“Inspiration, move me brightly, like a song of sense and color…”
(Terrapin Station)
Bob Weir, Grateful Dead guitarist of thirty years, recently passed away.
When Jerry Garcia died, lyricist Robert Hunter eulogized him saying, “Now that the singer is gone, where do we go to find the song?” The answer is and always was, Bobby Weir.
After the Grateful Dead, Bob Weir continued to play with a variety of gifted musicians from many genres, rearranging the Dead’s enormous songbook, allowing the music to evolve and continue.
He was always moving forward, working on projects like Kingfish, Bobby & The Midnites, Weir & Wasserman, RatDog, The Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur, Dead & Company, and Wolf Brothers.
Jerry Garcia once stated that it was Bob Weir’s unique chord formations, timing and musical artistry that allowed Garcia to interlace beautiful melodies into Weir’s playing.
Weir would skillfully lay down a rythmic framework for his fellow bandmembers to combine with, conducting, leading and elevating a musical composition to heightened levels, creating uniquely and interestingly timed songs.
Like a keymaster, he would unlock rhythms, creating harmonic frequencies that elevated the attention and thought levels of each venue of listeners.
Wherever and whomever he played with, he made everyone feel trouble-free and connected for the next several hours, leading the band members and listeners to a place where everyone would became one with the music.
Drummer and friend Mickey Hart referred to this method as “entrainment.”
Entrainment is a phenomenon when one rhythm or system synchronizes with another, occurring across physics, biology, and psychology, such as clocks, matching frequency or humans syncing heartbeats to music. It has been scientifically proven that people in a group might sync heart rates or respiration; listening to music can entrain breathing and heart rhythms.
Bob Weir provided for us, musically and soulfully, allowing many people throughout the years, to develop a spirituality and sense of community that has no rival. One that came from a place of kindness he had for the music and for others. One that will live on forever.
Thank you, Bob.
Thank you to my long time friend who generously helped me write this article.
The Cultural Easton 