David Gans (musician)

Credited by many for encouraging Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh to emerge from retirement. Lesh played several shows with David Gans and the Broken Angels in late 1997 and early 1998. Gans assembled interesting combinations of musicians for Lesh to jam with in a series of benefits for Lesh's Unbroken Chain Foundation, culminating with a sold-out show at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco an January 31, 1998. Shortly after that event, Lesh began touring as Phil Lesh and Friends.

After 20+ years of performing in the San Francisco Bay Area as a solo singer-songwriter and with various bands (The Reptiles, Crazy Fingers, David Gans and the Broken Angels), Gans began touring nationally in 1997, appearing in festivals including the Gathering of the Vibes; High Sierra Music Festival; MagnoliaFest and the Suwannee SpringFest (both held annually at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park); Grateful Fest (Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, Ohio); Master Musicians Festival (Somerset KY); Terrapin Hill Music Festival (Harrodsburg KY); Hookahville (Ohio); Sunshine Daydream Music Festival (Terra Alta WV); Berkeley (CA) Free Folk Festival; and others.

He has performed onstage with members of the Grateful Dead; New Riders of the Purple Sage; Donna the Buffalo; Peter Rowan; Ollabelle; The Waybacks; Blueground Undergrass; Dark Star Orchestra; Keller Williams; moe.; Hot Buttered Rum; Rowan Brothers; Henry Kaiser.

Known for incisive, literate songwriting and for his music loop work, often creating spontaneous compositions in performance and then turning them into compositions.

Discography

Home By Morning - David Gans and Eric Rawlins. Perfectible Recordings 1997 Monica Lewinsky - David Gans and the Broken Angels (CD single). Perfectible Recordings 1998 Solo Acoustic - David Gans. Perfectible Recordings, 2001 Live at the Powerhouse - David Gans. PowerVision DVD, 2003 Solo Electric - David Gans. Perfectible Recordings, 2003 Twisted Love Songs - David Gans. Perfectible Recordings, 2007

As producer: Various artists, The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead. Co-produced with Henry Kaiser. Shanachie Records, 1995. Grateful Dead, So Many Roads (1965-1995) (5-CD boxed set). Arista Records, 1999. RIAA certified gold The Persuasions, Might as Well: The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead. Co-produced with Jerry Lawson. Grateful Dead/Arista Records, 1999. Various artists, Stolen Roses: Songs of the Grateful Dead. Grateful Dead/Arista Records, 1999. Grateful Dead, Postcards of the Hanging: Grateful Dead perform the songs of Bob Dylan. Grateful Dead/Arista Records, 2002. Grateful Dead, Best of the Grateful Dead Hour. Grateful Dead Records, 1998. Jerry Garcia, All Good Things: Jerry Garcia Studio Sessions. Rhino Records, 2004

Liner notes: David Murray Octet: Dark Star: Music of the Grateful Dead. Astor Place Records. Grateful Dead, American Beauty. Individually and as part of the The Golden Road (1965-1973) boxed set. Rhino Records, 2002 Grateful Dead, Terrapin Station. Part of the Beyond Description (1973-1989 boxed set. Rhino Records, 2004.

Books

Playing in the Band: An Oral and Visual Portrait of the Grateful Dead by David Gans and Peter Simon. St Martin's Press, 1985; revised edition published by St Martin's Press 1996. Talking Heads: The Band and Their Music. Avon Books, 1985. Out of print. Conversations with the Dead: The Grateful Dead Interview Book. Citadel Underground, 1991. Expanded edition published by Da Capo Press 2002. Not Fade Away: The Online World Remembers Jerry Garcia. David Gans, editor. Thunder's Mouth Press, 1995.

References

• "The Life and Times of David Gans," interview in The Well, June 2006
• "Sovereign Soul:" David Gans," interview in jambase, 2004