The Dead Arise Again

Thu., Feb. 13, 2003 1:55 PM PST by Jeff Symonds

A rose by any other name is still a rose. And a band of aging musicians without their signature guitarist is now, apparently, still the Dead.

In a move that sent shock waves around the community of fans still paying attention, the Other Ones, composed of the remaining members of the Grateful Dead and a few longtime associates, have decided to call themselves simply "the Dead." The name change begins officially with Friday night's benefit concert at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco.

"Seven years ago, when Jerry passed, we made a conscious decision to retire the name Grateful Dead," the band said in a statement posted on its Website. "We did so after some deep soul searching and out of our love and respect for what we had created together."

"With the greatest possible respect to our collective history, we have decided to keep the name 'Grateful Dead' retired in honor of Jerry's memory, and call ourselves: 'The Dead.'

(Besides, the Other Oneheads doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, especially for patchouli-addled fans.)

Indeed, the Dead has been dead for some time in the collective consciousness of music fans--at least since their final concert in 1995. In recent months, however, the band has heightened its profile significantly, hosting a weekend of gigs by all Dead-related side projects last August in Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, performing at Neil Young's Bridge School benefit concert, briefly touring last fall and now, according to spokesman Dennis McNally, preparing for a substantial summer tour.

Apparently, the rift that had grown between Phil Lesh and the rest of the band's surviving members--Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart--has healed. Lesh was extremely critical of what he saw as a greedy flood of material into the marketplace in the aftermath of Jerry Garcia's 1995 death from a heart attack.

And in what might be an indication of a new direction for the band, Ticketmaster.com is listing the Dead as an "alternative rock" act. Consider yourselves warned.