Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October 9, 2003
by Jon Waterhouse
In another exploration of rock star riders, Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir gives us a backstage tour. The rider requests for Weir's band Ratdog (at the Variety Playhouse on Sunday) are a far cry from rock star excess. No psychedelic zaniness, but rather hippie health consciousness.
You've been in the Grateful Dead family for nearly 40 years. Your rider has got to be interesting.
What we ask for is basically not all that uncommon. I don't drink milk, so I ask for [milk alternative] Rice Dream. That's on our rider. We oftentimes carry a juicer and have them supply us with organic produce to run through [it]. Carrots are a mainstay and apples and ginger. I like to run a little garlic through there.
What about munchies?
We have protein bars. There's a pizza that comes in at the beginning of sound check. It's a big pizza. One side's vegetarian, and the other side is the whole shooting match.
Any sort of food or drink ritual before going on stage?
Actually, I have a drink I like to have before I go on stage. It's called kombucha. It's a fermented tea that has some sort of mushroom extract in it. It's Chinese and gives you energy. And I also use ginseng on stage. And water. You got to drink plenty of that.
What about an after-show dinner?
I'll have a couple of beers after the show. You can put on weight so fast if you eat after the show. If you eat and then go to bed, that's a sure prescription for porking up. Maybe some light snacks. And there's plenty of peanut butter and all that kind of stuff backstage.
Recreational entertainment?
A couple of the guys bring their own video games and hook them up in the back of the bus. I've got my iPod, and I'm fine. I bring some running shoes, and I've got a heart monitor watch so I can kind of gauge my activities. A few of us bring tennis rackets and balls. If we can find an open course, we'll play tennis. If not, we'll hit a gym or something like that. We stay pretty physically active on the road.