#37 Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead) Interview 1992

Summary

The Tapes Archive – Episode #37: Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead) Interview, 1992

Podcast: The Tapes Archive
Host: Osiris Media
Guest: Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead, The Tubes)
Interviewer: Mark Allen
Date of Interview: 1992 (Aired September 2, 2020)

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Episode Overview

This episode features a vibrant and candid interview with Vince Welnick, then-new keyboardist for the Grateful Dead and former member of the Tubes. At 41, Welnick discusses his recent integration into the Dead, the differences between the Dead and the Tubes, and the inner workings of being part of an iconic American band. The conversation captures the spirit of musical exploration, band camaraderie, and Welnick’s unique vantage point as the “new guy” in the Grateful Dead family.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Joining the Grateful Dead: Dream Fulfilled

• Unanticipated Path: Welnick never imagined being in the Dead, but felt an early connection after hearing their first album at age 14.

  “My dad actually had never imagined being in the Dead. I imagined being friends with them. It was kind of a vision I had when I first heard their album.” (05:26)

• The Audition: Vince’s wife inquired about the open spot, leading to his audition after the death of Brent Mydland. He learned songs from tapes (and, humorously, some CDs though he didn’t own a player).
• Stakes and Competition: Faced tough competition from T. Lavitz, Pete Sears, and Tim Gorman.

  “You know, you can never be cocky, like, say ‘Well, I got the audition…’ Bobby called me up and said, ‘Is your insurance paid up?’ and then I knew I’d landed the gig.” (07:09)

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2. Differences Between The Tubes and The Dead

• Touring and Shows: The Tubes were like a “traveling circus”, highly choreographed, with little room for improvisation or nightly variation. In contrast, the Dead’s setlists are fluid, making live shows more musically engaging.

  “The Tubes were like a traveling circus, 3 Wing Circus that set up in a different town every night… we weren’t as spontaneous… The Dead change up every night and that makes it all ultimately more interesting.” (09:26)

• Endurance and Change: The Tubes’ intense touring schedules (200+ shows/year) became unsustainable and less creatively rewarding over time, leading to Vince’s departure.

  “I'd still be in that band because I would have been loyal to them to the bitter end.” (10:59)

• Legacy & Showmanship: The Tubes were ahead of their time with elaborate stage productions and multi-disciplinary performances. Robin Williams even auditioned (and failed!) for their talent contest.

  “Robin Williams tried out and failed, although we became friends later. Yeah, he was unknown at the time.” (12:30)

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3. Life Within the Dead: Culture, Setlists, and Sound

• Adapting to Improvisation: Initially found it tough to work without a set list but soon enjoyed the freedom and flow.
• Band Camaraderie: The Dead’s environment is supportive and familial, contradicting the myth that newcomers are hazed.

  “No, these guys have made me totally comfortable. The crew and everybody, it’s just fabulous. They couldn’t have stayed together this long. They didn’t have just a wonderful relationship with everybody.” (20:41)

• On the Audience: Expresses joy about the welcoming Deadhead community—likening the experience to a long-held vision of performing to a sea of outstretched arms.

  “When I was about 11, I saw a sea of people with their arms stretched out, and now I’m living it every night.” (23:49)

• Evolving Technology: The Dead’s use of in-ear monitors improved musical cohesion and vocal performances.

  “It’s just like singing in your own ear… you can hear the slightest little whisper and you can sing in key…” (03:53)

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4. Band Dynamics, Material, and Growth

• Transition and Repertoire: Welnick needed to learn 140 songs in a short time—his “biggest mouthful” ever. Previous bands had less volatile setlists.

  “That’s the biggest mouthful I have ever taken.” (22:20)

• New Material: The Dead were working on new songs, though not immediately planning an album. Songs discussed include “Corrina,” “Wave to the Wind,” “So Many Roads,” “Way to Go Home,” and others.

  “We have new songs, though, that will eventually be on an album, but when, I do not know. I doubt if it would be this year.” (17:15)

• Creative Freedom: No outside pressure to “light a fire” under the Dead, allowing music to develop organically—a luxury Welnick deeply appreciates.

