Happy Birthday Marc Brownstein: Watch Brownie Perform ‘Shakedown Street’ With Bob Weir & RatDog In 2014

The Disco Biscuits bassist Marc Brownstein celebrates his birthday today. Brownie was born on April 8, 1973 in New York City and went on to co-found The Disco Biscuits in 1995 with guitarist Jon Gutwillig, keyboardist Aron Magner and drummer Sam Altman — with current drummer Allen Aucoin joining the band in 2005 — while attending the University of Pennsylvania.

Combining elements of psychedelic rock, electronic, jazz, soul, blues and more, the band pioneered their self-described “trance fusion.” tDB released their debut album, Encephalous Crime, in 1996 and followed with the heavily influential Uncivilized Area in 1998 which contains a number of the band’s early classics.

The Disco Biscuits members are also known for their rock operas with Gutwillig penning Hot Air Balloon in the late ‘90s and Brownstein also adding to the catalog with Chemical Warfare Brigade, which he debuted in 2000 with his side project Electron while on a hiatus from Bisco. Brownie and the Biscuits have also presided over some of the jam scene’s most memorable and longrunning events like their festival Camp Bisco, founded in 1999, featuring like-minded bands tDB was integral in influencing like Lotus, STS9 and more. The Disco Biscuits’ numerous endeavors propelled them to be one of the jam scene’s most successful bands with a devoted fanbase.

As such, Brownstein was among an all-star cast who joined Bob Weir & RatDog in 2014 at a benefit concert honoring the 10th anniversary of voter registration organization HeadCount, which Marc co-founded. The star-studded show featured a number of notables from the jam scene including Steve Kimock, Eric Krasno, Umphrey’s McGee guitarist Brendan Bayliss, John Popper and more.

Brownstein appropriately made his appearance beginning with the disco-tinged Dead tune, “Shakedown Street,” which kicked off the second set after a speech from HeadCount’s Andy Bernstein. Read an excerpt from JamBase’s coverage of the event below:

Set Two was all about the sit-ins and after a stirring speech from Bernstein, Brownstein emerged on bass for “Shakedown Street” and “Bertha.” Brownie, sporting a huge smile throughout, had his parts down and added a sharp thrust to the songs he played on.

To celebrate Marc Brownstein’s birthday, watch the bassist perform “Shakedown Street” with Bob Weir & RatDog as well as vocalist Alecia Chakour below via the JamBase Live Video Archive: