Warren Haynes on Bob Weir: "Bob was an enigma— a beautiful enigma."
Warren, who played frequently with Bob Weir, remembers the Grateful Dead guitarist. I am honored to share his words.
As I was discussing with Warren Haynes yesterday. he and I are far too experineced writing obituaries for our friends and heroes. I have to admit that is a wonderful coping mechanism for me and I feel lucky to have it. Warren too always rises tot he occasion and his Facebook obituaries and tributes are legendary and always wonderful. I am honored to share his thoughts on Bob here.
RIP Bob Weir— Not how any of us wanted to start this year— this is a major loss to the world of music and to our extended family. Losing Bob this close to losing Phil is quite a blow.
Bob was an enigma— a beautiful enigma. As the youngest member of the Grateful Dead he brought, as they all did, his unique personality and take on music into the mix. The Grateful Dead was the true epitome of ‘the whole being greater than the sum of its’ parts’ and as great as each of those parts was, the whole was truly a synergy that happened to exist as its’ own enigma in the beginning but grew in a space and time based on the dedication to a likemindedness at a moment in musical history when everything lined up in a way that could never happen again. They learned and grew together, in a way that can only be described as familial, and what they discovered, through psychedelic exploration and experimentation, led to not only an approach to music that had never been taken before but to the creation of a whole new genre of music.
Bob was an integral part of this metamorphosis. His voice was the ultimate contrast and compliment to those of Jerry Garcia and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and his songwriting drew from entirely different influences as well, including rhythm and blues, reggae, cowboy songs, jazz, and classical music,. His guitar playing defied traditional rhythm guitar as it existed prior and, although he and Garcia forged their styles together, their approaches couldn’t have been more different with Bob’s parts invariably seeming to add a sense of mystery and undefinable uniqueness to the music. Having played with Bob countless times through the years, I was always struck by this inimitable style and approach which was such a huge part of the Grateful Dead’s musical tapestries.
When Alan asked me about this in an interview years ago, I was quoted as saying “Bob’s very unique chord shapes and rhythmic patterns push you to play differently, and outside yourself. He, very naturally, leads you into a lot of bobbing and weaving, counterpoint, and call and response. And he has this wonderful sense of not needing to compare this moment to any other moment. Every song, every performance, gets approached with a fresh outlook. It’s an intangible thing, but it’s so crucial to all he does.”
When you combine that with the amount of great songs he wrote or co-wrote through the years (some of mine being “Cassidy”, “Jackstraw”, “Estimated Prophet”, “The Other One”, and “Looks Like Rain”) his place in the music pantheon is solidified. Aside from that, he was genuinely a beautiful human being and I am honored to have known him as a friend and to have played together the many, many times that we did. I will cherish those memories and the world of music will keep his spirit alive. — WH
Warren Haynes is… Warren Haynes.
Brothers and Sisters: the Allman Brothers Band and The Album That Defined The 70s was my third straight book to debut in the New York Times Non-Fiction Hardcover Bestsellers List, following Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan and One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. My first book was Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues and Becoming a Star in Beijing, about my experiences raising a family in Beijing and touring China with a popular original blues band. It was optioned for a movie by Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Productions. I am also a guitarist and singer who fronts two bands, Big in China and Friends of the Brothers, the premier celebration of the Allman Brothers Band.
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Great piece,Thanx for sharing
I named my first cat after Bob in 1974 using his last name. Mr. Haynes has perfectly described the reason for my own fascination with the music and the man. He was always there and not there hidden in plain sight on stage with wonderful counterpoint on rhythm guitar. Not hidden on the vocals though. The 1978 album Heaven Help The Fool doesn't get much mention in the vastness of his work but his voice on that record is powerfully expressive. A recent acquisition of gdcd 4053 Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman Live has become my new favorite. Nothing gets in the way of this duo and these performances, extraordinary music from just 2 kindred musicians at their best.