurations that never played any other time. Although there were six bands on the bill, many of the musicians played in multiple groups

Fortunately, Garcia was back in action in October. Weir, too, was back in October, his arm fully healed so that he could play guitar. Weir and Kingfish played three shows in California. Weir and Kingfish headlined two of them in small theaters, and one of them was second on the bill to the Jerry Garcia Band at the Kaiser Convention Center. In fact, per their usual practice, Weir and Kingfish closed the Oakland show, rocking the night away, but the newly-recovered Garcia was still the headliner.

Kingfish with Bob Weir #15
First show: May 26, 1987 The Bacchanal, San Diego, CA
Last show: May 30, 1987 Country Club, Reseda, CA

Steve Kimock-lead guitar
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly-harmonica-harmonica, guitar, vocals
Anna Rizzo-vocals
Barry Flast-piano, keyboards,vocals
Steve Evans-bass
Dave Perper-drums

Kingfish with Bob Weir #15 performances

• May 26, 1987 The Bacchanal, San Diego, CA
• May 27, 1987 The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA
• May 28, 1987 Fender's, Long Beach, CA
• May 29, 1987 De Anza Theater, Riverside, CA
• May 30, 1987 Country Club, Reseda, CA

Notes: Weir had one last brief run with Kingfish in May, 1987. Although I only have setlists for one of these shows, I assume that it was the standard configuration: Kingfish played a set, Weir played solo and then Weir joined Kingfish for some of their regular material, by this time almost 12 years old.

After these shows, Weir started making regular appearances with the band Go Ahead, whose other members were Brent Mydland, Bill Kreutzmann, Dave Margen, Alex Ligterwood and Jerry Cortez. Weir followed the same pattern as he did with Kingfish; Go Ahead would play a set, Weir would play a solo set, and then Weir would join Go Ahead and rock out. The history of Go Ahead is unwritten, and I will write it, but that is a subject of another series of posts.

May 28, 1989 San Gregorio Music Festival, San Gregorio Resource Center, San Gregorio, CA
Bob Weir and Kingfish/Maria Muldaur and Band/Dan Hicks and The Acoustic Warriors/NRPS/Country Joe McDonald/Terry Haggerty 
Weir's final appearance with Kingfish was a one-off show at an outdoor festival in San Gregorio. San Gregorio is an obscure town in San Mateo County, not quite coastside, but just down the hill from La Honda where Kesey had holed up back when the Warlocks were morphing into the Grateful Dead. A large area around the town had been turned into a Nature Preserve, and it appears that this show was a benefit in support of that. Whoever organized it must have been an old hippie, given the bands, but then of course most of the residents in the coastside part of San Mateo County in those days were old hippies anyway, so it was appropriate. I don't know exactly who was in Kingfish at that point, although it probably didn't matter from Weir's point of view. Surviving video shows that Chris Herold sat in on drums for a song. By this time, Weir had first played with Kingfish fifteen years earlier, and in some ways they were like the old blues and R&B acts that had inspired them in the first place, playing their traditional material for people who had been fans for a long time.

Matt Kelly let Kingfish slide away in the 1990s. Weir and Kelly remained friends, and Kelly was a member of Ratdog for a while. However, Kelly left that group, and ultimately moved to Thailand, where he has focused on charity work. Kingfish, after an unheralded start in 1974, lasted over 15 years, remarkable for any band, and Bob Weir was a part of it near the beginning and near the end.

Bob Weir Band>Bobby And The Midnites 1977-84

The cover to the Arista album Bobby & The Midnites, released in November 1981

From 1977 to 1984, Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir made a conscious effort to be a rock star in the style of Steve Miller of Boz Scaggs. Now, Weir was already a rock star by any standard, but he was cloistered in a peculiar Grateful Dead world. Given that Jerry Garcia had already set out on a singular path for his own solo career, and that Weir already had both a solo album (1972's Ace) and had recorded an album as a member of another group (1976's Kingfish), a 'conventional' rock star solo album was not far-fetched. Weir's album Heaven Help The Fool was produced by Keith Olsen, who had produced the hugely successful 1975 album Fleetwood Mac, as well as the Dead's Terrapin Station. Rather than a detailed discussion of Weir's efforts to be a conventional rock star, this post will focus on the history of the bands Weir formed in support of that effort, the Bob Weir Band and later Bobby And The Midnites, covering most of Weir's non-Dead live appearances from 1978 through 1984.

I originally developed this material for my own research, and felt it would be most productive to share it. The numbering systems for the groups are arbitrary, and only intended to ease discussion in the Comments. Anyone with corrections, insights, additional information or recovered memories (real or imagined) is encouraged to Comment or email me.

