My mother introduced me to the Grateful Dead as a young child and the rest, as they say, was history. How did you come to love their music?

That was in 1989. I was in a band at the time. We started out as a heavy metal band, which was what I listened to as a teenager. We were playing a lot of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden in the mid-80s. Then we learned that to make money and get more gigs we needed to play more Top 40-like stuff, so we moved into playing more hits of the day and we had a little Midwestern network we were running of small to medium clubs. Guns n Roses, “Wild Thing” by The Troggs, and stuff like that. In 1989, a friend of mine came to me with tickets for the Grateful Dead at Alpine Valley. I thought “Man, that’s a nine hour drive from St. Louis. And three nights? Do I need to go all three nights? Isn’t it the same show?” He said “Dude I got these tickets; we’re going.” So I went along. It sounded like a good time. I went out there, and I remember “Let the Good Times Roll” into “Feel Like A Stranger” with a big jam. I was blown away. I had no idea. By the third night, second set, they’re going into “The Other One” and putting all these crazy effects on top of the vocals, and the crowd was going nuts. At the end of that third night, I go up to the merchandise booth and buy a t-shirt, on the back of which was the tour dates. I see that the next venue they’re playing is in Sacramento, two weeks from then after a break. Then the Greek Theater in Berkeley. “That’s it,” I thought. “I’m going. I’m going to California.” I went to all three shows at Berkeley and then there was a week off. We drove down the coast and caught them in Los Angeles. I covered the whole left coast that summer of 1989. I saw as many shows as I could up until the end. I saw 77 shows with Jerry Garcia being in the Grateful Dead. I wish I would of caught more.

I’ve been a hardcore Deadhead ever since. I can’t burn out on the music at all. Sometimes I get the question, “Do you ever get tired of playing their songs?” The answer is “Hell no.” It’s always fresh to me and we always do a little something different. Listening to the recordings is always fresh to me. I’ve seen them all over the U.S. It got me travelling, which made me want to get the band travelling more. In 1990 we started playing Grateful Dead music, and by 1991 I had landed the first gig. We didn’t even have enough songs. They wanted us to play nine. We didn’t have enough Dead material to fill the whole set. I remember we played “Eyes of the World.” Our first gig went over so well that they offered us a residency, where we played every Tuesday night at this little club in St. Louis. The club held maybe 80 people and their wasn’t even a stage. We just played in the corner. We did eight years of shows in that little corner. It was free to get in. That’s where we developed a bit of a following. The same people would come in every Tuesday so we had to branch out and learn more songs so we weren’t playing the same thing every week.

The club was so small, we could only do it as a three-piece band. So we were three people playing a six-piece band’s music and we blossomed from there. We called it The Schwag being another word for…maybe not the highest grade. We always were, and continue to be, very humble about what we do. We don’t claim to be the greatest band. We’re The Schwag. We’re not The Dead. We’re not recreating it. We’re just a few guys playing the songs, having fun, and we invite everyone to come have fun and jump in with us. Over the years we got better and better. We don’t have a Bobby guy; I sing a lot of the Bobby. We just rock it out. It is what it is. If you like it, that’s fine, if you don’t, that’s fine, too. There’s all kinds of other bands that are great, like Dark Star Orchestra. There’s no right or wrong way to play their music. I even do a solo acoustic show and I play the songs in my own weird way. It gives me a little more flexibility to switch it up on the spot . There are so many different ways to do it. It’s kind of like wine. Some people can drink Boone’s Farm and be real happy, where others are like, “Man this isn’t high-end enough!” There are some Deadheads like that. If you’re not with Phil Lesh or Bob Weir they’re, not interested. And that’s fine. To each his own.

Now all of a sudden, it’s 2014. We’re trying to continue to make our music better. We like keeping the organic flavor of the music flowing. We’ll start one song and then we’ll decide to go into another one. There’s a number of shows we do where we go out there with no setlist. Me and the guitar player – he sings a lot of the songs as well – we’ll try to go back and forth where I’ll sing two or three in a row, then he’ll sing two or three. Sometimes we’ll just take turns.

I love the dynamic you guys have on stage.

There’s a certain level of comedy we’ve noticed lately. A certain amount of social interplay between us and the audience. We go on these musical adventures and sometimes we work ourselves into a dark alley and it’s like, “Oh, how we gonna get out of this one?” Or one of us will make a mistake on a chord and we all just laugh. We’re up there smiling and having a good time; it’s infectious throughout the whole venue. We get people smiling and laughing. We don’t wanna take it so seriously that it’s not fun. I’ve seen some bands play music and no one’s smiling the whole night. That’s our shit, that’s what we do, that’s what we enjoy. We’re not the highest dollar ticket out there, it’s not $30, $50, $100 to come see us. I always joked that Camp Zoe was like the WalMart of festivals. We’re not the most expensive, and we deal in volume. We were like the bargain festival. You get a big bang for your buck. We had good production and lighting but it wasn’t over the top. We worked on a budget. We discussed hiring bands like Widespread Panic for two nights, but that would change the dynamic of what we set out to do.

