# Music by Genre > Rock, Folk Rock, Roots Rock, Rockabilly >  Grateful Dead tunes

## mando_toss_flycoon

Long live "Crazy Fingers" from the Blues for Allah album. What a fine melody, and fun to play along with.

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## ira

great tune. always one of my fav. dead tunes from what i think was there most innovative and as for the masses/ music industry- underrated. i've picked around a bit trying to mimic the melody, but never really tried it out. are you playing the melody or chords wehn you mess with it? if so, what key/chords are you using???

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## mando_toss_flycoon

I've mostly been trying to play the same notes as Jerry's vocal,using a little tremelo from time to time. Such a pretty melody. 

I'm gradually figuring out some chords. Where the vocal comes in at the beginning, it goes D (Your rain), C (falls like crazy), G (fingers). Then it goes to B-flat (pearls of fragile), Fmajor (thunder), Fminor (keeping), G (time). Still working on the rest -- I hope that helps.

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Mando Mort

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## dan@kins

Two things that just go together nicely, The Grateful Dead and the Mandolin!

Thanks for posting.

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fentonjames, 

Mando Mort

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## mandolinmatt

anyone know where i can get tabs to those songs

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## thistle3585

I've been working on the usual Ripple, Uncle John's Band and Friend of the Devil.  There used to be a String Cheese Incident website that had a couple of tabs for dead songs.

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## high_lonesome_sound

Try chordie for Dead tabs, the Dead's music is perfect for mandolin if you ask me!

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## fishdawg40

> Two things that just go together nicely, The Grateful Dead and the Mandolin! Thanks for posting.


I agree with that one.  I've been messing with a bunch recently with the guys from the band.  I go to this site for the chords.  Any Dead fan knows there's a million tunes to choose from.  One recently I've been messing with is "Mississippi Half Step."  What a great progression.  Does anyone have any advice on scales to use over that progression?  I understand why there's so many Dead cover bands...it's so much fun to play the music if you're a fan!

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## Mattg

Of course this is a Rock catagory but we played 5 dead tunes at a bluegrass jam last week. I worked well.

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## woodwizard

Like "Friend Of The Devil"  ... we do that one   :Grin:

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## Samjessin

You can hear Yank Rachell, Gus cannon, and Noah Lewis (What a band!) playing New Minglewood Blues with mandolin.

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Charlie Bernstein

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## GRW3

"Friend of the Devil" was written by Peter Rowan for Old and In the Way, the Bluegrass band for which Jerry Garcia played Banjo. It drifted from their. The Dead have a lot of songs that are perfect for Bluegrass because Jerry was a Bluegrasser first (before he became a grasser).

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## Bigtuna

> "Friend of the Devil" was written by Peter Rowan for Old and In the Way, the Bluegrass band for which Jerry Garcia played Banjo. It drifted from their. The Dead have a lot of songs that are perfect for Bluegrass because Jerry was a Bluegrasser first (before he became a grasser).


I'm pretty sure "Friend of the Devil" was written by Robert Hunter. Robert Hunter wrote a good deal of the Dead's lyrics while Jerry did most of the music.

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fentonjames, 

Mando Mort

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## lespaul_79

I thought FOTD was a Robert Hunter Tune. Didn't know Peter Rowan (who is da man), wrote much with Jerry and crew.

Besides that, I think there are some live shows from archive.com that have Grisman on a tune or 2 from 1970. Probably around the American Beauty recordings. Which was before Old and in the Way, BTW.

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Mando Mort

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## jefflester

"Friend of the Devil" was written by Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, and John "Marmaduke" Dawson (from NRPS). It was released on the Dead's "American Beauty" album in November 1970. David Grisman played mandolin on the studio recording. The Dead first started playing the song in concert in Feb of 1970. As far as I know, Peter Rowan had nothing to do with the song.

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Bob Visentin, 

Mando Mort

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## SternART

Come on George......get out your LP copy of American Beauty, where it lists Garcia, John Dawson from NRPS, and Robert Hunter as co-authors.

jefflester beat me to it........

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## Tom C

Mountains of the Moon is cool to do. Imitating the harpsichord(sp?) is perferct for the mando.

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## Dave Greenspoon

Anyone have the standard notation for _Ripple_?  I found the chords easily enough, but I'm looking to really be able to nail the melody line correctly.   Thanks!

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## bgjunkie

Good Dead resources:

http://www.rukind.org/  - TAB


Greatful Dead Lyrics and Song search.  This site allows you to search for songs by each member of the dead and any solo project.

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## Dave Greenspoon

I've found the notation for [I]Ripple.[I]  As it was, the congregation's cantor had it in his study.

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## Mattg

On the guitar the melody for the Ripple rif is easy because you can do it right out of the chords. Dont' know it for the mando.

Ya, we do friend of the devil at BG jam. I like to do it better at folk jams. It seems like when people do the song at a BG jam, they don't know where to put in breaks. It's funny to listen to the start cause everyone starts noodling in all directions in the lead in chords. It's better as an arrainged tune than a jam tune IMHO. 