The Bob Weir Band
Bob Weir had played Ibanez guitars since about 1975, and Ibanez rep Jeff Hasselberger introduced him to Bobby Cochran in mid-to-late 1977. Cochran was the nephew of famed rocker Eddie Cochran, and he had grown up in Hollywood and the Southern California studio scene. Not only was Cochran an accomplished guitarist, he was comfortable working in an industry context with established veterans. By the end of 1977, among many other projects, Cochran had been a latterday member of John Kay's Steppenwolf, and had also been in the Flying Burrito Brothers. During the period that Cochran was in the Burritos, they changed their name to Sierra and released an album of the same name. That album included the song "I Found Love," which Cochran regularly with both the Bob Weir Band and Bobby And The Midnites.

Some paperwork suggests that the original Bob Weir Band tour was supposed to take place in December 1977, which suggests an earlier planned release date for Heaven Help The Fool. However, since the album was not released until January of 1978, it makes sense that the tour supporting it did not take place until the month after. However, given the Dead's planned touring schedule, the Bob Weir Band must have been put together by Weir and Cochran in the Fall of 1977, probably shortly after November 6, 1977(when the Dead's tour ended in Binghamton, NY). Weir and Cochran probably anticipated going out in December 1977, but in fact they were delayed some months.

The cover to Bob Weir's Arista album Heaven Help The Fool, released in January 1978

Bob Weir Band #1
First show: The Roxy, Los Angeles, CA February 17, 1978
Last show: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York June 10, 1978

Bobby Cochran-lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Brent Mydland-organ, keyboards, vocals
Rick Carlos-bass
John Mauceri-drums

Notes: According to some interviews I read at the time (probably in BAM Magazine), Bob Weir invited David Lindley to join him on his inaugural tour. Weir would likely have known Lindley from the various times that Lindley's 60s band Kaleidoscope had opened for the Grateful Dead. By the late 1970s, Lindley had become well-known as Jackson Browne's chief collaborator. However, the perpetually busy Lindley apparently turned Weir down--darn it--but recommended drummer John Mauceri.

Mauceri was auditioned and hired, and in turn brought in his partner Rick Carlos on bass. The pair had played together in various aggregations. They had backed up the duo Batdorf And Rodney on tour various times, and I had seen them backing up singer/songwriter David Blue in 1973 (along with future Eagle Don Felder). With the rhythm section intact, Carlos recommended his friend Brent Mydland to play organ. Carlos and Mydland had played together since high school, and Mydland had even played with Carlos behind Batdorf and Rodney (albeit not with Mauceri). By 1975, Mydland had ended up in the group Silver with John Batdorf, and they had released an obscure album on Arista.

Once Heaven Help The Fool was released in January 1978, The Bob Weir Band made an essentially traditional national tour in support of it, starting at the most high profile club in the industry, The Roxy in Los Angeles (on February 17, 1978). The band went on to play prestige rock clubs in major cities, and in between they played colleges or mid-sized cities where a winter appearance by any member of the Grateful Dead would always be welcome. In contrast to a typical Jerry Garcia Band tour, where a net profit was mandatory, the Weir Band's record-company supported was more focused on creating "buzz" and encouraging FM radio airplay.

After the national tour ended at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco on March 25, 1978, the Bob Weir Band still managed to sneak in a few high profile bookings. I know they played the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, TX on April 27, probably as headliners. They also played two shows opening for Jefferson Starship at Nassau Coliseum on June 9-10, 1978.

Bob Weir Band #2
First show: Rancho Nicasio, Nicasio, CA October 16, 1978
Last show: Paramount Theater  Northwest, Seattle, WA October 28, 1978

Bobby Cochran-lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Brent Mydland-organ, keyboards, vocals
Dee Murray-bass
John Mauceri-drums

Although Heaven Help The Fool hadn't become a big hit, Weir hadn't given up. Weir and Cochran organized another brief tour by the Bob Weir Band. Former Elton John Band bassist Dee Murray took over on bass, replacing Rick Carlos. After a few warmup Bay Area gigs, the Bob Weir Band opened three shows for the Jerry Garcia Band in the Pacific Northwest (October 26-28, 1978). As I have discussed elsewhere, these shows were significant because Jerry Garcia got to hear Brent Mydland play and sing, and told Weir "hey, this guy might work." Garcia's reference was to the apparently unspoken concern that Keith and Donna Godchaux's time with the Grateful Dead had run its course. Indeed, a few months later, Mydland got the fateful call from Weir, and by April of 1979 he was a member of the Grateful Dead.

