LiveDaily
July 22, 2005
by Rob Evans
Grateful Dead vocalist/guitarist Bob Weir's Ratdog will be back on the road this summer for a mix of festival and headlining appearances, as well as a date in support of the Steve Miller Band.
The outing opens with Aug. 5 and 6 appearances at Terra Alta, WV's 20th Annual Jerry Garcia's Birthday Bash, and runs through Sept. 5.
Ratdog's current lineup includes Weir, drummer Jay Layne, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, guitarist Mark Karan, saxophonist Kenny Brooks and bassist Robin Sylvester. Sylvester is a relative newcomer to the group, joining in March of 2004.
Weir formed Ratdog in 1995 with bassist Rob Wasserman, who is no longer involved with the group. The only Ratdog studio album is "Evening Moods," released by Arista Records in 2000.
The band started a live CD series in the fall of 2003, making many of the band's past performances available on CD and as downloads. Details are available at the online music store MunckMusic.