Also, some BG jams have some folks that prefer gospel. I've seen it make a few folks uncomfortable cause the title tends to run counter to their beliefs. No one has ever said anything cause they are trying to be cool but I can catch a bit of a vibe. However, no one every says anything about murder ballads. I could do without those.

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## kvk

> anyone know where i can get tabs to those songs


Try here-- http://www.deaddisc.com/GDFD_Songbooks.htm

I picked up ones title Grateful Dead (Working Mans and American Beauty) and Grateful Dead Vol 2 (Blues for Allah and Wake of the Flood) along with the Anthology back when I was in college.  If you read notation or just want the chords and lyrics, these are fine.  The illustrations in the first volume are great too.

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## frankseanez

My faves these days from the Book of the Dead are Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower out of Em and Shakedown Street in Dm.  In the JGB area, I'm having lots of fun lately with That's What Love Will Make You Do and a Dear Prudence out of A that jams into a Dani California in Am.

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## ira

anyone figure out the intro riff to the tune and the riff/progression to the chorus for dark star (mando, guitar, anything?

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## AlanN

My fave Dead tune for mando is Space   :Laughing: 

Bad joke...

I think Dark Star is mostly out of A, would have to re-visit that one. My all-time regret is that Garcia didn't use Dawg on the old Compliments record, particularly on Russian Lullabye. Seemed like a  natch.

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## mandocrucian

In the past, I transcribed and transferred a bunch of Garcia solos, rhythm figures etc. over to mandos. If a rhythm section (bass/drums) gets into a Dead-ish groove/shuffle, I can pull off a decent Garcia guitar impression, especially with electrics. 

*Workingman's Dead:* "Dire Wolf", "Black Peter", "Uncle John's Band"

*Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses):*"Wharf Rat", "Me & My Uncle" "Big Boss Man", "Goin Down The Road Feelin' Bad" 

*Garcia:* "Loser", "Sugaree", "Deal", "Bird Song"

*Europe 72:* "China Cat Sunflower", "I Know You Rider" 

*American Beauty:* "Candyman", "Ripple", "Friend of the Devil"

not *"Dead"* songs per se, but their cover versions 

NH

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## Peter LaMorte

NH,
Sounds great, Have you posted these to a site? I'd love to have them. :Whistling: 
Thanks
Peter

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## jefflester

> anyone figure out the intro riff to the tune and the riff/progression to the chorus for dark star (mando, guitar, anything?


http://rukind.com/ has it.

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## Barry Platnick

I cant seem to find a download or a copy of or any recording of the Mother Mccrees Uptown Jug Champions disc release a few years ago?

Any help?
thanks

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## Miked

I Know You Rider is a kick to play in a jam.  It's one that's so permanently etched in my mind and people pick it up pretty easy.  One banjo player commented that it was some nice folk music; I couldn't disagree!

Of course, the Grateful Dead didn't write the song, but most folks assoicate the song with the band.  Dick's Picks V8 has an acoustic set with a slow version.  Acoustic Hot Tuna does an absolutely  smokin' version of it.  Barry Midderhoff's playing is outstanding!  Not to get off-subject, but on a Fur Peace Ranch recording that I have, Jorma quips "No, I didn't learn it from the Grateful Dead".  Great Stuff!

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## Barry Platnick

Yeah I'll sometimes finger pick a slow Jorma version at our local pick and people dig it. Although someone always calls a fast tune after.

But is there anyone that knows how to connect with that Mother mccrees uptown jug champions disc?

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## jefflester

> I cant seem to find a download or a copy of or any recording of the Mother Mccrees Uptown Jug Champions disc release a few years ago?


Sounds like you are looking for it for free?

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## ehOhioGrown

cutter, i have a torrent of a live recording of mother mcree's at some cafe in palo alto.  i can't remember where exactly i found it, but if your familiar with torrents i could upload it somewhere for you to download if i can't find where i originally got it.  Actually now that i'm thinking i remembered, it was a whole pre dead jerry garcia thing, a few warlocks recordings, solo stuff, some other folk stuff. but the recording is suprisingly good for '64.  So i'll make a torrent of just that recording if you'd like, cause the whole pack was a couple gigs i think.  I'll try and do it today, i get off work early to go to the doctor so i'll actually have some free time later.  i can't remember all the tracks but i know it has : my gal, overseas stomp, monkey and the engineer, etc.
I'll PM you link.

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## Barry Platnick

Actually, Jeff I dont need it free I just cant find it anywhere.
I tried to go the various site to buy the down load or disc and cant seem to find one active.....any leads?

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## jefflester

> Actually, Jeff I dont need it free I just cant find it anywhere.
> I tried to go the various site to buy the down load or disc and cant seem to find one active.....any leads?


