WARREN HAYNES PAYING HOMAGE TO JERRY GARCIA IN THE DEAD

Warren Haynes discusses paying homage to Jerry and what are some of the challanges in touring with The Dead.

Now that Warren Haynes finished what will go down as the legendary 40th Anniversary run of shows by The Allman Brothers band at The Beacon Theater in New York, he getting ready to head out on the road with The Dead. Joining original members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart along with keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, Warren Haynes will look to pay homage to the late Jerry Garcia in the songs and melodies in the bands extensive catalog. But while Warren picks up the lead guitar duties in the band, the biggest challange for him is to inject as much of his personality as he can.

During rehearsals for The Dead, Warren Haynes talked about the challange of touring with The Dead and having the such big shoes to fill.

“One of the challanges of the gig which is also one of the beautiful things about the gig is that you’re constantly deciding how much of your own personality to interject into the music. We’re given this opportunity but it’s up to us to decide what to do in the moment. So even if I’m not trying to remember something Jerry played in a certain song, but there’s always the homage that’s being paid. At the same time, anything goes.”

“One of the challanges of the gig which is also one of the beautiful things about the gig is that you’re constantly deciding how much of your own personality to interject into the music. We’re given this opportunity but it’s up to us to decide what to do in the moment. So even if I’m not trying to remember something Jerry played in a certain song, but there’s always the homage that’s being paid. At the same time, anything goes!”

The Dead will be kicking off the 2009 Tour April 12th in Greensboro, NC and extending until May 16th at The Gorge in Washington. The Dead were recently announced as a headliner at The Rothbury Festival July 2nd-5th and they will be joined by Bob Dylan, The String Cheese Incident, Willie Nelson & Family, and The Black Crowes at the Double JJ Ranch in Michigan.