Going on more than a decade as the keyboardist for Bob Weir and RatDog, it’s about time Jeff Chimenti got around to listening to some Grateful Dead music. Although having Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, in the band might seem like an open door to the enormous catalogue of Dead material, according to Chimenti, the band has always been about its own unique sound.
“When I first went up there, I would say ‘I don’t know that or I never heard it,’ and [Weir] was like, ‘Don’t listen to it. Let’s see what you’ve come up with,’” Chimenti explained. “I think things were working fine, but I think it’s best to go back and understand where it came from. It’s kind of hard to go somewhere if you don’t know the root source. Over the years, a bunch of us have been listening and listening. It’s all been fun for me, because it’s all kind of new. I think overall, everybody just has a better understanding of the music, which is important.”
When RatDog brings its jazz/funk/rock improvisation to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre Tuesday, Nov. 11, it’s safe to assume there will be a large amount of Dead material in the set, but don’t go to a RatDog show expecting to see someone trying to be Jerry Garcia. With RatDog, the band is more focused on adding its own twist to the music — whether it be lead guitarist Mark Karan throwing in some minor Garcia riffs or something that has become more prominent in recent years, having Chimenti or saxophonist Kenny Brooks take over some of the late guitarists fills.
“I just think there were certain signature lines that felt like they were in there, and we just took it upon ourselves, if we didn’t hear it, to go ahead and play it,” he said. “Maybe I can understand from Mark’s aspect, maybe there’s certain things he doesn’t want to play verbatim like Jerry, because he’s Mark. But there are certain tunes that have signature things, and they might gravitate or let themselves go that way, but nothing totally intentional. We’re just trying to fill out the music and pay homage as well. There was never a part with Mark where it was like ‘You need to play these parts.’ It was never like that. We want to be as individual as possible. We want to sound like us, but yet there’s certain things that we need to pay homage to.”
Developing its own sound is something RatDog prides itself on, with each show allowing the band to explore its own musical limitations. For Chimenti, that has meant going from just a backing player when he first joined in 1997 to a more dominant role today where he finds himself taking over a nice amount of soloing during any show.
“As the band knows each other more, you’re able to stretch out more,” Chimenti said. “I think it depends on the way shows are going. Sometimes there’s a little more room to step out. You never know how it’s going to go, especially during the ‘Stuff’ section — we’re all kind of going by the seat of our pants. Just finding spots. If it serves the music, why not? Let’s stretch it out. I don’t think it was anything that was talked about. I think it’s just the music and the comfort level with the music and each other. It’s like a natural progression.”
Other than the band’s live shows, many RatDog fans are still anticipating the follow-up to the band’s debut studio album, “Evening Moods,” which was released in 2000. Although RatDog has written almost enough material for a new studio album in the ensuing seven years, it looks like the band might be gearing up for some studio time, as it recently purchased a new recording studio near the Bay Area in California.
“It’s hard to say, because we’re basically just set up here in our home studio at TRI,” he said. “I think once that’s set, it’ll be a lot easier to do some tracking and to just lay some stuff down. I would assume that with the way things are going there should be some new studio aspects coming out of RatDog, in addition to live. I foresee something happening. The studio’s right there, so we might as well use it [laughs].”
For now, the band is concentrating on what it does best — delivering powerhouse live performances, like the stop at the Kirby on Tuesday.
“Like I always say, you’re going to get RatDog at our best,” he said. “We just go out there and try to do it, and every show is just as important as the next. We try to give our all every show no matter what. Hopefully, in a RatDog way, you get the honest and true RatDog — that’s what we try to do.”
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Bob Weir and RatDog, Tues., Nov. 11, 8 p.m. at F.M. Kirby Center, Public Square,
Wilkes-Barre. Tickets: $43.50 at box office, Ticketmaster.com and 570.693.1000. Info: 826.1100, www.ratdog.org,