When you say can't find an active download that implied to me a free MP3 or a bittorrent source, sorry if I misconstrued. I just checked my usual places (musicstack.com, gemm.com, eil.com, Ebay) and didn't find it for sale. I would suspect the Mother McCree's CD has never been available on a for sale MP3 download site. Searching for out-of-print music can be a challenge, but you gotta stick to it. I recently found a Counting Crows CD-single with a rare B-side that I'd been pretty actively searching for for about 5 years.


EDIT: I forgot Amazon. There are actually a couple of copies there from sellers, but cha-ching!
I certainly wouldn't pay that much for it.
Amazon link

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## Barry Platnick

chalenging is right!

apparently for a whlie anyway the GD site had it in MP3 form for sale even though the viny ( or whatever the cds are made of) was un available
but alas no more

I'll keep looking

BTW any one got the lyics for MY GAL off that record?
thanks

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## feels like a newb

i am not a mandolin player but i am a bass player.  i don't play very well and i don't play very often but i do play from time to time.  recently the dead are what inspired me to pick the bass up again.  help on the way is the current fixation.

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## journeybear

[QUOTE=Mattg;580893]On the guitar the melody for the Ripple rif is easy because you can do it right out of the chords. Dont' know it for the mando.QUOTE]

Try it in G. Much of the melody falls right out of the chords. Sometimes it's all I can do to NOT play the opening riff when strumming a basic G chord.  :Mandosmiley:

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## Mattg

> Try it in G. Much of the melody falls right out of the chords. Sometimes it's all I can do to NOT play the opening riff when strumming a basic G chord.


Exactly! It's fun to flatpick on the guitar.

Hey Barry, we gotta play more Dead at Borders! I've been working on Dark Hollow in C.

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## Alex Orr

> Dick's Picks V8 has an acoustic set with a slow version.


I LOVE that version!  Very, very soulful.  Jerry's singing is first rate.  I often break out a slow version of "Rider" if I'm jamming with folks who don't mind playing a Dead tune.

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## Miked

> I LOVE that version!  Very, very soulful.  Jerry's singing is first rate.  I often break out a slow version of "Rider" if I'm jamming with folks who don't mind playing a Dead tune.


Yep, it is a goodie!

Check this out Alex:

http://woubmedia1.tcom.ohiou.edu/Liv...Peace%20Ranch/

The 6/30/06 show at about the 40 minute point.  Definintely worth a listen!

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## kirkwhitehead

So I know the chords to a bunch of Dead tunes but for the life of me I am not able to get the melodys. Anybody have any mandolin tabs for GD songs? I mean I can noodle around but it sounds like...well , me noodleing around. Which isn't very good.


thanks

kirk

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## Alex Orr

> I can noodle around but it sounds like...


Hey, isn't that what the Dead basically did for thirty years  :Laughing:

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## kirkwhitehead

yes but they noodle better than me.

kirk

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Kennyz55

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## Richard J

Morning, just wondering if you can share your tabs for Sugaree.  Thanks.

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## terzinator

We love Sugaree!

Looking for just the chords? 

SUGAREE


B                 E

When they come to take you down

B                    E

When they bring that wagon 'round

B                 E

When they come to call on you

B                       E

And drag your poor body down



=========

CHORUS

F#m              C#m

Just one thing I ask of you,

A            E

Just one thing for me

B                 C#m

Please forget you knew my name,

   A           E

My darling Sugaree



B                 E

Shake it, shake it sugaree,

C#m                          A     E

Just don't tell them that you know me

B                 E

Shake it, shake it sugaree,

C#m                          A     E

Just don't tell them that you know me

======

edit: well, the formatting didn't really work, but you should be able to tell where the changes are!

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## journeybear

I think he's looking for the tabs mentioned in post #26. I expect mandocrucian will see this eventually and ring in.  :Cool:  Meanwhile, the chords and lyrics should give him a good start, and hopefully filling in the rest should be easy enough. Trial and error is the tried and true method for learning.  :Mandosmiley:

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## crisscross

"Lazy River Road" only appeared on a compilation released after Garcia's death, but it works fine in a rootsy arrangement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRy02Vwblqk

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## terzinator

> I think he's looking for the tabs mentioned in post #26. I expect mandocrucian will see this eventually and ring in.  Meanwhile, the chords and lyrics should give him a good start, and hopefully filling in the rest should be easy enough. Trial and error is the tried and true method for learning.


d'oh! Gotcha. I'd love to see them, too! (Although, Niles' post was from 2008.)

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## tmsweeney

I've been Pickin with some guys we do Birdsong, He's gone, Me and My Uncle, Jacaro, I'm not a huge dead head, but they can be fun to jam on.

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## journeybear

> d'oh! Gotcha. I'd love to see them, too! (Although, Niles' post was from 2008.)


