"Deadheads" is the nickname for faithful followers of the band, the Grateful Dead. Sort of like "Parrotheads" is for Jimmy Buffett fans.
This Saturday, Deadheads in Alabama will be heading to the Southside of Birmingham. Their destination is the club Zydeco.
"Cosmic Charlie," described as more than a Deadhead tribute band, deader than dead, will “let the music play the band.”
“Cosmic Charlie - these guys do this music the way it should be done: having the conversation in their own voices.” - David Gans, Grateful Dead Hour
Tickets can be purchased here.
The official event site describes the band as follows:
Cosmic Charlie was born in the musical Mecca of Athens, Georgia. From its summer 1999 inception, the band swiftly cemented its reputation as a band that puts a unique and personal twist on the Grateful Dead catalogue. Cosmic Charlie is a Dead cover band for folks that are ambivalent about Dead cover bands.
Rather than mimicking the Dead exactly, Cosmic Charlie chooses to tap into the Dead’s energy and style as a foundation on which to build. The result is healthy balance of creativity and tradition, where both the band and its audience are taken to that familiar edge with the sense that, music is actually being MADE here tonight.
Moving and shaking even the most skeptical of Deadheads, Cosmic Charlie storms into a town and plays with an energy that eludes other bands, an energy that sometimes eluded the Dead themselves. Those precious moments during Dead jams when the synchronicity is there and all is right with the world - these are the moments that Cosmic Charlie relishes and feverishly welcomes with open arms. Clearly, Cosmic Charlie’s audiences are also eager to partake in these moments, and together with the band, they have indulged in many memorable evenings.
For most shows, Cosmic Charlie walks onstage without a setlist. Any Dead tune is fair game at any moment. “Inspiration, move me brightly” is Cosmic Charlie’s modus operandi, allowing the music to truly play the band.
The Grateful Dead was a “jam band” formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, Calif., during the midst of the counter-culture movement in the San Francisco Bay area. They fused an unusual variety of musical genres – rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, gospel, reggae and psychedelia.
After the death of frontman Jerry Garcia in 1995, the group decided to disband. Various spinoffs and reunions of band members have continued.
The Grateful Dead had more commercial success in touring than in recording. “Touch of Grey” remains their biggest single hit.
Despite the decades since their active years, the Grateful Dead continue to have one of the largest and most active cult followings. You will see and instantly recognize Deadheads at Zydeco on February 17.
"The grass ain’t greener, the wine ain’t sweeter, either side of the hill." - Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead.
Jim Zeigler is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
