It’s almost certain that no musical act in history has produced as many “cover” bands as the Grateful Dead. In nearly every major city in America, as well as countless smaller towns and rural communities, Dead cover bands regularly celebrate the music of that storied band. Some are long-established lineups of cats who gather regularly down under the stars; some are catch-as-catch-can pick-up bands.

In West Marin County, California, on Saturday afternoon, a benefit performance by Skeleton Krewe, a unique trio (Stephen Inglis, Barry Sless, and Rob Barraco) in which each member possesses decades of high-level Grateful Dead-esque experience, was enhanced by the presence of two powerhouse musical guests (Pete Sears and Jay Lane), both of whom have displayed their own improvisational prowess seemingly forever.

Grammy-nominated Hawaiian slack-key guitarist Stephen Inglis joins forces with longtime friends and musical collaborators Barry Sless (Bob Weir & Wolf Bros, Phil Lesh & Friends) and Rob Barraco (Dark Star Orchestra, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Dead) to bring the Skeleton Krewe Trio to Northern California in October. The live shows in Marin, Sonoma, Chico, Humboldt, and the Sierra Foothills will dive into a musical stew of Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan classics, originals, Hawaiian songs, and more.

In 2016, Stephen Inglis followed up a show in Dallas with a private tour of the legendary building at 508 Park Ave., the site of Robert Johnson’s second and final recording session.

An acclaimed Hawai’ian slack-key guitarist and vocalist, Inglis had many reasons to feel connected to the legendary Johnson, who listened to a wide array of music. Hawai’ian music was extremely popular when Johnson was recording, and it cross-pollinated with the blues.  The steel bar for lap slide came from the islands along with slack key.

Multifarious guitar player Stephen Inglis is no stranger to the music of the Grateful Dead. A life-long Deadhead through and through, Stephen took his native Hawaiian guitar playing roots and mingled it with the band that changed his life. In conversation with Grateful Web, Stephen opened up about his ambitious solo Slack Key Guitar-centered album Cut The Dead Some Slack.

GW: Can you talk about your musical beginnings? Who are your influences?