Phil Lesh

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Lore & Background

Lesh's journey from a Berkeley youth playing violin and trumpet to the Grateful Dead's bassist began when he met Jerry Garcia while volunteering as a recording engineer at radio station KPFA. In spring 1965, after seeing Garcia's band the Warlocks, Lesh was invited to join despite never having played the bass guitar; his first rehearsal song was "I Know You Rider." He joined for their third or fourth gig and stayed until the end. His musical philosophy was shaped by his studies under Luciano Berio at Mills College in 1962, where he sat alongside Steve Reich and John Chowning. Lesh credited Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane and Jack Bruce of Cream as influences, but notably stated his style was driven more by Bach's counterpoint than rock contemporaries. He introduced the band to John Coltrane and Charles Ives, enabling their spontaneous shifts from discordant jams to blues or country songs. In 1974, he collaborated with sound engineer Owsley "Bear" Stanley to design the Wall of Sound, a forty-foot high system with 604 speakers and 26,400 watts of power, which Lesh compared to "piloting a flying saucer." Throughout their career, Lesh co-wrote major hits like "Truckin'", "St. Stephen", "The Eleven", and "Dark Star", and sang the lead on "Box of Rain".

In Their Own Story

In late 1966, Lesh moved with the group to San Francisco, signing with Warner Brothers and playing venues like The Fillmore and the Avalon Ballroom. Learning "on the job," he developed a style that led to cost overrun complaints from label executive Joe Smith regarding the album *Anthem of the Sun*. Smith singled him out as "the catalyst for chaos within the band." Despite this, Lesh's high tenor voice contributed to the group's three-part harmonies until 1974, when he ceased singing high parts due to vocal cord damage, though he resumed lead vocals in his natural range during the early 80s. Between 1965 and 1995, Lesh played almost 2,500 concerts with the Dead, many lasting up to six hours. After the group disbanded in 1995, he continued the tradition with "Phil Lesh and Friends" and toured with Bob Weir's band Furthur from 2009 to 2014. In 2012, he founded Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, where his sons Grahame and Brian served as the house band until the venue closed in November 2021 when their lease expired.

Reader's Guide

To understand Phil Lesh's approach, one must recognize his rejection of the conventional timekeeping role. He viewed the bass as a melodic voice capable of improvisational excursions during long jams. His technique relied on counterpoint and unusual time signatures to complement guitar solos rather than lock strictly into a beat. Key turning points include his recruitment by Garcia in 1965, the development of the Wall of Sound in 1974, and his continued performance career post-1995 with various lineups including Furthur and the Terrapin Family Band. He took part in the 2015 Fare Thee Well concerts and a short North American tour with Bob Weir in spring 2018. In March 2023, he celebrated his 83rd birthday and hundredth show at the Capitol Theatre. Rolling Stone ranked him as the 11th greatest bass player in 2020.

Did You Know?

• Lesh joined the Grateful Dead in 1965 despite never having played bass guitar before; his first rehearsal song was "I Know You Rider".
• He designed the Wall of Sound with Owsley "Bear" Stanley, a system featuring 604 speakers driven by 26,400 watts of power used for forty-odd shows in 1974.
• Lesh played almost 2,500 concerts with the Grateful Dead between 1965 and 1995, with many performances lasting up to six hours.
• He co-wrote several of the band's best-known compositions, including "Truckin'", "St. Stephen", "The Eleven", and "Dark Star".
• Lesh founded the music venue Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, California, which opened on March 8, 2012, and closed in November 2021.