After John Mayer fearlessly stepped on stage to display his guitar chops for a sea of wide-eyed, devoted deadheads, Dead & Company has acquired endless praise after the conclusion of their North American inaugural jaunt. Original Grateful Dead member Bob Weir put fans' wonders to rest by recently revealing the seemingly uncertain future of both RatDog and Dead & Co, admitting that both outfits have plans in 2016.
The 68-year-old rock legend sat down for a Periscope Q&A session with his sister-in-law who just so happens to double as a racecar driver and an environmental activist, Leilani Munter. The conversation may have centered on Weir's involvement with environmental activism and opinions concerning Racing Extinction, but the "core four" member did drop some hints about what would come next for RatDog and Dead & Company.
When Munter asked if fans could look forward to progression from both bands, Weir replied with "soon come, there will be plenty of both in the future." He continued to describe his annoyance with Dead & Company's title. "I'm pushing to change the name to DeadCo because it's a lot easier to say," Weir added. "We had enough fun on that last tour to see every clear indication that we oughta chase that muse."
Dead & Company (or should we say DeadCo) is the perfect fit for Mountain Jam, Lockn' Festival and a bunch of fan-favorite fests, including Bonnaroo. The innovative lineup fuses together the talents of the Dead's Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart with Mayer's undeniable aptitude for guitar, along with Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti's fresh spins on the folk rock group's staple hits.
RatDog, which includes Dead & Co's Weir and Chimenti, executed their last performance in 2014 and have flown under the radar ever since. Weir also detailed his contempt for RatDog's name a few years back, suggesting that that the group return to its roots and original name. "I think one of the things we can do to kick that off is to go back to our old name Scaring The Children, which I think we're going to do this year," he told SiriusXM's Tales From The Golden Road program according to Jambase. Weir, Chimenti, Steve Kimock, Robin Sylvester and Rob Wasserman have yet to change the name.
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