Bobby And The Midnites #0
Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, CA July 30-31, 1980

Bobby Cochran-lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Brent Mydland-organ, keyboards, vocals
[uncertain]-bass
[uncertain]-drums

Bob Weir had been playing Ibanez guitars since the mid-70s, and as an Ibanez client he attended the National Association of Music Manufacturers (NAMM) conference in Anaheim, CA in January of 1979. Ibanez had held their own special event at a satellite site, the Knotts Berry Farm amusement park, and various Ibanez clients had performed. Bobby Cochran led an Ibanez All-Star band with bassist Alphonso Johnson and drummer Billy Cobham. They were joined by various guests including Steve Miller and Bob Weir. Weir performed "Minglewood" with Cochran, Johnson, Cobham and others (the dates referenced in this fascinating link are slightly off). There is actually video of Weir's performance, which I have seen, and which is apparently accessible on YouTube.

After the January 1979 Knotts Berry Farm performance, Weir, Cochran, Johnson and Cobham played a Summer NAMM event in Atlanta in either 1979 or 1980, and Weir approached Cochran with the idea of the band which became Bobby And The Midnites, featuring Johnson and Cobham as the rhythm section. However, the busy schedule of the band members meant that it would actually be years before they all got to actually play together. Deadbase IX uncovered a mystery date by Bobby And The Midnites, June 30, 1980, long before any other performance. I have to assume that this low-key show was a "proof of concept" show, for the band members to determine that they were onto something. Other than Weir and Cochran, however, I have no idea who actually played. I suspect that Brent Mydland, Alphonso Johnson and Billy Cobham were in the band that day, but given the peculiar history of the Midnites that is far from certain

[update: based on a poster in the Grateful Dead Archives, it appears that the "Bobby And The Midnites" show that Deadbase found for the Golden Bear was actually on July 30-31, 1980. Interestingly, the band was billed as "Kingfish with special guest Bob Weir, and Bobby Cochran, Tim Bogert and Gregg Errico." So it seems this was some kind of Weir Band/Midnites hybrid. I presume that Matt Kelly was part of the group, and plausibly Brent was along for the ride, too.]

Notwithstanding that both Weir and Cochran were named Bob, Bobby Cochran had been in a fairly successful teenage band called Li'l Willy Gee And The Midniters, so the name 'Midniters' seemed to be an homage to that band.

Bobby And The Midnites #1
First show: The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA September 18, 1980
Last show: Freeborn Hall, UC Davis, Davis, CA January 31, 1981

Bobby Cochran-lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matthew Kelly-harmonica, guitar
Brent Mydland-organ, keyboards, vocals
Tim Bogert-bass
Carmine Appice-drums

To Dead fans, Bobby And The Midnites seemingly appeared from nowhere, playing 3 dates in the Bay Area right before the Grateful Dead's Warfield shows. No explanation was offered in the press for what might have been planned, and the idea that Weir, Cochran and Mydland were playing with two members of Vanilla Fudge seemed unfathomable. Of course, there has never been any subsequent explanation, either. As nearly as I can figure out, Weir and Cochran had a concept of Bobby And The Midnites that they had worked out with Alphonso Johnson and Billy Cobham, but conflicting schedules forced them to initiate the Midnites with Bogert and Appice.

Bobby And The Midnites #1 played three club dates in the Bay Area (Sep 18-20, 1980), and then an eight or nine date tour of small theaters in the East Coast (November 1980). There was an encore of six more shows in January of 1981. Bogert and Appice have had such epic careers with the Fudge, Jeff Beck and a Who's Who of rock (not to mention a chance meeting with Don Preston in O'Hare International Airport) that they don't even mention playing with Weir in their various biographies. I have to assume that Bogert and Appice were high-class substitutes until Alphonso Johnson and Billy Cobham were available. Bogert and Appice had been in the band Cactus, who had opened for the Grateful Dead on May 16, 1970, in Philadelphia (Jimi Hendrix was the headliner), but I don't necessarily think that Weir, Bogert and Appice ever made any more than a casual connection at that time.

update: it appears Billy Cobham took over the drum chair after the three Bay Area dates (hat tip Mark)

Bobby And The Midnites #2
Studio only (Bobby And The Midnites album)

Bobby Cochran-lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Matthew Kelly-harmonica, guitar
Brent Mydland-organ, keyboards, vocals
Alphonso Johnson-bass
Billy Cobham-drums

Notes: The debut album by Bobby & The Midnites was produced by Gary Lyons for Arista Records. Lyons, the former producer of Foreigner among others, had just finished the Grateful Dead's Go To Heaven album. Weir's previous album had been produced by Keith Olsen, who had just finished Terrapin Station, so clearly the record industry saw plenty of potential in Weir as a rock star. The Midnites album was very well recorded, but I felt it suffered from unimpressive songs. The best song on the album, to my ears--and probably Gary Lyons' ears, since it led off side 1--was "Haze," with six co-writers. "Haze" was written by Weir, Cochran, Mydland, Kelly, Daoud Shaw and Essra Mohawk.

