Rick’s death in 1999 is really what broke up The Band for the second time, but you and Randy rejoined Levon’s band a few years ago. What brought you back into the fold after all those years.
When we lost Rick at the end of 1999, that kind of put a stamp on it, and Levon at that point had throat cancer; he was dealing with that. I had a solo album that I was putting out called Big Foot, and right after that I did an album called Remedy. I was touring on my own with my own group, and actually Randy was in it. I was focused on my solo albums for eight or nine years—I don’t know, time flew—and did a record called PERCoLAToR.
But then Levon called me up about six or seven years ago, when Vivino was leaving for the West Coast with The Tonight Show, and said, “Man, we want you to come back into the group, and come to these Rambles.” It was so good to get back with him. We spent so much time on the road, and he is just the best. I was glad to be there with him, and so was Randy—right to the end with him, and play[ing] music. We played ‘till almost the last week of his life. We did a show with Los Lobos at The Barn, and we lost him about a week or so later. He played music great, even though he was in pain; he was all about the music. I know that he was in pain, but he knew music heals, and that’s about the only thing [that] kind of that saved me through it all, too: music.
All those amazing shows that you guys did with The Levon Helm band during his final years not only really brought him back into the spotlight in his later years, but also brought The Band’s music back to the forefront of popular music. In certain ways, The Band’s music has become more popular than ever during the past 10 years.
It really did. You know what, it meant so much. It was a joyful thing to see how happy Levon was towards the end of his life, and he loved the band that he was playing with. To see him get that much success made me so happy, and I know it made his daughter happy, and everyone around him. I was so glad to be there with him, and so was Randy. And you’re right [about] The Band’s music; Levon brought it back into the light, and The Band’s music is more popular now. I’m just feeling it because people are accepting the Weight, and they know Randy and me were part of the band. It’s just nice to see people really wanting to hear the music, and that’s one of the main reasons why we are doing it. I’m enjoying playing it, and there’s so much great tunes to play.
Until The Weight, your other primary group was ProJECT PERCoLAToR. You even brought Garth Hudson into the fold for some dates. Are you still performing with that group as well? Or are you focusing on something else?
Yeah, I still do occasional shows with the PERCoLAToR, which is always a pleasure; it’s a blast. It’s kind of like a left-brain, right-brain thing. I also do a thing called Masters of The Telecasters, which I got different people from G.E. Smith, Danny Kortchmar, to Arlen Roth. So that’s been kind of fun to play some good, strong roots music, too. But The Weight thing is what I’m focusing on, and we’re having a ball doing it!
I’m so glad that people are wanting to hear the songs again, and it really turns from when The Band stopped at the end of ‘99 going into 2000. It was really Levon, when he put the Ramble band back together and we went out and toured it—that really helped bring The Band’s music back into the forefront again. He kept it alive and I really [think] that he wanted us to keep it going. I know that he would be happy right now. He’s up there chuckling. [Laughs] Look at them in that van! [Laughs] He’s just leaning back, and he’s getting the chuckles.
Looking ahead, this year is the 50th year anniversary of the Grateful Dead, and they’re having their Dead reunion shows at Soldier Field. I know that The Band were opening those last shows at Soldiers Field—Jerry Garcia’s last shows with the band. I was wondering if you had any memories of those shows in particular that you could share with us?
Yeah! I was a huge Dead fan when they first came out. I got their first record when I was a kid, and I went to go see them when they first came out at Woodstock. I also saw them at Delhi College [SUNY] before that in the late ‘60s. I thought Workingman’s Dead was very like The Band—after listening to their first albums, my immediate reaction was that The Band’s “The Brown Album” really influenced the Dead. I was really deep into that, but then I went off to into whatever I was into musically.
Then we did Soldier Field in the mid-’90s with them, and I really “got” the Dead. I sat on the stage for a couple of nights after we played and “got” how they pulled people in. It was like a wave, and they built the wave higher and higher. The jam would build—I really understood it, again. That was the only time when I was in The Band that we played with the Dead that I could remember.
It really took a while, though. I had left their music for a while, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed Jerry’s singing and his guitar playing—the way he pulled people in and built his solos. Also the way the two drummers worked; just the way everybody kind of built off each other as they built the jam. I remember Richard Bell—when we were at soundcheck and Jerry had a Hawaiian shirt on with big smile on his face, and Richard goes, “Hey Jerry! Don’t lose your day job!” [Laughs] They started laughing, it was great. That’s what I remember. They were in a good mood. It was a really high point, I think, because they were really playing great.
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