Bill Kreutzmann

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Bill Kreutzmann

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Img_capt = Bill Kreutzmann, ca. 1975
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = William Kreutzmann
Born = birth date and age|1946|5|7
Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Died =
Origin = San Francisco, California, U.S.
Instrument = Drum kit, percussion
Genre = Rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock
Occupation = Musician
Years_active = 1959–present
Label =
Associated_acts = Grateful Dead
SerialPod
Backbone

Trichromes
Go Ahead
Rhythm Devils
URL =
Notable_instruments =

Bill Kreutzmann (born May 7, 1946 in Palo Alto, California) is an American drummer who played with rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career.

Career

Kreutzmann started playing drums at the age of 13, despite having been told by his sixth grade music teacher that he couldn't keep a beat. As a teenager, he met Aldous Huxley at his high school, who encouraged him in his drumming. At the end of 1964 he co-founded the band The Warlocks, along with Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. Their first real gig was May 5, 1965, two days before Kreutzmann's nineteenth birthday. In November 1965, the Warlocks became the Grateful Dead. Meeting fellow percussionist Mickey Hart in the fall of 1967 would have a big impact on Kreutzmann's career. Hart soon joined the Dead, making it one of the first (and few) rock bands to feature two drummers. The two percussionists' remarkable cohesion, synchronicity, and driving power became a hallmark of the Grateful Dead sound, and earned them the nickname "the Rhythm Devils". Their lengthy drum duets were a feature of every show from 1979–1995, and are documented in a number of recordings by the band. [ [http://www.deaddisc.com/songs/Drums.htm "Drums" on deaddisc.com] ] Kreutzmann remained with the Grateful Dead until its dissolution following the passing of Garcia in 1995, making him one of four members to play at every one of the band's 3,500 shows, along with Garcia, Weir and Lesh.

Kreutzmann's first post-Dead musical project was Backbone, a trio with guitarist Rick Barnett and bassist Edd Cook. They released a self-titled album in 1998. [ [http://www.musicbox-online.com/bk-back.html Metzger, John. "Backbone" review, "The Music Box", November 1998] ]

In 1998, former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart formed a band called The Other Ones, which played a number of shows as part of the Furthur Festival. The band did not play live in 1999. Then, in 2000, Kreutzmann joined The Other Ones. [ [http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/08.24.00/furtherfest-0034.html Cooper, Scott. "Return of the Other Other One", "Metro" (Silicon Valley), August 24 - 30, 2000] ] The band, with Kreutzmann, toured in 2000 and 2002. [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theotherones/articles/story/5934000/dead_come_alive_as_other_ones Dansby, Andrew. "Dead Come Alive as Other Ones", "Rolling Stone", October 7, 2002] ] [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE5D91438F93BA15752C1A9649C8B63 Ratliff, Ben. "Keeping Pace with Shades of the Dead", "New York Times", November 28, 2002] ] [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/01/PK130455.DTL Selvin, Joel. "Other Ones Reunite", "San Francisco Chronicle", December 1, 2002] ] In 2003, they changed their name to The Dead. [ [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/02/12/MN228379.DTL Selvin, Joel. "Marin Icons Now The Dead", "San Francisco Chronicle", February 12, 2003] ] The Dead played a number of live concerts in 2003 and 2004.

Kreutzmann collaborated with Journey guitarist Neal Schon, Sy Klopps, Ira Walker, and Ralph Woodson to form the Trichromes in 2002. They released an EP, "Dice with the Universe", [ [http://www.musicbox-online.com/bk-tri.html Metzger, John. "Dice with the Universe" review, "The Music Box", April 2002] ] and an album, "Trichromes". [ [http://www.musicbox-online.com/bk-tri2.html Metzger, John. "TriChromes" review, "The Music Box", September 2002] ]

On December 17, 2005, Kreutzmann participated in the 17th Annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam as the drummer for SerialPod, a group which also included former Phish members Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon. [ [http://www.jambase.com/Articles/7714/17th-ANNUAL-WARREN-HAYNES-CHRISTMAS-JAM Kerr, Paul. "17th Annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam", JamBase, January 3, 2006] ] [ [http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles/47229/warren-haynes-17th-annual-christmas-jam-11_17_2005.html Clarke, Richard. "Warren Haynes 17th Annual Christmas Jam", "Glide" magazine, December 27, 2005] ]

