Happy Anniversary Joe Russo’s Almost Dead: Three Years Of JRAD

Three years ago today drummer Joe Russo rounded up four of his best friends and musical collaborators for what was supposed to be a one-time only performance of Grateful Dead covers. The drummer debuted Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at a concert put together to celebrate the anniversary of the influential email list NYC-Freaks called “Freaks Ball” at Brooklyn Bowl in NYC. Russo and his mates shocked and awed to a degree that three years later the group is headlining much bigger venues and appearing towards the top of festival lineups.

Shortly after the concert, I tweeted at Russo “If you leave Almost Dead as a one-time project it will be a crime against humanity.” Thankfully no crime was committed although it’s easy to forget it took 11 months before the five-piece took the stage for their second performance. There was time when we thought perhaps JRAD’s run would be limited to that one night. In 2014 the Almost Dead experiment picked up full steam and earlier this month the group played their 62nd and 63rd gigs since that fateful night in Brooklyn aboard Jam Cruise 14. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead has a five-show swing up the Northeast Corridor scheduled for February and a recent announcement of the band’s Red Rocks debut, opening for Umphrey’s McGee, showed the ride won’t end any time soon.

Listen to a soundboard matrix recording from three years ago today thanks to Eric McRoberts and Bill Mulvey: