About Me
I was born May 7, 1946 in Palo Alto, California, and was the drummer for the legendary rock band the Grateful Dead for its entire 30-year career. I started playing drums at the age of 13, despite the fact that my sixth grade music teacher told me I couldn't keep a beat.As a teenager, I had the good chance to meet the mystic English writer Aldous Huxley, who encouraged me in my drumming. In 1962, I started working at Dana Morgan's Music Store in Palo Alto. One day a young picker named Jerry Garcia stopped in to purchase a banjo. Shortly thereafter, Jerry was also hired at Dana’s (to teach guitar lessons) and we forged a musical friendship that would span four decades.In November of 1965, the Warlocks became the Grateful Dead. Mickey Hart soon joined the new group, making it one of the first (and few) rock bands to feature two drummers. The remarkable cohesion, synchronicity and the driving power of our combined drumming became a hallmark of the Grateful Dead’s sound for the next thirty years and earned us the nickname “The Rhythm Devils.â€Our ten-minute drum duets, a feature of every Grateful Dead show from 1978 to 1995, were without equal in the rock world. I remained with the Grateful Dead until its dissolution following the passing of Jerry Garcia in 1995, making me one of the four members to play at every single one of the band's 3,500 shows along with Garcia, Weir and Lesh.In 2006, I teamed up with my erstwhile bandmate Mickey Hart, former Phish bassist Mike Gordon and lead guitarist Steve Kimock to launch a band called the Rhythm Devils – a nod to the old GD nickname. The group featured songs from all of our previous bands as well as new songs written by Jerry Garcia's longtime songwriting companion Robert Hunter.The Grateful Dead, along with artists including the Who and Ornette Coleman, was honored with a prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2007 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.I am also a visual artist, and in 2001 I began releasing limited edition reproductions of my digital artwork, some of which can be seen on this page.My new band is really fun! Scott Murawski and I were introduced in Costa Rica at a meeting facilitated by none other than PHISH bassist Mike Gordon. Our musical chemistry was limitless and compelling, it was like playing with Jerry again! Shortly after, Burbridge joined the band and it became obvious that the trio should pursue further musical adventures. The trio is currently working on a debut release slated for the fall of 2008. In the meantime, KBM is hitting the road this summer where fans can capture the MAGIC of this electrifying combination. Confirmed tour dates thus far:Camp Creek July 25-27th @ Indian Lookout Country Club Mariaville, NYSat, Aug 2-Gathering Of The Vibes Fest- Bridgeport, CTSat, Oct 25-Magnolia Fest- Live Oak, FLInformation about tickets may be found on-line on the websites of the individual venues. My Websiteis www.billkreutzmann.net