Shaw and Mohawk had been the drummer and backup singer for the Jerry Garcia Band in the Summer of 1981, and I have to suspect that the song came out of some sort of studio jam or rehearsal. Over the years, there was relatively little crossover between Garcia and Weir's extracurricular bands, so "Haze" was a notable exception. Essra Mohawk, an extremely interesting figure, was just a harmony singer for the Garcia Band for about a dozen shows in 1981, but she had a very interesting career as a solo artist and songwriter. I have to think that her contributions, whatever exactly they may have been, were a factor in making "Haze" a good song. I'm not aware, however, that the Midnites ever performed the song "Haze" in concert, and even if they did, they didn't do it very often.

Bobby And The Midnites were announced on the Grateful Dead hotline as performing as part of a large benefit concert for MUSE (an Anti-Nuclear Energy group), on June 14, 1981 at the Los Angeles Forum. Alphonso Johnson was announced as the bassist on the hotline, but I'm not certain whether Billy Cobham or someone else played drums. I assume they played a brief set, but the truth is, I'm not convinced a MUSE Benefit was held at the Forum on June 14 (this subject is kind of esoteric--anyone with any knowledge about this, please put it in the Comments).

Bobby And The Midnites #3
First show: Fox-Warfield Theater, San Francisco, CA January 12, 1982
Last show: Hammersmith Odeon, London, GB February 4, 1983

Bobby Cochran-lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Dave Garland-keyboards, tenor sax, vocals
Alphonso Johnson-bass
Billy Cobham-drums

Notes: Bobby And The Midnites made their true stab at stardom starting in January of 1982. It wasn't a bad plan: Bob Weir was a genuine rock star, both Bobbys were good guitarists and handsome to boot, and the rhythm section featured two jazz fusion legends. Weir's peculiar status as a full-time member of the Grateful Dead seemed to suit the other members fine. Cochran had a career as a producer and studio musician, and Cobham and Johnson had plenty of jazz and solo projects to work on. In fact, the profusion of projects of those two may have delayed the 'official' debut of Bobby And The Midnites for some time after the quartet's first jam at the January, 1979 Ibanez NAMM show at Knotts Berry Farm.

Taking over the keyboard slot from Brent was Dave Garland, an experienced studio hand. Garland had also been in the Orange County band Big Foot, who not only released an album but also had opened for the Grateful Dead at Fillmore West back in February, 1970. Garland played keyboards and sang harmonies, and even added a little tenor sax. Matt Kelly had dropped out of the Midnites by this time, presumably more interested in working on his own music with Kingfish.

Bobby And The Midnites were a terrific live band. Although both Cobham and Johnson were great jazz players, they both genuinely enjoyed playing rock music.  Although Cobham had mostly played heavy jazz in the 60s (with Miles Davis, Horace Silver and many others), he had also played the Fillmore East with a fine jazz/rock group called Dreams in 1970, so he was plenty versatile. It was funny to hear guys who had played on Bitches Brew and with Weather Report work it on out to Marty Robbins' "Big Iron," but both Johnson and Cobham liked playing rock, and it showed on stage. 

Nonetheless, despite the charisma and talent of the Midnites, I felt that their material was sub par. There was nothing really wrong with any of their songs, but no number leaped out like Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle" or Dire Straits "Money For Nothing," and the band hardly got any traction beyond Deadheads. Bobby And The Midnites #3 toured hard for about a year, and even had a brief European tour, with three dates (Feb 2-4, 1983) in Paris, Sheffield (Dingwall's) and London, but the album never got any airplay and the band was stuck in smaller places.

Bobby And The Midnites second album, Where The Beat Meets The Street, released on Columbia Records in January 1984

Bobby And The Midnites #4
First show: Keystone Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA March 22, 1983
Last show: The Rio, Valley Stream, NY September 30, 1984

Bobby Cochran-lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Dave Garland-keyboards, tenor sax, vocals
Ken Gradney-bass
Billy Cobham-drums

Notes: Alphonso Johnson left Bobby And The Midnites, but the band went right back out on the road. The Midnites toured as hard as the Jerry Garcia Band, a clear sign that Weir was taking the enterprise seriously. Now, granted, Grateful Dead finances were not great in the early 1980s, so Weir was benefiting from all the touring, but he could probably have made more money touring with less well-known (and thus cheaper) compatriots, so his effort was not inconsiderable.