And the thread started in 2006. What a long, strange trip it's been ...  :Cool:   :Wink:   :Whistling: 

Still, there's a lot to be gained by figuring stuff out for yourself. Learning how to learn - so useful!  :Mandosmiley:

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## mandocrucian

I've been playing with some Deadheads for the past year; lots of GD material in the set lists

_Alabama Getaway
Althea
Bertha
Big Railroad Blues
Cassidy
Cold Rain & Snow > I Know You Rider
Eyes of the World
Fire On The Mountain
Friend of the Devil
Franklin's Tower
Iko Iko
Jack Straw
Jack-a-roe
Me & My Uncle
Row Jimmy
Run For The Roses
Scarlet Begonias
Viola Lee Blues_

In according with Deadhead ethics; they try to record all the gigs; some of these have been put online:

https://archive.org/details/2014-10-11_HempenHillBBQ
https://archive.org/details/140315_DelRio

Got a gig in Winchester, VA next Sat. night if anyone's in the vicinity. http://www.thewindowpanes.com/

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## journeybear

Grateful Dead are probably the most jammed-on rock band of all time for campground pickers, street buskers, and picking parties. There's something so convivial about their approach to music and their aura of camaraderie with their audience - as well as their connection to the hippie ethics of sharing, good vibes,and freedom. Not to overlook free music.  :Wink:  A lot of the songs they wrote and covered lend themselves well to jamming, be it due to their chord structure, lyrical content, familiarity, or just general vibe. Some of them are so well entrenched in the general public's common consciousness that other players and listeners alike will recognize them within seconds of starting them up. "Friend Of The Devil" is practically required material for mandolinists looking to jam - I've joked it's in the fine print in the contract when you buy a mandolin  :Wink:  - and its album mate, "Ripple," is also popular. So are "Truckin'," "Casey Jones," and others, as well as cover songs such as "Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad," "I Know You Rider," "Not Fade Away," "Deep Elem," and many others - obviously done by plenty of other people, but often associated with the Dead. It may just be that so many people associate their music with good times, partying, getting a buzz on, stuff like that, but striking up a Dead song does put a smile on people's faces most of the time - nothing wrong with that.  :Smile:  

Other popular rock bands that serve as sources for jamming include The Band, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, but my experience leads me to believe Grateful Dead are at the top of this list. YMMV, naturally, and the prevalence of a song like "Wagon Wheel" may lead you to think otherwise - but once you search for another OCMS song to jam on, you'll see why I'm sticking with this.  :Wink: 

If you are interested in looking through the Grateful Dead catalog, check out dead.net. It's an exhaustive compendium that lists _every song they've ever done_, even just once - complete with lyrics, how many times performed, when, even with whom. It's a labor of love, well worth browsing. Thank goodness they have had _so_ many fans paying attention, keeping notes, and contributing - they're really deadicated, and I'm grateful for them. You'll be amazed at some of the songs they've rambled on through.  :Mandosmiley:

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Baboon, 

Dan Krhla, 

Ed Goist, 

gtani7, 

jhowell, 

Kennyz55

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## journeybear

And I have to add, there's really no escaping them. (As the bumper sticker says, "Who are the Grateful Dead, and why do they keep following me?") Out of the blue yesterday,  a couple of the guys in my band called "Friend Of The Devil" - a song we'd never practiced, and hadn't run across in ages. Fortunately, our new lead singer knew the words - really fortunately, he knew _all_ the words, and the right order for the verses (boy, do these two "details" get lost all too often). It went all right - the fiddler took the first lead, I took the second, with my carefully crafted lead coming back as if by muscle memory, complete with the way it brings it back to the bridge for the singer - and he threw it to the cello player.  :Disbelief:   :Frown:   :Crying:  Ho hum. Why don't people pay attention to the mandolinist and do things his way?  :Mad:  Oh, well, it's The Dead. Things just sort of happen, you know?  :Cool: 

And then, the other band that three of the guys are in ran into an emergency situation. Their guitarist quit the band, just four hours before their gig last night - texting the drummer during _our_ gig  :Disbelief:  - leaving them with the impossible task of replacing him with a guitarist - on a Saturday night, when anyone with enough talent to fill in on such short notice would already have a gig. I offered to fill in if they were stuck, more as a gesture of friendship than a real offer, helping-out kind of guy that I am. But they ended up taking me up on it.  :Disbelief:  Their material is more based on bluegrass and old-timey music than I'm used to or feel comfortable with, and there were a couple - OK, a few - songs I had to figure out on the spot, and passed on taking leads on a couple, knowing what a train wreck they would be if I had tried them. And somewhere in between songs, tossing around ideas for what to do next, the bass player suggested "Friend Of The Devil." There was only one mike, for the fiddler, who didn't know the words, and though I do (and in the right order  :Wink:  ), I wasn't about to offer to do it, not with my foghorn of a voice. So the idea got dropped. Still, it was interesting to see how the song pops up - it's part of the shared experience. Whether this holds true mostly for musicians of a certain age range, and whether it will stand the test of time, is anyone's guess, and remains to be seen. In the meantime, what a long, strange trip it's been, and continues to be.  :Mandosmiley:

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Ed Goist, 

gtani7, 

Kennyz55

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## Paul Merlo

Just last Thursday I played an open mike w/ my friend and we did 6 Dead tunes (some were covers) + 1 original. 

