Bob Weir

Bob Weir (born Robert Hall Weir, October 16, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded, Weir performed with The Other Ones, Later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead. Weir also founded and played in several other bands during and after his career with the Grateful Dead, including Kingfish, the Bob Weir Band, Bobby and the

Bob Weir

Midnites, RatDog, and his newest band Furthur, co-led by former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh.&nbsp Weir played mostly rhythm guitar during his career with the Grateful Dead. He is known for his unique style of complex voiceleading, bringing unusual depth and a new approach to the role of rhythm guitar expression.

Career

Bob Weir (born Robert Hall Weir, October 16, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead. Weir also founded and played in several other bands during and after his career with the Grateful Dead, including Kingfish, the Bob Weir Band, Bobby and the Midnites, RatDog, and his newest band Furthur, co-led by former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh. Weir played mostly rhythm guitar during his career with the Grateful Dead. He is known for his unique style of complex voiceleading, bringing unusual depth and a new approach to the role of rhythm guitar expression.

Personal Life

Weir remained single throughout his years with the Grateful Dead, although he lived for several years with a woman named Frankie Hart (No relation to Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart), allegedly the inspiration for Weir's best-known song "Sugar Magnolia". On July 15, 1999 Weir married Natascha Münter. They have two daughters, Monet Weir and Chloe Kaelia Weir. Natascha's younger sister Leilani Munter is a race car driver in the NASCAR circuit.

Weir is on the board of directors of the Rex Foundation, the Furthur Foundation, and HeadCount. He is an honorary member of the board of directors of the environmental organization Rainforest Action Network, along with Woody Harrelson, Bonnie Raitt, and John Densmore. He is also on the honorary board of directors of Little Kids Rock, a non-

Mickey Hart and Bob Weir

profit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in under-served public schools throughout the U.S.

Weir is reported to be a member of the Bohemian Club and has attended and performed at the secretive club's annual bacchanal at the Bohemian Grove.

Guitars

Early pictures of The Warlocks in concert show him playing a Gretsch Tennessean, and after the Warlocks became the Grateful Dead, Weir briefly played a Rickenbacker 365. Between 1967 and 1970 he played a Guild Starfire IV electric with natural finish, a Fender Telecaster, a sunburst Gibson ES-330, a custom-ordered Guild F-50 Jumbo acoustic, and an Alembic-customized Guild ST-402. He also briefly played a black Gibson Les Paul Custom in 1971.

Bobby also acquired a cherry red Gibson ES-345 TDC in 1967, and played it sporadically until 1969. From 1971 until late 1972 it was his main guitar, and was featured on such high-profile shows as the Europe '72 tour and the beloved "Sunshine Daydream" concert from August 27 of that year. From late 1972 through 1973 Bob played a 1961 Gibson SG Standard, which came with a "Sideways Vibrola." He also played a Gibson ES-335 in tobacco sunburst finish in The Grateful Dead Movie, which highlighted their final shows at the Winterland Ballroom before their hiatus in late 1974.

During their hiatus in late 1974 through 1975, Weir worked with Jeff Hasselberger at Ibanez to develop a custom instrument. Weir began playing the Ibanez 2681 during the recording of Blues for Allah; this was a testbed instrument with sliding pickups that Hasselberger used to develop several additional 2681s for use onstage, as well as Weir's custom "Cowboy Fancy" guitar, which he played from 1976 until the mid-1980s. Weir began using a Modulus Blackknife at that point, and continued to play the Blackknife, along with a hybrid Modulus/Casio guitar for the "Space" segment of Grateful Dead concerts for the rest of that band's history.

Aside from his custom Guild F-50 Jumbo, Weir's acoustic guitars include a Martin D-41, a 1940s Martin 000-21, an Ovation Balladeer, and an Alvarez-Yairi WY-1, which was designed by both Weir and Alvarez-Yairi (Jerry Garcia also had a "signature" model co-designed by them, the GY-1). He also plays a D'Angelico Premier Gramercy and D’Angelico DAAS G100.

Recent photos of Ratdog, Wolf Brothers, and Dead & Company show Weir playing a Modulus G3FH custom, a Gibson ES-335, Gibson ES-339, Fender Stratocasters and a Telecaster (he has seemingly retired a 1956 Fender Telecaster previously owned by his late half-brother, James Parber), Stratocasters by boutique luthier Hoag, D’Angelico Deluxe Bedford, D’Angelico Bob Weir Signature Model, an Ibanez George Benson GB10, and an orange Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins model.

Bob Weir in 1974, during one of the Winterland shows that made up The Grateful Dead Movie.