Johnson's replacement on bass was Ken Gradney, formerly of Little Feat. Gradney was a fine player, but in a more economic, funky style than the jazzy Alphonso. I'm fairly certain that Gradney had been the bassist for Delaney And Bonnie And Friends back when they shared the Festival Express train across Canada with the Dead back in 1970, but I don't know for a fact that Gradney and Weir actually met back then (update: now I do. An alert Commenter pointed out some footage of Gradney and Weir hanging out on the Festival Express. Check out about 1:04 in).  It is interesting to reflect that by the 1980s, even though Weir was filling his band with Los Angeles session pros--Garland and Gradney--they both had opened for the Dead in different contexts over a decade before (as had Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice in Cactus).

As a footnote, although Gradney played on what I consider to be the best Little Feat albums, 1973's Dixie Chicken and 1974's  Feats Don't Fail Me Now, he had replaced original bassist Roy Estrada. Estrada, formerly of The Mothers Of Invention (surely you can all sing along to "Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Sexually Aroused Gas Mask" from Weasels Ripped My Flesh), had played on the Feat's first two albums. This means that Estrada, not Gradney, had played the original part on Lowell George's song "Easy To Slip," recorded by Weir on Heaven Help The Fool and a regular part of the Midnites live shows.

The last iteration of Bobby And The Midnites made another album, the largely forgotten Where The Beat Meets The Street. The album was released in early 1984 on Columbia, which would have been an interesting development had the album been a success. The album was produced by former Doobie Brother Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter, and featured not only the various Midnites, including both Gradney and Alphonso Johnson, but also some Hollywood session guys like Baxter, Brian Setzer (of The Stray Cats) and Steve Cropper. Oddly, Dave Garland is namechecked on the cover as a bnd member, but does not appear on the recording. Although the album featured a healthy dose of original material that the Midnites had been performing for some time, the record sunk like a stone, and even most Deadheads had no idea it was released.

Bobby And The Midnites continued to tour hard throughout 1984, but at a certain point it seemed like they were treading water. Any band featuring a member of the Grateful Dead always had a certain following, and having seen the last configuration of the Midnites twice, I can vouch for the fact that they were a good band. They even continued to play new, unreleased material as they kept touring. At a certain point, however, it was clear that the Midnites were going to remain second tier, and the band quietly ground to a halt in September, 1984. As far as I can tell, all the former members of Bobby And The Midnites remain friends, and there seems to have been various collaborations over the years.

The Bob Weir Band and Bobby And The Midnites were very serious efforts by Weir to do something separate from the Grateful Dead that was both popular and good. Very few professional musicians would play full time in a band as busy as the Grateful Dead and still find the time and energy to make the effort to record and tour with a completely different project over a period of four years. It's ironic, of course, that one of the very few musicians who would do such a thing was also a member of the Grateful Dead, so as a result Weir was constantly compared to Jerry Garcia and found wanting. Weir's not Jerry, but I saw Bobby And The Midnites four times, and they were terrific every time. For a "side project,' that's a rare result anywhere but in the Dead.

By the end of 1984, Weir seemed to have caught Garcia's bug permanently, and he has remained on the road ever since. After Bobby And The Midnites, Weir has never been without a performing entity for long, but the subsequent ensembles will be the subject of future posts. 

Appendix:
Bob Weir And Friends, Perkins Palace, Los Angles, CA March 10, 1983

Bobby Cochran-lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
Nicky Hopkins-piano
Tim Bogert-bass
Gregg Errico-drums

In 1983, Weir performed at a benefit for Medical Aid To El Salvador. I presume the full compliment of Midnites were not available, so Weir and Cochran used a pick-up band with a former Midnite (Bogert) and two former members of the Jerry Garcia Band (Hopkins and Errico). A tape circulates of this event, mostly consisting of enjoyable rockers.

September 20, 1980: The Stone, San Francisco, CA: Bobby And The Midnites (SF debut)

My notes for the Bobby & The Midnites show at The Stone, in San Francisco, on September 20, 1980. Note that I had written "Bob Weir and The Midnites," probably how they were announced

Bob Weir had not played bars or smaller venues in the Bay Area prior to the Grateful Dead's hiatus in 1974. Once the hiatus began, however, Weir played around regularly with Kingfish, even keeping it up for a little while after the Dead began touring again in 1976. The group Kingfish went it's own way afterwards, but Weir seemed to have taken a lesson from Jerry Garcia and made a conscious effort to develop his own solo career parallel to but seprarate from the Grateful Dead. Unlike Garcia, however, who seemed to choose a jazzier and more laid back approach to his solo work, Weir made a self-conscious effort to make more focused and hard rocking music on his own than with the Grateful Dead. Put another way, from 1977 to 1984 Bob Weir played rock music and aimed to be a Rock Star. The principal vehicle for Weir's ambitions was the group Bobby And The Midnites. I was fortunate enough to see Bobby And The Midnites, on September 20, 1980, at The Stone in San Francisco, on their debut weekend. This post is a reflection on how that event appeared at the time, and the ways in which it did and did not prefigure future events in Bob Weir's career.

