As we wind down the Phish career, it is done with both great joy and great sadness. The joy comes from remembering the incredibly good times we've experienced, the successes we've enjoyed, and knowing that even in our closing we are honoring the band. The sadness is obviously driven by the fact that something I love will not be a part of my life anymore. To me, we have been the greatest band in the world and have had the greatest fans ever.

Listen to Bobby Weir on the Al Franken show. They will talk about getting folks registered to vote, among other topics.

Please visit: http://www.headcount.org - and make sure you're registered to vote before November's election.

Weir on Al Franken Radio - 1 / 2

Last Friday night, I got together with Mike, Page and Fish to talk openly about the strong feelings I've been having that Phish has run its course and that we should end it now while it's still on a high note.

When Mark Karan takes a break from life on the road as lead guitarist with Bob Weir's RatDog, what does he do for fun? He hits the highway with his own band!

Since 1998, Mark has been touring with offshoots of the Grateful Dead (including The Other Ones, Mickey Hart's Planet Drum and Bobby Weir's Ratdog).

Before crossing over into the land of the Dead, Mark worked his guitar voodoo for the likes of Dave Mason, Paul Carrack, Delaney Bramlett, the Rembrandts, Huey Lewis, Jesse Colin Young, Alex Call and Sophie B. Hawkins.

Combining the grooves of funk, rock, latin, drum and bass, reggae, swing and afro-beat with the harmonic languages of jazz, pop sensibilities, progressive composition and full on improvisation, Uncle Sammy has been turning heads and opening ears on the east coast U.S. and around the world for over four years.

From the front range of the Rocky Mountains hails one of today's most spirited and invigorating acts.  Purple Buddah is a raising a family of dedicated listeners magnetized by the band's infusion of classic psychedlia, intricate improvisation, engaging songwriting, and soulful vocal harmonies. Purple Buddah is pusihing the boundaries of the modern live-music scene from both directions.  - as much as they harken back to the sound and emotion of their musical influences, they are at the same time fresh and innovative...

There are a lot of cover bands around and a lot of those are Grateful Dead cover bands. You've seen them, they're good. Most include the music of Jerry Garcia, Bobby Weir et al with other cover songs and some originals mixed in. DSO is a different breed of "Dead" band. What Dark Star Orchestra does is recreate the Grateful Dead. Not with hippie wigs and fake beards but through the live music. They play the setlist song for song in the same arrangements used by the Dead members of that period.

Growing up in a quaint little town helped Scott McDonald utilize words like "quaint" in his everyday banter.  This in turn, transferred over into his music, providing many more opportunities to use obsolete words and useless phrases.  After a brief stint in the "Welcome Back Kotter" fan club, Scott got serious about his music.  All it took was one song to change his life forever, PAC MAN FEVER.  Those pulsating rhythms, the astute lyrical commentary, the cool, chomping sound effects masterfully placed throughout the entire cut.  It spoke volumes.