Rhythm Devils | |
|---|---|
 Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Rock, world music |
| Years active | 1979-1981, 2006, 2010–2011 |
| Past members | Bill Kreutzmann Mickey Hart Steve Kimock Keller Williams Reed Mathis Sikiru Adepoju Mike Gordon Jen Durkin Andy Hess Davy Knowles Tim Bluhm |
| Website | rhythmdevils.net |
The Rhythm Devils is a band led by former Grateful Dead drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart. [1]
The Rhythm Devils had their origins as an informal but frequent fixture in the Grateful Dead concert repertoire starting in the mid-to-late 1970s, and continuing until the Grateful Dead's last concert in 1995. Most Grateful Dead concerts featured an extended segment during the 2nd set of improvisational drumming and percussion by Hart and Kreutzmann who took over the stage as a duo (with occasional guests). This segment was variously known to fans as "Rhythm Devils", "Drums", or conversationally as "the drums", and was usually followed in post-1979 concerts by another extended improvisation by the rest of the band, usually without the drummers, which was known as "Space". The "Rhythm Devils" segment of a Grateful Dead concert almost always segued out of a full-band song, and the "Space" segment almost invariably would segue into the beginnings of another full-band song as the drummers resumed their seats with the rest of the band. The Grateful Dead album Dead Set has a characteristic example of a 1980 "Rhythm Devils" segment which is titled as such, and which is followed by a "Space" segment.
The Rhythm Devils duo were formally recruited by director Francis Ford Coppola to record the soundtrack to the film Apocalypse Now . During 1979 and 1980, Hart and Kreutzmann, along with other musicians (mostly percussionists), Airto Moreira, Mike Hinton, Jim Loveless, Greg Errico, Jordan Amarantha, Phil Lesh and Flora Purim, recorded sessions at the Grateful Dead's Marin County studios and "The Barn", Hart's studio in Novato. The process included improvising jungle sounds as they watched the film. The sounds were later edited into the movie. [2] An LP record titled The Apocalypse Now Sessions: The Rhythm Devils Play River Music was issued from those sessions, (Passport Records PB 9844). In October 1990, Rykodisc re-released the original 1980 LP.
In addition to the Apocalypse Now sessions, Kreutzmann and Hart performed two live concerts as the Rhythm Devils on February 13 and 14, 1981. The live band consisted mostly of the same musicians that contributed to the sessions including: Mike Hinton (marimbas, percussion), Airto Moreira (percussion), Flora Purim (vocals, percussion), Phil Lesh (electric bass, fretless bass, percussion) and other various guests. [3]
The 2006 lineup of the Rhythm Devils featured drummers Kreutzmann, Hart, Phish bassist Mike Gordon, and guitarist Steve Kimock, with percussionist Sikiru Adepoju and vocalist Jen Durkin (formerly of Deep Banana Blackout). The band formed in the summer of 2006 and toured throughout the US shortly thereafter. Former Dead lyricist Robert Hunter provides lyrics for a number of original songs.
It was announced on the Gathering of the Vibes website that the Rhythm Devils would perform there in 2010 with a lineup of Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Sikiru Adepoju, guitarists Keller Williams and Davy Knowles (Back Door Slam) and bassist Andy Hess (The Black Crowes; Gov't Mule). [4] This was followed by the announcement of several more dates a month later. [5] They toured into early 2011 with Tim Bluhm (The Mother Hips) replacing Keller for all dates after July 2010. A new lineup was announced for 2011 featuring Kreutzmann, Hart, Keller Williams, Steve Kimock and Reed Mathis. This combo has played one show - July 24, 2011 at the Gathering Of The Vibes Festival in Bridgeport CT. [6] While the Rhythm Devils have not performed as a band since 2011, Mickey Hart acknowledged the possibility of more Rhythm Devils dates. [7] Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart have performed together since 2011 with the Disco Biscuits, 7 Walkers, Billy & the Kids, Dead & Company and at Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead.
| Years | Members |
|---|---|
| 1979-1981 |
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| 1981-2006 | Band split, Kreutzmann and Hart continued to perform together with the Grateful Dead (with the duo being referred to as the Rhythm Devils) until 1995 and sporadically thereafter |
| 2006 |
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| 2010 |
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| 2010–2011 |
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| 2011 |
|
Mickey Hart is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 1971, and again from October 1974 until their final show in July 1995. He and fellow Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann earned the nickname "the rhythm devils".
Phil Lesh and Friends is an American rock band formed and led by Phil Lesh, former bassist of the Grateful Dead.
William Kreutzmann Jr. is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to perform with former members of the Grateful Dead in various lineups, and with his own bands BK3, 7 Walkers and Billy & the Kids.
Steve Kimock is an American rock guitarist. He was a member of San Francisco Bay Area bands Zero and KVHW.
Infrared Roses is a live compilation album by the Grateful Dead. It is a conglomeration of their famous improvisational segments "Drums" and "Space".
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Sikiru Adepoju is a Nigerian percussionist and recording artist, primarily in the genres of traditional African music and world music. He plays a variety of instruments and styles.
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The Strange Remain is a live album by the rock band The Other Ones. It was recorded live on the Furthur Festival tour in 1998 and released in 1999. The album reached number one on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and number 112 on the Billboard 200.
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Planet Drum is a world music album by Mickey Hart, a musician and musicologist who was a member of the rock band the Grateful Dead.
The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience is a 2008 two-disc DVD concert film and documentary of the Rhythm Devils 2006 tour, featuring members of the Grateful Dead, Phish, The Other Ones, and Deep Banana Blackout. The name "Rhythm Devils" was originally a nickname for Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. Hart and Kreutzmann formed the band in 2006 and used the name as the group's moniker.
The Grateful Dead were an American rock band known for their lengthy, partially improvised performances, as well as for a loyal fan base who often followed the band for several shows or entire tours. They disbanded in 1995, following the death of de facto bandleader Jerry Garcia. Since then remaining members have reunited for a number of concert tours and one-off performances, often in very different configurations. The following is a list of instances where former Grateful Dead members have reunited.
Mysterium Tremendum is an album by the Mickey Hart Band, a musical group led by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. It was released by 360° Productions on April 10, 2012.
The Apocalypse Now Sessions is an album by the Rhythm Devils. Subtitled The Rhythm Devils Play River Music, and sometimes referred to by that name, it contains music that was recorded for the soundtrack of the film Apocalypse Now. It was released by Passport Records as a vinyl LP in 1980. It was remastered and released on CD in somewhat expanded form by Rykodisc Records in 1990.
The Best of Mickey Hart: Over the Edge and Back is a retrospective album by Mickey Hart. It was released by Rykodisc Records on April 23, 2002, in two formats — CD, and DVD-Audio. It contains music excerpted from six of Hart's albums – Diga (1976), The Apocalypse Now Sessions (1980), At the Edge (1990), Planet Drum (1991), Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (1996), and Supralingua (1998). It also contains one previously unreleased track.
Mickey Hart's Mystery Box is an album by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. It was released on CD and cassette by Rykodisc Records on June 11, 1996. The album combines Hart's percussion-based world music with the vocal harmonies of the British singing sextet the Mint Juleps. Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics for all the songs.
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