Without all of those huge names and a lot of money, so many people I know say that Camp Zoe changed their life. They have been touched by that experience; I was as well. Just being there, some of the simple things like projecting movies up on the bluff and having multiple events a year. It doesn’t always need to have all the bells and whistles to make it an experience for somebody.

Exactly. We loved brainstorming little ways to make it better. Like showing those movies on the bluff – someone in the meeting was like, “That’s not gonna sell more tickets, why pay for that?” And I said, “Why not?” It adds a new element and vibe, and it was a simple thing to do. Let’s make it cool. We started doing a more electronic-influenced tent, which drew mostly younger people. Most of those DJs were doing it for a small fee, the PA system I owned. It’s not like it was a huge production cost, but it added something that some people really enjoyed and connected to. All the little things add up and add to the vibe. And in Camp Zoe, we always focused on the vibe. And that’s what we’re continuing to do with our travels, and every festival or event that hires us. We want it to be in line with our energy and our vibe. We always offer a number of suggestions, like “here’s a few things you can do to help create a good event.”

What advice do you have for musicians aspiring to tour and reach a large audience?

The advice I give is for them to understand that musical ability is half the game. Of course practice, practice, practice. Hone your musical skills. But the other half of the game is marketing, networking, and social compatibility. You have to get along with the people you’re playing with, and you have to get along with the people you’re working with. Always remain humble. I’ve learned that from Johnnie Johnson, who played with Chuck Berry. You always, no matter how popular you get, have to remain humble, grateful, and appreciative of every time you get to play. Don’t ever burn any bridges, no matter how big you get. The people you meet on the way up, you’re gonna meet on the way back down. In music, it’s not always an upward climb. There are peaks and valleys.

I saw you playing “Redemption Song” on a radio show last month. What other music do you like to listen to and play besides the Grateful Dead’s music?

I do love Bob Marley, as well as most reggae, including the obscure. I like Toots and the Maytals. When I go to concerts, I try leaning more towards really talented bands that have been around for awhile. Sometimes I will attend metal shows, bringing out that old metal head in me. We opened for Sammy Hagar recently, although I don’t find myself listening to a lot of that. I also like jazz. I’ll get into Miles Davis, Charlie Parker. I went to college for three and a half years and studied jazz while I was there. I played in the jazz big band, jazz combos, jazz quartet. I like really good bluegrass like Del McCoury Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, even Railroad Earth. I like seeing those guys. I enjoy String Cheese Incident; I’ve worked with several members of their band, who sat in for members of The Schwag.

Madison House, the management team and booking agent for String Cheese, approached me about getting three nights of String Cheese at Camp Zoe in 2006. They then did the Big Summer Classic in 2007, bringing in staging, lighting, and their own production. They did three nights of String Cheese, Los Lobos, Bassnectar, Infected Mushroom. Through that connection, I met the band members. The Schwag over the years has always been me and an ever-evolving cast of musical characters. Not that I meant for it to be that way. Things happen, people move on, get married and have kids, I’ve had two guitar players die. One died of a drug overdose and one died of cancer. At Schwagstock, I hired their two percussionists to play as The Schwag drummers for about four different Schwagstocks. And they’ve become friends of mine. Jason Hann showed up to Jerry Garcia Band shows. There was one event where I had the two drummers, Michael Kang, myself, and the keyboardist at the time. We did a five-piece band, and three members were actually from String Cheese, in my venue at my festival, and I was writing the checks. They’re so mellow and humble about it. I’m like, “Hey! You wanna do this? Here’s the song list.” They’d prepare in advance and do some homework. They’d come in on a Tuesday and we’d rehearse through Thursday, then play Friday and Saturday. We’d live together for a week, eat meals together, rehearse, play shows, do soundcheck, do two big sets in front of 5,000-plus people. It was The Schwag featuring Kang, Travis, and Hann. Those guys paid for themselves because they created extra ticket sales and it was a real joy playing with them. I felt that it brought up my level of musicianship, too, and really challenged me to bring it. Bill Nershi has sat in with us for a few songs. Even Chuck Berry has sat in with us in St. Louis. So has the drummer from Allman Brothers and Mike Gordon from Phish. We have had some fantastic company over the years – it’s been an endless music collaboration.

What is your outlook moving forward?

Moving on from my time with the Jerry Garcia Band and my time being incarcerated, I am trying to stay really focused. Do what I love and do it well. I want to do what I’m passionate about and enjoy it to its fullest potential. I’ve been offered a number of jobs, where I’d make twice as much money for half the work. But it’s not doing what I want to be doing. Maybe other people are getting into music for money. But you gotta love what you do. That’s the American Dream, right? I love playing music, touring around, playing festivals. I have learned to be smarter about all the moves I make. I’m selective about how I spend my time, playing venues that are more organized, upping the whole level of promotion and production. If I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna do it as good as I know how to with my experiences and my resources.

This was just the beginning when it came to picking Tebeau’s brain. When the group came through my town, I was invited backstage to hang out with them while they created the setlist and rehearsed for their show that night. Kara Cavanaugh of Terrapin Flyer joined them to provide gracefully beautiful vocals. The time was a pleasant balance of laughter and songs to fill the air. The gentle musicians’ love of sharing music with others radiates from their souls.

See all The Schwag’s tour dates here.

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