Grateful Dead tribute band next in concert series

The Idyllwild Summer Concert Series continues this Thursday night, July 28, with a tribute to the Grateful Dead from the Coachella Valley’s Ghost Notes. Sandii Castleberry will open the evening at 6:15 p.m. The concert is free to all and takes place at the Butterfield Amphitheater.

As always, professional sound and light production is courtesy of “Mr. Summer Concert” Ken Dahleen and his crew. This year’s series is dedicated to the memory of Idyllwild friend and philanthropist in chief, Doug Austin, who died last year at age 74.

While Mike Hammons’ Ghost Notes is sometimes described as a “Grateful Dead tribute band,” and while that is not inaccurate, lead guitarist Damian Lautiero describes it more broadly as an “improvisational rock ’n’ roll band specializing in the music of the Grateful Dead,” so that leaves some room for the individuality and chemistry of five well-rounded musicians to create something new every night.

In addition to Hammons on bass and vocals and Lautiero on guitar and vocals, the band includes Bobby Furgo on keyboards and violin, Robert Peterson on drums and Amy Caddle on percussion. The two percussionists allow the kit drums that familiar freedom deadheads will recognize, with a rolling swing as they reinforce and counter each other.

The Crier talked with Hammons and Lautiero contributed, too.

TC: “A lot of tribute bands copy a recorded arrangement and work at playing just like a famous band, maybe repeating the same solos every night. What you are doing is not like that, is it?”

MH: “You nailed it, that’s why we’re interested in it. The band’s theory is: The Grateful Dead was built on improvisational music. Phil Lesh was amazing. We embrace what they did, and we play their music in the moment, 2022. Everything we ever learned from them, and everything we’ve learned from other kinds of music [goes into what we play] … The intrigue is, they go onstage … and then improv. We are not re-creating a show from some year.

“The Grateful Dead represent jam band music, a genre all its own. It’s in the spirit of when you go to hear a jazz guy play “Autumn Leaves” at one club and then go and hear another guy in another club, and then travel to LA or Chicago and hear another band… they all play it differently, they all play the outline of the song, but they play what they feel in the moment, within the context, within that outline. It’s not just a jazz philosophy; you hear a guy play “Sweet Home Chicago” in one bar, then hear another guy in another place…

“We don’t play the same notes twice, we change the set, we change the way we play the songs … That’s what keeps us interested … along with the friendship. All of us guys have been friends over 30 years; part of the magic of the band is with the friendship. Musically, everyone has put their time in, but there is a chemistry that is based on friendship.”

Lautiero points out the broad influences that shaped the Dead, and the Ghost Notes: “The music of the Grateful Dead celebrates so many purely American genres of music ranging from Folk Americana, bluegrass, jazz, blues, country, and rock and roll … all genres of music we love and are inspired by.”

The group is well studied. Hammons studied the bass at Musicians Institute and plays the electric bass and upright bass. Other members Furgo and Caddle have music degrees, and drummer Peterson stuck it out to get a master’s. Hammons describes Lautiero as someone who made his bones on the road, “a heavy duty touring rock guitarist.”

The band sometimes includes acoustic sets, with Hammons breaking out the “double bass.”

TC: “I hear you do some work on the upright bass?”

MH: “Absolutely, [especially for] music performed when there was only upright, old blues, old country, old jazz; some of my heroes are Willie Dixon [bass-playing song writer and producer for Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and Etta James] and Ron Carter [jazz bassist with Miles Davis, among many.] I always say at the end of the day I’m a rock and roller but I’ve studied many styles of music; that’s why I’m enjoying playing the stand up.”

On their wide-ranging influences and spirit of improv Lautiero writes, “As musicians, we love the ability to explore and expand instrumentally, and this music naturally lends [itself] to wide-open jams and improvisations. The band members each have extensive and eclectic musical backgrounds that are very diverse. When mixed together it creates something sonically interesting and unique. We really enjoy each other’s company as people first and foremost, which then really lends to us being able to explore arrangements and push each other musically.”

Hammons and Lautiero are looking forward to returning to Idyllwild and the Butterfield.

MH: “We love it. Outdoors in the forest, the community was so supportive last year. We have good friends with cabins up there.”

TC: “You all gonna stay awhile?”

