Thursday, November 7th, 2019
Relix Presents

Grateful Shred

Ace of Cups, DJ Zeph

$20.00 Get Tickets
Doors: 6:00 PM / Show: 8:00 PM 21+ Years
Grateful Shred

Event Info

Venue Information:
Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11249

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Tickets for 11/8: Click Here!


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3 Night Pass: Click Here!

Artist Info

Grateful Shred

After a meteoric rise from obscurity to a national touring band, Grateful Shred has made the most of its time in the spotlight. The initial lineup alongside Shred core two Austin McCutchen and Dan Horne, woke the Grateful Dead cosmos with a unique laid-back harmony driven sound. The band literally went from playing the Shakedown Street vendor area prior to Dead and Company shows to touring the United States.

The moment that sent the band’s popularity soaring is the “Busted at the Bowl” video, a YouTube video with nearly 500K views; the video features Shred members starting an impromptu set in the parking lot of the Hollywood Bowl before a Dead and Company show in 2017. They don’t get too far before drawing so much attention that the police shut them down. Instant "Shred-Cred."

The thing is, Los Angeles-based Grateful Shred manage to channel that elusive Dead vibe: wide-open guitar tones, effortless three and four-part vocal harmonies, choogling beats, and yes, plenty of tripped out, Shredded solos. The look, the sound, the atmosphere. It’s uncanny. “It’s more of a ‘take’ on the Dead than a tribute band,” says bassist Horne. “We end up sounding almost more like the Dead because we approach it in this free-spirited way.”

Founded one night in 2016, the band came about almost by accident. Singer/guitarist McCutchen had a residency at The Griffin in Atwater Village; his band was out of town, so he drafted some friends to play a set of Dead covers, and the band, in one form or another, have been together ever since.

This past pandemic year, McCutchen and Horne decided to shake things up. Their biggest move was adding a second drummer to the lineup; Alex Koford (Phil and Friends, Terrapin Family Band) joined long time Shred collaborator Austin Beade on drums as the band doubled down on its rhythm section. Koford’s vocals were a huge benefit to the band and by the end of 2021 performances, his contributions were prominent throughout the nightly setlists.

Another huge part of the 2021 lineup was keyboardist Adam MacDougall. MacDougall, a member of Circles Around the Sun with Horne, brings instant credibility along with his spacy keyboard grooves and adds yet another vocalist to the mix.

Far from being a historical re-enactment, Grateful Shred’s laissez faire vibe infuses the band with a gentle spirit, warmth, and (dare we say it) authenticity. From their killer merch game to their eminently watchable YouTube channel, they’re clearly having a rad time and spreading the love. Strangely enough, in a world overflowing with wax museum nostalgia and Deadly sentimentalism, we need the Shred, now more than ever.

Ace of Cups

In the summer of 1967, San Francisco’s first all-female rock band burst onto the scene. Despite making a big impact as a live act, and sharing billing with everyone from Jimi Hendrix , Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead, the band stopped performing without ever recording an album of their own. 

50 years later, they are finally releasing their debut studio album long overdue. Their songs lay buried in old scrapbooks, on unmarked home tape reels and in the collective memories of those involved. It’s a stunning collection that reflects their unique origins and deep life stories.

As the news began to spread that the Ace was recording, old friends and allies began to catch word and come by the studio to offer support and musical contributions. People like Bob Weir, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Taj Mahal, Jorma Kaukonen, Jackson Browne and others. When the dust and smoke had cleared, 36 songs had been recorded, and what started out as a chance to set the record straight turned into a history-making second-act. 

The story of the Ace has grown from a historical connection to their fans from the 60’s to a new following of millions who watched their recent documentary from KQED Arts about their story and the upcoming album. The ACE have a timeless ability to captivate. Think Beatlemania but cuter.

The original five young women of the Ace Of Cups were pioneers, dealing with issues that their male counterparts of the day did not have to. Even with the gender challenge of the day they brought a soulful, poetic sensibility to the stages of the psychedelic ballrooms and could fully hold their own with the gnarliest rockers in town. They were the first all female groups to be taken seriously enough to be given an equal share of the stage with their male peers. Legendary concert promoter Bill Graham went one step further, giving the Ace Of Cups the much-coveted spot of opening for The Band’s first concert, which he presented at Winterland in April, 1969.  

The Ace of Cups started as Mary Gannon, Marla Hunt, Denise Kaufman, Mary Ellen Simpson and Diane Vitalich. The group stayed active in the Bay Area music scene for a full five years and during that time made musical contributions to albums by Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane and a handful of others.

George Wallace, president of High Moon Records knew of the Ace of Cups from a 2003 release of their live performances called It’s Bad For You But Buy It. Inspired by their music and their story he sought out Denise Kaufman to talk to her about a potential reissue of more of their old tapes. During his trip to California he had the opportunity to see them perform at a reunion concert for the SEVA Foundation and he decided to bankroll an album project after seeing the magic first hand.

Within weeks, four of the original five Ace - Denise Kaufman, Mary Ellen Simpson, Diane Vitalich and Mary Gannon Alfiler – had put their heads together and begun to witness years of restless creativity percolate from within. 

The inspired choice of producer Dan Shea, who's clients (Santana, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson) have sold over 150 million albums combined to handle production laid a bold and unpredictable path for the women to follow. Shea studied the recordings of vintage Ace, and his skill, patience and vision has taken these women and their songs to new heights.

Shea recognized the pure folk, blues and gospel moves that are the generational roots of the Ace, but he also chose to amplify the inherent pop sensibility in their songs, and encouraged both the thrilling energy of the garage band, and a delightful and wholly appropriate psychedelic sheen.

Most importantly, the producer has understood that the core essence of the Ace Of Cups is in fact the songwriting. Styles and formats may come and go, but a song is timeless, and the Ace had - and has - quality songs in abundance. Whether they are vintage tunes reinvented and reinvigorated, or more recent work that reflects their maturity and shared experience, everything exudes with the Ace Of Cups’ trademark, wide-eyed wonder at the powerful possibilities of communication through music.

Music – everything will be alright.

DJ Zeph

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