PLAYING THE MUSIC OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD FOR 30 YEARS AND TRUCKIN’ ON!
Let’s face it: Western Massachusetts is a haven for tribute bands. And nobody does it “Dead”-er than Lobsterz From Marz. Formed in the mid-’80s as a jam band, the Lobsterz had sunk their claws into a number of a different artists, including Bob Dylan and Neil Young. According to guitarist Buddy St. Jacques, though, it quickly became apparent that what they really wanted to play — Grateful Dead tunes — is what every one really wanted to hear. “We just started dropping everything else out by the Dead, and our crowds kept getting larger and larger,” St. Jacques recalls. “Personally, I would say the reason for this is based in the same reason behind the Dead’s success. And that is that people don’t want to hear the same set every time they see you.” With Lobsterz From Marz currently boasting upwards of 200 songs in its collective musical creel, St. Jacques says that a person can come to three or four consecutive shows without ever hearing any particular tune twice.