PLAYING DEAD: AN INTERVIEW WITH DARK STAR ORCHESTRA DRUMMER ROB KORITZ

It would be an understatement to say that no band in history has evoked such a dedicated following as the Grateful Dead. In the fifty plus years since the core players got their start as the house band for Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests, the Dead managed to build an entire culture around themselves; their immense musical catalogue is but one cog in a much larger wheel that includes art, drugs, philanthropy, legendarily large scale concerts, and a group of fans, “Deadheads,” who have crafted their entire lives around the band.

Lead guitarist and demigod Jerry Garcia suffered a fatal heart attack in 1995, but the cult of the Dead is just as strong as ever. The surviving members have performed together under various monikers and in various configurations steadily over the past two decades, and the influence of their music can be heard in virtually every jam band to ever grace a festival stage. Notably, a wide array of tribute acts have sprung up as well. Of these tributes, none are more celebrated than Dark Star Orchestra. Where many tributes are content to just play the music of the Grateful Dead, Dark Star Orchestra takes it a step, uh, further: the band describes itself as a “continuation of the classic Grateful Dead concert experience,” and that means that at each show, the players recreate one of the over 2300 classic Dead sets, in its entirety. Since forming in 1997, Dark Star Orchestra has built a rabid following of its own: sellout tours across America, headlining slots at various music festivals, and a fan base just as enthusiastic as that of the Dead.

When we at Carousel heard that Dark Star Orchestra would be performing this month at Magic City Music Hall, we knew we had to get an interview, and we knew only one person with such an encyclopedic knowledge of the Grateful Dead as to be up to the task: Jeff Kahn, proprietor of Binghamton’s Cyber Café West, and guitarist of Binghamton favorites Ugly Dolphin and Monkey’s Typing. Jeff graciously agreed. Here’s his interview with Dark Star Orchestra drummer Rob Koritz:

JEFF KAHN: What’s it like being Mickey Hart?

ROB KORITZ: Well, I’m not Mickey Hart-- I’m Rob Koritz, but playing that music is great. Mickey was a huge influence on me in many aspects of drumming. But it’s not so much about getting to be Mickey Hart, it’s about getting able to play this music. I love the world rhythms, like Mickey. World percussion-- that’s my bag too. It’s great. It’s different every night.

JK: When it is a one-drummer show like a ’73 show and someone sits out, does someone get the night off? Is it that someone has something else to do? Is it ever annoying?

RK: Sure. We’re out here to play music, and you don’t necessarily want the night off. We all on the road at the same time, but not everyone is on stage every night. At the same time, we’re pretty lucky because there are not too many people who can go out in the audience and watch their own band perform. That’s kind of cool.

JK: If you go to see some Dead- related show these days, like Dead & Company or Furthur, is it different, being in the business of being the Dead, seeing them now as opposed to seeing the Dead on the Europe Tour in ‘90? Do you see it from both sides?

RK: Yeah, Europe ‘90 was great. I was on that tour. I wasn’t in Dark Star yet, but I was still breaking down musically everything-- particularly what Mickey was doing. That was college for us. We didn’t know it at the time. We didn’t know we were going to be Dark Star Orchestra ten years later, but we were all students then. If I go see the other shows, we probably watch it with a little bit more critical ear then most people do.

JK: The Dead had off nights and on nights, but I’ve seen you guys, and you don’t seem to have off nights. I assume there’s pressure to go out there and be good. The popularity the Dead got, I think, put a strain on them: both what they could play and how high they could play. Do you feel as DSO has grown, has that changed anything?

RK: You always want to go out and do your best, of course. Do we have off nights? Sure we do. Our off nights, though, are still pretty good (laughs). We don’t– I don’t know how to say this– we don’t party real hard. It’s a job. We take it pretty seriously. We try to keep our heads about us while we’re out there, so that definitely helps us avoid the off nights I think.

JK: The Dead always spoke of a mysterious X- factor, that moment when things sort of play themselves. Do you guys feel that?

RK: For sure! Last night we came off stage and we were all super jazzed. That little sequence of “Estimated” into “Other One” into “Eyes.” That really went well, man. That really flowed. There are some things that are better than others when we’re like, ‘yeah, we really pulled that off. That was really good.’

JK: You mentioned not partying too hard. The Dead were certainly about the music, but there was certainly music and drugs. There were drugs in the audience, there were drugs in that band. To you feel a connection between music as an altered state and people wanting to achieve an altered state? You’re providing something for some people who are going to a special place. Do you have feelings on the whole drug culture in the whole Dead scene?

RK: To be honest, all I worry about is getting out there and playing music the best I can.

JK: You’ve spoken about how the songs you like to play aren’t necessarily the songs you like to hear the most. And, I know that Bill Kreutzmann has mentioned that one of his favorite songs to play is “Row Jimmy.” I’ve grown to appreciate it over time, but it was never my favorite when they brought it out. Do you get that? Like, how a song like “Row Jimmy” could be much more fun to play than to hear?

