Dead Freaks Unite for Grateful Dead’s Tom Constanten

Tom Constanten – photo by Patrick Giblin

Dead freaks unite!

That was the pitch that appeared on the gatefold of the 1971 Grateful Dead album (affectionately known as Skull and Roses – or the original title the band wanted, Skull Fuck). And it’s an appropriate call today to ask Deadheads to unite: Let’s pitch in to help seminal Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten, who is in the midst of radiation treatments for lung cancer.

Visit https://gofund.me/72dd1e243 to chip in your support and help Tom Constanten with his medical bills.

Here’s Tom Constanten in his own words:

“Unlike some of my friends and acquaintances, my participation in the Sixties parties didn’t bring me an abundance of wealth and fame. … I count my wealth in friends, and they have been so generous over the years it boggles my mind. It makes me reluctant to ask for more.”

You can hear words of gratitude directly from Constanten here on this video shared by the good folks at Deadheadland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK9CTTwS0y0

The GoFundMe page was set up by Greg Martens, who also hosted two benefit shows in the Bay Area this past week. Tuesday’s benefit at Ashkenaz in Berkeley included Phil & Friends alums Scott Guberman (keyboards, vocals), Mark Karan (guitar, vocals), and the Tubes’ Prairie Prince (drums). Bob Bralove, whose offstage contributions helped shape the Dead’s sound in the 1990s (he was Jerry’s MIDI guy, among other things) sat in, as did Grateful Dead historian and radio host David Gans.

Also in the house: Sunshine Garcia Becker (Furthur) on vocals, John Hanrahan and Anna Elva on drums and percussion, and guitarists Samuel Grant Whitman and Reed Mathis. JP McLean and Skip Eye took turns on bass. Sam Pallazolla (guitar) and Ryan Densmore (vocals) made brief appearances.

Show was great, jams were awesome, big shout out to Whitman and Mathis for some particularly strong licks on one of the best versions of “Franklin’s Tower” I’ve ever heard, and to Bralove for telling a personal story about Tom Constanten in a gruff Tom Waits’ish voice. But as my mother-in-law once said (the one and only time she saw any Grateful Dead-type show, which was a Phil Lesh gig at Terrapin Crossroads) – “The music is not the show. The people are the show!”

And in this case, I’m gonna make it all about one person: Tom Constanten.

Lest there be any debate about his bonafides, let’s note that the band considered Constanten a full-fledged member. (Well, Bill Kreutzmann may have disagreed once, saying he did not consider Constanten to be a “card-carrying member,” but he seems to be an outlier.) He was inducted alongside Bobby and Jerry and the rest in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Even Wikipedia lists Constanten as a band member.

Set the Wayback Machine for 1968. As the Grateful Dead’s music increasingly edged into the psychedelic stratosphere, they brought Tom Contstanten on board to play keys. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan remained on board as the Dead’s primary blues-belting frontman, but his musical skills and proclivity weren’t on the same level as the rest of the band when it came to the avant garde avenues that led to Aoxomoxoa and Anthem of the Sun. T.C., as he was affectionately known, fit the bill to a T.

Constanten was a classically trained pianist, somewhat of a prodigy (he began writing orchestral pieces in high school). His old Berkeley roomie Phil Lesh brought in Constanten as a session player for Anthem, the Dead’s second album. Constanten, who was on active duty in the U.S. Air Force at the time, used up a store of three-day passes to join the band in studio as often as he could and occasionally played with them on stages too.

Soon after, Constanten was honorably discharged from the Air Force, and he quickly transitioned to a paying gig with the Dead as their “official” keyboardist on November 23, 1968, in Athens, Ohio. He remained in the band for barely more than a year, notably contributing to the tracks that made the cut for Live Dead. Pigpen was largely absent from the keys at this time, playing some percussion between his turns at the mic. As the only two members of the band who eschewed psychedelic drugs, they became friendly, sharing a house in Marin County and bunking together while touring.

On January 31, 1970, Constanten played his last show as a member of the Dead, at the Warehouse in New Orleans. (He joined them on stage once more at Fillmore East in 1971.) Although he was a gifted keyboardist, his vibe didn’t seem to fit with the band in many ways. Manager Rock Scully wrote that “He was so different. You know, he was like a crew cut. He was like a Marine in a prison camp full of Japanese.”

Kreutzmann also wrote about Constanten’s departure, chalking it up to a similar misfit. “He had this thing where, for whatever reason, he would perform at rehearsals pretty darn well, but then, when we’d be in front of an audience, it was like he froze or something.”

Constanten went on to play in several ensembles, wrote music for theater productions, and taught music in a variety of academic settings. Until recently encumbered by cancer, he would also toured as both a solo pianist and also in a variety of Dead tribute bands, including stints with Dark Star Orchestra and Terrapin Flyer.

Personal recollection: I’ve only seen Constanten play a few times, and both were with Joe Gallant’s Illuminati, a short-lived big band jazz tribute to the Dead (also with Bralove, guitarist Will Bernard, and many others). Dude was brilliant.

So hey, Dead freaks: let’s unite! If you like Anthem of the Sun, Aoxomoxoa, or Live Dead, or if you’ve just got a few pennies in your pocket, maybe toss a bit to good ol’ T.C.