Bill Kreutzmann

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Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann, ca. 1975
Bill Kreutzmann, ca. 1975
Background information
Birth name William Kreutzmann
Born May 7, 1946 (1946-05-07) (age 62)
Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Origin San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genre(s) Rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) Drum kit, percussion
Years active 1959–present
Associated acts Grateful Dead
SerialPod
Backbone
Trichromes
Go Ahead
Rhythm Devils

Bill Kreutzmann (born May 7, 1946 in Palo Alto, California) is an American drummer who played with rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career.

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[edit] Career

Kreutzmann started playing drums at the age of 13, despite having been told by his sixth grade music teacher that he couldn't keep a beat. As a teenager, he met Aldous Huxley at his high school, who encouraged him in his drumming. At the end of 1964 he co-founded the band The Warlocks, along with Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. Their first real gig was May 5, 1965, two days before Kreutzmann's nineteenth birthday. In November 1965, the Warlocks became the Grateful Dead. Meeting fellow percussionist Mickey Hart in the fall of 1967 would have a big impact on Kreutzmann's career. Hart soon joined the Dead, making it one of the first (and few) rock bands to feature two drummers. The two percussionists' remarkable cohesion, synchronicity, and driving power would be a hallmark of the Grateful Dead sound for the next thirty years, earning them the nickname "The Rhythm Devils". Their ten-minute drum duets, a feature of every show from 1978–1995 became legendary in the rock world. Kreutzmann remained with the Grateful Dead until its dissolution following the passing of Garcia in 1995, making him one of four members to play at every one of the band's 3,500 shows, along with Garcia, Weir and Lesh.

Kreutzmann's first post-Dead musical project was Backbone, a trio with guitarist Rick Barnett and bassist Edd Cook. They released a self-titled album in 1998.[1]

In 1998, former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart formed a band called The Other Ones, which played a number of shows as part of the Furthur Festival. The band did not play live in 1999. Then, in 2000, Kreutzmann joined The Other Ones.[2] The band, with Kreutzmann, toured in 2000 and 2002.[3][4][5] In 2003, they changed their name to The Dead.[6] The Dead played a number of live concerts in 2003 and 2004.

Kreutzmann collaborated with Journey guitarist Neal Schon, Sy Klopps, Ira Walker, and Ralph Woodson to form the Trichromes in 2002. They released an EP, Dice with the Universe,[7] and an album, Trichromes.[8]

On December 17, 2005, Kreutzmann participated in the 17th Annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam as the drummer for SerialPod, a group which also included former Phish members Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon.[9][10]

During 2006, Kreutzmann teamed up with fellow Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, former Phish bassist Mike Gordon, and former The Other Ones guitarist Steve Kimock to form the Rhythm Devils. The band features songs from their respective former bands as well as new songs written by Jerry Garcia's songwriting companion Robert Hunter. The Rhythm Devils played their first tour in 2006, which ended at the popular Vegoose festival in Las Vegas, Nevada over the Halloween weekend.

In 2008, Bill Kreutzmann will be touring with bassist Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band and guitarist Scott Murawski of Max Creek. The trio will play a series of concerts in the northeastern United States in May and June, and will perform at the Gathering of the Vibes in August.[11]

In 1994, Kreutzmann and the other members of the Grateful Dead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2007, they won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Kreutzmann also does work as a visual artist and, in 2001, began releasing limited edition reproductions of his digital artwork.

[edit] Personal life

Bill Kreutzmann's daughter Stacy is married and has two children. She and her husband Mike Quinn run a printing and design company in Petaluma, California.

Kreutzmann's son Justin is a film and video director.[12][13] He directed Backstage Pass, a 35 minute Grateful Dead music documentary video that was released in 1992, and Dead Ringers: The Making of Touch of Grey, a 30 minute documentary released in 1987.[14] In 2001 Justin assisted in the early stages of An Ox's Tale, a documentary about the late John Entwistle, bassist for The Who. Currently he maintains a blog called "Rock and Reel", which covers rock history and his current projects. Already having worked on numerous projects with Pete Townshend, he is the chief cameraman for Townshend's partner Rachel Fuller. Justin's most recent works are Rock 'n' Roll Band, a concert film of the music group Tea Leaf Green,[15] and a film titled Fragments, a documentary of The Who's 2006 – 2007 tour.[16]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Metzger, John. Backbone review, The Music Box, November 1998
  2. ^ Cooper, Scott. "Return of the Other Other One", Metro (Silicon Valley), August 24 - 30, 2000
  3. ^ Dansby, Andrew. "Dead Come Alive as Other Ones", Rolling Stone, October 7, 2002
  4. ^ Ratliff, Ben. "Keeping Pace with Shades of the Dead", New York Times, November 28, 2002
  5. ^ Selvin, Joel. "Other Ones Reunite", San Francisco Chronicle, December 1, 2002
  6. ^ Selvin, Joel. "Marin Icons Now The Dead", San Francisco Chronicle, February 12, 2003
  7. ^ Metzger, John. Dice with the Universe review, The Music Box, April 2002
  8. ^ Metzger, John. TriChromes review, The Music Box, September 2002
  9. ^ Kerr, Paul. "17th Annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam", JamBase, January 3, 2006
  10. ^ Clarke, Richard. "Warren Haynes 17th Annual Christmas Jam", Glide magazine, December 27, 2005
  11. ^ "Bill Kreutzmann, Oteil Burbridge & Scott Murawski Kick Off Tour May 28, 2008", dead.net
  12. ^ Justin Kreutzmann on the Internet Movie Database
  13. ^ Justin Kreutzmann interview on deadnews.blogspot.com, December 5, 2005
  14. ^ Dead Ringers: The Making of A Touch of Grey on DeadDisc.com.
  15. ^ Bolen, James. "Tea Leaf Green: Rock 'n' Roll Band", Houston Press, December 7, 2006
  16. ^ "The Who Documentary", MyMcMurray Rock 97.9

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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