RK: That’s interesting. I think that’s a very personal thing. There are certain grooves that drummers gravitate toward; it feels better for them and they’re more enjoyable. For me, on a melodic side, there are certain chord progressions that really get me off. Just as an example, I happen to love playing, “Lazy River Road.” There’s nothing complicated about it. It’s not my favorite song by any means, but it just popped into my head because I love that chord progression. There’s the little cool descending diminished chords in there, and that really gets me off. But it’s a personal thing. You know, everybody’s opinion is going to be different. There are songs that I could play every night. And there are other songs, to be honest, if I never played them again I’d be okay.

JK: What song can you play every night?

RK: You know, it’s funny, but some of the songs that I could play every night are really simple ones, and other ones are more complicated. But, I could play “The Music Never Stopped” every night. That’s my favorite song. It’s just got so much going on. Cool chord progressions, cool time changes, great lyrics.

JK: There’s amazing build in that song. When I’ve heard the Dead do it, they almost nail that build, you know, and I’ve heard you guys really nail that build. Do you know what I’m talking about? It’s complex, and you can miss it.

RK: Rhythmically there is some tough stuff going on in the changes. There’s a lot going on. There’s some abrupt change. There are some things in 4/4 and then there a big 6/8 section in the middle, a jam and back to 4/4 in the outro. Not super easy to do. It’s definitely a challenge, and that’s one of the things I love about it.

JK: Train wrecks are fun when you’re doing the whole ‘jam band’ thing. Any recent train wrecks?

RK: We cover our tracks pretty quickly. We’re generally pretty good. There’s never a total breakdown. It happens where we get to a point in the song and we forget the arrangement, and half the band goes in one direction and half the band goes the other. But we catch it pretty quick.

JK: How about when changing members? Like Jeff Mattson [lead guitar,vocals] joining the band: I saw Jeff in Freeport back in 1979-1980 and he actually played at my place (what used to be West Side Cheers but is now Cyber Café West). I saw him with the Zen Tricksters and now he’s with you. I thought he added a real shot to the band when I saw him with you guys. How did that change things for you guys?

RK: We’ve been really lucky. No matter who it is, when there’s a personnel change – and there’s been quite a few over the years – there’s always a small adjustment period just to learn each other’s musical intricacies. But we’ve been very lucky over the years. Every time we’ve had a personnel change, we’ve gotten better. It’s nothing against anyone who was there before. We just stepped up our game. It just makes it fresh again.

JK: Maybe a little bit of the polish was off for a moment, but the depth really went to other places, I felt.

RK: Yeah. That’s just taking some time to learn their different musical devices, their different non-verbal cues and getting comfortable with everybody. In more recent years, three years ago we changed bass players. Kevin [Rosen, bass/vocals] retired and Skip [Vangelas] joined the band. And, we went through the same process with just learning his playing style. Once we got comfortable with each other, it stepped up our game immeasurably; took us to a whole different level. When Scott [Larned, keyboards] passed away in 2005, that was maybe the worst thing that ever happened to me. But Barraco came in and took us to another level. So we have just been really lucky in that respect.

JK: You guys have your own history, but in some ways you share a lot of history with the Grateful Dead: if not chronologically, at least in the minds of the fans. Do you feel a connection to the ‘60s or ‘70s when you’re playing the music of that time? Is there a shift in you on stage? Is there time transport involved at all?

RK: Yes and no. If we’re going to go back and do the ‘60s, I have to stop and think, ‘these guys were really, really young,’ which none of us are (laughs). So why was this stuff so cool? Part of it was the drugs, and we’re not gonna go there. But some of it was, these were just young guys who got their groove on for the first time, really taking it where they wanted and playing with reckless abandon. So I think about that when I’m up there and think, ‘go for it a little bit, take some more chances, that’s okay right now.’

JK: There was a delicacy with early Dead, in the way it could fall apart. Then much later on, it was more like a marching band: Jerry Garcia could fall off the stage and the music might continue. Early on though, there’s this feeling, like the music was on a tight rope someway. It felt more precarious. As the band got better, I suppose, there was something lost in that fragility.

RK: I believe that as they got better, there were a whole lot more expectations. They’re not playing at the Fillmore for 1500 people anymore. They’re playing at a stadium for 40 or 50,000 people… There’s a lot of expectations, seats to fill, money on the line. You’ve got to play it a little bit safer; deliver the product that people are expecting to hear. Sure, the fans were still expecting improvisation and expecting them to take chances, but you can’t go out in front of 20,000 people and suck. You’ve got to deliver.

JK: Anything you want to add?

RK: Really my only thing to say is there are still a lot of people out there who say, ‘Oh, they’re just a cover band, why would I go to see that, do something original bla bla bla.’ If you’re skeptical, give it a chance. Just come out one time: I think we have the ability to change feelings about it.

JK: “Cover band” is such a poor choice of words. I think it’s better to think of it like jazz, and these are the standards. And you’ve got a group of fine musicians who are playing this book.

RK: Yes, you’re right! That’s exactly what it is.

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Dark Star Orchestra plays Magic City Music Hall (1240 Upper Front St. in Northgate Plaza, Binghamton) on Sunday, May 22nd. Doors open at 7:30pm and music starts at 8:30pm. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 day-of-show. More info on the band at: darkstarorchestra.net. More info on the venue at: themagiccitymusichall.com.