Lettuceblazed back to Buffalo during their Fall run of their 2021 Bring Back The Love Tour. This past July they crushedLake George and Western New York’s Art Park. The group played the fully renovated historic Buffalo Town Ballroom on Main Street. The three floor club is an infamous hometown venue to funk artists Rick James and Soulive.
Lettuce founding member Sam Kininger joined for one just gig this summer at the Lake George Adirondack stage. This fall, he has been on tour with Lettuce for every club date and has helped fill out a three-piece brass section with Benny Bloom and Ryan Zoidis. Like Drummer Adam Deitch told NYS music, “Sam’s the godfather of Lettuce”
The November 11 performance went from 8:15 till 10:15 with Lettuce crushing all the way through without leaving the stage for the encore. The current Lettuce hybrid batch is also made up of Erick “Jesus” Coombs on bass, Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff on guitar and Nigel Hall on keyboards and vocals.
They treated the Buffalo audience to “Break Out” from their infamous 2004 Live in Tokyo Album. Legendary artist Steve Gadd told NYS music the secret to any live gig. “When you get it musically to a level where everyone on the bandstand is having fun and can hear each other and you can trust the audience is hearing it the way you are, it gets to a spiritual level. In Japan or wherever you are. That’s the goal.”
The spirit of Buffalo legend Rick James could be felt in the house on Wednesday. To pay homage to the city of Buffalo’s funk artist, Lettuce burnt “Mary Jane” from his debut album Come Get It. Like Buffalo native Alan Evans told NYS Music about James’ music, “Its hard to choose…Bustin out of L Seven on vinyl, you kinda can’t go wrong with. That’s a dope record.”
Come catch Lettuce bust out more funk on the road in America with dates leading up to a New Years Eve show at Miami’s North Beach Band Shell. The first week of the new year Lettuce Drummer Adam Deitch will join DJ Logic & a world-class line-up of Friends including Karl Denson on saxophone and MonoNeon on bass at New York’s Blue Note. Lettuce kicks off 2022 with a European tour starting 2/22 for two months.
Lettuce – Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY, November 11, 2021
Setlist: Purple Highness, Dump, Breakout, Suppit, Mary Jane, Sly>Silence is Golden-> Mr Yancey, Central Nyack, Pep n Step, Move on Up, Don’t Change for Me
The life of Jerry Garcia will be celebrated on August 8 at Westville Music Bowl with “Daze Between,” presented by Rex Foundation.
Musicians including Warren Haynes and Grace Potter (alone and together), Lettuce (celebrating JGB) and Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass have all been announced as part of the music event, with more special guests yet to be announced.
August 1-9 is known among Grateful Dead fans as “The Days Between,” named for the Dead song of the same name. On August 1, 1942, Jerry Garcia was born, and on August 9, 1995, he passed away peacefully in his sleep. These days mark hallowed time for Deadheads of all ages, with music celebrations continually in order to celebrate the life of the influential musician and icon, Jerry Garcia.
For tickets and more info about Daze Between click here.
