Bill Kreutzmann
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bill Kreutzmann | |
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 Bill Kreutzmann, ca. 1975
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Kreutzmann |
| Born | May 7, 1946 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 The Other Ones The Dead SerialPod Backbone Rhythm Devils BK3 |
Bill Kreutzmann (born May 7, 1946[1] 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. During the band's early days, Kreutzmann sometimes used a fake draft card with the name "Bill Sommers" to be admitted to bars where the band was playing, since he was underage.[2] 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 became a hallmark of the Grateful Dead sound, and earned them the nickname "the Rhythm Devils". Their lengthy drum duets were a feature of every show from 1979–1995, and are documented in a number of recordings by the band.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5] The band, with Kreutzmann, toured in 2000 and 2002.[6][7][8] In 2003, they changed their name to The Dead.[9] The Dead played a number of live concerts in 2003, 2004 and 2009.
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,[10] and an album, Trichromes.[11]
On December 17, 2005, Kreutzmann participated in the 17th Annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam as the drummer for SerialPod, a group which also included Phish members Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon.[12][13]
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 they released a DVD called The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience.
In 2008, continuing through to the present day, Bill Kreutzmann toured the eastern United States with bassist Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band and guitarist Scott Murawski of Max Creek as BK3.[14][15][16] In 2009 Oteil Burbridge was replaced by James Hutchinson.
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. His work can be found at Walnut Street Gallery.[17]
[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.[18][19] 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.[20] 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,[21] and a film titled Fragments, a documentary of The Who's 2006 – 2007 tour.[22]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Scott, John W.; Dolgushkin, Mike; Nixon, Stu (1999). DeadBase XI: The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists. Cornish, New Hampshire: DeadBase. p. 565. ISBN 1-8776-5722-0.
- ^ "Pop Quiz -- Q & A with the Dead's Bill Kreutzmann", San Francisco Chronicle, January 11, 1998
- ^ "Drums" on deaddisc.com
- ^ Metzger, John. Backbone review, The Music Box, November 1998
- ^ Cooper, Scott. "Return of the Other Other One", Metro (Silicon Valley), August 24 - 30, 2000
- ^ Dansby, Andrew. "Dead Come Alive as Other Ones", Rolling Stone, October 7, 2002
- ^ Ratliff, Ben. "Keeping Pace with Shades of the Dead", New York Times, November 28, 2002
- ^ Selvin, Joel. "Other Ones Reunite", San Francisco Chronicle, December 1, 2002
- ^ Selvin, Joel. "Marin Icons Now The Dead", San Francisco Chronicle, February 12, 2003
- ^ Metzger, John. Dice with the Universe review, The Music Box, April 2002
- ^ Metzger, John. TriChromes review, The Music Box, September 2002
- ^ Kerr, Paul. "17th Annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam", JamBase, January 3, 2006
- ^ Clarke, Richard. "Warren Haynes 17th Annual Christmas Jam", Glide magazine, December 27, 2005
- ^ "Bill Kreutzmann, Oteil Burbridge & Scott Murawski Kick Off Tour May 28, 2008", dead.net
- ^ Budnick, Dean. "Let It Grow", Relix, August 2008, p. 49 – 52
- ^ "Bill Kreutzmann's Trio - Keeping the Fire Burning", KyndMusic, November 7, 2008
- ^ Bill Kreutzmann on The Art of Rock & Roll
- ^ Justin Kreutzmann on the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Justin Kreutzmann interview on deadnews.blogspot.com, December 5, 2005
- ^ Dead Ringers: The Making of A Touch of Grey on DeadDisc.com.
- ^ Bolen, James. "Tea Leaf Green: Rock 'n' Roll Band", Houston Press, December 7, 2006
- ^ "The Who Documentary", MyMcMurray Rock 97.9
[edit] References
- Bill Kreutzmann biography on Allmusic
- Bill Kreutzmann discography on DeadDisc.com
- "About Bill Kreutzmann", RememberJerry.com
- Bruner, Sarah. "Just a Guy Who Plays Drums: An Interview with Bill Kreutzmann", JamBands.com, March 1999
- McKinley, Mike. "Conversation with Bill Kreutzmann", State of Mind Music, May 27, 2008
- McNally, Dennis (2002). A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead. Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1185-7.
- Corbett, Ben. "Grateful Dead Drummer: In the Key of Kreutzmann", Crawdaddy!, May 22, 2009
[edit] External links
- Bill Kreutzmann - Official website
- Bill Kreutzmann at MySpace
- Rock and Reel website
- Grateful Dead - Official website
- Bill Kreutzmann Artwork at Walnut Street Gallery