  “That’s really the luxury I see of this band is the freedom to be able to develop freely…” (18:34)

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5. Memorable & Lighthearted Moments

• On Grateful Dead Keyboard Jokes: Vince jokingly acknowledges the infamous “dead keyboardist” running gag.

  “Blowing up and shit. Yeah, no fear of that, huh? No. What a way to go. But I’ll try to see that it doesn’t happen.” (24:20)

• Musical Tastes: At the start of the interview, Vince shares his enthusiasm for Bob Marley and desire to introduce "Waiting in Vain" to the Dead’s repertoire.

  “I’m trying to introduce Waiting In Vain to the band.” (03:04)

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Notable Quotes

• On Being in the Dead:

  “I feel fabulous. I feel like I’m in a big old wonderful family.” (21:41)

• Creative Comfort:

  “There’s nobody that’s going to light a fire up our butt and push us to do something before it’s time.” (18:34)

• The Tubes Show:

  “No, the show [of The Tubes] — that was at a time when economics were a little bit more conducive to that. I don’t think anybody could do that show like The Tubes on the level we did it.” (13:51)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:43 – Vince jokes about playing Bob Marley in his hotel room.
• 05:26 – Vince describes his unexpected path to joining the Dead.
• 07:09 – Recounts the audition process and landing the job.
• 09:26 – Compares life in The Tubes with the Grateful Dead.
• 12:30 – Story about Robin Williams auditioning for The Tubes.
• 17:15 – Talks about new material and the Dead’s creative pace.
• 18:34 – On the organic, pressure-free creative process within the band.
• 21:41 – On the familial vibe of the Dead and crew.
• 22:20 – Discusses the challenge of mastering the Dead’s vast repertoire.
• 24:20 – Addresses the “keyboardist curse” with humor.

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Tone and Takeaways

Vince Welnick is affable, self-effacing, and clearly invigorated to have found his place within the Grateful Dead’s creative world. He weaves stories of musical adventure, perseverance through band transitions, and a lighthearted approach to the challenges and myths surrounding his role. For Deadheads and music fans alike, this episode opens a window into the lived experience of a musician stepping into the legacy of one of America’s greatest bands.

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Transcript

[Podcast Host]

Welcome back to the Tapes Archive podcast, where we release interviews that have never been heard before. In this episode, we have the Grateful Dead and the Tubes keyboardist Vince Welnick. At the time of this interview in 1992, Wellnick was 41 years old and was promoting the Grateful Dead's two sold out shows at Deer Creek Music center in Indiana. In the interview, Welnick talks about what it was like auditioning for the Grateful Dead, his former band, the Tubes, and how being in the Grateful Dead felt like being a part of a big old wonderful family.

[Deadhead Fan]

I do a variety of things.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Like what?

[Deadhead Fan]

Merchandising, for the most part.

[Interviewer or Commentator]

What do you merchandise?

[Deadhead Fan]

I run a clearing house for Grateful Dead concert tapes. I also go to the concerts where I sell frisbees and beach balls dog bandanas.

[Interviewer or Commentator]

Mr. Hardy, you've made a practice, have you not, of following the Grateful Dead from city to city in order to attend their concerts?

[Deadhead Fan]

Yes, I have made it a practice.

[Interviewer or Commentator]

You traveled to Egypt for a Grateful Dead concert?

[Deadhead Fan]

I'm not gonna sit here like some kind of a criminal. I didn't do anything wrong. I like the Grateful Dead. Maybe there's more to being a Deadhead than just the music. Maybe it's a little heavier than that.

[Podcast Host]

As always, we have music critic Marc Allen at the helm conducting the interview. If you'd like to support the show, please like follow and subscribe to us on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. There we post other content and information n not available on the podcast. If you'd like to read the transcripts for any of our episodes, please head over to our [e-mail] we'll jump into the interview after a quick word from our sponsors.

[Vince Welnick]

Hello, hello, hello.

[Podcast Host]

We're the Grateful Dick.

[Vince Welnick]

Hi. Hello, hello, hello, hello. We're the Grateful Dick.

[Sponsor or Promotional Voice]

Right? And if you want to know about all the cool stuff that we've been up to, all the projects and products that you might be interested in knowing about and maybe buying, you'll probably be interested in this toll free number.

