Why Jerry’s Favorite Guitar Player Walked Away from the Dead
Jerry Garcia called Steve Kimock his favorite unknown guitar player — the same Jerry who had sat in with jazz legend Ornette Coleman in 1967, exploring musical boundaries that would define his approach to finding exceptional players. By April 1999, Kimock had become the anchor of Phil Lesh & Friends — the lineup Phil assembled less than six months after his liver transplant. Three nights at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco with Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, and John Molo produced music that had Deadheads talking about what the post-Jerry era could actually become. A 39-minute Viola Lee Blues. Dark Star dissolving into Kimock’s own composition.
Then came the Bob Dylan and Phil Lesh & Friends tour in the fall of 1999. Steve Parish and Ramrod — Phil’s longtime crew, the last link to the original Dead road operation — were fired. The politics behind the music were shifting. Jill Lesh was making decisions. Musicians were walking.
October 27, 1999 — Assembly Hall, Champaign, Illinois. Kimock played one show. Cryptical Envelopment into The Other One, Pride of Cucamonga, The Wheel, Not Fade Away. The next morning he posted online: “I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s Farm no more.” He drove back to California and never came back.
When asked years later how he handled the politics of the Dead world, Kimock had one answer: “What would George Harrison do?”
The full story of what happened — the Warfield shows, the crew firings, the Dylan tour, and why Jerry’s favorite guitar player walked away — has never been fully told. Until now.
