COLUMBIA — It’s not hard to find a tribute band playing somewhere in town these days. Tribute bands, who play the songs of one specific artist rather than a range of covers, often try to make their performances match the original versions as much as possible.
If you go see Zoso: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience, for example, you’re going to hear pretty accurate recreations of their classics, same as with Rumours: The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute show, or Interstellar Echoes: A Tribute To Pink Floyd.
TenMileRide, however, is not that kind of tribute band. In fact, they probably shouldn’t be called a tribute band at all. Yes, TenMileRide draws heavily from the music of the Grateful Dead, but it’s more in spirit than in practice.
When TenMileRide plays, it works in themes and pieces from Dead classics like "West L.A. Fadeaway," "China Cat Sunflower" and "Franklin's Tower,” but its playing is more about improvising than remaining loyal to the song structures. Which is exactly the kind of band The Grateful Dead was onstage.
In fact, TenMileRide typically plays its instrumental sets straight through for 45 minutes to an hour, melding classic Dead riffs and melodies with their own furious improvisation. Just like the Dead, this band never plays the same show twice.
Recently, the band went into The Jam Room Studio with engineer Zac Thomas and recorded a new album called, "Let The Words Be Yours." The album comes out May 3 and weaves eight Dead tunes into one extended jam.
The origins of TenMileRide might surprise you, especially if you’re a fan of Columbia rockers George Fetner and The Strays. That band’s loose, brass-heavy soulful funk-rock approach seems miles away from anything the Grateful Dead ever did. But as it turns out, the origins of The Strays lie in the Dead’s music.
“What eventually became George Fetner and The Strays started off as a set at Jerry Fest (an annual Dead-themed jam at Five Points) a number of years ago,” Fetner said.
“Improvising is a huge part of the Grateful Dead, so we just decided we're going to play straight through, weaving in between all the songs," he added. "We felt like we made a pretty good impression.”
George Fetner and The Strays grew from that group jam, and eventually Fetner began writing his own songs that took him away from group improvisation. But recently, Fetner (who plays guitar) recruited Strays members Anthony Charles (guitar) and Matt Fenech (drums) and longtime friend Todd Edmunds (bass) to revive their tribute concept.
JerryFest returns to Five Points on April 28, 2024.
“It looks like there are enough Grateful Dead cover bands out there,” Fetner said, “and I don't really want to go down that route. I'd rather do something that could be in the moment, but we're not improvising like the Grateful Dead were improvising, we’re improvising like WE play. I think it’s just about the spirit of improvisational music, which is a huge part of the Grateful Dead.”
In Fetner’s view, this approach better serves a band like the Dead, who so often played without a net.
“They never played the same show twice,” Fetner said. “So it’s really about the allure of playing music in the moment and sharing that with the people who are in the room with you and knowing it won't be replicated again.”
Of course, the Dead’s high-wire improv usually took place onstage, so it stands to reason that a studio album like "Let The Words Be Yours" might not have the same in-the-moment spark.
Luckily, Fetner had an idea that helped TenMileRide get the vibe right in the studio.
“We had a gig lined up on a Saturday night, and I just said, ‘Hey why don't we just go and track this in the studio tomorrow? Let's just go for it.’ And everybody was free.”
Fetner said the challenges and rewards of communally improvising for nearly an hour are closely related.
“Sometimes you can really only get there if you go through some uncharted waters,” Fetner said. “So things start to get a little scary or confusing. You don't quite know where it's going to go, but that's also the reward; hopefully, it's going to lead you someplace that would not have happened if you hadn't gone down that road.”
