Donna Jean Godchaux brings the grit and glory of the Grateful Dead to the
Hudson Valley
by John W. BarryPoughkeepsie,
poughkeepsiejournal.com
March 18th 2011
Rough around the edges but offering devout followers authenticity, the Grateful
Dead, night after night, year after year, showed skeptics and fans alike that
live music does not have to be performed flawlessly to send audiences home
feeling satisfied .
An enigma to many, a band that took its craft directly to its followers,
shunning the record industry anytime it was handed the opportunity, the
Grateful Dead at this time of year for decades brought its traveling
carnival-road show-rock tour to East Coast concert venues. The band that toured
endlessly before the death of lead guitarist Jerry Garcia in 1995 made many
stops — right around this time of year — within reasonable driving distance of
the Hudson Valley: Albany, northern New Jersey and Long Island among them.
Celebrating an annual rite of spring that Grateful Dead fans — the Deadheads —
indulged in, former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh will play the
second show of a five-night run tonight at the Best Buy Theater in Times
Square, with their band Furthur.
But bringing the grit and glory of the Grateful Dead to the Hudson Valley will
be Donna Jean Godchaux, a member of the band from 1971 to 1979.
Godchaux, who shared vocal duties with Garcia, Lesh and Weir, while her
husband, Keith, played piano and keyboards, will bring the Donna Jean Godchaux
Band, with guitarist Jeff Mattson, to the Bearsville Theater on March 18. David
MacKay will play bass, Joe Chirco will be on drums and Freeman White will play
keyboards.
The Deadbeats, a New Paltz band that includes Grateful Dead music in its
repertoire, is the opening act.
Godchaux, Deadbeats keyboard player and vocalist Alex Mazur said, "is a
beautiful singer."
Mazur, 53, who saw his first Grateful Dead concert in 1979 in Colorado, added,
"You have to give it up to someone who could hang with 'the boys' on stage and
off."
Mattson's appearance will add an interesting twist to the night, as he
currently performs in Dark Star Orchestra, a Grateful Dead tribute band.
Original Page:
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20110311/ENT04/103110308/0/BUSINESS/Donna-Jean-Godchaux-brings-grit-glory-Grateful-Dead-Hudson-Valley?odyssey=nav%7Chead
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