I've been playing Loser and Sugaree a bunch lately.  Maybe I'll try to make some new videos to upload?  

Search this forum for the Ripple thread and you'll find my tab and youtube video for it.

I love the song Lazy River Road too, but have only played it on guitar so far.

But seriously, their music really lends itself to mandolin if you want it to.  Even "Space" ;-)

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## samlyman

I used to play lots of Dead tunes but gave up on my decades-long practice when I realized I was feeding into stoners doing what stoners do - getting stoned. After working hard to get sober and stay sober I did not want to do this anymore. I Realize a lot of people will disagree with me on this and that is fine. I just know it is easier to be sober if I stay away from the things that brought me down for so long. Good old Jerry, Pigpen, Brent and Keith would maybe still be with us if they could have escaped the clutches of drugs and alcohol. All these years later I can still see Brent singing I Will Take You Home to his little girl - a promise unkept and unfulfilled thanks to Dear Mr. Fantasy and his chemicals. I still struggle to see why so many people do not see the downside to Grateful Dead culture...

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## Denman John

Found Leftover Salmon playing this yesterday ...

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dang, 

jhowell, 

John Soper, 

Paul Merlo, 

stevedenver

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## oneeyeross

First time I ever played "Friend of the Devil" was busking in 1980, in Sachsenhausen, FRG (suburb of Frankfurt aM).  I was playing a 12 string, Randy (last name lost to antiquity) on mandolin and "Granny" on 6 string and vocals.  Great memories...great beer.

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## dcoventry

http://rukind.com/

This site has an extensive collection of chord charts for the songs. Look under Grateful Dead Tabs........it's funny just typing that!

Althea, Loser, Black Peter, Candyman, Bertha, Brown-Eyed Women, Cumberland Blues, Deal, Dire Wolf, Mission in the Rain, Mississippi Half Step........they have a lot of mando friendly tunes. Pretty much bluegrass plus A@id.

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gtani7, 

stevedenver

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## dcoventry

A bump is need to note the passing of the FTW shows in Santa clara and Chicago.

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## Rmach

I went to Fridays show,but couldn't get in to Saturdays. Instead I sat around and played Dead Tunes and bluegrass with a banjo picker (my new friend Chris!) outside Soldier Field. My mandolin got exposure to good vibes and I got to do my favorite things, listen to and play good music.  :Smile:

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## Larry S Sherman

Friday's Chicago show was the best of the run, IMO.

Larry

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## journeybear

A club downtown here that caters to the hippie and wannabe set carried Sunday's show on its three big screens with the audio pumping. The place was packed so I hung around outside. I missed the start with "China Cat Sunflower" into "I Know You Rider" because there was some sort of soccer game on and it was pretty exciting. Besides, i knew the scene downtown was going to be less than optimal. It was - lots of really annoying people jacked up on whatever and wanting to talk while I wanted to listen. Stuff like that. Also there were several signal glitches. I went home at intermission, but somehow managed to talk myself into going back for the second half (the match looked well in hand). Missed the start of the second set again - "Truckin'." Sigh. Then the power went out, two separate times. It was getting ridiculous. But I persevered and hung on till the end - had to. That "Attics Of My Life" was sweet and unexpected.  :Cool: 

I'vegone online and gotten the setlists. I don't know about the performance quality, but the setlist for the first Santa Clara show blew my mind:

6/27/15 Santa Clara, CA

Set 1 Truckin’, Uncle John’s Band, Alligator > Cumberland Blues, Born Cross Eyed, Cream Puff War (Trey singing), Viola Lee Blues

Set 2 Cryptical Envelopment> Dark Star> St. Stephen> The Eleven> Lovelight> Drums>What’s Become of the Baby>Space> Other One>Morning Dew

Encore: Casey Jones (Bruce Hornsby singing) 


I mean, for an old hippie, learning they did that second set just makes me smile. That's three sides of "Live/Dead," plus stuff from "Anthem Of The Sun," ending with one of my all-time faves. "Morning Dew." Great old stuff. Send me boots of that!  :Smile:

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## journeybear

BTW, a friend of a friend has acquired the Friday 7/3 show and is going to have a screening party sometime soon. Here:



BTW, supposedly Owsley Stanley (Bear) was there, not only in spirit, but his ashes were on the soundboard for every show.



And we bid you good night...

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## Paul Kotapish

For anyone in southern Oregon or northern California who might like to sample the Grateful Dead songbook as interpreted on acoustic instruments (mandolin, octave mandolin, fiddles, uillean pipes, Irish harp, guitar bass, percussion, harmony singing) with a Celtic twist (jigs and reels inside the jams), the bay area's Wake the Dead is venturing out of our usual bailiwick for a few gigs:

Friday, September 18: Ashland, Oregon
Saturday, September 19: Arcata, California
Sunday, September 20: Brookings, Oregon
Details: http://www.wakethedead.org/events/

Come say howdy.