Heaven Help The Fool
When Arista Records signed the Grateful Dead in 1976, they also made provisions for solo records by band members. Jerry Garcia had produced Cats Under The Stars by the Jerry Garcia Band, released in early 1978. Cats was a muted, layered record, featuring all-original material in the laid back style characterized by Garcia Band performances. Weir's Heaven Help The Fool album was released in January 1978. Working with Keith Olsen in Los Angeles, producer of both Terrapin Station and Fleetwood Mac, the album featured 8 very conventional rock songs, designed for radio play. A handsome photo of Weir graced the cover, with no psychedelic designs hinting that Weir was a member of the Grateful Dead. Along with six originals, there were two cover versions ("Easy To Slip" and "I'll Be Doggone"), a record company tactic designed to give casual shoppers an idea of the music without having to hear it.The album was designed to make Weir a star like Steve Miller or Boz Scaggs.

In order to support Heaven Help The Fool, Weir went on tour with a band that included lead guitarist Bobby Cochran and organist Brent Mydland. There was a national tour in March of 1978, and a brief tour in the Fall, where Garcia first heard Brent play, thus triggering the departure of the Godchauxs. Heaven Help The Fool probably sold a few copies, and it would have made Arista money, although probably not Weir, but it never took off. In my opinion, at least, the original material by Weir and lyricist John Barlow was okay, but not strong enough to grab the ears of radio programmers or casual listeners. In 1979, with Brent Mydland now a member of the Grateful Dead, Weir had no extra-curricular performances that were open to the general public.

The cover of Bob Weir's 1978 Arista album Heaven Help The Fool

September 1980
By the Fall of 1980, the Grateful Dead had raised their profile somewhat. They had a new album on Arista, Go To Heaven, and they had recently announced that they would be playing 14 nights at San Francisco's Fox-Warfield Theater on Market Street. Bill Graham Presents had just started using the venue, and Bob Dylan had played a dozen shows there the previous year. Since Dylan had played his "Jesus songs," the performances were poorly received (I went to one--it wasn't good), but everyone loved the venue. The Grateful Dead's Warfield run was going to be from September 25-October 14, 1980, followed by shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Thus it was a complete surprise when Bob Weir was booked for three shows in the Bay Area from September 18-20, at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, the Keystone Palo Alto and The Stone in San Francisco.

In 1980, the only coverage of the Grateful Dead in the press were notices in Joel Selvin's weekly Lively Arts column in the San Francisco Chronicle "Pink Section" (Datebook). Even then, there would only be a sentence or two about the Dead's upcoming concerts or new albums, since Selvin had to cover the doings of every other Bay Area band within a paragraph or two. Selvin almost never mentioned anything about Jerry Garcia's additional activities, and he certainly said nothing about Weir's.  Thus the band and the event occurred in a complete vacuum. Weir seemed to have a new band that he was taking the trouble to rehearse right before a big Dead tour, but there was no explanation as to why, nor any concept of what to expect. This was intriguing--we had to go.

Bobby And The Midnites, Mark I: Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice
The three shows were advertised as Bobby And The Midnites, although it's possible based on my own notes (above) that they may have been billed or announced as "Bob Weir and The Midnites," as I was very careful about noting that sort of thing. In any case, the advertised lineup was

• Bobby Cochran-lead guitar, vocals
• Bob Weir-guitar, vocals
• Brent Mydland-keyboards, vocals
• Tim Bogert-bass
• Carmine Appice-drums
• Matt Kelly-harmonica, guitar, congas

Cochran and Mydland had been in the 1978 edition of the Bob Weir Band, and Kelly had been in Kingfish, so their presence in the new band was not surprising. The real surprises were bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice. Not only were they not from the Bay Area and lacked even the faintest association with the Grateful Dead, Bogert and Appice were influential musicians whose style was the polar opposite to the Dead in many ways [update: a fellow scholar pointed out to me that I wrote "Billy Cobham-drums" on my notes above. I would have written them down right after the show. I am more inclined to believe 1980-Me than 30-years-later-Me, so I think I simply inserted Appice into my memory. Memory is weird].

