RatDog

Band: RatDog

Members: Bob Weir (vocals, guitar), Jay Lane (drums), Jeff Chimenti (keyboards), Mark Karan (guitar, vocals), Kenny Brooks (saxophone), Robin Sylvester (bass)

Who we talked to: Weir

Where'd the name come from? Stuff just comes to me.

Who are your influences? The Beatles, of course. I listened to Miles Davis, John Coltrane. Back when I was 17, I was listening to a lot of modern classical music. At the same time, (I listened to) Chuck Berry and a lot of Everly Brothers, blues guys, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, those kind of people.

Who is your biggest musical guilty pleasure? I used to be a big fan of ABBA. I thought it was real well-conceived, the music was moving, all that kind of stuff.

What instrument that you have no experience with do you wish you could play? Probably the piano. I just got a piano, so I'm going to try and learn to play it. We've got a piano player, but I just got it for my kids and for me.

What's the best movie you've seen recently? I just saw "Capote." That was real good.

Who would play you in a movie about The Grateful Dead? Brad Pitt, obviously.

Jerry (Garcia) had Cherry Garcia. If there was an ice cream made in your honor, what would it have? It would be cinnamon ice cream.

If you could share the stage with any band or artist, who would it be and why? I haven't thought about that. I wouldn't want to, actually, because all the bands that I would name are so good at what they do, I'm not sure I'd fit in there.

Who would win in a fight: The Dead or RatDog? Well, RatDog is a fair bit younger.

There hasn't been a RatDog album in six years. When is the next coming? We've got a bunch of tunes, but the problem is our audience is square in the middle of the file-sharing demographic, so it's almost pointless for us to put out a record. We have new material that will be played on the next tour.

What do you guys need to work on as a band? I think we need to do a slightly shorter show. It goes up to three-and-a-half hours, and I think that's too long for the human spirit to endure.

- JASON COX, FLIPSIDE STAFF