Understated Master

Weir dedicated himself to finding something new in every song, every night. In doing so, he brought joy and magic to crowds and collaborators alike

Bob Weir is rightly being remembered as a transformative figure whose guitar playing made an indelible contribution to the Grateful Dead, and to improvisational rock & roll at large. In fact, Weir was such a pioneer that for many years his unique approach to rhythm guitar was often misunderstood, overlooked and underrated. 

The simple fact that Jerry Garcia chose Weir as his three-decade foil and wingman in the Grateful Dead speaks volumes. Garcia was never shy about expressing his appreciation for his partner, once calling him “an extraordinarily original player in a world full of people who sound like each other.”

Weir dedicated his musical life to forging a distinct style of rhythm playing that was essential to the Grateful Dead’s sound. Rather than playing consistent, repetitive chords to build a groove, his approach was based around counterpoint and riffs, filling the musical gaps between the band’s drummers and Phil Lesh’s similarly unconventional bass playing. 

Weir’s explanation for how he developed this approach -— what he told me was his “dirty little secret” — was that instead of trying to copy other guitarists, he borrowed from pianists, specifically McCoy Tyner of the John Coltrane Quartet. “I just loved what he did underneath Coltrane’s work, so starting at age 17, I sat with that stuff for a long time and tried to absorb it,” Weir told me. “I got further and further toward it. I’m very fortunate that I found a perfect role for my approach at a very young age … Jerry was [also] very influenced by horn players, including Coltrane.”

John Mayer, Weir’s guitar partner in Dead & Company since the band’s 2015 formation, also referenced a jazz piano great when I asked him about Weir’s playing in 2016 – Bill Evans, who’s probably best known for his work on Miles Davis’ landmark Kind of Blue album. “Bob is a total savant,” Mayer said. “His take on guitar chords and comping is almost too original to be fully appreciated until you get deep down into what he’s doing. It’s a joyous thing to play along with.”

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Mayer noted Weir’s knack for inverting chords — like when he would place a root note (the ‘E’ in an ‘E’ chord) in the middle instead of the bottom of a chord, where it usually resides. I have interviewed many musicians about playing with Weir and even the most seasoned similarly light up like children when they speak about him. The likes of Mayer, Trey Anastasio, and were all effusive in their praise, as a quick perusal of social media will attest.