The Rex Foundation’s schedule for Daze Between 2021
Thursday, July 29th – Jerry Day at Fenway Park in Boston, MA: Boston Red Sox vs Toronto BlueJays; Lureto – Everywhere: The Dead Sessions EP Release Party at the Charleston Pour House in Charleston, SC (live show) Friday, July 30th – Melvin Seals & JGB with Roots of Creation at The Range in Mason, NH (live show), The Garcia Project at The Narrows in Fall River, MA; Terrapin Flyer at Headliners in Louisville, KY (live show) Saturday, July 31th – Melvin Seals & JGB with Roots of Creation at The Range in Mason, NH (live show); The Garcia Project at FTC in Fairfield, CT; Sunday, August 1st – Jerry Birthday Celebration ft. Peter Rowan, Bill Nershi, Ross James, and more at Cervantes in Denver, Colorado (live show); Songwriter Showcase w/ Vince Herman, Matt Warren, and Channing Wilson at New Standard in Winter Park, FL (live show); The Garcia Project – Jerry Birthday celebration at Soundcheck Studios in Pembroke, MA; Daze Between virtual auction begins – dozens of high-ticket music and Grateful Dead memorabilia with proceeds to benefit Rex Foundation Monday, August 2nd – Mikaela Davis and Southern Star Play Grateful Dead (livestream); Jerry Day at Great American Ball Park: Cincinnati Reds vs Minnesota Twins; Crazy Fingers at New Standard in Winter Park, FL (live show) Tuesday, August 3rd – Melvin Seals & JGB at The Hamilton in Washington, DC (live show) Thursday, August 5th – “The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame presents: An Odd Little Place: The Digital Work of Jerry Garcia” in Cleveland, OH (private gallery opening); The Garcia Project at the Chance Theatre in Poughkeepsie, NY (live show); Friday, August 6th – The Days Between Festival ft. Dark Star Orchestra in Laytonville, CA (live show); Everyone’s Dead ft. Matt Butler, Steve Kimock, Marc Brownstein, and more at Ardmore Music Hall in Philadelphia, PA (live show); Splintered Sunlight at the Hamilton in Washington, DC (live show); The Garcia Project at the Recher Theatre in Towson, MD (live show); An Evening with Dead Floyd live at the Mishawaka Amphitheater in Bellvue, CO (live show); Walking In The Sky (Papa Mali, Matt Hubbard, Reed Mathis, and Wally Ingram) at New Standard in Winter Park, FL (live show); Pure Jerry at Milo in Philadelphia, PA (live show)”The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame presents: An Odd Little Place: The Digital Works of Jerry Garcia” in Cleveland, OH opens to the public Saturday, August 7th – Cris Jacobs and Larry Keel Experience at BChord Brewing in Round Hill, VA (live show); Jerry Garcia 79th Birthday Celebration ft. members of Los Colognes, Futurebirds, and more at the Basement East in Nashville, TN (live show); The Garcia Project at the Hamilton in Washington, DC (live show) Sunday, August 8th – Daze Between ft. Warren Haynes, Grace Potter, Lettuce, Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass and more at the Westville Bowl in New Haven, CT (live show); Cris Jacobs and Larry Keel Experience at BChord Brewing in Round Hill, VA (live show); Melvin Seals & JGB at the Caverns in Pelham, TN (live show) Monday, August 9th – Rex Foundation Grand Finale (livestream); The Garcia Project at the Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls, NY (live show) Tuesday August 10th – MLB Jerry Day – San Francisco Giants vs. Diamondbacks
Lettuce finished two nights in the Adirondacks as part of their “bring back the love” Summer 2021 and converted Charles R Wood Park to “Lake George Duke,” in honor of funk keyboardist George Duke. Lettuce founding member Sam Kininger special guested on Saturday night.
“Sam’s The Godfather of Lettuce, he believed in us before we did,” said Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch. The current Lettuce hybrid batch has guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff on guitar, Nigel Hall keyboards/vocals, Adam Deitch on drums, Erick “Jesus” Coomes On Bass, Ryan Zoidis on saxophone and trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom. The groups second to last New York show was at the Capitol Theater on 4/20 with special guest John Scofield.
Friday night included a two set performance and encore. The evenings highlight was an original off Lettuce 2008 album Rage! “By Any Shmeeans Necessary” mixed with a New York instrumental tribute to Notorious B.I.G. The band laid down the original funk track “Juicy Fruit” that the Brooklyn artist sampled.
Rolling off this great energy the band put on an epic Saturday night show with special guest Sam Kininger. Sam’s on stage presence was the ultimate “Break Out” for live sets this year. The second set culminated in another New York nod for “Madison Square.” It got everyone on the bandstand lifted with the grooving audience.