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Perry Babasin

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## journeybear

This is the newest song by Playing For Change, in honor of Grateful Dead's 50th Anniversary. What a great project - connecting people from all over the world with, through, and by music. I love everything I've seen from them. There's even a little mandolin content at 2:00!  :Mandosmiley:

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Flame Maple, 

Mandocarver, 

tkdboyd

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## Steve Lavelle

I may have missed someone mentioning it, but I've been having a lot of improvisational fun with "Eyes of the World". Rhythm part for that tune is great on the mandolin, too. Being in jams in the Bay Area for the last couple of decades as the only mandolinist in a sea of guitars has  exposed me to most of the GD song list, lots of interesting  chord progressions. Even played the "Elevens" once at a jam!

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WaxwellHaus

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## GeoMandoAlex

I figured out Deal a while ago.  Lot of chord changes, but it is a fun song to play.

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MadMountMan

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## Mandobart

Decades ago I started playing guitar.  One of the many songbooks I bought then was The Grateful Dead Anthology, came out mid-70's.  Most of the songs were in keys I couldn't sing along with and at the time I didn't know how to transpose.

I stumbled across this book recently in my old music stuff and have been transposing several tunes to add to my sets. Favorite new adds are "Brown Eyed Women", "Jack Straw" and especially "He's Gone" which I sing for my friend and musical partner Tom Gnoza who passed away last March.

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## terzinator

Always fun to see this thread exhumed!

Not currently in a band, but every time I'd bring up a new song I wanted to do, my bandmates would say "which Grateful Dead album is this from?"

To be honest, nine times out of 10, if it wasn't actually a Dead tune, it WOULD have been song that the Dead (or at least Jerry Garcia) covered at some point.

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## David L

Just this week I found a used copy of "Pickin' on the Dead". If you aren't familiar with the "Pickin' on" series, they are bluegrass style versions of songs by different artists. The "Pickin' on Santana" is a great album. This "Dead" one is mediocre, but still fun. By far, my favorite Grateful Dead tribute album is "Deadicated". If you like the Dead and don't know it, you should try it.

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## Freddyfingers

Just found this thread. A little late to the party.  If anyone in central Virginia wants to get together and jam some of these tunes I am very open to it.   I would like to get a small group of acoustic players together to work out some dead    I do mandolin and guitar and some banjo and some tenor.........

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Dan Krhla

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## Cryo

One favorite of ours is Dark Hallow.  We play this for our city's Train Day.  Lead vocalist is our fav deadhead Will in this recording:

https://www.reverbnation.com/kentlan...78-dark-hollow




> Grateful Dead are probably the most jammed-on rock band of all time for campground pickers, street buskers, and picking parties. There's something so convivial about their approach to music and their aura of camaraderie with their audience - as well as their connection to the hippie ethics of sharing, good vibes,and freedom. Not to overlook free music.  A lot of the songs they wrote and covered lend themselves well to jamming, be it due to their chord structure, lyrical content, familiarity, or just general vibe. Some of them are so well entrenched in the general public's common consciousness that other players and listeners alike will recognize them within seconds of starting them up. "Friend Of The Devil" is practically required material for mandolinists looking to jam - I've joked it's in the fine print in the contract when you buy a mandolin  - and its album mate, "Ripple," is also popular. So are "Truckin'," "Casey Jones," and others, as well as cover songs such as "Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad," "I Know You Rider," "Not Fade Away," "Deep Elem," and many others - obviously done by plenty of other people, but often associated with the Dead. It may just be that so many people associate their music with good times, partying, getting a buzz on, stuff like that, but striking up a Dead song does put a smile on people's faces most of the time - nothing wrong with that.  
> 
> Other popular rock bands that serve as sources for jamming include The Band, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, but my experience leads me to believe Grateful Dead are at the top of this list. YMMV, naturally, and the prevalence of a song like "Wagon Wheel" may lead you to think otherwise - but once you search for another OCMS song to jam on, you'll see why I'm sticking with this. 
> 
> If you are interested in looking through the Grateful Dead catalog, check out dead.net. It's an exhaustive compendium that lists _every song they've ever done_, even just once - complete with lyrics, how many times performed, when, even with whom. It's a labor of love, well worth browsing. Thank goodness they have had _so_ many fans paying attention, keeping notes, and contributing - they're really deadicated, and I'm grateful for them. You'll be amazed at some of the songs they've rambled on through.

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## Paul Kotapish

The thread has been fallow for too long now, so I thought I'd revive it, if only briefly, with a shameless plug for a new release of Grateful Dead songs with plenty of mandolin and octave mandolin content:

_Deal_ is Wake the Dead's fourth CD mingling songs from the Dead's songbook with traditional acoustic instruments with an Irish twist: fiddles, uillean pipes, harp, mandolin, OM, guitar, acoustic bass, percussion, and lots of harmony vocals. This time 'round we're also exploring material from the Buffalo Springfield, the Beatles, the Youngbloods, and Bob Dylan. 



