Phil Lesh speaks about Ryan Adams
Via AnsweringBell.com:
I love playing with Ryan because he’s fearless; because he doesn’t have to do anything the same way twice; because every idea he throws out in a jam is a little gem that cries out “polish me”; because he has about nine hundred voices that he can use like a Bene Gesserit; because of his huge heart and enormous talent. I like it that we deconstruct the songs so that verses are transposed, or the bridge comes in early, or the jam leads back to a verse instead of a chorus. I like it that we have to be on our tippy-tippy toes to make the acute left turns and abrupt changes that Ryan likes to spring on us. I like to spring those kind of changes too- what do you think I’m doing when I talk into my mike and you can’t hear me? I love playing with Ryan because he takes me back to when the Grateful Dead were young, fearless, crazy and didn’t give a shit about what other people thought we should do. If what you desire is the perfect rendition, there are many excellent bands that perform Grateful Dead songs- but I have never been about perfection and never will be. I do promise that I will always do my best to follow my weird. I hope you will join me, but I do understand if your path takes you elsewhere. I will also say with no hesitation that Jerry would have loved Ryan and his fearless interpretations of his songs. It’s funny, but I feel Jerry close to me whenever I am around Ryan. — Phil Lesh (January 2006)
October 12th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
[...] So news that he was back in the studio, newly sober and raring to go, was greeted warmly around the Ellis household, if with some trepidation: I downloaded a live recording last year from a German show with his backing band, the Cardinals, and it was some of the mopiest, dullest, Grateful Deadest crap I’ve ever had the misfortune to hear. I blame Phil Lesh. [...]