This was Uticat’s Kininger second live performance this year. He played his sons wedding at the Stanley Theatre in Utica where he last performed with Lettuce on November 20 2019. “The Sam Fam” were all in attendance for a funked up reunion on the newly crowned “Lake George Duke” Guitarist Micheal Wooten said of the performance “You can tell they are having fun again up there” The band encored with a kickin cover of the James Brown classic “Funky Drummer.”
Drummer Adam Deitch and Bass player Erick “Jesus” Coombs kept the Saturday night groove going at KRIS & Co featuring Ryan Dempsey after show party in town. The duo jammed on the spot to samples of the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street” and J.J. Cale’s “Cocaine.”
Lettuce kept burning in the Empire State on Wednesday July 14 for their third New York date, this time at Lewiston’s Artpark. The historic park stage sits next to the running Niagara River across from Canada. The band and audience played off the great landscape for a three hour set and encore. The sunset over the border brought out a third stone from the sun tease by guitarist Adam Smirnoff. The crowd responded to Lettuce outbursts of groove by throwing heads of actual fresh produce lettuce in the air during the performance.
The band resonated by debuting a brand new song not on the setlist named “The Lock,” off an upcoming record. Lettuce is bringing back the love this summer and knocking out crowds along the way. Nigel Hall’s vocals over the grooves, “Think I’d better let it go, looks like another love T.K.O. (Oh, Oh)” during a Teddy Pendergrass Cover.
The band encored with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears to keep this ’80s-style New York summer resurgence of live music. Lettuce returns to New York at Brooklyn Steel on November 6 2021.
Lettuce 7/9/21 Lake George, NY: Blaze, MR Shminklehuffer, Kron Dutch, Shmink Dabby, By Any Shmeans Necessary( Don’t stop the music/Juicy Fruit) Ready to Live, Larimar, Trilogy->Trap->Makin my way->Checker Wrecker, Suppit, Do it like You do Encore: RVA Dance
Lettuce 7/10/21 Lake George,NY: Luck of Lucien->Krewe, Pocket Change, Gratitude, Mr Yancey, Sam Huffs Flying Machine->Squadlive Royal highness, Supit, Don’t Change, Breakout–>Relax, Nyack–>Madison Square Encore: Do it like you do (funky drummer)
Lettuce 7/14/21 Lewiston, NY: New Reel, Royal Highness, In the Middle -> Silence is Golden, SquadLive, Fly, Phyllis, Love TKO, RVA Dance Encore: Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Lettuce guitarist Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff and drummer Adam Dietch spoke with NYS music about past, present and future music experiences in the state.
Matthew Romano: Tell me about some music you have seen live in New York State that helped put the groove in you
Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff: I remember my Uncle bringing me to see Stanley Jordan at the Blue Note in NYC. That blew my mind as a kid. I have all these different ages of seeing things that changed me. One of my first concerts was Robert Cray “Forecast Calls for Pain Tour.” At 17 years old I saw Phish at Jones Beach for the first time and it helped me understand you could build a grass roots audience. You didn’t need to be on the radio. You could follow your own path. That’s how Lettuce has aimed itself.
AS: Does seeing the Grateful Dead In 1990 at the old Giants stadium count? Sting opened and Branford Marsalis sat in on “Eyes of the World.”
Seeing Prince at Madison Square Garden has to be the big one. He was such a genre breaking musician. He went up there and played what he felt and didn’t have to categorize everything. I feel like for New York that’s a big part of it. It’s the melting pot. We’re all different, a little bit of everything and try and make it a little bit like you too. It also represents modern humanity. That New York attitude. “Just got to pull up your britches, do the best you can do and be yourself.”
MR: Any current musicians that are on the scene that you have been digging?
AS: Well You have Taz, other younger cats like Justin Lee Schultz. DOmi and JD Beck that’s been playing with Thundercat. You got MONONEON. I just got to jam with Cory Henry, TaRon Lockett and Isiah Sharkey.
MR: What about the future of your own musical journey? What’s on the horizon?
