The cover band Steely Dead — “a sonic fusion” of Steely Dan and the Grateful Dead — will be performing at four venues around the island beginning this week.
For five years, Steely Dead has combined the precise arrangements of rock legends Steely Dan with the free-flowing, melodic improvisations of the Grateful Dead to create a musical journey for fans.
The band is comprised of four musicians — Dave Abear on guitar, Matt Abear on bass, Chris Sheldon on drums and Dylan Teifer on keys.
“Of course, my brother and I have been playing together since the mid-90s, and we’ve been playing with Chris and Dylan for at least 10 years now,” Dave Abear said. “We have always played Grateful Dead together, and over the years we started trying the more complicated Steely Dan and putting some songs in our repertoire.”
“The music went well together — like chocolate and peanut butter,” he added.
Steely Dead plays songs from the Grateful Dead and Steely Dan, but goes beyond the covers by creating musical transitions that make the performances appear seamless. Luckily, many fans enjoy the music of both 1970s-era bands.
“There is a big crossover between fans of the bands, especially since they are era-specific,” Dave Abear said. “We really figured out how to find the songs that are complementary to each other, and we work to make the songs run in the most magical way we can.”
This will be the third time Steely Dead has toured the Big Island, which is the only part of Hawaii they will be visiting this year.
Dave Abear began visiting the island with his former bands in 2011 and has developed relationships with other musicians throughout that time.
“We have the basic infrastructure that allows us to tour the Big Island relatively inexpensively,” he said. “Every time we come out, we don’t have to scramble or spend excessively to make it work. There is a drum set and all the music gear needed here, and we’ve met a bunch of great people along the way that help us come back.”
Steely Dead, based in Colorado, tours nationally and has built a loyal fan base that anticipates their shows and follows them from city to city.
“Since we advertise through social media, some people on vacation just happen to see it and decide to come out,” he said. “We’ve also seen a lot of younger people come out recently. We have a modern-day jam band approach where we create music on the spot, and that can appeal to younger listeners.”
The band is looking forward to visiting the island again and bringing music lovers together for a fun time.
“We’re excited to coming back to the Big Island and taking everybody on a musical journey with us,” Dave Abear said.
Steely Dead will perform four nights in a row at 7 p.m. starting Thursday.
The band will be playing at the Blue Dragon Tavern in Waimea on Thursday, the Hilo Palace Theater in Hilo on Friday, the Kona Elks Lodge in Kailua-Kona on Saturday, and Tiki Mama’s in Ocean View on Sunday.
All venues will have tickets available at the door the day of the show. Blue Dragon Tavern and the Palace Theater also have tickets available online at bluetaverndragon.com and hilopalace.org.
Tickets for all four shows are available online on Steely Dead’s website at steelydead.com.