Stormy Mondays: Zen Tricksters Salute

Back in the mid-nineties I read an interview with Dick Latvala wherein the Grateful Dead archivist told a story about being in the Vault with Mickey Hart. The percussionist was suddenly tuned in to the ripping version of The Eleven playing on the stereo, and said something along the lines of “Damn! We were on fire.” To which Latvala replied, “This isn’t you. This is the Zen Tricksters.”

zentrickers

[Photo by Spreetaper]

Although the Tricksters, who are on temporary hiatus while Jeff Mattson is the featured members of the Donna Jean Godchaux Band, not to mention filling guest spots in DSO while John Kadlecik is playing in Furthur, reunited last night at BB King’s in NYC to celebrate, the real 30th anniversary of the band is this coming weekend. 30 years! Raise a glass to one of the truest stalwarts of the jam scene! 30 years!

At some point in their tenure, the band went with the slogan “Music in the Tradition”, and that still holds true as the best expression of what has always been at the core of the slowly rotating cast of psychedelic pranksters. Like many of you, I’ve spent countless nights with this band that is so much more than a Dead cover band, and yet is so closely tied to that music: tie dyed sunsets at the Gathering of the Vibes, early morning hours in any numbers of seedy little clubs, and all those Garcia Birthday Bashes over the last dozen years at the South Street Seaport.

Stormy Mondays salutes the Zen Tricksters with the warmest, most beautiful acoustic Dark Star > Light of Life > The Eleven from 2008, featuring Jeff, Klyph Black (long my pick for the most underrated bassist in music today) and Tom Circosta. Here’s to 30 more! Cheers!

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