Mr. Hat and Skull & Roses Festival present the Skull & Roses Warm-Up Party at Hopmonk Sebastapol on Saturday April 1st, 2023. Skull & Roses is the ultimate Deadhead destination festival, and they are taking the show on the road once again to get your motor runnin’ with an exciting night of live Dead. Featuring two fantastic SoCal Grateful Dead Tribute Bands, Cubensis & The Alligators.
Cubensis is the longest-running Grateful Dead Tribute in existence, having logged over 4000 shows since 1987. Cubensis offers an amazing, ever-evolving recreation of the live Grateful Dead experience. Nate LaPointe is a rising star on the national Grateful Dead scene. Expect special guests.
The Alligators are a high-energy chompin’ tribute to the early years- the Pigpen Era of the Grateful Dead. This is the House Band for the Skull & Roses Fest and they are here to Rock You! Expect high octane, whiskey-soaked versions of oft-neglected songs from the Pigpen Era, which form the bedrock of the Grateful Dead songbook.
CUBENSIS: the band that plays Dead, had its beginnings in 1987 when a group of Deadhead musicians became frustrated with the Dead’s all-too-infrequent visits to Southern California. To fill the gap, guitarist Craig Marshall assembled a group and began to perform at backyard parties and local bars, initially appearing as “Sugar Cubensis” until being repeatedly mistaken for Bjork’s band the Sugar Cubes. For clarity the name was pared down to just “Cubensis.”
Soon, word got around about this outfit, who used the Dead’s music as a skeletal framework for their own improvisational explorations. To this day, you would have a difficult time calling CUBENSIS a “Dead Cover Band” without admitting they have tapped into the same inspirational wellspring as the Masters themselves. As the LA WEEKLY observes, “Cubensis plays with the same laid-back mastery as the Real McCoy.” Big Brother Skateboard magazine crowned Cubensis as “the nation’s premiere Dead tribute” in their January, 2002 issue.
The Los Angeles-based group has carried the torch in celebration of one of America’s most beloved touring bands. CUBENSIS brings the original, organic Grateful Dead concert experience back to life. Drawing from all eras of the Dead, the band performs improvised sets of Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band classics that retain all the spontaneous exploratory jamming for which the bands were renown. However, the music produced is uniquely Cubensis.
Accordingly, the group has been acclaimed for giving new life to the Grateful Dead’s material, bringing in new styles, new innovations, and new jam band enthusiasts, while at the same time remaining loyal to the original music and the original fans.
THE ALLIGATORS:
Emerging out of the swamps of Southern California, The Alligators were formed to celebrate the music of Grateful Dead, “Pigpen” and Beyond!
Simply put, The Alligators are here to party hard and Rock you!
The bands repertoire consists of high-octane, whiskey-soaked versions of the often-neglected Pigpen songs that are the bedrock foundation of the Grateful Dead. They don’t stop there, however, and one is never sure what may materialize in their barn-burning performances.
Their energetic stage show is anchored by lead singer, Pete Carona, who’s unique style is Pigpen-esque, but in No way presented as an impersonation. The dual guitar assault consists of “Stevie Ravioli” on Rhythm guitar and Steven Kim—AKA “The Kimchee Warrior” on Lead Guitar. Chompin’ the keyboards and piano is “Berkey Gator” and on bass guitar is “J.J. Gator” Rounding out the rhythm section on drums is Richard La Chomp.
The bands first show in 2017 was just supposed to be a One-Off gig to fill a 6am time slot of another band who had cancelled a last-minute festival spot. Our Manager and Founder of Southern Californias skull n Roses festival, Chris Mitrovich, had a last-minute epiphany to fill the void with a fresh band to kickstart the day. He rallied each band member who all came from completely different musical backgrounds, and genres, but all shared a common Love for big time jams and Grateful Dead Music.
That day… The Alligators were born. We got such a wonderful response as we came off the stage that first show, all the people in attendance were saying to us “Where do we see you next?” So, we rolled with it, and every show we play, the crowds get bigger and bigger, and the Jams keep getting sweeter and sweeter! The gas pedal has been pinned to the floor ever since. The Alligators play year-round spreading the gospel of fun-loving, ass shakin’, Boogie Woogie, Swamp-rockin’ Jam Music.
DOORS: 8PM
AGES: 21+
NO REFUNDS | ALL SALES FINAL
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HopMonk Tavern – Sebastopol
230 Petaluma Ave
- Sebastopol
Price: $20.00