However, the perpetually busy Lindley apparently turned Weir down-darn it-but recommended drummer John Mauceri. By the late 1970s, Lindley had become well-known as Jackson Browne's chief collaborator. Weir would likely have known Lindley from the various times that Lindley's 60s band Kaleidoscope had opened for the Grateful Dead.
John Mauceri-drums Notes: According to some interviews I read at the time (probably in BAM Magazine), Bob Weir invited David Lindley to join him on his inaugural tour. Last show: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York June 10, 1978 The cover to Bob Weir's Arista album Heaven Help The Fool, released in January 1978įirst show: The Roxy, Los Angeles, CA February 17, 1978 Weir and Cochran probably anticipated going out in December 1977, but in fact they were delayed some months. However, given the Dead's planned touring schedule, the Bob Weir Band must have been put together by Weir and Cochran in the Fall of 1977, probably shortly after November 6, 1977(when the Dead's tour ended in Binghamton, NY). However, since the album was not released until January of 1978, it makes sense that the tour supporting it did not take place until the month after. Some paperwork suggests that the original Bob Weir Band tour was supposed to take place in December 1977, which suggests an earlier planned release date for Heaven Help The Fool. That album included the song "I Found Love," which Cochran regularly with both the Bob Weir Band and Bobby And The Midnites.
During the period that Cochran was in the Burritos, they changed their name to Sierra and released an album of the same name. Projects, Cochran had been a latterday member of John Kay's Steppenwolf,Īnd had also been in the Flying Burrito Brothers. Not only was Cochran an accomplished guitarist, he was comfortable working in an industryĬontext with established veterans. Hasselberger introduced him to Bobby Cochran in mid-to-late 1977.Ĭochran was the nephew of famed rocker Eddie Cochran, and he had grown up in Hollywood and the Southern California studio scene. Anyone with corrections, insights, additional information or recovered memories (real or imagined) is encouraged to Comment or email me.īob Weir had played Ibanez guitars since about 1975, and Ibanez rep Jeff The numbering systems for the groups are arbitrary, and only intended to ease discussion in the Comments. I originally developed this material for my own research, and felt it would be most productive to share it. Rather than a detailed discussion of Weir's efforts to be a conventional rock star, this post will focus on the history of the bands Weir formed in support of that effort, the Bob Weir Band and later Bobby And The Midnites, covering most of Weir's non-Dead live appearances from 1978 through 1984. Weir's album Heaven Help The Fool was produced by Keith Olsen, who had produced the hugely successful 1975 album Fleetwood Mac, as well as the Dead's Terrapin Station.
Given that Jerry Garcia had already set out on a singular path for his own solo career, and that Weir already had both a solo album (1972's Ace) and had recorded an album as a member of another group (1976's Kingfish), a 'conventional' rock star solo album was not far-fetched. Now, Weir was already a rock star by any standard, but he was cloistered in a peculiar Grateful Dead world. The cover to the Arista album Bobby & The Midnites, released in November 1981įrom 1977 to 1984, Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir made a conscious effort to be a rock star in the style of Steve Miller of Boz Scaggs.