Dead to the Core plays “Friend of the Devil”
Coming up on our fall 2022 Dead to the Core upstate New York tour, all the musicians got together for a little virtual collaboration on “Friend of the Devil.”
I’m playing Strumstick, joined by Jefferson Hamer (mandolin), Ryan Fitzsimmons (guitar), Laurence Scudder (viola), and Wendy Ramsay (accordion).
Below are some personal introductions to these exceptional musicians, along with videos showcasing everyone.
Jefferson Hamer
I met Jefferson Hamer back in 2013, when he and Anaïs Mitchell had just released the duo album Child Ballads.
Their duets were sublime—both the vocal harmonies and the way their guitars intertwined. I went to catch them live and interview Jefferson for a feature lesson for Acoustic Guitar magazine about his virtuosic approach to accompanying traditional songs.
Fast forward a few years, and I was hosting an annual Jerry Garcia birthday celebration at the legendary Club Passim in Cambridge, Mass. Somehow I got wind of the fact that Jefferson had a love of the Dead, and he wound up joining us for a series of shows.
One of the highlights was his stunning rendition of Garcia/Hunter’s “Reuben and Cherise,” which sounded like a rediscovered Child ballad.
Jefferson is a busy musician, for good reason—with his trad duo the Murphy Beds, with Session Americana, and recently with Sarah Jarosz, as guitarist/singer on her Grammy-nominated Blue Heron Suite and on the accompanying album tours. In every setting, Jefferson has a way of nailing a harmony or adding just the right touch on guitar to elevate the song.
So I’m always thrilled when the stars and calendars align and we can have Jefferson join my acoustic Grateful Dead project, now called Dead to the Core, as he will for our upstate New York run. Jefferson and I have also crossed paths teaching at Ashokan Guitar Camp, and in Rochester we’ll co-teach a workshop on Dead songs for acoustic guitar.
Ryan Fitzsimmons
I first crossed paths with Ryan Fitzsimmons, as with most of the musicians in the Dead to the Core collective, through his original music.
Ryan is an ace folk-rock songwriter with a commanding voice and a guitar style that can drive songs along like a freight train. He has lived in the Boston area for many years but is originally from Syracuse, so I originally met him through the singer-songwriter showcases I used to host in Syracuse.
Along the way I discovered our shared love of Grateful Dead music, so in 2017, when I hatched the idea of putting together a Jerry Garcia birthday show at Club Passim, I reached out to Ryan right away.
He’s been a key player in these shows ever since, and he’s connected me with so many great musicians from Boston and beyond who’ve become part of the Dead to the Core project—like Laurence Scudder, Jim Larkin, Greg Klyma, and more.
Ryan kills the bluesy Dead songs—his super-groovy “Easy Wind” is a personal favorite—and shines on the ballads as well, like “Black Muddy River” and so many more. And that rock-solid guitar is such a joy to lock in with. Can’t wait to be back onstage together again soon.
Laurence Scudder
Laurence Scudder is the kind of musician you want next to you onstage.
Right there with the vocal harmony. Ready with a sweet solo at any moment, and just as ready and happy to pass the baton to the next improviser. Adding tasteful and tuneful fills. And, most importantly, always listening.
His main instrument is the viola—not what you’d expect. He’s got real classical chops and shines in acoustic settings, but he can also get wild and psychedelic if the situation calls for it.
He toured North America for seven years with Ryan Montbleau Band, and these days he’s playing with a bunch of Boston-area roots and rock bands, like Spotted Tiger, Brothers McCann, Danielle Miraglia and the Glory Junkies, and Thank God for Science.
Ryan Fitzsimmons connected me with Laurence for one of the first Jerry Garcia birthday celebrations at Club Passim. Laurence performed with Erik White as Spotted Tiger, delivering beautiful versions of off-the-beaten-track gems like “They Love Each Other” and “Russian Lullaby.”
Laurence has joined a number of these acoustic Dead celebrations since then, and not only is his playing always spot on, but he exudes this joy onstage. He’s just all in the music, and all about the music.
Here’s his solo take on a John Prine classic with only viola accompaniment.
Wendy Sassafras Ramsay
If you’ve encountered any of my music over the last decade, you’re aware of the talents of Wendy Sassafras Ramsay.
You know she’s a gifted singer-songwriter, author of indelible songs on unusual topics with melodies that lodge in your head and don’t let go.
You know she’s a great singer and provider of, as Jess Novak once wrote in the Syracuse New Times, “the kind of harmonies that cause chills.”
And you know that Wendy is an amazingly versatile instrumentalist and creative arranger, playing clarinet, flute, and accordion in addition to guitar.
One of the key goals of my Dead to the Core project is to do fresh interpretations of Grateful Dead songs, rather than re-create any particular performances or recordings by the band itself—there’s already an army of Dead tribute bands who do that extremely well. So I seek out musicians for Dead to the Core who are great collaborators and approach the music through their own voices and styles.
Wendy is a not-so-secret weapon in advancing this goal. “Stella Blue” with clarinet? “Uncle John’s Band” with flute? “Ripple” with accordion? Wendy makes all this happen, along with creating that incredible vocal blend.
Here she is singing one of her own songs, with me joining on guitar.
