DSO brings back the Dead

Dark Star…Dark Star Orchestra Sun. Feb. 17 8 p.m. Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead 510 East 10th Ave. 412-462-3444 $25-$30

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then consider Dark Star Orchestra to be the ultimate in musical compliments. For more than a decade, this crew of intergenerational hippies (older than us, but younger than our parents) has been recreating the magic of The Grateful Dead onstage – one Grateful Dead show at a time.

Just don’t call them a tribute band.

“The Dead were like the house band for the scene which surrounded them. The scene is still there, but they’ve lost their house band,” explained DSO drummer Dino English, 39. “A large portion of our audience is young and never saw The Dead. We’re able to give them a glimpse of what it was like back in the day.”

Dark Star Orchestra began its journey in 1997 when two Chicago Dead Heads, John Kadlecik and Scott Larned, decided to play full set lists from their favorite band instead of random covers. The boys enlisted musicians to fill out the lineup to match that of the Dead and soon booked a four-date club run. While the first show drew less than 100 people, the last, only four weeks later, was a sellout. The Grateful Dead had returned from relative extinction, only they were younger and, well, not the actual members of the Grateful Dead.

Nonetheless, it seemed that while countless other bands have partially filled the void in the jam-band world that opened when Jerry Garcia died in 1994 (Moe, Gov’t Mule, String Cheese Incident and, most notably, the now defunct Phish), The Grateful Dead remained the beloved forefathers of the genre. Who better to take their places than devoted fanatics with chops on par with Garcia and company? “We don’t play Dead shows note for note, that’s not our intent at all, but we keep with the arrangement, the songs and melodies and rhythm,” said English. Still, though guitar solos may not be played spot on, the concept of DSO alone requires near-encyclopedic knowledge of The Dead. For English, that’s not a problem at all.

“I was dragged to my first Dead concert on June 24, 1991, in Kansas. My life was changed after that. I discovered that they had the same ideas that I was going after. I could identify with them,” English said. “Now, with DSO I’ve come a long way as far as knowing what happened musically with the Dead during what time periods.”

He ain’t lyin’, either – Dark Star Orchestra are sticklers for detail. If they wish to recreate a show in which the Dead had jammed with backup singers, than you better believe some singers will pile in DSO’s tour van. And with more than 1,500 shows of the Dead’s 3,500 under their belt, they’ve still got a ways to go.

“Most people regard the ’70s as the peak years of the Dead, which, after joining the band and studying that period of time, I can appreciate. My favorite, though it’s hard to pick one, is June 24, 1985, from Cincinnati, Ohio,” English said. “It was one of the first bootlegs I got a hold of.”

But why not create original music similar to that of The Grateful Dead? Well, while most DSO members do record their own material, they recreate the Dead experience in homage to the band that started it all.

“A lot of the original members have seen us play,” said English. “They’re very supportive. They see our show as a history show.”

But still, why do so many musicians, let alone an entire generation of fans, still hold the Grateful Dead so close to their hearts? As English would argue, it’s the relationships fostered by the music.

“Grateful Dead shows were a community of like-minded people gathering to hear music that matters to them, and that’s what we do,” English said. “I think that the music will continue with or without us. Someone will pick up the torch when we stop. Grateful Dead music will survive for a long, long time.”

And with 10 years already behind him and an indefinite number ahead of him, English and his Dark Star Orchestra have been carrying the brightest torch of any band relating the music of the Grateful Dead today as the premier tribute – err, Dead Head band around.

Oh, what a long, strange trip it’s been.