The Rhythm Devils is a band led by former

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

drummers Bill Kreutzmann and

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

Grateful Dead

The Rhythm Devils had their origins as an informal but frequent fixture in the Grateful Dead concert repertoire starting in the mid-to-late 1970s, and continuing until the Grateful Dead's last concert in 1995. Most Grateful Dead concerts featured an extended segment during the 2nd set of improvisational drumming and percussion by Hart and Kreutzmann who took over the stage as a duo (with occasional guests). This segment was variously known to fans as "Rhythm Devils", "Drums", or conversationally as "the drums", and was usually followed in post-1979 concerts by another extended improvisation by the rest of the band, usually without the drummers, which was known as "Space". The "Rhythm Devils" segment of a Grateful Dead concert almost always segued out of a full-band song, and the "Space" segment almost invariably would segue into the beginnings of another full-band song as the drummers resumed their seats with the rest of the band. The Grateful Dead album '' Dead Set'' has a characteristic example of a 1980 "Rhythm Devils" segment which is titled as such, and which is followed by a "Space" segment.

1979-1981: Apocalypse Now sessions and early live performances

The Rhythm Devils duo were formally recruited by director

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

to record the soundtrack to the film '' Apocalypse Now''. During 1979 and 1980, Hart and Kreutzmann, along with other musicians (mostly percussionists),

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a member of the ...

, Mike Hinton, Jim Loveless, Greg Errico, Jordan Amarantha,

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

and

Flora Purim Flora Purim (born March 6, 1942) is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. She has recorded and performed with nu ...

, recorded sessions at the Grateful Dead's

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

studios and "The Barn", Hart's studio in Novato. The process included improvising jungle sounds as they watched the film. The sounds were later edited into the movie. An LP record titled '' The Apocalypse Now Sessions: The Rhythm Devils Play River Music'' was issued from those sessions, (Passport Records PB 9844). In October 1990, Rykodisc re-released the original 1980 LP. In addition to the ''Apocalypse Now'' sessions, Kreutzmann and Hart performed two live concerts as the Rhythm Devils on February 13 and 14, 1981. The live band consisted mostly of the same musicians that contributed to the sessions including: Mike Hinton (marimbas, percussion), Airto Moreira (percussion), Flora Purim (vocals, percussion), Phil Lesh (electric bass, fretless bass, percussion) and other various guests.

2006 Tour

The 2006 lineup of the Rhythm Devils featured drummers Kreutzmann, Hart,

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

bassist Mike Gordon, and guitarist

Steve Kimock Steve Kimock (born October 5, 1955) is an American rock guitarist. He was a member of San Francisco Bay Area bands Zero and KVHW. His tone and some of his playing approach has been compared to Jerry Garcia, who was a friend of his, and he has ...

, with percussionist Sikiru Adepoju and vocalist Jen Durkin (formerly of Deep Banana Blackout). The band formed in the summer of 2006 and toured throughout the US shortly thereafter. Former Dead lyricist

Robert Hunter Robert Hunter may refer to: Arts * Robert Hunter (painter) (died 1780), Irish portrait painter * Robert Hunter (encyclopædist) (1823–1897), British editor of the ''Encyclopædic Dictionary'' *Robert Hunter (author) (1874–1942), American sociol ...

provides lyrics for a number of original songs.

2010 - present

It was announced on the

Gathering of the Vibes Gathering of the Vibes (often abbreviated as GOTV) was an annual four-day music, camping and arts festival that celebrated the Grateful Dead and showcased a diverse variety of music. Over the course of the event, styles would often include funk, ...

website that the Rhythm Devils would perform there in 2010 with a lineup of Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Sikiru Adepoju, guitarists Keller Williams and Davy Knowles (

Back Door Slam Back Door Slam is the name of the blues rock band started by Davy Knowles on the Isle of Man in 2003–04. The band got its name from a Robert Cray song of the same name. Originally a four-piece, with Castle Rushen High School friends Jamie ...

) and bassist Andy Hess ( The Black Crowes; Gov't Mule). This was followed by the announcement of several more dates a month later. They toured into early 2011 with

Tim Bluhm Tim Bluhm (born July 22, 1970) is an American songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the primary singer and guitarist for rock band The Mother Hips. He is part of the duos the Skinny Singers with Jackie Greene and Ball-Point Bird ...

( The Mother Hips) replacing Keller for all dates after July 2010. A new lineup was announced for 2011 featuring Kreutzmann, Hart, Keller Williams,

and Reed Mathis. This combo has played one show - July 24, 2011 at the Gathering Of The Vibes Festival in Bridgeport CT. While the Rhythm Devils have not performed as a band since 2011, Mickey Hart acknowledged the possibility of more Rhythm Devils dates. Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart have performed together since 2011 with the Disco Biscuits, 7 Walkers, Billy & the Kids, Dead & Company and at Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead.

Discography

*'' The Apocalypse Now Sessions: The Rhythm Devils Play River Music'' (1980) *''

The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience ''The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience'' is a 2008 two-disc DVD concert and documentary of the Rhythm Devils 2006 tour, featuring members of the Grateful Dead, Phish, The Other Ones, and Deep Banana Blackout. The name "Rhythm Devils" was origina ...

'' (DVD – 2008)

Lineups

References

External links

Rhythm Devils
Official site
Rhythm Devils collection
at the Internet Archive's live music archive {{Authority control 2006 establishments in the United States 2011 disestablishments in the United States American rock music groups Grateful Dead American world music groups Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Mickey Hart