Contemporary artist Mister E unveiled five custom, tour branded Dead & Company D’Angelico guitars. The instruments will be auctioned to benefit HeadCount, Reverb and Dead Family charities with fans able to bid in both the Participation Row activism village and the Loose Lucy’s VIP lounge on tour with remote bids accepted as well.
The custom guitars continue a tradition that started with the first Dead & Company tour in 2015 which has raised more than $1.3 million for the band’s favorite charities over the years. Each guitar is signed by all six members of D&C. Four of the axes commemorate tour stops in Boston, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles.
Mister E added his personal touch with the hand-painted and collaged designs that include sheet music from original Grateful Dead songbooks. Additionally, the guitars feature hand-made Dancing Bear stamps as well as lyrics from “Truckin’” in the traditional style of Mister E’s work. The custom backplates are engraved with the iconic line from “Truckin’”: “What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been.” The designs also have details that commemorate the 2021 tour across the Deluxe Bob Weir Bedfords, a signature D’Angelico model co-designed with Bob Weir.
“As an artist it’s an honor to paint these guitars to raise money for a great cause,” Mister E said of the project in a statement, “but as a guitar player and fan of the dead for years, it is truly humbling to be working with Bob Weir and Dead & Co.”
“These custom guitars have fast become a tradition on Dead & Company tour, but Mister E’s designs have taken it to a whole new level,” HeadCount executive director Andy Bernstein added. “This is one of the most creative and rewarding ways to raise funds, both for ourselves and the other ‘Dead Family’ charities.”
Fans visiting Participation Row can also enter a free drawing for a Dead & Company signed D’Angelico guitar by taking action at three Dead Family charity booths. Those fans will also receive a free limited edition “VOTE” pin courtesy of Casely.
For more information on the auction contact HeadCount’s Major Gifts Director Kristina Raines at [email protected].
Another treat Dead & Company has planned for tonight’s concert at Citi Field in New York City is a presentation of drummer Mickey Hart’s “Voices of the Rainforest” “Drums” and “Space” segment. A project close to Mickey’s heart and going back decades, “Voices Of The Rainforest” incorporates the work of Hart collaborator anthropologist and ethnomusicologist Dr. Steven Feld and will feature visuals and sounds of the Papua New Guinea rainforest. Head here for more info on “Voices Of The Rainforest.”