Check it out. If you want even more Dead in an acoustic vein, explore the first three releases.

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Denman John, 

humblemex

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## Stompbox

I am interested in any GD mando resources.  Any new ones to add?

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## David L

I've recently been doing "China Cat Sunflower" at our local weekly jam, complete with instrumental key change in the middle and the long ending jam in D. It was very well received and the long jam was incredibly creative, with lots of changes in texture and dynamics. We also do "Ripple" on a regular basis.

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## dcoventry

http://rukind.com/

Great resource for all kinds of chord charts/

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## Freddyfingers

I played shakedown with me on mandolin and a guitarist.  We had a really good jam going on.  Just the two of us. It was fun to do.     Need to play some more.  Just need to find some like minded folks around here

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## jefflester

I've been playing (drums) in a somewhat regular jam along with elec bass-elec guitar-amplified mandolin for about 6 months and it's been going really well. At most recent jam we did 27 min of Mississippi Half-Step -> China Doll -> Dear Prudence -> Mind Left Body Jam -> Playing in the Band (short version with no jam). Whew!

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## Paul Merlo

I've been working up mandolin versions of Loser and Sugaree for a while. 
Hopefully I can get motivated and post some videos soon...

Also, search "Ripple, mandolin" on YouTube for my version of that if you haven't seen it yet.

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## Charlie Bernstein

Confessions of a reformed Deadhead:

The first time I saw them live was March 10, 1970 - four days after my eighteenth birthday. I was a goner. For several years, I couldn't stand any other music. Finally, mid or late seventies, forced myself to go cold turkey. 

Since then, I 'll play along with Dead tunes but seldom initiate them, and I gravitate toward non-Dead music situations. It's either that or let my brain be eaten alive. When I do pull one out, it's likely to be something that most non-Deadheads won't recognize, like Loser or Candyman or New Minglewood Blues. Or one of their covers, like Big Boss Man or Big Railroad Blues or Mama Tried.

I can do justice to the usual suspects - Friend, Know You Rider, Ripple, Uncle John's Band, Casey Jones, and so on - but playing that stuff makes me feel like an Elvis impersonator.

But that's just me. It's all great music. Glad it's found a happy home in Mandoland!

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## jefflester

> Confessions of a reformed Deadhead:
> 
> The first time I saw them live was March 10, 1970 - four days after my eighteenth birthday. I was a goner.


That's an unknown date in Deadland. Where was this show?

http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2010/04/march-1970.html

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## Freddyfingers

Check Dave mansfeilds new solo mandolin album.  He covers all of working mans dead.  It's great!

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## AndrewHendryx

An arrangement of Stella Blue for Mandolin. Thanks for listening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpXamggU-MI

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Freddyfingers, 

Paul Kotapish, 

smokinop, 

Tom Wright

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## humblemex

Has anyone ever tabbed Dawg's part on "Ripple?" I can get the melody and chords easily enough but my ear just can't pick out his part, probably complicated by his use of double strings."

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## Mando Mort

"Cold Rain and Snow" is another that I like to do on Mando.  What a goldmine the Grateful Dead have provided for us.

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## crisscross

I recently recorded _Ripple_ for _Seasons of the Ukulele: my three fovorite tunes_.
Not sure wether it's really one of my three favorite tunes but it certainly is in the Top 10!

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## crisscross

Candyman also works played with uke accompaniment:

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## mmuller

This middle solo poss fav Jerry solo. So melodic. Fun to play.

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## mmuller

> I've recently been doing "China Cat Sunflower" at our local weekly jam, complete with instrumental key change in the middle and the long ending jam in D. It was very well received and the long jam was incredibly creative, with lots of changes in texture and dynamics. We also do "Ripple" on a regular basis.

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## Bill Kammerzell

Travelin' McCoury's do some very good covers of Loser and Cumberland Blues. Vassar Clements did an entire CD/Album of Dead (Dead Grass) songs as well as Jesse McReynolds.

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## journeybear

Speaking of Jerry Garcia and the mandolin, here is the one actually playing the other!  :Disbelief:  This is from a boxed set called "Before The Dead." It includes him playing in several configurations of musicians. This is a performance from May 1963 by a duo with his wife Sara, playing a song that would become a standard in sets by the Jerry Garcia Band. This is the first and only time I've heard him play mandolin, and he does a very nice job with it.  :Mandosmiley:  



There is a wealth of information about the collection in this smart review in Downbeat.

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GeoMandoAlex, 

Paul Merlo

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## Bill Kammerzell

I purchased the CD set. The latest (1964 ?) stuff was actually pretty good. The most recent of the CD's, again, I think 1964, had a decent lineup of musicians,  and some pretty good guitar and mandolin playing. The rest, definitely a work in progress.  :Wink: . Agree on the mandolin playing with Sara. A great buy for a true Dead fan, which I'm not. Likely I'll pass this along to a friend who is a true Dead-Head as it is a terrific historical perspective of the early days. Both Jerry and Rothman get a mention in the book, "Can't You Hear Me Callin'?" a bio of Bill Monroe.

