On the Road with Dark Star Orchestra

Music lovers will turn up in droves early next week for Dark Star Orchestra's two shows at Treehouse Brewing Company in South Deerfield, Mass. on Monday, Aug. 26 and Tuesday, Aug. 27. Considered the preeminent Grateful Dead tribute band in the U.S., Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) has performed 3,267 shows in nearly 27 years, since they formed on Nov. 11, 1997, in Chicago. "That is almost 1,000 more shows than the Grateful Dead, who played about 2,340 shows in 30 years," says Dave Weissman, DSO's publicist. "It's DSO's first time playing at Treehouse Brewing; the band is firing on all cylinders and doing big performances as of late," Weissman says. Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead live concert experience since their shows are built off the Dead's extensive catalog and on any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead's 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. Last month, DSO played the Grateful Dead's July 13, 1984, show at the same venue, 40 years to the day later. "The Grateful Dead played at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, Calif. on July 13, 1984, and DSO performed that show at the Greek Theatre on July 13, 2024. It was the band's largest West Coast show to date, with nearly 6,000 fans in attendance," Weissman says. DSO's line-up is: Jeff Mattson on lead guitar and vocals, Lisa Mackey on vocals and harp, Dino English on drums, Rob Koritz on drums, Skip Vangelas on bass, Rob Eaton on rhythm guitar and vocals and Rob Barraco on keyboards. ROB KORITZ – DRUMMER The Keene Sentinel reached Rob Koritz, DSO drummer who lives in Chesterfield, Mo. on the road recently. Koritz is a classically trained musician with a music degree in jazz from Webster University in St. Louis, Mo. During the pandemic, Koritz started a podcast called, "The Music Plays the Band" about the influence of the Grateful Dead on the life and career of professional musicians from the jam band world and beyond. "It turned into something really cool. I put out 37 episodes from the jam band world and beyond. I tried to keep it going as we were coming out of the pandemic, but when we all got back to work full time, we ran out of time," adds Koritz. "It's crazy how many people are influenced by the Dead that you would never expect. One of the big ones for me is Bob Crawford, who plays bass for the Avett Brothers. He's a huge Deadhead and no one would ever know that," Koritz says. When asked how he started playing drums with DSO, Koritz says, "Dino (English) our other drummer and I are both from St. Louis. He found out (DSO) needed a drummer and was trying to get the job for himself. Then DSO said they needed two drummers, so we kind of came in as a package deal." Koritz explains that 60% of the time DSO recreates Grateful Dead set lists and 40% of the time they come up with their own unique set lists. He says the audience is split down the middle about which type of show they prefer. When asked what it is like playing with two drummers, Koritz adds, "It's definitely different than playing by yourself. The biggest thing is you've got to keep your ears open more than you would (otherwise). You've got to listen to what your partner is doing and it's really important not to over play. There are times we look at the other guy to see what he's doing, to make sure we are on the same page, and there are times when we do … the exact … same thing at the exact same time and we just start to laugh!" LISA MACKEY – VOCALS AND HARMONICA DSO vocalist and harp player, Lisa Mackey of Waynesburg, Penn., has been with DSO since the very beginning in 1997. Mackey grew up in Mokena, Ill. and most of her musical training came from choral directors in the church choir, Lincoln-Way High School chorus and a few vocal lessons. She got her start in the Chicago music scene and learned about the music and culture of the Grateful Dead by working with musicians Rich Godliewski and Bob Lait in a project called "Azure." "My father was a rhythm guitar player in a trio and a singer, and he sang to me when I was real little and I sang back to him. I sang in church and sang in my high school chorus," says Mackey. "I never took a singing career seriously, though. Singing was fun but somehow I found my way to Dark Star," she adds. When asked how it happened, Mackey says with a laugh, "All happenstance really. My landlord knocked on my door. I was vacuuming and he asked, "Were you singing?" and I said "Yeah, was I disturbing anyone?" He said, "No, you're great. Would you like to sing in my trio?" "… I was introduced to Grateful Dead music through him. I was in Chicago in my early thirties and … I was dating a man, a great session player, Dave Burlingame (Wavy Dave) who plays bass and banjo. … Dave said John Kadlecik and Scott Larned were starting a project and were looking for a Donna (Godchaux) singer, so I auditioned and got it." Growing up, Mackey liked