Boston Globe
Truckin': A Dead man returns 
By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 10/4/2000 

Phil Lesh is ecstatic. Normally a laid-back fellow, the former bassist of the 
Grateful Dead can't conceal his glee about the latest version of his group, 
Phil Lesh & Friends.

''It's the hottest lineup I've had - and the most freewheeling. I'm loving 
it,'' Lesh said yesterday upon arriving in Boston, where the band opens a 
four-night run at the Orpheum tonight.

''We'll be going along at a certain volume, and one person will play a soft 
note, and, suddenly, everybody will go into that space. This is a true sports 
car,'' Lesh said of his Friends, who include his ''two guitar gods,'' Warren 
Haynes and Jimmy Herring.

''Warren and Jimmy are like brothers, in a sense. It may or may not have to 
do with the fact that they were in the Allman Brothers,'' said Lesh, who 
played with the Allmans himself in a recent New York benefit for the family 
of Allen Woody, the former Allman Brothers bassist who died this year.

Lesh's latest Friends, who also include the drummer John Molo (formerly with 
Bruce Hornsby) and the keyboardist Rob Baracco (of the Zen Tricksters), have 
helped him roam freely through the early Grateful Dead catalog. ''We've dug 
out `Golden Road' and `Doin' That Rag' for this tour. They were songs the 
Grateful Dead never did anymore.

''It's a matter of pride to me that a lot of this material still stands up. 
I've managed to change some of the grooves around and reinvent them for our 
band. It's been exciting, and the potential to get better continues.''

Lesh has also gotten better from the liver transplant he had two years ago. 
''The surgery was brilliantly done, and the recovery was textbook. I'm 
working out again and have gained more muscle mass. I feel better than ever.''

Lesh's tour schedule surely proves that. He has played the Boston market four 
times in the last year - twice on double bills with Bob Dylan (''I'll go out 
with Bob any time I'm invited'') and twice in four-night stays at the 
Orpheum. Asked if he worries about overexposure, he said, ''Not really, 
because every time through I have a different band.''

There have been rumors that a future lineup may include the deposed Allman 
Brothers guitarist, Dickey Betts, but Lesh said no. ''Dickey and I talked 
about it a while back, but I'm really happy with where my band is right now.''

And don't look for any reconciliation with the Other Ones, the group with 
fellow Grateful Dead alumni Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and 
Hornsby. Lesh had a publicized falling out with Hart and Weir, and said ''the 
stress contributed to the illness which caused me to have a liver transplant. 
... They're all my brothers, but we've just gone in different directions. 
I've detached myself.''

As for plans, Lesh hopes to release a live album and to keep touring with his 
own group. ''I've always just been into the music, and that's what I'll do as 
long as I enjoy it.''