And that’s what I’m doing in 2 short days. I’ll be performing on Thursday evening at El Rio in the Mission (3158 Mission Street). I’ll be playing with my good friends Eric Saar (on drums and other percussion instruments), Connor O’Sullivan (on bass and mandolin), and Elliott Peck (on acoustic guitar, vocals, and keyboards) as my band. We’re calling ourselves Grahame Lesh & The Rainy Day Fund. And yes, that’s the nerdiest SF Giants reference of all time. We’ll be playing after two very cool bands: Surrogate and Caught In Motion. The cover is a measily $5 – which means lots of musical bang for your buck.

So if you’re in San Francisco, we’d love to see you there! We’ll be playing some of my originals (like San Francisco Rain, Who I Was, and more), some of Elliott’s tunes, and some very fun covers. Doors open at 8pm. Come on down!

-Grahame

ps: below, after the jump, check out some videos of my tunes if you want to hear em before the show!

San Francisco Rain (live at Terrapin Crossroads 4/22)

Who I Was (live at Little Belgium Bar 2/4)

Long Road (live at Little Belgium Bar 2/4)

This one is this Sunday, April 22nd (2012…duh), in the bar at Terrapin (100 Yacht Club Dr, San Rafael, CA). It’s solo acoustic. Well, it’s kinda solo acoustic. It’s acoustic, and its gonna focus on my songs, but I’m going to have some friends playing with me for a few tunes, so “solo” might not be the best term. Whatever! It will be fun. And I’m opening, once again, for the awesome Dry Creek Rounders, who will bluegrass your face off after I’m done. Basically, you should come hang out with us, listen to some tunes, and grab some food and delicious beer (a little birdy told me that one of my favorite beers – Squid Ink by Pac Brew Labs – may be on tap by this weekend).

So, to get ready for the show, check the bottom of this post for a couple of my demos. I’ll be playing both of these tunes on Sunday (with different arrangements, but still), so you can maybe recognize them and sing along with them if you’re able to make it. Hope you enjoy, and I hope to see you on Sunday!

-Grahame

Who I Was

 San Francisco Rain

• That was awesome.
• I’ve had “Squeaky Wheel” (by Tim Bluhm) stuck in my head for about 4 days, and the rollicking version we played last night has not helped it get un-stuck. Love that tune. This video of Squeaky Wheel in particular is pretty cool.
• Jackie sang the shit out of “Sugaree”. What else is new?
• Everyone involved in the creation of the restaurant and bar deserves a hug and a standing ovation. The food, drinks and decor are incredible, and that awesomeness came about because of a ton of hard work by a lot of talented people. Insane amounts of love and props need to go to my mom Jill and the entire staff for making this happen so quickly and so perfectly.
• Did I mention how awesome last night was?
• The piano, drums, and bass jam that my dad, Jeff, and Jaz did was really cool. People kept commenting that last night was like watching a band in someone’s living room, and that Dark Star>;Stella Blue>;Dark Star jam was the major reason why. Jeff switched over to the acoustic grand piano and the people watching gathered around the piano to watch and listen. The crowd quieted down to pay attention so the grand piano was audible from across the stage (where I was listening). Just a really cool concept that was executed quite well.
• Don’t you like how I’ve extended 4 thoughts into 7 bullet points (so far) by adding this bullet point and two “hey, last night was awesome” bullet points? I’m such a creative writer.
• Trading lead guitar licks with Jackie is really fun. He pushed me hard, and I think some really cool playing came out of it from both of us.
• You may not know Ross, but you should. He’s the shit. He’s the lead guitar and pedal steel player for my brother Brian’s band Blue Light River, and he played some awesome guitar and steel last night. Man, that steel really adds to tunes like Dire Wolf, Friend of the Devil, and Look At Miss Ohio. Oh, and he has an awesome beard. Beards are cool, mkay?
• Speaking of my brother Brian, he’s still hard at work at school, but he’ll be back in CA for the 1st two shows in the Grate Room at Terrapin Crossroads. I should mention that our inclusion of “Look At Miss Ohio” in the setlist last night was maybe, just kind of, a teasing attempt to make Brian jealous that he wasn’t there. So neener neener neener – we played “Look At Miss Ohio” while you were busy studying. ;. Seriously, though, Nicki really sang the hell out of that song. That was a highlight of the night for me.
• Credit to Jackie for the How Many More Times jam in the middle of New Speedway Boogie. That was completely unplanned, but c’mon, who doesn’t know that riff? It’s never a bad idea to throw in a little Zeppelin.
• Ok, last thought: I need to reiterate how great of a job the Terrapin Crossroads staff did. We just play the music. That’s the fun part, but its really only part of a bigger experience. To make the entire experience what it was last night and will be for countless nights to come takes an incredible effort, and everyone involved in the hard work of making Terrapin Crossroads a reality deserves another round of applause. So if you come to Terrapin Crossroads anytime soon and see Jill, Kathy, Alex, Laura, Chris, Mark, Ross, David, Robbie, or any of the countless other people who made this happen that I’m forgetting, please thank them for all of us. This place is really going to be a Bay Area treasure, and it’s because of them.
• Wait, one more. You’re coming tonight, right?

And on that note, check out some pics and video from the show below!

-Grahame

Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad (video by Stuart Levine)

Bertha (video by Stuart Levine)

The Other One (video by jahk2)

Photos:

Terrapin Crossroads Opening Setlist 3/8

Jackie (with me in the background). Photo by Scott Chernis

Phil opens the doors to the new Terrapin Crossroads! Photo by Scott Chernis

More photos (by Scott Chernis) here.