During 2006, Kreutzmann teamed up with fellow Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, former Phish bassist Mike Gordon, and former The Other Ones guitarist Steve Kimock to form the Rhythm Devils. The band features songs from their respective former bands as well as new songs written by Jerry Garcia's songwriting companion Robert Hunter. The Rhythm Devils played their first tour in 2006, which ended at the popular Vegoose festival in Las Vegas, Nevada over the Halloween weekend. In 2008 they released a DVD called "The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience".

In May and June 2008, Bill Kreutzmann toured the northeastern United States with bassist Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band and guitarist Scott Murawski of Max Creek. The trio, called KBM, will perform at the Gathering of the Vibes in August and at Magnolia Fest in October. [ [http://www.dead.net/features/road/bill-kreutzmann-oteil-burbridge-scott-murawski-kick-tour-may-28-2008 "Bill Kreutzmann, Oteil Burbridge & Scott Murawski Kick Off Tour May 28, 2008", dead.net] ] [Budnick, Dean. "Let It Grow", "Relix", August 2008, p. 49 – 52]

In 1994, Kreutzmann and the other members of the Grateful Dead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2007, they won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Kreutzmann also does work as a visual artist and, in 2001, began releasing limited edition reproductions of his digital artwork.

Personal life

Bill Kreutzmann's daughter Stacy is married and has two children. She and her husband Mike Quinn run a printing and design company in Petaluma, California.

Kreutzmann's son Justin is a film and video director. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0471069/ Justin Kreutzmann on the Internet Movie Database] ] [ [http://deadnews.blogspot.com/2005/12/justin-kreutzmann-interview.html Justin Kreutzmann interview on deadnews.blogspot.com, December 5, 2005] ] He directed ', a 35 minute Grateful Dead music documentary video that was released in 1992, and ', a 30 minute documentary released in 1987. [ [http://www.deaddisc.com/vi/Making.htm "Dead Ringers: The Making of A Touch of Grey" on DeadDisc.com] .] In 2001 Justin assisted in the early stages of "An Ox's Tale", a documentary about the late John Entwistle, bassist for The Who. Currently he maintains a blog called "Rock and Reel", which covers rock history and his current projects. Already having worked on numerous projects with Pete Townshend, he is the chief cameraman for Townshend's partner Rachel Fuller. Justin's most recent works are "Rock 'n' Roll Band", a concert film of the music group Tea Leaf Green, [ [http://www.houstonpress.com/2006-12-07/music/tea-leaf-green/ Bolen, James. "Tea Leaf Green: Rock 'n' Roll Band", "Houston Press", December 7, 2006] ] and a film titled "Fragments", a documentary of The Who's 2006 – 2007 tour. [ [http://www.mymcmurray.com/kyx98/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2617 "The Who Documentary", MyMcMurray Rock 97.9] ]

Notes

References

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wjfpxqr5ldke~T1 Bill Kreutzmann biography on All Music Guide]
* [http://www.deaddisc.com/GDFD_Bill_Kreutzmann.htm Bill Kreutzmann discography on DeadDisc.com]
* [http://www.rememberjerry.com/trichromes.htm "About Bill Kreutzmann", RememberJerry.com]
* [http://www.jambands.com/mar99/features/kreutzmann.html Bruner, Sarah. "Just a Guy Who Plays Drums: An Interview with Bill Kreutzmann", JamBands.com, March 1999]
* [http://www.stateofmindmusic.com/?entry=251 McKinley, Mike. "Conversation with Bill Kreutzmann", State of Mind Music, May 27, 2008]
*McNally, Dennis (2002). "A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead". Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1185-7.

External links

* [http://www.ocean-spirit.net/ Bill Kreutzmann] official website
*myspace|billykreutzmann
* [http://rockandreel.blogspot.com/ Rock and Reel website]
* [http://www.dead.net/ Grateful Dead] official website