Bobby Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart spoke to CBS News’ Anthony Mason just five days after his death and said they planned to play together the very next day.
“I was hoping we could play with him again. So that was my sadness,” said Kreutzmann, the Grateful Dead’s drummer. ‘Cause I know he wants to play with us again too.
A charter member of the group, Lash He had studied classical violin and jazz trumpet when Jerry Garcia brought him into the band in 1965. He had never picked up a bass.
“We gave him a Gibson four-string. A little hardbody Gibson four-string. He mastered the thing in a day,” Kreutzmann said.
Lasting memories of Lash’s Grateful Dead.
After Lesh’s death, Kreutzmann, along with Weir and Hart, released statements about their beloved former bandmate and how he changed their lives. They all agreed that it significantly influenced their musical taste and style.
“Phil turned me on to North Indian classical music. It was an important thing in my life,” Hart said.
“You know, I owe a lot to the things that Phil taught me or got me into,” Weir said.
They called Lash A classical musician who taught them how to be independent.
“How to play freely and not play in any set, fixed way … he was a very unique bass player. He’s going to help us get better,” Kreutzmann said.
This improvisation was a staple of Grateful Dead shows until the band broke up after Garcia’s death in 1995.
In 2015, Lesh joined Kreutzmann, Weir and Hart at Fare Thee Well, a series of concerts celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary. There were hopes that the four band members might reunite for the 60th anniversary next year.
“We were going to see where it goes, but we were just going to play the four of us. Now there’s just three of us … and it’s different,” Weir said.
The Grateful Dead will become. Kennedy Center Honors In December