MH: “Yeah, there’s a group of us, multiple camp sites, multiple cabins, we have a community of friends.”

TC: “Kind of like the Dead?”

MH: “Yeah.”

Lautiero added one more shoutout to the man without whom this all would not be possible: “The summer concert series was an absolute blast for us to play last year. We are so thankful to Ken Dahleen for inviting us. It is such a beautiful venue, just nestled between the pines under the stars. Our style of music really lends [itself] to the surroundings, and it was beautiful to see so many people up and dancing the night away. We have a really loyal and supportive collection of fans that travel from all over to partake in our shows. We are really lucky to have such a supportive community. The Deadhead community is magical in that way. The shared love for the music is a special bond. That is where the magic is, in the connection with the audience, when everything is moving as one. We are really looking forward to doing it again.”

Castleberry, as warmup, is joined by fiddler Dan Sankey, and a special appearance by Robert Hewitt on the rope drum. They will be playing bluegrass and Celtic tunes.

Castleberry said about the friends joining her onstage, “… Sankey is a part-time Pine Cove resident who also lives in San Diego. He makes his living playing bluegrass and country music and teaches guitar, mandolin, violin and banjo. I have known him for years and was really excited when I learned he and his wife Virginia had bought a place up here, and to have his musical talents available up here on the Hill.

“We will be featuring Robert on five Celtic tunes that sound great with the rope tension drum. The rope tension drum is one of the oldest types of snare drums. It was and is a marshal instrument used to signal orders and maneuvers to military forces on the battlefield and on the march. Traditionally [it is] made of wood with animal skin heads and gut snares, then held together, tightened and tuned with rope. Besides the Celtic tunes, we will be playing a few bluegrass traditional tunes and throw in a couple of country music crowd pleasers.”

The Summer Concert Series has been going strong since its inception in 2000. It has generated quite a bit of lore, and everyone involved has (at least) a few stories to tell. Castleberry shared one of hers: “On July 28, 2004, I was the summer concert opener with another fiddle player, Paul McIntire. The concert was at the San Jacinto State Park, and it was my birthday. Eighteen years later, I’m the concert opener once again with a fiddle player, and it’s on my birthday! After we are finished playing, we’ll enjoy the Ghost Notes and I’ll get to celebrate my birthday Idyllwild style.”

Reminding us of this year’s dedicatee, Castleberry added, “It also means a lot to me to get to play in honor of our friend, Doug Austin. Doug and I became close friends because both of our first spouses were undergoing treatment for cancer at UCLA Medical Center at the same time. We stayed at the same hotel as the Austins in Westwood, and we hung out together. I lost my first husband Ron in December of 2008, and Doug lost Mary a few months later. We both were in the same grief group and worked through it. I was so happy when he took me aside and said he was going to take Pat [soon to be Austin] on a date. She gave him so much happiness. I miss Doug so much and will feel his spirit with us when I take to the stage and play that first note on July 28.”

Next week, Aug. 4, the series will welcome Darryl Reed’s Lynyrd Skynyrd and Frynds. There will be no opening act that night and the music begins at 7 p.m.

These are free concerts, funded completely by donations, both from businesses and individuals. The “hat” is passed at the event, and those who can are invited to give to keep this wonderful tradition alive. This year’s budget is over $34,000 and as of Sunday night, $28,199 had been raised. 2022 major contributors include: Mountain High Escrow, Bob and Gisela Stearns, Roland Gaebert, Phil Strong and Linda McCaughlin, Doug and Pat Austin, Stephanie Yost and Steve Olson, Donna McLain, Compass Realty, residents of Idyllwild Trailer Park, Manny and Linda Rider, Kathy and Will Kleindienst, Donna McLain, Nona Solowitz and Mike Cheley, Tim McTavish, Desert Sotheby’s Realty, Idyllwild Town Crier, Idyllwild Pizza Company and Idyllwild Rotary. Contributions also may be sent, checks payable to “Idyllwild Summer Concert Org,” to P.O. Box 1542, Idyllwild CA 92549-1542.

Remember that temperatures drop in the summer evening. Come prepared with an extra layer. Butterfield Amphitheater, 54201 Ridgeview Drive, access through the Idyllwild Community Center Playground parking lot on Highway 243 just south of town.