Duane Dodson, guitar player from Easy Jim, performs at the band’s Nov. 1 show at Paradise Theater in Paonia. Dodson and Easy Jim’s other guitar player, Tyler Lucas, both sing, as do bassist Kevin Reinert and keyboardist Julian Young. The band returns to Belly Up on Friday, having played there for the first time on Sept. 7.
Belly Up Aspen attracts some of the best national and international acts in the world, which makes it extra special when a Colorado band finds its way onto its stage.
Bands from the Centennial state that have played Belly Up over the years include Big Head Todd and the Monsters, The Motet and Grateful Dead tribute band Shakedown Street, to name a few.
Easy Jim, another outfit from the Dead world, hails from Gunnison and Crested Butte. The band appeared at the club for the first time on Sept. 7, playing a one-set show. By the end of the night, the crowd was begging for more, so Belly Up promptly rebooked Easy Jim for another gig. It’s set for Friday and the band will play two sets.
As if that weren’t enough to delight the growing legion of Easy Jim fans, the ticket charge is a mere $5.
“It’s an honor to play Belly Up,” said Easy Jim bass player Kevin Reinert. “They draw the biggest bands in music so to be invited back so quickly is a big compliment and a huge honor.”
Easy Jim’s members all have day jobs but they play throughout Colorado on the weekends. “We’re all a bunch of ski bums and we each have multiple jobs,” Reinert said.
Drummer Ben Wright tunes pianos, guitarist Tyler Lucas is director of development at KBUT radio in Crested Butte, keyboard player Julian Young repairs and sells instruments, guitarist Duane Dodson is in property management, drummer Jeremy Wegner is a carpenter and Reinert is a caterer with a snow-shoveling business in the winter.
And while the members of Easy Jim feed themselves and their families by doing other jobs, they feed their souls by playing the music of the Grateful Dead.
“It is the greatest joy of my life to tap into the spiritual well of this musical family,” Lucas said.
The Easy Jim family gathered on Nov. 1 at Paradise Theater in Paonia. The band was dressed up in costumes that paid homage to “The Day of The Dead” and many in the audience were in full costume. Late in the show, Easy Jim played “The Music Never Stopped,” which contains lyrics that summed up the evening: “While the music played the band/They’re setting us on fire.”
“I haven’t seen people dance that hard at a show in a long time,” said Rob Miller of Pickin’ Productions, who promoted the Paonia show. “Easy Jim gives the Grateful Dead the respect it deserves and captures their energy like few others I’ve seen.”
Andrew Dolese, who traveled from Telluride to the Paonia show, said the band’s vocals distinguish it from other Dead tribute bands. “Easy Jim has four great vocalists and you never know who is gonna sing which makes it exciting. Their harmonies are so tight and they use their vocals like a seventh instrument, punctuating certain lyrics in a very creative way that I’ve never seen any other Grateful Dead band do before. I’m definitely driving up to Aspen for the Belly Up show,” he said.
Up until now, Easy Jim has toured exclusively in Colorado. The band recently was signed by the booking agency Rocky Mountain Artists, which has some fans wondering if Easy Jim might be looking at crossing state lines.
“Easy Jim has really captured the hearts of western Colorado and is well-primed to spread it far and wide from here,” Miller said.
The Grateful Dead used to sing a song called “Day Job” and the chorus went, “Keep your day job, ’til your night job pays.”
For now, Reinert insists he and his bandmates have no intention of quitting their day jobs. But if their current trajectory continues, Colorado may just be the beginning of the road for Easy Jim.
