IвЂ™d say, вЂYou know we need some uptempo material, itвЂ™s just putting me to sleep the band is putting me to sleep.вЂ™ At first IвЂ™d say these things, and then I just decided to go with it.

The relatively languorous tempos were dictated by Garcia and Kahn, much to the chagrin of longtime drummer David Kemper: 't bothered me from the very beginning. Rock versions of contemporary Americana were also prominent. However, the group eschewed the former band's avant-garde and world music influences in favor of a slower, groove-based ' bar band' approach strongly oriented toward rhythm and blues (the band often featured female backing vocalists characteristic of the genre), gospel music and reggae. Like the Grateful Dead, the Jerry Garcia Band played rock music that was influenced by blues, folk, country, and jazz in an improvisatory milieu that largely served as a framework for Garcia's solos. Jerry Garcia's musical interests were famously varied, and this was reflected in the diverse music played by his band. Melvin Seals had the next longest tenure, serving as keyboardist from 1980 onward. The one constant member besides Garcia himself was bassist John Kahn, who served as Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead after 1970. Matt Kelly came out with his harmonica for вЂњTLEOвЂќ and engages in some very nice interplay with Jerry.Over the years, the lineup of the Jerry Garcia Band changed many times.

One of the songs the Jerry Garcia Band performed at the show featured on the new release was their throbbing take on вЂњThey Love Each Other.вЂќ The tune was debuted by the Grateful Dead in 1973 at a faster pace and was slowed to the tempo weвЂ™re all used to hearing when the JGB debuted it in October of 1975. The show featured on GarciaLive Volume 5 was Hopkins last performance with the JGB. Errico, whoвЂ™s best known for his work with Sly & The Family Stone, was on hand because the regular JGB drummer at the time, Ron Tutt, was on the road with Elvis Presley.

In addition to the core band, the JGB was augmented by two special guests from JerryвЂ™s other band, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, as well as Matt Kelly of Kingfish for portions of the show. The new release finds Jerry backed by bassist John Kahn, drummer Greg Errico and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. The 2-CD set/digital downloads are currently available for pre-order and today weвЂ™re proud to premiere one of our favorite tracks off the latest installment of the Jerry Garcia-focused live archival series. WeвЂ™re just a few weeks away from the October 21st release of GarciaLive Volume Five: December 31st, 1975 Keystone Berkeley featuring the lone Jerry Garcia Band New YearвЂ™s Eve show.

Jerry garcia band they love each other