[Vince Welnick]

And if you call it right now, we will get back to you as soon as possible. You bet.

[Deadhead Fan]

And the next 30 seconds of dead.

[Vince Welnick]

Air is only the beginning.

[Sponsor or Promotional Voice]

Only the beginning.

[Deadhead Fan]

Only the beginning.

[Podcast Host]

One last thing before we get to the interview. The Tapes Archive Podcast is a proud member of Osiris Media, a global community connecting passionate fans with podcast experiences about artists and topics you love. Thanks for tuning in. And now it's time to open the vault.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Hello? Hi, this is Vince. Yeah, hi, it's Mark Allen.

[Vince Welnick]

All Right. Let me kill the music here. Bob Marley up way too loud.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Okay.

[Vince Welnick]

Let me shut this window, too. All right.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

I'll hang on.

[Vince Welnick]

Okay. Boy.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Do you think the Four Seasons get many people who play Bob Marley up real loud?

[Vince Welnick]

Maybe. At least on this floor. I don't know. They asked for it. They put the CD player in it.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Oh, that's nice.

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah. Are you a big Marley fan? Yeah, I like him a lot. In fact, I'm trying to introduce Waiting In Vain to the band.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Any takers so far?

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah. Rick said you learn it first and we'll whip it out. It seems pretty easy enough. You know, normally you would have to have a rehearsal or something, but we could maybe work it up at sound check. It's not a difficult song.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah, I would think Mickey would be into that. Pretty much.

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah. Well, it feels like a good summary kind of thing to play outdoors. And if you could fit. It would fit with a couple of songs. You know, it's got lots of room for vocals. It's got a lot of vocal potential for everybody to join in. I kind of like the way everybody's singing lately. Yeah. We have our new ear in the ear monitors, and I think it's improved everybody's vocals a lot because everybody's able.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

To hear each other. Is that.

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah. When you sing, especially when you're singing, it's just like singing in your own ear. And if you have your vocal turned up, you know, enough in your own monitor, you can hear the slightest little whisper and you can sing in key and you're not trying to get over the top of the music, which, you know, if you have to sing above the volume of the music, that limits you to your range quite a bit. And sometimes it pulls you off key. Now, it's not a problem at all if you concentrate and you could sing perfectly at any level, especially really delicately. It's great. I love it for, like, falsetto, too.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Was this something that the band had been having problems with or discovered that would work better?

[Vince Welnick]

Well, we tried them out. Bobby and Jerry, I think, tried them out first, and they loved them because the sound's right up there in your head and you can actually hear everybody. Like when I. You know, depending on where you're on stage, it was difficult to hear everybody all the time. And you could put them in your monitors, but then you have to put them in pretty loud, and then you got other priorities. Oh, shit. Could you move on?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Sure. Anyway, you were telling me about these ear monitors, and what I'm wondering is, does that Mean that you don't use any stage monitors at all.

[Vince Welnick]

No speakers whatsoever.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

That's gonna be great.

[Vince Welnick]

It works good for the pa. Then you're not listening to the dust bulbs that you are normally listening to, so you don't suffer ear death from these.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Let me get into the scheduled material here. What I wanted to ask you. Is being in the Dead anything like you imagined it would be?

[Vince Welnick]

My dad actually had never imagined being in the Dead. I imagined being friends with them. It was kind of a vision I had when I first heard their album. I just felt like I was there. But actually being in the dead didn't occur to me until all of a sudden, you know, suddenly a sprint died. My wife Lori inquired with Bobby's secretary at the time, who used to be the tube secretary. As you know, I played with the Tubes.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yes, I do know.

[Vince Welnick]

And me and Eve told my wife that they were looking auditioning people. And I wanted to audition to see what's going on. I didn't know if there would be any chemistry there, but I wanted to see if maybe they wanted me to be in the band. And then as soon as I met Jerry and Bob, I decided right away I really wanted to be in the band then. And I started checking out the music which they sent me so I could learn some songs for the audition. And it was getting more fabulous than thought of it.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

They send you sheet music?

[Vince Welnick]

No, they sent me tapes.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Oh, tapes.

[Vince Welnick]

Mostly live tapes. But they also sent CDs, which was a laugh because I didn't own a CD player. I didn't tell them that, but I learned stuff off the tapes. And then they auditioned a bunch of guys. I went in there and we played about eight songs. And then I sat around by the phone for about a week. I wondered how I did. Actually, I didn't know if I was going to get it because some of the other people in there were pretty hot. When I started hearing the names, I got kind of pumped out. But no, they picked me.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Do people know who you competed against? Because I don't think I know who you.

[Vince Welnick]

Well, there were some of the guys. T. Lavitz.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Oh, really?

[Vince Welnick]

Pete Sears. And a guy who for some reason I thought might get it because he was playing with my ex drummer. Well, with Curry from the Tubes. He had his own band and his own name was Tim Gorman. He played with the who.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Lots of people beat out some heavy duty competition.

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah, but, you know, I had this dream when I was a kid meeting up with these guys. But, you know, you can never be Cocky, like, say. Well, I got the audition and every day that went by seemed longer and longer. And then Bobby called me up and said, is your insurance paid up? And then I knew I'd landed the gig.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[Vince Welnick]

Now, what paper is this?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

The Indianapolis Star.

[Vince Welnick]

Indianapolis Star.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

You'll be here next Friday, I think it is.

[Vince Welnick]

We're going to be in Indianapolis.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah. Next Sunday and Monday. Yeah, a week from Sunday and a week from Monday.

[Vince Welnick]

Where at Deer Creek?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah.

[Vince Welnick]

And your name?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Mark Allen.

[Vince Welnick]

Mark Allen.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah. Dennis told you that this was gonna happen, right?

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah, I'm just trying to get my facts straight.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Okay, good. Yeah, I guess you probably interrupt.

[Vince Welnick]

You go ahead.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

No, that's all right. I mean, I guess you probably go through enough of these where, you know, you don't even know, you know, it's hard to keep track of all this stuff.

[Vince Welnick]

Well, yeah, they don't give me too many. Mostly want to talk to Jerry and the other guys. I'm pretty new at this, you know, new in the band, so. Only got two years worth of experience.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah, but it's pretty interesting. I mean, you get a perspective that, you know, the other guys don't have just because they've been in all the time. I mean, there's no words. You had talked about the first time that you heard him when you were a kid. How old a guy are you?

[Vince Welnick]

I'm 41.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

You're 41. So you're.

[Vince Welnick]

When did their album come out?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

What, the first album?

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah. I don't know.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

It's got to be. Yeah, something like that.

[Vince Welnick]

Then I would have made me 14.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

But when you're a kid, who would. I mean, you probably wouldn't even think that bands would be around as long as a band like the Dead has been around.

[Vince Welnick]

Right. But I was already starting to play in bands back then. I was gigging. Well, I did my first gig when I was about 11 in church. I used to do my 7 o' clock Sunday gig. I was playing in bands when I was 14, and so I was into all the new stuff, particularly what was coming from San Francisco.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Did you grow up in the San Francisco area?

[Vince Welnick]

Pardon me?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Did you grow up in the San Francisco?

[Vince Welnick]

No, I grew up in Phoenix.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Oh, Phoenix.

[Vince Welnick]

See, where it was a rock and roll desert at the time. Country was a big thing. But Phoenix was pretty hip as far as picking up on all the music from everywhere. So we did catch. I had the Great for that album.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Compare being in the Tubes with being in the Dead. I imagine it's an incredibly different experience.

[Vince Welnick]

Well, yeah. Big difference. Compare it. The Tubes were like a traveling circus, 3 Wing Circus that set up in a different town every night, which was kind of crazy unto itself. We weren't as spontaneous, although we had a great time in the Tubes. You know, it was fun and doing all of that stuff and playing every place we played was fabulous. But the tours were long and hard and 200 or more a year that even the most interesting music can get boring. You know, the one thing we did have in common was a big selection of songs to choose from. It's just that when the Tubes went out on a tour because we had a show, we had to set up choreography and everything. So there wasn't many places where we could change songs once we got the tour together. We could change all the songs once we did another tour and we would do that. But we had hundreds of songs to pick from because the tunes were together 17 years. And then like the Grateful Dead, they played 133 different ones last year. So that's the one thing we have in common. And then everything else was different. Musically, it's very fulfilling playing with the Grateful Dead because of the diversity and the fact that there's more emphasis on the music. A lot of times I was dancing instead of playing, you know, with the Tubes. But no, we had some great songs. The Tubes had great songs and the Dads have great songs. But the Dead change up every night and that makes it all ultimately more interesting. And it's a little easier going from my 41 year old bones to the Duke close under 100 gigs instead of 200 and travel by bus and all of that kind of stuff. If he had not left the Tubes and if the things had not happened with the Tubes, I'd still be in that band because I would have been loyal to them to the bitter end.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Well, what did happen?

[Vince Welnick]

Well, Feed left and we went on for years without him and then couldn't afford to do the show. And bad breaks, setbacks, management all the way above. And then more people left the band and. And just wasn't the Tubes anymore. So I went with Todd Rungreth for a couple albums and a couple tours. I played on Nearly Human and Second Wind, his last two albums.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

The Tube show was a pretty amazing show to watch, I imagine. Like you said, Three Ring Circus, that's sort of what it was like.

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah, people would have to come to the show. That's another thing we have in common with the band. So a lot of people would come multiple times to the show. In the Grateful Death version Just because it's so wonderful to be there. And also you gotta come many times to hear the songs that you want to hear. But with the Tubes they come sometimes just to watch the dancers, sometimes just to listen to the music. Sometimes they watch the props go up and down and in and out. Watch the crew try to be on stage and act and move this gear. How quickly could change the set in the dark out? So yeah, we had people coming for multitudes of reasons. A lot of people would come to want to be in the Tubes and would some of them wound up performing with us.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Really?

[Vince Welnick]

Oh yeah. Jane Dornacher, Pearl Harbor. We even had Robin Williams try out for our talent contest where we picked eight winners to appear with the band for a two week run at Bimbo's. And Robin Williams tried out and failed, although we became friends later. Yeah, he was unknown at the time.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Right.

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah, we had Jane Doernacher with us and Reese Stiles doing Don't Touch Me there and other stuff.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah, on a motorcycle driven stage.

[Vince Welnick]

Kenny, our choreographer went on to be a movie director. He does all his dance movies. Michelle lined up with Todd Rungen, one of our dancers. They just had a baby named Reebok. A couple of them became actresses.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Do you think the Tubes would have done better commercially if they hadn't become known first for like White Punks on Dope and Don't Touch Me There?

[Vince Welnick]

Well, White Punks was the anthem of the FM radio, you know, like top 10 most requested for a long time.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

It almost makes you a novelty.

[Vince Welnick]

Well, some people thought of it that way, but I think, I prefer to think we were just ahead of our time. I mean, look what they're doing now. It's not a novelty. They take it seriously. But it's all, you know, a lot of the new stuff around is saying the same thing we were saying.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah, yeah. I don't know if bands do quite as. As involved and elaborate a show.

[Vince Welnick]

No, the show that was at a time when economics were a little bit more conducive to that. I don't think anybody could do that show like the Tubes on the level. We did it in a smaller place with, you know, so little overhead because it costs us money to do that show every time we put it on. So what band's gonna do that for 17 years?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

But it must be amazing to work in a band like the Dead and know that everywhere you go the show is sold out. So there's no worry about selling tickets and.

[Vince Welnick]

Oh ye. Really first rate, first class. That's great. The audience is so cool, too. I love the audience.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Do you find it tough, and do you still find it tough to work without a set list?

[Vince Welnick]

Not so much now. I'm getting a feel for it. I like it. It's kind of interesting. Hold on. I bet that's my wife again.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Sure.

[Vince Welnick]

How much more we got?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Another 10 minutes. Okay.

[Vince Welnick]

Hold on.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Did you happen to read the interview that Jerry gave the Rolling Stone last October?

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah, I think I. Yeah, I believe I did. He was there on the COVID right?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah. Well, he talked about a couple of things I wanted to ask you about. He had talked about how he felt that there had been some inertia in the band that, you know, they didn't see the band moving forward or progressing at all. Did you see that as a new member?

[Vince Welnick]

I didn't see it because how could I compare it? At the time? I didn't know where it was coming from in the first place, so I couldn't sell if it. But now, in retrospect, I did take time out of their evolution. You know, I took some serious time out. They had to fall back, spend what normally would have been their whole year's budget on rehearsal and working out new songs and writing and composing. They had to spend going into the past with Welnick, you know, we tried to knock off about 10 songs a day, and we made great progress and everything. And we got to review some songs. And I think in some cases the songs, especially the vocals, after they had to analyze them with me, got a little more polished a bit. But there were no new songs to learn, and there was no time to do them. And they had to go out on the road almost immediately, and we had very little time. So, yeah, and that's because of me, but that's the way it had to be. You don't give a guy 140 songs and say, okay, you're on. But I think I learned it pretty quick. I worked on it at home. I spent more time at home working on it before we rehearsed than we actually rehearsed. So I gave him a break here and there. It was probably the pits for those guys, but I don't think they were.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Talking about having to teach you the songs. I think they were probably.

[Vince Welnick]

Well, it's just the transition. I ate up all their time for, like, a whole year. I figured we had a whole year working a new keyboard player instead of what would have happened. And, yeah, now all I can do to make up for that is evolve quicker, bring something into the party myself, which I think I wrote a song with a couple of the guys in the band. Now I'm trying to make up for it.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Lost Time, that was my next question, actually, was new material. And there's no new Dead album this time, particularly. Which I guess doesn't really matter when you're touring. No.

[Vince Welnick]

We have new songs, though, that will eventually be on an album, but when, I do not know. I doubt if it would be this year.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah. Is it likely we'll hear any of them? Are you playing them?

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah, I hear some names.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Okay. Corrina, spelled C O R R I, N A. Okay.

[Vince Welnick]

And that's Mickey Hart. And Bobby sings it. Bobby, I believe, CO wrote it, too. Oh, and the Hunter. Right. And then Robert Hunter, you know.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Right.

[Vince Welnick]

And then Phil did Wave to the Wind with Robert. Jerry's got so Many Roads, which I believe is with Hunter, too. Then I've got Way to Go Home, which was with Hunter and Bob Braylove. And there's a weird. I've got another demo I'm working on with Barlow and Bob Braylove. And there were other songs coming in, but those were the only ones we got to nail down before we took off. Then we also do a couple of new covers, but those are the originals and they're more close. Phil has another one already done, but we just haven't learned it yet. And I think Jerry's got a few and Bobby's have. We're probably getting close to having albums worth. Except if the band wants to learn them and take them on the road first and get acquainted with them before they go down in the record. They don't like to write in the studio like the tunes used to do. We have a deadline. We go in there, well, let's do that record. Then we'd learn what we learned the songs off the. After we finished it, we figured out what the hell we did. So I like the way it's moving now and it's coming right along and there's no hurry, you know, there's nobody that's going to light a fire up our butt and push us to do something before it's time. And that's really the luxury I see of this band is the freedom to be able to develop freely and not be under any kind of pressure from anybody.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah, that's a really unique experience.

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah, that's the American way. I thought I always dreamed it'd be like this.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

And then in this interview he said, if you're looking for comfort, join a club or something. The Grateful Dead is not where you're going to find comfort. And the question was about, is it difficult for a newcomer to deal with.

[Vince Welnick]

Being in the Dead?

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

He said, in fact, if anything, you'll catch a lot of shit. And if you don't get it from the band, you'll get it from the roadies. And so has it been tough to fit in?

[Vince Welnick]

No, it's pretty comfortable. I don't think he realized where I was coming from. Like, I don't have to share a room with anyone anymore. Yeah, I don't ride on a bus after the gig for 10 hours anymore. I don't play 200 shows a night. Two shows a night sometimes. I mean, two shows a year and sometimes two shows a night for two weeks on end. Now, when the Tubes were on top with She's a Beauty in the top 10, it wasn't like that. But the last few years of my life before the Grateful Dead were tossed between the Tubes and Todd Rundgren. And it was, you know, you got to deal with folks there, too. And there was challenging things, working with Todd that were really difficult, like doing a live album. And not only you're playing and singing, which usually you're just doing one or the other, you're also following a conductor who was Todd, and playing in front of an audience, that was a bitch. But they're a very forgiving audience, and so is the band. If I screw up, they're going to call me on it and it won't happen again as long as I can help it. But they're not going to label me an imbecile because of. And certainly the audience isn't going to hold anything against me, like when I get up and walk away from the song because it's over and it's not. In the beginning, I did that. But I try to work real hard at this. I don't want to screw up in front of those many people. I hate making mistakes. But, no, these guys have made me totally comfortable. The crew and everybody, it's just fabulous. They couldn't have stayed together this long. They didn't have just a wonderful relationship with everybody.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

I wondered if he was being sarcastic, and maybe he was being sarcastic.

[Vince Welnick]

I thought he was. He sounded like he was on a bit of a bum bum with that interview. But they weren't hard on me at all. They were very gentle, most generous and compassionate. And I feel fabulous. I feel like I'm in a big old wonderful family.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

You mentioned doing 133 songs last year, a typical year for the Tubes. What would you do about 20, 25.

[Vince Welnick]

No, we do about. We do more than that in the night. No, we go. We talk around maybe 60. But we had 200 or more songs in our repertoire. But we usually change.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Well, maybe 80.

[Vince Welnick]

We would change almost all the songs for every tour, and we'd do about four years. But not nearly as many as Grateful Dead.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

That's still a lot of songs, though. Like when you did the Todd tours. I can't imagine that you had to learn nearly that many.

[Vince Welnick]

Did you? Oh, no, no, we would. Only we played the same exact thing. Like, you know, 20 or 20 songs. The same ones for the whole tour. That was easy. But also, the Tubes was easy, too, because that was 17 years in the making, acquiring that set list. There were some really complicated songs, but we worked on them diligently, and after a year or so, they became second nature to you. So to do that many in that short a time with Grateful Dead, that's the most. That's the biggest mouthful I have ever taken.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Is Bruce Hornsby with you this time around?

[Vince Welnick]

No, he handed the baton off to me on the spring tour. He felt things were going well and he was going to have his life. But he is coming out. I think he's coming out tomorrow and going to sit in, and he's always welcome anytime. Yeah, we miss him and we love to play with him.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

And, of course, you must be comfortable with, like, dual keyboards, because all the bands you've played with have more than one keyboard.

[Vince Welnick]

Yeah, Todd's band had two, the Tubes had two. So, yeah, I can hang with that. And the likes of Bruce on piano. What can you say? I mean, that's the most fabulous guy I could think of to have on piano playing with me. But he's happy and we're happy, and he's coming out tomorrow.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

It sounds like you couldn't be in a much better position. I mean, it seems like you got your dream job right now.

[Vince Welnick]

It's a pretty wonderful thing. This is kind of like a vision I had when I was a kid. When I was about 11, I saw a sea of people with their arms stretched out, and now I'm limping at it every night.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Anyway, is there anything else you want me to tell people about you, the tour, the Dead?

[Vince Welnick]

Anything you think would be interesting? You seem to cover it pretty well.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Yeah. Okay. And I should ask you this, and it's just kind of meant as a goofy question, but was there anything. I'm sure you heard your share of Spinal Tap jokes about Dead keyboard punch.

[Vince Welnick]

Blowing up and shit. Yeah, no fear of that, huh? No. What a way to go. But I'll try to see that it doesn't happen.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Good.

[Vince Welnick]

Great.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Well, I appreciate your time, Vince. We'll see you next Sunday.

[Vince Welnick]

Okay, Mark, Thanks a lot.

[Mark Allen (Interviewer)]

Okay.

[Vince Welnick]

Come looking for you backstage. Okay, we'll do.

[Podcast Host]

Hey, thanks for listening to the Tapes Archive podcast. Please remember you can always find more information about the show and the individual episodes at our website, TheTapesArchive.com until next time, the vault is closed.