By Andrew Coen
The Grateful Dads, a band made up of local musicians who grew up with the Grateful Dead¹s folk music, will perform at the Backstage Bar in Woodmere on Oct. 28. The local Grateful Dead tribute band, which plays other classic rock tunes as well, consists of Neil Cohen and Andy Harwin on guitar and vocals, respectively, Bob Feldman on drums and Austin
³Win² Edmund on bass. Cohen lives in the Millbrook section of Valley Stream and the other band members live in North Woodmere.
The band began performing a variety of classic rock tunes from the 60s and 70s from groups such as The Who, Led Zeppelin and Cream, but have recently played a majority of songs from the Grateful Dead. ³We play classic rock with a heavy emphasis on the Grateful Dead,² said Harwin, who estimates that 90 percent of the songs on Oct. 28 will be from the legendary folk band.
Harwin said the Grateful Dads band consists of friends and neighbors who have been playing together in some form or another for about eight years.
All four hold full-time professional jobs but still find time to hit the stage a few times a year. ³It started as a twice-monthly session on Friday nights as a way to blow off steam and relax from the work week,² said Harwin. ³At some point people started asking why we don't play in public.²
Feldman's love of rock and roll music is summed up by his license plate with has the letters ³LNGLVROK,² a take on the hit Who song ³Long Live Rock.²
³We're all in our 40¹s and to do something you love and music you love is a high,² said Feldman, an Oceanside native.
Harwin said the band members never intended to play in public, but when one of their friends invited them to play at a summer block party, their concert tour took off. Soon after the block party, Feldman managed to book the band at the Backstage, located inside Woodmere Lanes on Broadway, and since then the group has developed quite a following.
³We play [at the Backstage Bar] twice a year and it has turned into quite the social event,² said Harwin. ³We now have 200-300 people showing up and it amazes even us.²
³There is nothing better than playing in front of your friends,² said Cohen, a North Woodmere native, of playing in his neighborhood.
Harwin admits that since he is younger than the rest of his band-mates, he was not a major ³Deadhead² growing up, but he has quickly come to embrace the music. ³These guys got me into it,² he said of the Grateful Dead music.
The Grateful Dads have also done their part to assist those in need by supporting the hunger relief charity ³Rock and Wrap it Up² at their Woodmere show the last two years. The band also played at a benefit show with some other bands at Backstage last July with proceeds going toward the Jewish Community Center of Oceanside¹s Sunrise Camp for children with cancer.
Syd Mandelbaum of Cedarhurst, the CEO of ³Rock and Wrap it Up!² and a self described ŒDeadhead,¹ said the band members' charitable actions are symbolic with the music they play. Feldman is a board member with ³Rock and Wrap it Up!² and has helped the organization get numerous volunteers from the publicity they have given them, according to Mandelbaum. ³The band is very true to its roots,² said Mandelbaum. ³The band has the social consciousness of the 1960s.²
³To be able to benefit a cause that is much bigger than us is an honor,² said Feldman.
Harwin said the group hopes to eventually take the show to other Long Island venues to see what people in other communities who are not familiar with the band think of the act. Harwin said there has been discussions with the Fishery in East Rockaway and if the band members are able to fit the time it takes to prepare for a performance into their work schedules, they would welcome the chance to play there. ³We are always looking to expand our fan base,² he said.
The Grateful Dads' Oct. 28 Woodmere show will start around 9 p.m. For further information call (516) 374-5252.
Comments about this story? Acoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