Bogert and Appice were from Long Island, and their mid-60s group The Pigeons had changed their name to Vanilla Fudge. Vanilla Fudge's big hit in 1967 had been a re-interpretation of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" into a slow, 7-minute rock opus with huge organ chords and loud drums and guitar. Do you recall some 60s rock music referred to as "Heavy"? Vanilla Fudge was known as the first heavy rock band. The Fudge had a ground breaking sound, taking R&B-styled music and playing it thunderously loud and slow. Bogert and Appice were one of the first rock rhythm sections to be famous as such. Vanilla Fudge sounds dated today--they sounded dated by 1969--but they were hugely influential:

• in Denver, CO, future members of Three Dog Night heard "You Keep Me Hanging On" and realized you could make good hit music by rocking up simpler songs
• in 1968 England, Ritchie Blackmore and some others decided to form Deep Purple with the express intent of being the "English Vanilla Fudge"
• Also in 1968 England, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were putting together a new band, and while they had a variety of ideas, they wanted that booming sound on the bottom that Vanilla Fudge had pioneered
• And somewhere in America in 1969, Jeff Beck heard Vanilla Fudge and loved Bogert and Appice, and decided to break up his band, planning to form a new group with Rod Stewart, Bogert and Appice (replacing Nicky Hopkins, Ronnie Wood and Tony Newman)

So Bogert and Appice weren't just from Long Island rather than San Francisco, but musically they were in complete contrast to the San Francisco Sound. Bogert and Appice hadn't been quite as successful in the 1970s, but they were still prominent. Due to record company obligations that could not be refused, Vanilla Fudge could not break up until March 1970. By that time, Jeff Beck had been in a major auto accident that sidelined him for two years, and Rod Stewart had gone solo, so Bogert and Appice had formed the group Cactus, a hard rocking ensemble who never really managed to become a headline act. Bogert and Appice's penchants for extended solos were bought to the fore in Cactus, who only had two gears--fifth and overdrive.

Bogert and Appice did finally tour some with Jeff Beck, in a high-powered trio called Beck, Bogert and Appice in 1972-73, but the albums and tours never reached the heights that the band members had hoped for. Bogert and Appice then played on various projects separately and together throughout the 1970s, on tour and in the studio. Ironically, Appice had ended up as the drummer for Rod Stewart's touring band, and Stewart and Appice had co-written "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," a huge hit, but not Stewart's deepest moment as a vocal interpreter.

Thus it was quite surprising to see Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice playing at some bars in the San Francisco Bay Area with members of the Grateful Dead.I am now aware of a possible Bobby and The Midnites show on June 30, 1980, at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, but I knew nothing about this show at the time, so I have no idea who was in the group in June, or if they were even billed as Bobby and The Midnites. I do know that Weir and Cochran had met Alphonso Johnson and Billy Cobham in 1979 (the subject of another post), and broached the idea of "Bobby And The Midnites," but I do not know (nor did I then) whether Bogert and Appice were part of the plan or just interim members.

September 20, 1980: The Stone, San Francisco, CA
The Stone was the third leg of Freddie Herrera's Keystone empire, larger than either Keystone Berkeley or Keystone Palo Alto, with a capacity of about 700. It had only opened earlier in the year, and this was the first time I or any of my friends had been there. There was a dance floor up front, and tables on raised platforms in the back, similar to Keystone Palo Alto.  In contrast to Berkeley, which just sold beer, The Stone was a hard liquor bar. It was on Broadway in North Beach, amidst all the topless clubs. Keystone Berkeley was a funky dive, but it had a hippie/college-town feel. The Stone was a sleazy dive, with a big hair and big shoes feel, more uptempo than Berkeley but harder edged as well.

We got to The Stone early enough to get a nice table on the second tier. There was a decent crowd, but I don't recall it being sold out. The sightlines were excellent. Because we were early, we got to sit through an unmemorable opening set by the Kevin Barry Band, who, to the extent I recall, played would-be "arena rock" in a Journey/REO style. Bobby And The Midnites had debuted in Santa Cruz, 90 miles South of San Francisco, on a Thursday night. If there were any bugs, they were fixed out of town. For veterans like Bogert, Appice and the rest of the band, by night three at The Stone they were going to be road ready. Of course, without an internet or anything else we had no idea what to expect.

Weir and the band made their way on stage at a reasonable hour--unlike certain other members of the Grateful Dead--and launched into "Poison Ivy," by The Coasters. This had been a regular cover by the Bob Weir Band, so it wasn't a surprising start. Knowing what we know today, it is interesting to recall that the Dead had backed The Coasters for a week at The In Room in Belmont in September 1965, and here was Weir playing a Coasters song 15 years later. Probably no one in the crowd knew this at the time, but Weir probably had a personal affection for the song unrelated to the fact that it was fun to sing and play. Bogert and Appice were solid and funky on the bottom end, as expected, but did not overwhelm the sound as if they were in Vanilla Fudge or something.

