By Keefer
Mar 15, 2021
Today we celebrate the birthday of one of rock s most enduring bassists: Phil Lesh, who s been playing bass for The Grateful Dead as long as they ve been The Grateful Dead. Yes, we know that real Deadheads already know everything there is to know about Lesh s life and times, but hopefully we ve come up with five things that will at least surprise some of you.
1. He didn t start out as a bass player.
Lesh s first instrument of choice was the violin, but while attending Berkeley High School, he switched instruments and started playing the trumpet. Yes, that s right: Lesh learned to blow that particular model of horn under the tutelage of Bob Hansen, conductor of the Golden Gate Park Band, and he stuck with it while attending San Francisco State University, the College of San Mateo, and the University of California, Berkeley.