Twenty-six-year old singer/songwriter Jackie Greene was never much of Deadhead, but that didn’t stop him from getting noticed by one of the band’s most prominent principals. In fact, after he got the Metallica and Guns N’ Roses bug out of his system in high school, he was much more of a soul and blues guy, soaking up Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, and Mississippi John Hurt. Greene was first noticed at an open mic night on his home turf in Northern California, and signed to DIG Music in 2001 where he released two albums, Gone Wonderin’ and Sweet Somewhere Bound. In 2004, he was sniffed out by a few majors and eventually signed to Verve.
It was as much of a surprise to Greene himself as anyone else when, earlier this year, legendary Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh called him out of the blue. Lesh was impressed with Greene’s Verve Forecast debut, American Myth, produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin.
Turns out that Lesh had waxed poetic on the album to a Nashville, Tennessee newspaper in 2006 for a Bonnaroo preview: “I’m excited to see Jackie Greene. … I just heard Jackie Greene’s album, and it’s one of the best-produced and mixed albums I’ve ever heard. The guitar playing on it is impeccable. The way it’s orchestrated, there’s all these guitars coming in and out of the different channels, and there are three or four guitars layered in the mix; you can hear them all clearly, and all the playing is outstanding. Especially the little fills, the little details, the expressive accents that go under the verses. Just superb.”
Greene and Lesh spent some time hanging out, kicking around some musical ideas, after which Lesh offered him a spot in his ever-rotating cast of Friends. Greene said yes on the spot, even though he knew little of the band’s repertoire. Asked to pick some tunes from the catalog that he connected with, Greene suggested some of the more piano-driven, rollicking numbers: “Deal,” “Bertha,” and “New Speedway Boogie.”
Lesh, the fan that he is, also incorporated some of Greene’s originals into the set (Lesh took similar action when he hooked up with singer/songwriter Ryan Adams). Phil Lesh and Friends were soon performing Greene originals “When You’re Walkin’ Away, ” “Gone Wanderin’,” “Down in the Valley Woe,” Supersede,” “Mexican Girl,” and “Seven Jealous Sisters.”
Lesh, who recently recovered from a bout with cancer, is touring again for the first time in over a year. What’s made some of these shows extra special are impromptu acoustic sets which Lesh has called for and feature songs like “Friend of the Devil” and the classic “Ripple.” They typically feature Greene, front-and-center with a Gibson acoustic, taking the lead vocals.