Cowboys Dead

Cowboys Dead is an electric five-piece from Fort Collins, Colorado, formed in 2007 to play the cowboy and blues material the Grateful Dead were covering in the late '60s and early '70s. The lineup is Dave Dardine (lead guitar, vocals), Ken Duran (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ed Anderson (vocals, harp), a bassist listed variously as Doug Salmon or Tom Surace, and Oscar DeSoto on drums. They lean on Pigpen-era tunes such as Smokestack Lightning, Mr. Charlie, Alligator and It Hurts Me Too alongside Marty Robbins, Dylan, Johnny Cash and New Riders material, and describe their sound as clean and un-processed rather than late-'80s Dead. The name is also a nod to Neal Cassady.