AS: Well we have been lucky enough to play with some of our heroes. Our new recording that we just finished I feel we have made some beautiful music and history with Bootsy Collins. I can’t wait for y’all to hear this.
Adam Deitch: Our friend Alissa Bennevente whose an amazing bass player runs Bootsy’s Instagram. She sent us an uplifting video of him speaking during our time off that gave us hope. It’s Bootsy giving a positive message to everyone out there . At the end of the video he just kept saying (finger snaps) “Keep The Funk Alive” (finger snap). I immediately downloaded the sample of it and sent it to the guys
MR: Wow. So you just took the end of him speaking on the video and sampled it? That sounds like an organic way of creating a groove.
AD: Yea exactly. I added drums and quickly sent it to everyone in the band. They all kept adding their parts to it.
AD: We sent it to him and he loved it. He played bass and added his vocals to it. Showed interest in wanting to make a video of it. He even eluded that he’s glad a band like ours is still playing real funk music.
MR: Sounds as if you’ve been added to Bootsy’s shot calling like on the 1980s Dave Sanborn TV special… “Lettuce”… get ready to roll!
Saturday was more string-oriented with The Infamous Stringdusters and The Wood Brothers jamming to the faithful. In addition to the music, artists, art and workshops were plentiful and there was even a giant waterpark to cool off and relax in while soaking up the scenery and listening to music from a nearby stage. To sum it up, Mountain Music Festival was everything a festival should be, can’t wait for next year!
A Rainforest Benefit Concert was announced by FANS and KEEN x Garcia in celebration of Earth Day. The benefit concert will take place on April 22, 2021 at 8PM EST and will feature big names like Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Lettuce, Rocky Mountain Grateful Dead Revue, and more.
The benefit concert is being put on to raise awareness about Alaska’s Tongass National Forest which is the largest temperate rainforest, and one of the most carbon-storing terrestrial ecosystems on the Earth. The performance is being held in the spirit of the Grateful Dead’s Rainforest Benefit Concert which was originally held at Madison Square Garden back on September 24, 1988.
The livestream is in part to honor Jerry Garcia’s enduring musical, artistic, and environmental legacy on top of raising awareness about Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. FANS and KEEN x Garcia are also bringing in Suzanne Vega and Jack Casady (Hot Tuna) — who played 33 years ago at the Grateful Dead’s Rainforest Benefit — to participate with a musical performance.
In addition to the musical performances, there will also be multiple conversations. One featuring Dave Matthews (Dave Matthews Band and a member of The Wilderness Society’s Governing Council), Trixie Garcia (head of the Jerry Garcia family estate and daughter of Jerry Garcia), and The Wilderness Society. And a second one featuring Gary Lambert (Tales from the Golden Road on SiriusXM’s Grateful Dead Channel), Ebet Roberts (legendary photographer who captured the Grateful Dead’s Rainforest Benefit Concert on September 24, 1988 at Madison Square Garden), and Charlie Miller (renowned Grateful Dead taper).
The full line-up of featured performers include: ALO, Benevento/Russo Duo, Cassandra Jenkins, Doom Flamingo, Duane Betts, Emilio Castillo (Tower of Power), Fruit Bats, Infamous Stringdusters, Jack Casady, Jackie Venson, JoJo Hermann, Kellen Asebroek (Fruition), Keller Williams, Kitchen Dwellers, Lael Neale, Lettuce, Lureto (robotrio), MIkaela Davis, Moon Taxi, Nicki Bluhm, Olivia Reid, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Rocky Mountain Grateful Dead Revue, Southern Avenue, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Stella Blues Band, Suzanne Vega, Tash Neal, TAUK, and The Hold Steady.
The Rainforest Benefit Concert will be a free event, but donations are encouraged to protect the Tongass rainforest of Alaska. Fans watching from home will also be motivated to sign a petition asking President Biden and his administration to protect the Tongass National Forest. The event can be viewed on FANS website here.