However, as the show wore on, it became clear that the setlist was a mixture of original numbers from Heaven Help The Fool and covers that Weir had done with the Bob Weir Band or Kingfish.

Set I
Poison Ivy
See See Rider
Big Iron
Bombs Away
Easy To Slip
Supplication>
  drums>
 All I Need Is Time
Promised Land

Set II
Juke
Minglewood Blues
I Found Love
Heaven Help The Fool
This Time Forever>
 Shade Of Gray
I'll Be Doggone
Wrong Way Feeling

One More Saturday Night

While "See See Rider," "Supplication,""Minglewood" and "One More Saturday Night" had all been performed by the Dead, Weir had performed them all with Kingfish or his own band, so there were no surprises. All the songs were well played, and they weren't note for note, but there was no jamming as such. The Midnites had a much more commercial hard rock sound, intentionally separating themselves from the more diffuse, improvisational sound of the Dead. Initially I was glad that Bogert and Appice did not play like they had with Jeff Beck, but by the end I was hoping they would step out and make things more interesting, whatever the results. I suspect there was some impropvised jamming after the drum solo (before "All I Need Is Time") but I don't recall it and I didn't make a note of it.

In general, I enjoyed the show. I recognized that Weir, similar to Garcia, had made a self-conscious decision to play music that was distinctly different than the Grateful Dead. He certainly had the looks and chops to play conventional "AOR Rock," and not to make it stupid. But it still wasn't that memorable. I didn't see Bobby And The Midnites and go "wow, I've got to see them again." Since I hadn't seen the Bob Weir Band in 1978, it was fun to hear some of the Heaven Help The Fool songs live, but I still didn't think the songs were as catchy as, say, Steve Miller or Fleetwood Mac, which was the audience they appeared to be driving for.

The feel on the stage was that Weir and Bobby Cochran were driving the band, and everyone else was acting as a sideman. Cochran took a lead vocal on his own slow blues, "I Found Love," which he had performed with the Bob Weir Band, and took most of the solos. Brent only sang a few harmonies and took the occasional brief organ solo, and sang no songs of his own. Some years later, I found out that Cochran had recorded "I Found Love" an an album on Mercury in 1977 by a group called Sierra, who were the re-named Flying Burrito Brothers, who then re-re-named themselves the Flying Burrito Brothers again the next year.

Aftermath
This lineup of Bobby and The Midnites went on to do a brief 5-date East Coast tour (from November 1-7), right after the conclusion of the Radio City Grateful Dead shows. They played small auditioriums like the Capitol Theater in Passaic. I have no idea whether the shows were well attended, but Dead spinoff acts were always popular in the Northeast. I have heard a circulating audience tape of a Midnites show from Boston's Orpheum Theater on November 4, 1980, and the sound jibes with my distant memories, regular Weir arrangements with some fast tempos and rockin' oomph from Bogert and Appice, Cactus-style. The Midnites did another tour in January of 1981, six dates in California from January 25-31 (the three Keystones, Pasadena, UCLA and finally Davis). The band then disappeared from sight, with no mention of their plans.

Bobby and The Midnites reappeared with a new studio album on Arista in November, 1981. Bogert and Appice had been replaced by the even more impressive pair of Alphonso Johson on bass and Billy Cobham on drums. Although both of those guys could play any music imaginable, it was very interesting to see them playing straight ahead rock instead of fusion or modern jazz. Mydland and Kelly were on the album, but neither of them were on the tour that commenced in January 12 of 1982, as session keyboard man Dave Garland (ex-Big Foot) joined the group. Bobby and The Midnites took a genuine stab at conventional rock stardom over the next 18 months, but it was not to be.  While there have been a fair number of interviews with Weir about the Midnites over the years, he has never really said anything specific to my knowledge about how he met Bogert and Appice, whether they were supposed to be permanent members of the group, or anything else about them. Bogert did play with Weir one more time, at a benefit show at the Perkins Palace in Pasadena on March 10, 1983, but very little is known about that show either.

As to Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, they have continued to be bona fide rock legends, but I have never seen a comment from either of them about playing with Bob Weir. In itself, this is not surprising, since they have played with literally dozens of true rock legends, and hung out with most of the rest of them (savvy readers will recall Frank Zappa's tale of a chance meeting between Don Preston and the Vanilla Fudge at the Chicago O'Hare airport...). Thus whenever either of them are interviewed, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Beck, the Fudge, Zappa, Rod Stewart and numerous others take precedence and the subject of a few dates with Bob Weir some decades ago never comes up.