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## Papalobo

Althea and Stella Blue  for this life long deadhead .

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KindPharm

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## mmuller

Still shedding for upcoming Dead On Live Workingman's Dead/American Beauty, cover to cover, note for note show. Believe it or not, after all the hours of work, it's actually fun.....

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## ahmandolin

Hey Folks,

I made a quick video of China Cat Sunflower to add to this thread. I love playing this intro with a click and experimenting with the phrasing. Let me know what you think or if you have any other Dead requests. Trying to put together a youtube channel featuring some rock, reggae, funk, mandolin lessons. Please subscribe if you dig this.  

Andrew Hendryx
www.andrewhendryx.com

* Music from my logo is from my soon to be released record.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZvfjyR0kAA&t=7s

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WaxwellHaus

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## ahmandolin

Hey Folks,

Here is a short Tennessee Jed lesson by the Dead. It can be played using the same fingering on the acoustic mandolin. You might want to use slides instead of bends. It's a great tune for the mandolin.

-Andrew Hendryx  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ln1bh5zAnw&t=1s

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Mandobart, 

WaxwellHaus

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## Tom C

We started playing Loser after seeing the Traveling McCourys do it.

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## Mando Mort

"Loser" has been a favorite of mine for many years...I've played it lots on guitar, but will have to try it on mando.

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## Charlie Bernstein

> You can hear Yank Rachell, Gus cannon, and Noah Lewis (What a band!) playing New Minglewood Blues with mandolin.


Yup, the Dead covered a couple of Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers tunes. "Big Railroad Blues" is another. Lewis played two harmonicas at a time - one with his mouth and one with his nose. He was the Rasan Roland Kirk of blues harp.

In the same jugular vein, the Dead also covered several Memphis Jug Band tunes ("Stealing," "On the Road Again," and "Don't Ease Me In" are some) and Jesse Fuller tunes "Beat It On Down the Line" and "The Monkey and the Engineer."

Great stuff. The Dead mined for gold!

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Mandobart

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## Paul Kotapish

For Bay Area Deadhead/mandophiles: 

Wake the Dead is playing three shows next weekend with mandolin and octave mandolin featured prominently on acoustic settings for the Grateful Dead songbook (and other favorites from the Summer of Love and beyond). You can catch details in the Calendar, but the shows are:
Friday, April 12, Rhythmix Cultural Works, Alameda
Saturday, April 13, The Dance Palace, Pt. Reyes Station
Sunday, April 14, Club Fox, Redwood City

These are all slightly smaller, more intimate rooms (with friendly prices) than many of our local shows in bigger venues.



Propaganda:

This hot sextet combines Irish jigs and reels with the songs of the Grateful Dead and other 60s iconic bands, delivering them with unique power and joy. Soaring vocal harmonies and daring instrumentals fuel Wake the Dead's singular groove engine, delighting Celtic fans, Deadheads, and folkies alike.

With 19 years of ever-wider success and touring, the World's First Celtic All-Star Grateful Dead Jam Band has grown to embrace the entire Summer of Love. The Airplane, the Youngbloods, Buffalo Springfield, and even the Beatles are now joyful parts of the mix. Local fans are guaranteed many brand-new surprises.

Wake the Dead is Danny Carnahan (vocals, octave mandolin), Sylvia Herold (vocals, guitar), Paul Kotapish (vocals, mandolin), Kevin Carr (uilleann pipes, fiddle), Cindy Browne (bass), and Brian Rice (exotic percussion). Their sound is unique, their energy extraordinary  a rare collision of worlds that leaves everybody dancing and grinning.

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Bill Foss, 

Jim Nollman, 

WaxwellHaus

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## Jim Nollman

I for one would love to hear a recording that includes any San Francisco, early Stones, or Motown material and features mandolin and pipes. How cool is that. 

PK, If you ever need a techno beatbox player, think of me.

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Paul Kotapish

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## Paul Kotapish

> I for one would love to hear a recording that includes any San Francisco, early Stones, or Motown material and features mandolin and pipes. How cool is that. 
> 
> PK, If you ever need a techno beatbox player, think of me.


Will do, Jim. Hmmm. I'm not sure we've ever played any early Stones stuff (although I certainly played a lot of it in my early years), and our Motown is a tad peripheral (might be more inclined toward Memphis or Mussel Shoals), but we've definitely got San Francisco and Los Angeles covered.

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Bob Visentin, 

Jim Nollman

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## Mike Buesseler

Nobody else doin’ nothin’ like that! You folks are awesome, Paul!

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Paul Kotapish

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## jefflester

> Hmmm. I'm not sure we've ever played any early Stones stuff (although I certainly played a lot of it in my early years)


No "Not Fade Away"? :-)

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Paul Kotapish

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