Raising The Dead was really excited to play The Beats Go On on September 6.  The event was the result of some creative thinking by the team who produces the Arts, Beats, and Eats festival every year in Royal Oak.  With the restrictions on crowd size and safety considerations of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Beats Go On was a way to help Detroit area musicians perform and raise money for themselves and other musicians in the area who have been hit hard by the inability to perform live music.  

Raising The Dead was selected for a drive-in performance, and paired with the Santana tribute band The Santana Project.  Each group got 30 minutes to perform, with sanitization and appropriate social distancing separating the shows.  50 tickets, each admitting one car with two people were sold, and the RTD-TSP show sold out. 

We took the stage at 4:30 and had a tight, 30-minute set of Grateful Dead favorites planned.  It's no small thing to whittle down what we do to just 30 minutes, but our performance seems to have turned some heads nonetheless.  We started with Sugar Magnolia, pivoted into the Dead's biggest commercial hit Touch of Grey, and then started the American Beauty track Casey Jones.  We all howled with laughter when, during the third chorus of Casey ("Driving that train, high on cocaine"), a train barreled down the tracks immediately adjacent the performance site.  The timing was perfect!    After that notion crossed our minds, we pivoted into a Jammy Truckin'.  Since we couldn't play a whole show, we thought we'd give the Deadheads in the crowd a taste of what might have come next, so we teased The Other One, I Need A Miracle, He's Gone, and Dark Star before returning to end Sugar Mag with Sunshine Daydream.  It was the first time we'd played the complete Daydream tag, with Laurie (who made her auspicious debut with RTD) singing Donna's parts with confidence.  We ended on a high, Dave introduced the band, and we were at 30 minutes, on the nose.  

Then, a funny thing happened - the event producer, Jonathan Witz, hopped on stage and asked us not to leave - a surprise when playing such a tightly timed show.  He asked if we'd encore Truckin' while Channel 4 took footage for the evening news.  Of course, there's only one answer when the producer wants an encore, so we hung out for a while.  Unfortunately, the Channel 4 crew didn't end up recording us after all, but it's a moment we'll never forget.  Our friend Warren Nelson captured the event and broadcast it to Facebook Live, and that feed is included here.  Watch for the pro-shot footage from Arts Beats and Eats coming soon!

We hope to be a part of the Arts Beats and Eats shows in the future, and really enjoyed seeing all the fans that came out to support us.  We'd like to ask you to support The Beats Go On as they work to raise $500,000 in order to match Oakland County's grant.  Money donated will go towards supporting professional musicians in the Detroit area.  Thank you for your support! 

On August 20, 2020, Dave played a solo acoustic show at the Detroit Yacht Club.  It was a request by Debbie Sapperstein, whose husband Leon was celebrating his birthday.  Both are lifelong Deadheads who have seen Raising The Dead perform at The Watermark in St. Clair Shores.  They contacted Matt, who was unavailable, but recommended Dave for the gig.  The weather was warm and humid, but the breeze was beautiful.  2 hours of un-mic'd acoustic Dead followed, and it's archived here for your pleasure. 

In addition, Dave helps plan and create music for online Sunday services for the Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church.  On September 13, the Jerry Garcia Band song "My Sisters and Brothers" was a perfect fit.  The band recorded the song at our rehearsal on Tuesday, September 9 and had a really nice performance on the second take.  Unfortunately, the audio files that captured it were corrupted, which was discovered on Wednesday.  That meant Dave had to get to work!  In his small office studio, Dave recorded the drums, bass, guitar, organ, and 3-part gospel harmony vocals, and produced the recording here.  He hopes you enjoy it!

Raising The Dead will be performing for The Beats Go On, a re-imagining of Arts Beats and Eats for 2020.  We will perform a special drive-in concert with The Santana Project from 4:30-6:30 on Sunday, September 6 in Downtown Royal Oak at the corner of 6th and Main.  The event is ticketed and all proceeds go to the performers.  A limited number of tickets are available (50 cars) and each ticket admits 2 people in one car.  Ticket price is $30, and tickets are available at the Arts Beats and Eats website.  RSVP at the Facebook event here. 

Please also consider donating to The Beats Go On Musician's Fund by following this link. 

Thursday, August 6 saw members of RTD perform as "The Days Between with Matt Cole and Friends". RTD members Matt Cole, Bill Butler, Max Ketz, and Joe Waldecker were joined by vocalist Laurie Lester, to play a full Jerry Garcia Band show. Two hours of Jerry for the Otus Supply live stream gave his kind Jerry vibes for the Day Between.


After one rehearsal to get our bearings straight, we were in heaven playing a 2.5 hour set. The show started with Matt singing The Harder They Come, Stop That Train, and Valerie. Joe slayed us with Mission in the Rain. After Matt sang Waiting for a Miracle. Bill led us through Dear Prudence. For Joe's lead on Suaree, Matt invited Adam Bodeep from the FB page Deadicated Jams to sit in on guitar--Adam's dirt tone with Matt's Jerry tone were sweet! Next was Catfish John sung by Matt. Joe sang Run for the Roses--"all good things in all good time", which was followed by a long Lay Down Sally sang by Matt, complete with Space. Matt's rendering of Like a Road Leading Home gave way to the final song of the streaming set, Tangled Up in Blue, lead vocals by Joe, with Laurie and Matt singing the harmonies. 