Led Zeppelin, Linda Ronstadt and Judy Collins. She was also appreciative of the Euro Art rock bands, like Brand X and Gentle Giant but didn't know anything about the Grateful Dead.Steve Rice piece "I was 38 when I started to appreciate the music. The man who knocked on my door was a Deadhead and he always tried to drag me out to shows. I didn't get it … but shortly before Jerry died, I finally got it," Mackey says. The harmonica (harp) was an instrument Mackey picked up in her twenties and went to the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago where she studied with Rick Sherry. "I didn't realize a person can be a pucker player. When I talked to our road manager, Matt Reynolds, who told me stories about Willie Nelson's harp player, I started playing again. I thought, 'Well if he can do it, I can do it' so I started resonating with it," adds Mackey. Mackey explains that there are two styles of harmonica (harp) playing: tongue block playing where you block the holes with your tongue and pucker playing where you reduce the aperture in your mouth so you just blow through one hole. "I practiced all the time but didn't want the band to know I was playing. I would practice when the band was playing and I wasn't singing. Barraco caught me and since he has a personality like a music director, he said, "You're playing the harmonica! You're ready!" … he forced me up there and I did it, and I love it," notes Mackey. ROB BARRACO – KEYBOARDS The Keene Sentinel reached Rob Barraco, DSO keyboardist, recently at his home in Sandwich, Mass. He has played music on both keyboard and guitar since the age of six. "My parents had one of these Magnus Chord Organs in the house. They bought it because they thought I would learn how to play it even though I was playing guitar. … I would just love to sit, I had no idea what I was doing, picking it up by ear," Barraco says. "At age 11 my parents bought me a beautiful Lowery and I took lessons through high school and then I went to SUNY New Paltz for classical organ. I switched after a year because I saw no future with classical organ, even though it was kinda fun," Barraco adds. He was turned onto jazz piano players, specifically McCoy Tyner, and he knew that's what he wanted to do, so he switched to piano and never looked back. In the 1980s and early '90s he was keyboardist for the hit television show, "The Cosby Show" and its spin off "It's A Different World." Barraco toured with R&B sensation Freddie Jackson in the late '80s before joining The Zen Tricksters and spent 11 years touring and recording with The Tricksters. It was their second album, "A Love Surreal," which caught Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh's ear. Lesh beckoned Barraco and Trickster guitarist Jeff Mattson to play a series of shows in San Francisco and then to tour the country double billing with Bob Dylan. This band would forever be known as "The Q" (short for The Phil Lesh Quintet). They toured for three years and put out one studio album, "There and Back Again." "Phil is an amazing mentor; he really communicated high-minded musical ideas to us that we embraced and took in our own direction," notes Barraco. In 2005, Barraco toured with Dark Star Orchestra after the tragic death of keyboardist Scott Larned. He was offered the job on keys and after thinking about it briefly and getting a phone call from a good friend who advised him to take it, he accepted. "On tour, I use exclusively Kurzweill. I have a Hammond B3 and B4 organ and an array of instruments that were given to me by the Grateful Dead. It was Brent's (Mydland) instrument, Fender Rhodes, and I also have Yamaha GS1 which is an instrument the Grateful Dead used from 1983 to 1986," Barraco explains. When asked to describe DSO's interpretation of the Grateful Dead catalogue, Barraco says, "We try to stay true to the era specific stuff, so stage setup, guitars, drums setups, different keyboards; each era has its own thing and we try to stay true to that." "We are improvising 100% of everything because you couldn't copy a Grateful Dead show even if you tried," adds Barraco. When asked, what is the most important aspect of a performance Barraco says, "The most important thing for a musician is to listen. If you don't listen you can't take it to the next level. When you listen, your creativity is sparked, and the kind of music we play is very much like free jazz improvisation. You are having a conversation with your fellow musicians. The more you listen, the bigger the palate you have to work from." DETAILS Dark Start Orchestra plays two shows at Treehouse Brewing Company in South Deerfield, Mass. on Monday, Aug. 26 and Tuesday, Aug. 27. Treehouse Brewing is located at One Community Place in South Deerfield, Mass. For more information, call Treehouse at (413) 523-2367 or visit their website https://treehousebrew.com/visiting-deerfield For more information on Dark Star Orchestra, and to buy tickets, visit www.darkstarorchestra.net