The Rhythm Devils have announced a second leg of tour dates for late summer. The Rhythm Devils Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, the polyrhythmic engine that drove the Grateful Dead for nearly three decades will make stops throughout the Midwest and Northeast covering some of the territory they'll miss when out west for their earlier summer shows. Joining Hart and Kreutzmann in the Rhythm Devils for part two of the tour will be Nigerian talking drum master Sikiru Adepoju, returning from the last RD tour in 2006, Back Door Slam's Davy Knowles (guitar, vocals) and Andy Hess (bass). The Mother Hips' Tim Bluhm (guitar, vocals) extends his first run as a Devil.
The Rhythm Devils name has its origins in the late '70s. As Hart explains, "I remember Jerry looking at Bill and I one time. He shook his head and just said, 'You guys are Rhythm Devils.'"
But the 2010 incarnation of the Rhythm Devils is guaranteed to be unlike anything that's come beforethe dynamic mix of the musicians' individual but complementary styles and approaches is sure to lead to some serious sparks. "The music is quite different," says Kreutzmann. "It's real groove-based. It has lots of percussion and electronics. It's very danceable. It's gonna be quite a mix up there."
"It's a great combination," says Hart. "You have the deep trance music from Nigeria and West Africa that Sikiru brings to us and there's Davy who at any moment just might rip the sky apart with his guitar and Andy Hess is a real gem of a bass player. We're also excited to have Tim Bluhm, who will bring his ferocious California guitar style and beautiful vocals to the mix."
While both Hart and Kreutzmann promise that the music will be percussion-driven, another factor contributing to the Rhythm Devils' special mojo is the troupe's repertoire: Not only will they be reconstituting some familiar Grateful Dead tunes in their unique way, but the Devils will also be performing numerous tunes written exclusively for them by Robert Hunter, the legendary songwriter whose collaborations with the late Jerry Garcia provided the Dead with their most beloved and durable material.
"Robert Hunter is a major force in all of this. He has written his heart out in these new songs," says Hart. "There will also be enormous, exciting electronic sections of pulsing, throbbing, beautiful zones. There are places and sounds still unknown and unborn that we will no doubt visit."