After the stream ended, we played three encores for the masked sound and video crew and friends. Joe's interpretation of Gomorrah was stellar. Matt sang My Sisters and Brothers--"keep the faith". A long, jammy, Everybody Needs to Somebody to Love ended the show. 

See ya next week!

One of our favorite venues, Otus Supply in Ferndale, is hosting a series of live-streamed multi-camera performances this summer.  Raising The Dead kicked off Episode 1 back in June, and will be a part of Episodes 7 and 8.  

The Days Between with Matt Cole and Friends will feature Matt Cole, Max Katz, Bill Butler, and Joseph Waldecker from Raising The Dead, along with Laurie Lester, formerly of the People Movers.  They will perform the best of the Jerry Garcia Band.  Show starts at 8. 

Raising The Dead will return on August 13, performing their virtuosic take on the Dead repertoire.  

Use this link (The Parliament Room's Facebook Page) to find the stream for both shows. 

We hope you can join us for both shows!  We miss you, Jerry!

Our first audience-attended gig since the COVID crisis began was a great one.  The Tangent Gallery hosted us on their elevated stage, fans kept their distance, the venue staff provided masked service with a smile (we're pretty sure), and the jams flowed from the stage like honey.  It was so great to elbow-bump fans we've not seen for months, and deliver a 3-and-a-half-hour performance worthy of the day before Jerry's birthday.  

The first set featured a fine medley of Bertha into a psychedelic 69-style Good Lovin', which gave way to a pretty Wheel and an intense Unbroken Chain.  Joe led our debut of To Lay Me Down, followed by an out-there Cassidy, a funky Cumberland, and a rockin' Other One.  We were ready to take a break, but got to do one more, and laid down with the Dire Wolf. 

After a great acoustic set from Kyle, we retook the stage for a two hour second set!  Picasso Moon kicked us off, and we inserted Shakedown into the China>Rider sandwich.  Dark Star received its own filling, with our debut of Pride of Cucamonga.  Throwing Stones ended with Drums, and morphed into our first Brent Mydland tune ever - Blow Away.  It's a good guess that the Dead never played that song as long as we did.  We ended the set with Brown Eyed Women, and encored with Not Fade Away and Brokedown Palace. 

It was so good to see our friends and fans and make some physically present booties shake after all these months.  We'll return with two live-streamed shows from Otus Supply - Thursday, August 6 will be Matt Cole and Friends playing Jerry Garcia Band, and Thursday, August 13 will see the return of Raising The Dead to the Otus stream.  

I: Bertha > Good Lovin'* > The Wheel > Unbroken Chain, To Lay Me Down*, Cassidy, Cumberland Blues*, The Other One, Dire Wolf
II: Picasso Moon, China Cat Sunflower > Shakedown Street > I Know You Rider > Dark Star > Pride of Cucamonga* > Dark Star > Throwing Stones > Drums > Blow Away*, Brown Eyed Women
E: Not Fade Away, Brokedown Palace
* = First time played

Who do you know that needs to see this?  We are booking summer and fall dates now!

Last night, Raising The Dead accepted an invitation from Otus Supply to perform in the Parliment room to a crowd of... almost nobody!  While the venue (and restaurant) is not open for business right now, they are launching a series of performances captured by a 5-camera outfit and streamed live to Facebook.  Last night, we took the stage and performed a live show of killer Dead.  Online tips were accepted, (paypal.me/djmmmartin) and hundreds of shares and comments, and thousands of views prove we made some new fans, and got a chance to play for some veteran RTDeadheads. The band was in top form, the video and audio production were pro, and we're proud to share the result for you to see now. Enjoy!

6-18-2020 Otus Supply, Ferndale, MI

I: Jack Straw, Victim or the Crime, Ramble On Rose*, El Paso, They Love Each Other*, Looks Like Rain, Scarlet Begonias>The Eleven>Fire On The Mountain
II: Lost Sailor>Saint of Circumstance, China Doll*, Estimated Prophet>Eyes of the World>Weather Report>Let It Grow, Morning Dew*, The Music Never Stopped, I Shall Be Released
E: Feel Like A Stranger#>Franklin's Tower#, Samson and Delilah#, Althea#

*=First Time Played
#=Not on webcast

Raising The Dead will once again take the stage at Otus Supply in Ferndale, playing for a 5-camera live virtual concert, streaming on Facebook.  We'll be joined remotely by Dead biographer and Tales From The Golden Road host David Gans, who will perform from 7-8pm.  RTD takes the stage at 8 and will play a long set of live Dead.  All tips collected during this free event will benefit workers at Otus Supply. Join us!