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I didn’t want to see them have a limited repertoire of 150, 200 songs, or whatever it was. “When you used to go see the Dead, you never knew what material they were gonna do, and they were always pulling out something new. “It’s all played in the style of the Dead,” Cooper said of his Rosebud project. The band also mixes in originals, many of which are written by Cooper, who has recorded several albums of his own material. But the mission of Rosebud is even broader than that. That band - Cooper, Lachlann Kane, Fred Rodriguez, Andy Birchett and Mark Corsolini - certainly covers Dead tunes, but they expand that set list to include music from various Dead spinoff groups and projects, including the Jerry Garcia Band, Kingfish, and even the bluegrass one-off Old & In The Way. The Cats - named for the Dead classic song “China Cat Sunflower” - is strictly a Dead tribute act, playing only songs that the Dead would have played during their 30-year reign from the band’s beginnings in the Haight in San Francisco in the mid 1960s to Garcia’s death in 1995. The crucial difference between the China Cats and Rosebud has to do with repertoire.

On Wednesday, Cooper will play with his other five-piece band, Rosebud, named for Jerry Garcia’s distinctive guitar. As the spiritual and literal home to the Grateful Dead Archive, Santa Cruz enjoys more than its share of Dead acts, both homegrown and touring, to the nationally well-known Dark Star Orchestra, to the Los Angeles-based Jerry’s Middle Finger, to Santa Cruz’s own China Cats.Īt the center of the Dead subculture in Santa Cruz sits singer, guitarist and songwriter Scott Cooper, one of the five musicians who make up the China Cats - with Matt Hartle, Steve Sofranko, Roger Sideman and Michael Owens. One chronicler of the Dead tribute scene has counted almost 60 bands in California alone regularly gigging as a Dead tribute act. Half Step has the rare privilege to be in the position to share their collective impression with you.But nowhere is the tribute-act phenomenon as rich and varied than in the realm of the Grateful Dead. Anyone who has experienced the Grateful Dead in one way or another have formed a unique impression of their music. Half Step's current line up is by far the most seasoned and prepared to bring their show to the next level.Īs musicians, Half Step has what it takes to present the Dead's music to even the most critical of fans. With each new member they come closer to refining their approach while consistently raising their standards. In the band's long history, they have undergone and overcome numerous incarnations. The members of Half Step also use similar instruments, amplifiers and effects to further authenticate the Grateful Dead sound.

They stay true to the traditional show format and play sets of tunes in a sequence that could likely have been performed by the Dead themselves years ago. When seeing Half Step live, one can clearly see the attention to detail that the band has in putting on a viable Grateful Dead experience. Only true fans that have experienced and studied the music with an extreme level of dedication and passion can accurately represent the superb body of work that the Grateful Dead have to offer. Like the Grateful Dead themselves, the band is constantly pushing the envelope, growing together as musicians and performers. What makes Half Step stand out from the rest?

Half Step is a group of dedicated fans & students of the Grateful Dead, capturing the spirit, improvisation, sound & complexity of Grateful Dead music.Įstablished in 2004 on Long Island, Half Step has been mastering their craft while winning over crowds of veteran Deadheads, newcomers and non-Dead fans alike.