If you’re planning on catching the Grateful Shred / Circles Around the Sun (CATS) tour making its way through the southeast, get your rest. You will need it. Both bands, which share members Dan Horne, Adam MacDougall, and John Lee Shannon are putting on a non-stop, no set break, nightly excursion that will leave the most seasoned concert goer winded (at best).
Shred kicks the night off with a set of its patented “California Cool” take on all angles Grateful Dead. Instead of a set break, the band ventures off into a jam where CATS drummer Mark Levy swaps spots with Shred drummers Alex Koford and Austin Beade. Levy and mates Horne, MacDougall, and Shannon take over for a long set of CATS Cosmic Disco before another jam reintroduces Koford and Beade to the mix for another set of Shred.
SlideandBanjo hit the road with Shred and CATS where their unique format was met with avid approval in Jackson MS and Birmingham AL. Both shows full of college students equally matching the energy from the stage. Shred was without guitarist and expectant father Zeph Ohora. No problem for the brilliant (and late Neal Casal favorite) Shannon whose guitar runs astonished the crowd from start to finish. Mikaela Davis, a frequent collaborator with both bands, joined the festivities in Birmingham a day after her tour ended.
Musically, both bands are soaring. CATS is a nonstop dance party. Shred is continually expanding and introducing new Dead (or Dead related) songs into their setlists. The response and welcoming crowd in Jackson, where the band had never played, served as proof their improbable path from playing in parking lots before Dead and Company concerts to successfully touring the entire country has come to be.
Slideandbanjo spent time with Shred drummer Alex Koford and will have more on his remarkable journey into the music world. From growing up with Phil Lesh’s children Grahame and Brian to sharing the stage with music’s heavy hitters in the blink of an eye. Stay tuned for Koford’s tale from ticket taker at Terrapin Crossroads to touring the country in the most improbable way.
