Phil Lesh catches up with Rolling Stones saxophonist and Tiny Universe bandleader Karl Denson in the newly premiered sixth episode of the Terrapin Clubhouse Sessions.
Like the most recent Darkstarathon episode, the video is highlighted by an extended intro clip of the musicians talking prior to the session. Phil and Karl chat about early Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead history, making some fascinating revelations.
Karl recounts asking Keith Richards what it was like hearing blues songs like “Smokestack Lightning” on the radio, to which the Stones guitarist replied that the radio wouldn’t play those songs, so the band relied on Brian Jones to supply rare records on vinyl.
Phil then responds by telling of how his band would get turned on to blues and R&B records through keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, whose dad was a radio DJ, and many of the songs they covered were tunes the Stones also played. In fact, he jokes that people would book the Dead to perform, mistakenly thinking they were a Stones cover band.
“He brought a bunch of songs in that The Rolling Stones had also covered, like ‘Big Boss Man’,” Lesh recalls. “In fact, [we] got the reputation of doing all the newest Stone songs and so it was easier for us to get gigs. Then of course we started playing songs for 45 minutes!”
Lesh goes on to explain how it was actually a conversation about a Rolling Stones song that led him to join the Grateful Dead back when they were still a blues band called The Warlocks:
I was listening to [that song “It’s All Over Now”] and I was struck by the sound of an instrument which I thought was a bass guitar. I later found out it was just a detuned electric guitar, but I was at a party, [and] I was having a conversation with Jerry, [and] I just happened to mention, “You know, I’ve been listening to The Rolling Stones. You know, I think the bass guitar is kind of an interesting instrument.’” That’s as far as we went with that in that conversation.
I really feel like that might have triggered him thinking about adding me to the band, so when I came down to [Magoo’s Pizza Parlor] to see them in ’65 that night and Jerry just took me over to the table and sat me down and he said, ‘Hey man, I want you to come play bass in this band. I know you’re a musician and you can do it. You can pick it up easily.’ And I said, “Jerry, you have to give me a lesson,” because he was a famous guitar teacher at the time.
Lesh and Denson then set up for a jam session with Stu Allen on guitar, Jason Crosby on keys, Alex Koford on drums, Grahame Lesh on guitar, and Elliott Peck on vocals. Together, they run through a jam-heavy set combining Grateful Dead and Rolling Stones classics beginning with a pairing of “Shakedown Street” > “Miss You”, followed by “Gimme Shelter” and finally “Not Fade Away”.
Watch Phil Lesh discuss the Grateful Dead and Rolling Stones history and jam with Karl Denson in Episode 6 of The Clubhouse Sessions below.
Phil Lesh & Friends just headlined Terrapin Crossroads‘ Sunday Daydream Vol. 3 over the weekend, and Lesh is gearing up for Vol 4 in August. Click here for more information, and visit the festival site for tickets.
The Clubhouse Sessions: Episode 6 – ft. Karl Denson
The post Phil Lesh Reveals How The Rolling Stones Inspired Him To Pick Up The Bass, Jams With Karl Denson [Watch] appeared first on L4LM.
