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Bill Kreutzmann

Woven Fish by Bill Kreutzmann
Woven Fish by Bill Kreutzmann.

Bill Kreutzmann

 1959 – Present

Bill Kreutzmann

Bill Kreutzmann, an American drummer, is a founding member of the Grateful Dead rock band. He played with the Grateful Dead for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to perform with former members of the Grateful Dead in various lineups, and with his own bands BK3, 7 Walkers, and Billy & the Kids.

Bill is most famous for his career with The Grateful Dead, which is perhaps the most legendary American rock band of all time. For thirty years, beginning in the hippie scene of San Francisco in 1965, they were a musical institution, the original jam band that broke new ground in so many ways. From the music to their live concert sound systems and fan recordings, they were forward-thinking champions of artistic control and outlaw artists who marched to the beat of their own drums.

Bill Kreutzmann, one of their founding members and drummer for every one of their over 2,300 concerts. Hi autobiographical book Deal: My Three Decades of Drumming, Dreams, and Drugs with the Grateful Dead is an unflinching and wild account of playing in the greatest improvisational band of all time. Everything a rock music fan would expect is here, but what sets this apart is Bill’s incredible life of adventure that was at the heart of the Grateful Dead experience. This was a band that knew no limits and Bill lived life to the fullest, pushing the boundaries of drugs, drums, and high times, through devastating tragedy and remarkable triumph.

In addition to a world-class drummer, Kreutzmann is also a prolific visual artist. In 1995, Kreutzmann produced a film called Ocean Spirit. The film is a documentary about the six-week expedition that involved a 3,000-mile ocean voyage from San Francisco to the Revillagigedo Islands, 400 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Kreutzmann is featured in the film and was the executive producer. Wesley C. Skiles, a noted underwater filmmaker, wrote and directed the project. “We went with no preconceived notions,” says Kreutzmann, “except that we were committed to the concept of non-intrusive interaction. We were seeking a way to go beyond our own boundaries as human beings, to meet with the creatures of the sea on their terms. And I hoped somehow to combine film and music to capture that moment of contact. The film has a strong environmental message and “exquisite photography”, wrote John Metzger of the Music Box.

Kreutzmann also does work as a visual artist that began in 1993 when he acquired his first computer, a Powerbook 540C with Photoshop installed. Jerry Garcia, already a proficient computer artist, taught Kreutzmann the basics. In 2001, he began releasing limited edition reproductions of his digital artwork. His work can be found at Walnut Street Gallery.

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