On March 9th, 2018, New Hampshire dub rockers Roots of Creation will drop Grateful Dub: a Reggae Inspired Tribute to the Grateful Dead. The 12-track album is loaded with Grateful Dead classics, and features a long list of talented guest features such as Stephen Marley, Marlon “Ganja Farmer” Asher, and Dan Kelly of Fortunate Youth. RoC’s concept came to fruition through generous fan contributions to the band’s PledgeMusic campaign.
Roots of Creation is lead by Brett Wilson (lead vocals/guitar), who has been drawing influence from the Grateful Dead since he first picked up a guitar. Wilson is joined by talented bandmates Tal Pearson (keys), Mike Chadinha (drums/percussion), Andrew Riordan (saxophone/vocals), Nick Minicucci (bass/guitar/mandolin), and Billy Kottage (trombone/vocals).
Few bands are as well-equipped as RoC to bring an album of reggaefied Dead covers to life. The New Hampshire-based 6-piece have made their name blending reggae and dub with extended jams, and RoC frequently mixes Dead covers and teases into their live shows. For one particular Halloween show, Roots of Creation’s set consisted entirely of Dead songs, which ultimately sparked the idea for the Grateful Dub album.
In addition to the aforementioned guest spots, Grateful Dub includes features from G. Love, Hayley Jane of Hayley Jane & The Primates, Jesse Wagner of The Aggrolites, Melvin Seals of the Jerry Garcia Band, Andy Geib of Slightly Stoopid and Alex Brander of Big D & The Kids Table. The stacked lineup of guest musicians makes this project all the more reminiscent of the Easy Star All-Stars classic cover albums Dub Side of the Moon and Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band.
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Roots of Creation recorded the album at Metronome.Studio in their hometown of Brookline, NH, alongside Brendan Connors and Errol Brown, a 5x Grammy winning producer and engineer (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Rebelution). Choosing a selection of their favorite Dead tracks, RoC locked themselves up in the studio for ten 16-hour days of recording. Pre-mastering of Grateful Dub was done by Pete “Boardz” Peloquin, and final mastering was completed by 6x Grammy winner Chris Gehringer of Sterling Sound.
Needless to say, RoC is stoked to share their Grateful Dead tribute on March 9th (Pledgers, check your emails… you should have digital copy already). Frontman Brett Wilson explains, “I expect Sublime fans and Dead fans who dug Bradley’s take on ‘Scarlet Begonias’ and Stoopid’s collabs with Bob Weir to fall in love with this record and to have fans of both scenes and genres come to together for one giant party on our Grateful Dub 2018 National Tour.”
Roots of Creation kicks off their tour on February 7th, 2018 at Garcia’s in Port Chester, NY. They’ll be on the road for over two months supporting the new album. Check out dates below and head to the band’s official website for tickets. You can also pre-order Grateful Dub and other goodies on RoC’s PledgeMusic campaign page.
Roots of Creation – Grateful Dub Track List:
Track Listing:
1.) Fire on the Mountain (feat. Stephen Marley & Marlon Asher)
2.) They Love Each Other (feat. Hayley Jane)
3.) Friend of the Devil
4.) Deal (feat. Jesse Wagner of The Aggrolites & Melvin Seals)
5.) Casey Jones (feat. Dan Kelly of Fortunate Youth)
6.) Black Muddy River (feat. Melvin Seals)
7.) Ripple (feat. G. Love & Melvin Seals)
8.) He’s Gone
9.) Sugaree
10.) Shakedown Street (feat. Melvin Seals)
11.) Standing on the Moon (feat. Melvin Seals)
12.) A Moment of Silence for Jerry Garcia
13.) Row Jimmy (Errol Brown Remix – Bonus Track)
Related Links:
RoC Official Website
RoC Facebook
RoC PledgeMusic Page
Article By: Brian Winters
Photo By: Josh Coffman
Watch: Roots of Creation at Jerry Jam 2015
