Barack Obama Selects the Dead for Inaugural Ball: “It Was Quite an Honor”

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Barack Obama Selects the Dead for Inaugural Ball: “It Was Quite an Honor”

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/01/15/barack-obama-selects-the-dead-for-inauguration-ball-it-was-quite-an-honor/



Just a week after confirming their first tour in five years, the reunited Dead are booked to rock the Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball in Washington, D.C. on January 20th. “A DJ will open up — it’s a long, strange trip!,” Mickey Hart jokes to Rolling Stone (the DJ in question is celeb spinner DJ Cassidy). “ picked us specifically,” he adds, “so it was quite an honor. There was a short list and we made the cut.” (For a peek into the President-Elect’s iPod, click here.)

As for the most important question — can the band jam at the ball? — Hart is dubious: “It’s pretty tight, about an hour set. When you play these kinds of things you say, ‘How can I be of service?’ The entertainment committee makes it so that it fits into their huge schedule.”

Another pitfall of political rocking: a background check. “It gave me pause when I had to get a security clearance to play a gig!” Hart says. So did they get past the security scan? “Oh, yeah, we don’t look so bad on paper. It’s not as bad as you might think.”

The Dead partially reunited for a Deadheads for Obama gig in spring 2007, and drummer Bill Kreutzmann rejoined the group for a “Change Rocks” Obama fundraiser at Penn State in October. The tour that kicks off April 12th in Greensboro, North Carolina, features founding members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir as well as Hart and Kreutzmann, joined by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Allman Brothers Band/Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes.

[groovedaddy]

1. Pretty cool...hopefully, a sign of better things to come! n.t

[MaineDem]

2. Wicked cool! n/t

[glitch]

3. Ok, now I am really impressed!

I may have to take back some of the bad things I said about his cabinet picks.

[Aloha Spirit]

5. haha

[Cha]

10. Freakin' Obama man...he's

all over the place:P:fistbump:

[glitch]

12. True that! nt

:toast: :hi:

[Aloha Spirit]

4. anything would be better than Meatloaf (Bush inauguration). nt

[monmouth]

14. HA! I still love "Two out of three ain't Bad" though....n/t

[Bicoastal]

6. Teh Chosen One can raise The Dead! Eek!

:scared:

[Political_Junkie]

7. .

:rofl:

[Cha]

11. You saw those people who

survived the US Airway crash, yesterday, walking on water? Obama.

[Kalyke]

8. YAY!

I'll say something nice here since I just ripped Beyonce in another thread.

Love The Dead.

[Rainbowreflect]

9. That is one Inaugural ball I want to be at.

[patrick t. cakes]

13. whos playing the v.p. stage

are fire pits allowed..

very cool indeed

:hippie: :headbang:

[AtomicKitten]

15. Hell yes!!!

[chill_wind]

16. Whoot! :-) n/t

[hedgehog]

17. Remember this?

[road2000]

18. So I guess this gives them reason to be...

really grateful.

[TheKentuckian]

19. That Obama is cool as a fan

Bring on Keller and String Cheese and do it up right!

[Lochloosa]

20. No Gov't Mule?

Blasphemy

[TheKentuckian]

21. My bad

we could probably do some Mofro as well to kick in a little soul too.

[kas125]

24. This version of The Dead does have Warren on lead guitar. It's

not Mule, but it's the next best thing.

[TheKentuckian]

26. That particular Warren jams with them

I've seen them a couple of times with Haynes and while he ain't Jerry, Warren is no chopped liver.

[kas125]

28. I totally agree. Nobody will ever be Jerry, but I love Warren, too.

and I like the Dead with Warren better than without him.

[tuvor]

22. Now they're part of "the establishment".

[EraOfResponsibility]

23. I'm sure Jerry is looking down with a big smile on his face......nt

[reggie the dog]

25. far out man

a bunch of freaks will be hanging out in the parking lot.

[Grinchie]

27. This is the Bone the Liberal wing of the Democratic gets

The only one.