Andy Falco and Travis Book of The Infamous Stringdusters have teamed up to honour one of their biggest musical influences, Jerry Garcia, through a collaborative album ‘Falco and Book Play Jerry Garcia’ available on August 4th via Americana Vibes. It’s an album that has evolved in its concept – originally it was planned to be a live recording of favourite Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead songs but the project garnered so much admiration from fans that they decided to take it into the studio.
Travis Book explained the thinking behind the album: “Musicians don’t exist in a vacuum, songs and style don’t just materialize spontaneously— everyone is a product of the music that they’ve heard, loved and internalized. Doc Watson called his music ‘Traditional plus, which means traditional music and everything else I’ve ever heard. Traditional music forms, like Jazz, Blues, Country, or Bluegrass are styles all their own.’ ”
Andy Falco elaborated on this, saying: “I grew up listening to Jerry Garcia, in all of his different bands and projects, and that’s the music that has had the biggest impact on me and along with other traditional music like Blues and Bluegrass, informs my style and aesthetic. So while someone who grows up around Bluegrass or Country may point to that as their tradition, the Grateful Dead, specifically Jerry Garcia, is my tradition.”
A taster for the upcoming album can be heared right now with the duo’s take on ‘New Speedway Boogie.‘
