Beating drum for new project

Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart and crew excited about tour, album

The ensemble is plugging its new self-titled album, and the energetic Hart says while on tour, "I wake up every day smiling."

Q: You and Zakir have been doing this for more than 30 years. Do you feel like siblings? Or do you find yourselves wanting to throw things at each other?

A: Oh, no, there's never a foul word. Zakir, what a blessing. We were just talking about it last night: 1972 is the year we met. His father was my teacher. We've explored some amazing rhythmic territory over the years.

Q: You sound enthused about this ensemble.

A: Well sure, any day playing with Zakir is a good day for me. Giovanni, he's like Zakir's Latin counterpart. Sikiru's talking drum sounds like nothing else out there. It's a dream project.

Q: Electronics have been nudging into your work for several years. Were you hesitant to start incorporating them?

A: They're just the latest incarnation of a work in progress for me and Zakir since the early '70s. But it keeps it interesting, putting electronics among all this archaic percussion. It makes it more relevant to what we're thinking and feeling and hearing today. It means more to a community of people listening to music. People are always looking for current sounds.

Q: Have you heard the recently released CD set from the Dead's Egypt shows in 1978?

A: I haven't heard it. But I remember it well. It was very exciting. A great adventure. It was an exotic, powerful place with these mystical, magical overtones from playing in front of the pyramids. I think the place overwhelmed us a little.

Q: I was going to ask about that. Even cobbled together from a few concerts, this set isn't the band's finest hour.

A: Well think about it, it was eternity there. Beyond eternity. This is a major place, ancient Egypt. A lot of magic came out of it, but it was humbling

By: Andrew Dansby