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Three-island tour stops at Mulligan's on the Blue July 30
By Jon Woodhouse for the Maui News
Celebrating the music of the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, the all-star Skeleton Krewe will embark on a three-island tour which lands at Mulligan's on the Blue on July 30. The group includes British-born musician Pete Sears, whose lengthy resume includes recording with many legends from Rod Stewart, Jefferson Starship and Jerry Garcia to John Lee Hooker and Ron Wood.
"It's mostly Jerry's song," says Sears about the tribute. "But we'll probably throw in a few other Grateful Dead songs. We'll do classics like 'Friend of the Devil,' and he did sing covers, like 'How Sweet it Is.' We have three dates, so every night will be a bit different."
Besides Sears, the Skeleton Krewe features Hōkū Award-winning Oahu guitarist Stephen Inglis, guitarist Barry Sless of Moonalice and the David Nelson Band, keyboardist Rob Barraco, who has played with Phil Lesh and Friends, The Dead, and the Dark Star Orchestra, and drummer Wally Ingram, who has played with Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Sheryl Crow and Jackson Browne.
Sears had a long connection with Garcia. "I used to go to his house," he recalls. "I played on his first solo album "Tiger Rose," and we later penned a few songs together for my solo album 'The Long Haul' in 2001."
A seminal musician in late '60s London, he was part of British underground rock movement, playing alongside bands like Pink Floyd, Traffic and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. "It was a very intense period that burned brightly," he says. "It really provided a source of inspiration throughout the rest of my career."
Sears ended up playing keyboards on four classic Rod Stewart's albums, including "Every Picture Tells a Story," and the "Maggie May" hit. "Rod was exploring, fusing rock with folk, and Celtic," he notes. "When I started working on 'Every Picture Tells a Story,' everybody would go to his house and he'd play the song, then we'd go to the studio to record and often it was the first take. I remember his houses got bigger each album and his cars got nicer. It was great."
After moving to California, Sears was invited to join the newly formed Jefferson Starship with Grace Slick and Paul Kantner, after Jefferson Airplane broke up. He stayed 13 years and co-composed a number of songs with Slick.
"They were getting a band together called Jefferson Starship, and they offered to fly me over," Sears explains. "Paul and Grace had this beautiful house overlooking the San Francisco Bay, and we really hit it off. Grace and I wrote a song on the spot, called 'Hyperdrive.' She wrote the words right away, and I joined the band."
Sears played on 8 gold or platinum-selling albums with the popular band, including "Red Octopus," which sold double-platinum, and reached No. 1.
But dissatisfaction with the group's increasingly pop-orientated sound led him to jump ship and subsequently team with former Airplane musicians in Hot Tuna, for 10 years.
"Hot Tuna was really because I was coming off Starship. We did that album 'Knee Deep in the Hoopla,' and I hated it. I couldn't stand anything about the band at that point. I was miserable, although the royalties from the 'We Built This City' still keep coming in."
Sears released a couple of star-studded solo albums. "Watchfire," which reflected his concern for the future of our planet, included such friends as Jerry Garcia and Dead drummer Mickey Hart. He followed up with "The Long Haul," which featured the Band's Levon Helm, Hot Tuna's Kaukonen and Casady, Van Morrison's daughter Shanna, and blues legend John Lee Hooker, who co-wrote a song with Sears. It was one of his last recordings before he died.
"I had worked out a basic slow blues, and I said to John, I'd like you to concentrate on your guitar playing. Most other guys that ask John to guest on their album want to hear his iconic voice. You only get one take with John, and I said if you feel like singing go for it. We started and he just wove all the lyrics live. He didn't write them down. It's just classic John."
Sears has fond memories of working with Garcia. "I was organizing benefits and he always agreed to play. I used to do benefits with Mimi Farina for Bread and Roses for El Salvador, the civil wars down there, to help refugees. I called Jerry, and he didn't hesitate. 'So as long as I don't have to sing, I just want to play the guitar.' He was a very cool guy, always ready to help people. He was a unique, amazing player, one of those musicians that the minute you hear it, you say, that's Jerry. He would be just astonished that a generation of young musicians are actually sounding exactly like the way he sings and plays."
The Skeleton Krewe performs at Mulligan's on the Blue on July 30. Doors open at 5 p.m., show at 6:30. Tickets range from $37.50 to $47:50, available at www.rootsmusichawaii.com.