First, I’m not exactly sure how much I’m supposed to give away, so I’m going to err a bit on the side of caution. But you’ve all seen the lineups for the 12 nights, and I think I can hint at some other tidbits. Those lineups are pretty insane, huh? Chris Robinson, Jimmy Herring, Jackie Greene, Warren Haynes, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams….(*whew* /takes a wheezing breath)….John Kadlecik, Joe Russo, Jeff Chimenti, and Jaz Sawyer. Oh, and Bob Weir for the opening night. And little ole me and my little brother Brian (ha…I called Brian “little”. He’s like 6’4″) will help out as well – Brian for the 1st 2 shows and me for all 12. Obviously, not everyone will be playing at the same time, so we’re working hard to make sure that every night we’re able to spotlight the guest du jour. I’ll be working my butt off to help make the various bands better in every way that I can. I’ll mostly be playing rhythm or acoustic guitar and singing a ton of backup vocals, but I may have a lead vocal or guitar solo thrown in every once in awhile. Also, Brian, my dad, and I will also be serving up an extra helping of the 3-part family harmonies that we’ve been working on these past couple years, and we think those will sound real nice.

I know that it has been hinted at on the Terrapin Crossroads website, but we are in fact preparing a few acoustic sets in the restaurant and bar part of the Crossroads. I can’t say when, for how long, or with who (and I might get yelled at for confirming it at all), but it’s something I’m excited about and I want to mention it here. Those gigs will obviously be free to all restaurant go-ers, and it will make for quite an awesome night as the food will be delicious and the music will be very fun.

I hope to have more updates soon for anyone who happens across this little corner of the Interwebs (I have noticed a bit of an uptick in traffic since yesterday’s announcement), but for now that’s all I have for you! I’m going to try to get some exclusive content for this site from rehearsals and whatnot, but no guarantees. My best advice? Stay tuned to TerrapinCrossroads.net to be 1st to hear the newest news

-Grahame

ps: 1 last thing. At the end of the run, everyone will join up for a 20 verse, 60 minute Sugaree-off. Everyone who has ever covered Sugaree with Phil & Friends, Furthur, or any other Grateful Dead family band will get a chance to sing a verse of Sugaree. At the end we’ll vote on the best one. Also, this isn’t actually happening, but it’d be pretty damn funny, huh?

pps: Don’t forget to watch the Phil Lesh & Friends webcast tonight featuring the PLF band that will be playing the Broomfield, CO shows from 2/16-18. Phil, Warren, John Scofield, Jackie, and Joe Russo. It’s gonna be smoking! 6pm PST on TerrapinCrossroads.net for free. More details here. Hurry! It starts in 1 hour!

So I have booked my first show in the Sacramento Area! On February 4th, 2012 (only a couple weeks away!) I’ll be headed up to Auburn, CA, to play some tunes in support of the Dry Creek Rounders at the Little Belgium Deli and Beer Bar. If you read my announcement for my 2/29/2012 show at Iron Springs, you’ll remember that the Rounders a) are awesome, b) play bluegrass/Americana music, and c) include Ross from my brother’s band Blue Light River.

So now that you’re up to date, come by if you’re in the Sacramento Area that weekend and we’ll play a lot of fun music. There is also delicious beer and food. The things the Little Belgium is known for!

ps: you can RSVP on Facebook here!

Buckle up, kids.

By now, if you’re here on this page, you’ve probably already been here. If you haven’t, head over, peruse the site, and then come back.

…

Ok! As my parents may have mentioned before, the most basic idea for Terrapin Crossroads was born in July of 2010 when my family went to Levon Helm’s place for my dad, my brother and I to play a Ramble. We played an incredibly fun show, watched Levon’s fantastic band, and then followed Levon into his kitchen. His kitchen! This epic night of music had ended, and he walked 1 room over and into his home.

It was quite the “WHOA!” moment for my parents. “What if we played shows…and then DIDN’T have to sleep in a tour bus?” (First World Problems, amirite guyz?) So they set about trying to recreate the Ramble experience at home in Marin. While they may not be walking from the stage to their kitchen, Terrapin Crossroads will be a place to play tons of music close to home.

For me, this is a chance to take some of the more interesting ideas that I had told my parents they should try and maybe actually implement them. So look for fun (and cheap! Thank you Louis CK) streaming video options for those who aren’t in the Bay Area, the best Bay Area beers on tap, TONS of local bands (including, ahem, my own), studio recordings recorded on the TC stage, and way more.

So let’s look forward to oh so much more music in the near future. There isn’t all that much else I can tell you except to for a pretty epic run of opening shows in March. Like…epic.

Buckle up, kids.

-Grahame

Fun fact, the guitar player/pedal steel player/occasional singer for the Dry Creek Rounders is Ross James, who ALSO fills that role in my brother Brian’s band Blue Light River. Basically, he’s the shit. So is DCR (did it again!). So come hang with us and listen to cool music.

-Grahame

Check out more details here, and I will make sure to post some pictures and maybe even some other media over the weekend. Hope to see you there!

I’ll be playing some new original stuff I’ve been working on, some fun covers, and maybe a couple Maiden Lane tunes. I might even pull out some of my old band Crystal City‘s material out.

Should be fun! Hope to see you there.

So imagine how incredibly excited I am to do it all again! This June 17th we’ll be back at Levon’s place to rock out some more. Time to woodshed like crazy!