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Vince Welnick 1951-2006

ginabetters	Date: June 10, 2006 @ 3:36 PM The Musician who was the Grateful Dead's last keyboardist Vince Welnick 1951-2006 When Vince Welnick was invited in 1990 to become the Grateful Dead's keyboard player, the position already had a reputation as the most dangerous job in rock 'n' roll. Three of the band's previous keyboardist had died in tragic circumstances. Ron "Pigpen" McKernan had succubed to alcoholism in 1973, Keith Godchaux died in a car crash in 1980, and Brent Mydland had recently taken a drug overdose. Welnick knew virtually nothing about the Dead. After being told about the "keyboard curse," he told an interviewer, "I am aware that I could die doing this job, but I was dying of boredom before the job came up, so I thought I'd take my chances." Readily accepted into the fold by legions of "Deadheads," as the band's obsessive followers were affectionately known, Welnick grew particularly close to Jerry Garcia, the group's leader. When Garcia died of a heart attack at a drug treatment center in 1995, Welnick took the loss especially hard. The remaining memebers of the Dead decided to dissolve the group, though Welnick opposed the decision. As the newest member of the band, he was overruled. Garcia's death and the loss of employment sent Welnick into a prolonged depression. However, he continued to practice every day, and to write music and perform. His own death, apparently by suicide, is now the fourth and last in a grim series. The Phoenix-born Welnick "started playing piano as a kid," said the San Francisco Chronicle. Chopin was an early love. Later he put together a garage band called the Beans. When the Beans moved to San Francisco in 1969, they became the Tubes. Though Welnick looked like a Haight-Asbury hippie with his long, frizzy hair and tie-dyed clothes, he often toted a tear-gas pistol on his belt. Rednecks who taunted him from their pickups were usually met not with a peace sign but a spray of disabling mist. Combining rock music, video, and outlandish costumes and sets, the Tubes' "rowdy antics and energetic shows" soon earned them a devoted following. They recorded more than a dozen albums, and among their hit singles were "White Punks on Dope," in 1975, and 1981's "Talk to Ya Later." The Tubes disbanded in 1986, and later Welnick recorded several albums with rock singer and producer Todd Rundgren. Then came his successful audition for the Dead. "Going from the exuberant Tubes to the laid-back Dead might have been a culture shock," said the London Independent, but Welnick easily fit in. He enjoyed the band's adventerous use of rock, folk, jazz,and bluegrass, and was "entranced" whenever Garcia looked over the top of his glasses to give him an approving nod. When a fan called out to him, "Welcome, brother Vince," he knew he had been accepted into the Dead's extended family. welnick later opened an art gallery and performing arts center in Akumal, Mexico, with his wife, Lori, who survives him. REST IN PEACE VINCE
K3VIN	Date: June 10, 2006 @ 6:05 PM Proof was a big fan of the Grateful Dead.. naming his first full feature album after him jerry garcia... called searching for jerry garcia... he liked the group as a whole and it got me to check them out...
Dexter	Date: June 10, 2006 @ 6:11 PM
shadowself	Date: June 10, 2006 @ 9:16 PM Talk To Ya Later, Vince.
Dopeshooter	Date: June 12, 2006 @ 11:37 PM May the four wind blow him safely home.......

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