The Daily Collegian (PA)
November 1, 2007
by Oliverio Hernandez and Jennifer Cress
Penn State will experience the Grateful Dead years again this Sunday when Bob Weir & RatDog take the stage at Eisenhower Auditorium.
RatDog is a rock band that includes Bob Weir, founder and former guitarist/singer of the Grateful Dead. Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti, other members of RatDog, were a part of various projects with Les Claypool, frontman for the band Primus.
RatDog has been covering Grateful Dead songs since 1995. It also performs various other covers and original material. To date, the band has released one studio album and has been constantly touring around the country, making stops at several music festivals.
Buddy Kirschner, who promotes various music acts and attends more than 50 live shows a year, thinks RatDog is a must see for anyone.
"There's nothing else that defines the true meaning of live music," Kirschner said.
Kirschner said anyone coming to the show should expect "a life-changing experience."
"Every molecule in your body will be changed from the moment you come to the moment you leave," he said.
Lane, drummer for RatDog, added some typical Dead Head expectations for the show. He said "if you all want to get the positive 4-20 vibration, then come on out."
RatDog incorporates a great deal of improvisation in its live performances.
"The music kind of leads to improvisation. If you listen to the Bob Weir song, 'The Music Never Stops' it says 'the music played the band.' That's kind of how it is -- the music leads where the band is going," Kirschner said.
"It's like if you were a surfer riding a wave, you don't know where you're going to end up," he said.
The band usually draws a diverse crowd, Lane said, "from 50-year-olds to 7-year-olds, all across the generation gap."
Laura Sullivan, director of marketing and communications at Penn State's Center for the Performing Arts, said tickets are selling "briskly."
"From younger kids, to college students, to older people who were probably Dead Heads back in their day. Concerts like this bring a wide mix of people," Sullivan said about the audience.
Lane said the band's only future plan thus far is a spring tour. As far as another RatDog album, Lane said the band "just moved into a new studio and we're getting everything set up right now. We've got a few starts on a few tunes."
