The surviving members of the Grateful Dead have revealed that bassist Phil Lesh planned to join them on stage.
Shortly before his death last month at the age of 84, bassist Phil Lesh and his former bandmates were discussing the possibility of reforming the Grateful Dead.
On CBS Mornings, the surviving members of the group (Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart) revealed Lesh's desire to play with them again. The interview was conducted five days after Lesh's death, and the bassist was originally scheduled to join them for this discussion.
“ I was hoping to play with him againKreutzmann said, This is what saddened me. Because I know he wanted to play with us again too. »
When asked if this was planned, all three band members responded ” Yes ”, and Weir added: “ We were talking about it. We were actually going to get together and play some songs. »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOF-2aRC5CM
The last time Lesh played with the Grateful Dead was in 2015, when the band celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of concerts ” Fare Thee Well » (Trey Anastasio, of Phish, replaced Jerry Garcia). That's why reformation discussions with Lesh centered on the possibility of commemorating the band's 60th anniversary next year.
It's possible the Dead will do something again next year to mark the occasion, but it wouldn't just be Weir, Hart and Kreutzmann on stage. “ Other musicians should join us ” Kreutzmann said.
After the concerts Fare Thee Well “, Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart formed Dead and Co. with John Mayer, while Lesh continued to tour regularly with Phil Lesh and Friends. Lesh and Weir also completed a short tour together in 2018.
In the CBS Mornings interview, the surviving members of the Dead also spoke about how Lesh joined the group and what they learned from the bassist. “ We developed this language that we were the only ones to speak “, Weir explained before Kreutzmann added: ” He taught us, basically, to be free. How to play freely and not have to play in a fixed way. »
