The Grateful Dads of Santa Cruz — press kit

The Grateful Dads of Santa Cruz are a five-piece, family-friendly Grateful Dead tribute band from Santa Cruz, California. Two generations of dads carry on the songs and jams of the Dead for longtime Deadheads and brand-new fans alike.

About the band

Hailing from the sun soaked shores of California's Central Coast, the Grateful Dads of Santa Cruz are a multi-generational band appealing to the old guard as well as their new, younger fans. Formed in 2017 and built around a father and son rhythm section, the Dads play the Grateful Dead songbook the way it was meant to be heard: live, loose, and stretched out. Their sets move from Americana favorites like Friend of the Devil and Ripple to big second-set jams like Scarlet Begonias into Fire on the Mountain, with room for Dylan and Jerry Garcia Band tunes along the way. They are regulars at Santa Cruz breweries and community events, where kids dance up front and parents sing along, and they bring their own sound system so an outdoor stage is never a problem.

Playing together since 2017. Family-friendly, daytime and evening shows, indoors or out.

The lineup

• Covey Potter — Drums
• Jeff Potter — Bass and vocals
• Justin Munning — Bobby guitar and vocals
• Bill Daggett — Jerry guitar and vocals
• Pat Blizinski — Keyboards, organ and vocals

Booking and what we bring

• Fee: $500 to $1,000 depending on the event.
• We bring our own PA and sound engineer, sized for breweries, street fairs, and park stages. We can also plug into a festival's house system.
• Contact: Covey, 831-345-4375, [email protected]

Where we've played

Shanty Shack Brewing · Woodhouse Blending & Brewing · The Catalyst · Abbott Square · Earth Day Carmel Valley · Open Streets Santa Cruz · Luma Yoga · Private parties and school fundraisers

A typical set

Bertha · Sugaree · Friend of the Devil · Ramble On Rose · Brown Eyed Women · Deal · Scarlet Begonias · Fire On the Mountain · Eyes of the World · Casey Jones · Ripple · Not Fade Away

Stage plot and tech rider

• Five players: drums, bass, two guitars, keys and organ. Four vocal mics.
• Stage: 16 by 12 feet minimum; a 20 by 16 foot stage is comfortable.
• Power: two 20-amp circuits at the stage.
• With our PA: nothing else needed. With a house system: 12 inputs (kick, snare, two overheads, bass DI, two guitar amps, keys stereo DI, four vocals), four monitor mixes.
• Set lengths: two 60 to 75 minute sets, or one 90 minute set.