New to the scene? Returning to the scene after a lengthy absence? Hopefully this page will answer some questions you have and help familiarize you with "The Dog."
RatDog is made up of Bob Weir, drummer Jay Lane (Primus, Alphabet Soup, Charlie Hunter), keyboardist Jeff Chimenti (The Dead, Alphabet Soup, En Vogue), guitarist Mark Karan (The Other Ones, Dave Mason, The Rembrandts), saxophonist Kenny Brooks (Charlie Hunter, Alphabet Soup, Eddie Marshall), and bassist Robin Sylvester (Dana Gillespie, Ry Cooder, Missing Man Formation).
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Didn't Bob start the band with Rob Wasserman?
RatDog grew out of the Weir-Wasserman duo, first adding Jay Lane and Matt Kelly before going through many personnel changes. At the end of 2002 with RatDog becoming more and more a rock and roll band, Wasserman left and rock bassist Robin Sylvester joined. The lineup has been constant since the start of 2003.
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Do the band members emulate the guys from The Dead? Like does Mark copy Jerry?
Nope! Each band member brings his own style to the band. The guys grew up playing jazz, blues, rock, and an assortment of other styles. Only guitarist Mark Karan was a Deadhead, but he pretty much stepped out of the Dead scene in the early 70s and spent 20+ years developing his own style before returning to Grateful Dead music as The Other Ones' guitarist in 1998.
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Do the band members besides Bob sing?
All six members of the band sing, but Bob sings lead on every song RatDog plays.
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Jeff's keyboard looks an awful lot like Brent Mydland's Hammond. Is it?
Yes. Along with a baby grand piano and other keyboards, Jeff plays Brent's Hammond.
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What kind of music does RatDog play?
Much of RatDog's songbook consists of Grateful Dead originals—in 2007, 78 of the 162 different tunes played so far are Dead originals—but the band plays plenty of originals, Weir solo tunes, Dylan and Beatles covers, and more.
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Does RatDog play tunes exactly the way the Dead played them?
Nope. For the most part no wholesale changes have been made, but a band made up of different musicians will naturally interpret and explore things a little differently.
Who writes RatDog's original tunes? Are there many?
RatDog has twelve original tunes, eleven of which are still in regular rotation. Each song was written by the band collectively, and lyrics have been written by John Barlow, Robert Hunter, and Gerrit Graham. Eight of the originals appeared on 2000's Evening Moods, RatDog's only studio album. Three new originals—Tuesday Blues (RatDog/Hunter), Jus' Like Mama Said (RatDog/Graham), and Money for Gasoline (RatDog/Graham)—were introduced in 2006 and more are on the way.
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Yes, RatDog plays a whole bunch of them sung by Bobby. As he says, "Those Garcia/Hunter pieces are good tunes and made to be sung. Any singer would want to sing those tunes. Remember, I was there when all those songs were born. I had a lot to do with how they came into the world. Until I had my own family, they were like my own children. Do you think I'm going to turn my back on them just because Jerry checked out?"
Does Bob still do his "hahs!" and all those other Bobby things he used to do?
Yep, Bobby's still Bobby—and years more experienced than the last time you saw him. He's mastered it all and serves the music as incredibly as ever.
How can I get my hands on some RatDog shows?
A few ways. 1) You can buy (either by mail or download) soundboard copies of RatDog's shows from the past four years via RatDog Live, which also lets you buy a copy of the show at the venue merchandise booth 15 minutes after it ends. 2) You can download shows for free from etree and Archive.org. 3) You can trade with folks same as always. Check out the links in the "RatDog Tunes Online" part of this page's left column.
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RatDog's fanbase is undoubtedly centered in the northeast. RatDog often spends a couple weeks on a tour playing shows there with sellout or near-sellout crowds at each venue. RatDog draws well nationally and although all the band members live in the San Francisco Bay area, the northeast is RatDog's "bread and butter."
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What kind of crowd will I encounter?
RatDog shows draw fans of all ages. You'll find a large number of teens and twentysomethings and plenty of fiftysomethings and sixtysomethings. And thirtysomethings and fortysomethings. Aside from that, the type of crowd will vary based on geography.
RatDog typically plays two-set shows, each about 90 minutes long, with an encore. The second set opens with a few acoustic tunes, and halfway through the second set comes "Stuff," which is basically a free-form jam among any combination of band members.
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RatDog's taping policy is identical to The Dead's—audience taping is allowed and encouraged.
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Yes, RatDog allows photography except when venue policy precludes it (like at House of Blues). Any camera is fine; just don't use the flash!
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