Exclusive Premiere: Roots Of Creation Share ‘Casey Jones’ Off ‘Grateful Dub’

On March 9, Roots of Creation will unveil a guest-filled, rock and reggae-tinged tribute to the music of the Grateful Dead, Grateful Dub, via their own Bombshelter Records label. Today, JamBase is pleased to premiere “Casey Jones” off the new LP featuring special guest Dan Kelly of Fortunate Youth.

Roots Of Creation translated some of their favorite and fan favorite Grateful Dead songs for Grateful Dub. The band assembled in their hometown of Brookline, New Hampshire in January of 2017 with legendary producer/engineer Errol Brown (Bob Marley, Rebelution, Peter Tosh) to record the LP. In addition to Dan Kelly, Grateful Dub also features collaborations with Stephen Marley, G. Love, Melvin Seals and more.

Brett Wilson of Roots Of Creation tells JamBase about their rendition of “Casey Jones”:

“The bounce and groove of this track is one of my favorites. Especially [RoC keyboardist] Tal’s [Pearson] super dope Clav work. It’s been a blast watching the reactions in the crowd as we open each show on the Grateful Dub Tour with a ‘Shakedown Street’ instrumental tease melding right into ‘Casey Jones.’ We have always been fans of Fortunate Youth. They love to jam just like us. Dan Kelly and I decided to work together on this track when we were kickin’ it in the RoC van at Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia a couple months back (which I ironically we played again as a headliner last night). I thought he would be perfect for verse three and he nailed it. His ad-libs really turned up the vibe and made it a party! We gave him some shine by taking the skanks out, letting the drum and bass thump while his unmistakable vocals echo and reverberate over the track. The original guitar solo is so perfect on this track… I tried to play it mostly note for note and add some of my love for Trey Anastasio’s signature Tube Screamer combined with compression sustainer tone. You know it’s an iconic guitar ripper when you can sing the whole part note for note. Hope all of our fellow Deadheads join us on this Long Strange Grateful Dub trip on one of the boys biggest sing-a-long anthems.”

Listen to “Casey Jones” off Roots Of Creation’s Grateful Dub:

Grateful Dub is currently available for pre-order here.