Hux Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 New York Times 7/27/03 Playing in (What's Left of) the Band. By NEIL STRAUSS FIRST came the news that the surviving members of the Grateful Dead would reunite as the Dead, causing much celebration among the band's loyal following. Then came the announcement that singing lead and back-up vocals with the group on its tour this summer would be Joan Osborne, the New York singer who broke out of the local blues-rock club scene with the hit "One of Us" in 1995. Deadheads were naturally confused. Though the former members of the Grateful Dead toured with Susan Tedeschi in their incarnation as the Other Ones after the death of Jerry Garcia, the last time a woman was in the Dead was in the 1970's. That was when Keith Godchaux joined the band as its new keyboardist, and brought along his wife, Donna, a backup singer. Fans either adored the addition of her wailing voice or abhorred her off-key caterwauling. Thus Ms. Osborne has found herself with the challenge of performing, in front of detail-minded fans, the exhaustive catalog of a band that she knew little about before her booking agent recommended her to it. And she is also the only woman in a tight-knit boys' club that communicates almost telepathically onstage. She spoke about the experience by telephone from a solo tour stop in California 10 days ago. NEIL STRAUSS Were you worried that the fans wouldn't accept an outsider singing their music? JOAN OSBORNE Given the fact that I'm somewhat in the position of stepping in for Jerry Garcia, who is probably the most loved figure in popular culture — at least by the Deadheads — I was a little nervous that people would think that I was trying to fill his shoes. I'm sure there are some people who are not into it, but for the most part there's been pretty much nothing but welcome from the fans. And that's been a relief. They could have decided that they were going to just turn up their nose at me, and then the whole thing would have been a drag. STRAUSS What has it been like touring with the Dead? OSBORNE I have to say that the whole experience has been really intense and really difficult, especially learning this huge amount of material. I'll literally get a set list in the afternoon that has five or six songs on it that I've never even heard of, and then spend the entire rest of the day before the show learning my parts. I'll get up on stage and do those songs at night, and then the next day the set list will be completely different. STRAUSS Do you think they like having a woman in the band again? OSBORNE They've had periods of their history where they've done that, and I guess they like it. You know, you need a little feminine estrogen energy up there to balance things out. There's plenty of maleness up there already. STRAUSS Do you feel comfortable onstage with them? OSBORNE The fun thing for me about being in this position of stepping into this world is that I don't know what a lot of the boundaries and parameters are supposed to be. So I'm not really intimidated to sort of take control and say, "Bring the band down," and start talking to the audience. Or I'll start teasing Bob Weir when we're doing a duet. Or I'll start dancing over by Phil Lesh and moving over into his little well-defined space there. I'm kind of throwing a wrench into the works in a way that allows people to have fun with it and not take it all so seriously, which I don't think the band necessarily does but the fans tend to view them as these demigods. It's nice for me to just come in and say: "Let's go, guys. If you're going to throw this stuff at me and make me think on my feet, I'm going to do the same to you." STRAUSS Do they ever say anything to you about it afterward? OSBORNE Are you kidding? They love it. It's kind of like being in a band with all your eccentric uncles. They have their little rivalries between each other, so if I go up and tease one of them on the mike, then the other one will come up to me afterward and say: "Oh, that was great. You've got to stick it to him again." I can get away with that stuff, whereas I don't think they can really do it to each other without causing maybe some deeper problems. STRAUSS Are you ready for the times when the band takes an unexpected turn into a song you don't expect? OSBORNE I think so. It's a very forgiving environment. If you make a mistake, no one is going to bat an eyelash because this is a band that falls on its face in front of its audience on a regular basis. They don't care about that stuff. They would rather take those risks and fall on their face three out of four times so that they can have that one time that is a beautiful moment no one could have anticipated. STRAUSS I read that you were given full-member status. What does that mean? OSBORNE It's definitely a love fest right now. We're in the honeymoon period. So we're all thinking in terms of this becoming a fairly long-term thing. STRAUSS Since you're obviously younger than all those guys, have you realized that there is a small chance that you might be responsible for carrying on the legacy of the Grateful Dead when they're all gone? OSBORNE Oh man, I hadn't thought about that. I don't know. I doubt that even the most lax Deadhead would think that would be all right. But who knows? STRAUSS Life takes turns you'd never expect. For example, did you ever think you'd be touring as a member of the Dead? OSBORNE I knew of course about the band and loved some of their songs, but I was not a Deadhead. I didn't follow these guys around living in a VW minibus selling grilled-cheese sandwiches in the parking lot of their shows. I sometimes get the feeling like I'm living out somebody else's fantasy, like the wish sort of landed on earth in the wrong spot. It should have hit that guy three seats over who's been wishing for it every moment since his first Dead show. STRAUSS Are there any songs you've taken a real shine to? OSBORNE There are a number of them. We did "Stella Blue" at the last show at Red Rocks, and that was just a gorgeous song. I love the song "Attics of My Life," and I love that close harmony singing with those guys. Another thing that I really love is being a part of these "Space" free-jazz places that they go to as a band, because those are non-song experiences so I can make up whatever I think is appropriate and sing Qawalli or faux-Yoko Ono stuff over it. STRAUSS Did they ever ask you to cover "Never Trust a Woman"? OSBORNE No, I haven't gone through that one yet. Hmm. I'm not sure I would say yes if they asked me. STRAUSS When is your next show? OSBORNE I'll be appearing at the Pepper Jack Cafe in Hamilton, Ont, on Aug. 1st, Jerry's birthday - I've been receiving telepathic messages from Jerry that I will perform an acapella "Corrina" that night in his honour. STRAUSS Puff puff pass, Joan, puff puff pass.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisley Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 quote: this is a band that falls on its face in front of its audience on a regular basis. They don't care about that stuff. They would rather take those risks and fall on their face three out of four times so that they can have that one time that is a beautiful moment no one could have anticipated. nice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondtube Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 i had that exact same point copied and ready to be pasted.... but u beat me too it paisley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooly Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 quote: STRAUSS When is your next show? OSBORNE I'll be appearing at the Pepper Jack Cafe in Hamilton, Ont, on Aug. 1st, Jerry's birthday - I've been receiving telepathic messages from Jerry that I will perform an acapella "Corrina" that night in his honour. sweeeeeeet someone better tape this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoMack Posted July 28, 2003 Report Share Posted July 28, 2003 Corrina??? Somebody better let this girl hear the song first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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