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Rob Barraco | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Rock & roll,Blues |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals,keyboards,guitar,Bass |
Rob Barraco is an American keyboardist. Born and raised on Long Island, NY, he has played withPhil Lesh and Friends,The Dead,Dark Star Orchestra,Chris Robinson & New Earth Mud, theZen Tricksters, Red Flannel Hash, and The Dragonflys.[1] He was the permanent keyboardist for Phil Lesh and Friends from 2000 to 2003 and has been in the band's line-up at other times. He also played keyboards (alongsideJeff Chimenti) when ex-members of The Grateful Dead reformed asThe Other Ones (in 2002), and then asThe Dead (in 2003).[2][3]
Barraco has played music on both keyboard and guitar since the age of 6 and has been a professional musician all his adult life.[4] For over ten years in the 1980s and early 1990s he was keyboardist for the popularThe Cosby Show and its spin-off,A Different World. Rob toured with R&B performerFreddie Jackson in the late 1980s before joining TheZen Tricksters.
Rob spent eleven years touring and recording with The Tricksters, turning out two studio albums and playing live shows across the US and Canada. Their second album, A Love Surreal, brought the band to the attention of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, who summoned Rob and Trickster guitaristJeff Mattson to play a series of shows in San Francisco and then on to tour the country double billing withBob Dylan.[4] That band included drummerJohn Molo andAllman Brothers Band guitaristsDerek Trucks andWarren Haynes.[5] The following year Barraco became a member of the Phil Lesh Quintet, including Lesh, Barraco, Molo, Haynes, and guitaristJimmy Herring. Known by fans as "The Q", the Quintet went on to tour the United States for three years and put out one studio album, There and Back Again.
In 2002, Barraco joined with the original members of theGrateful Dead for two shows at theAlpine Valley Music Theater, and then toured with them as The Other Ones in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, he joinedChris Robinson's New Earth Mud. In 2005, Barraco toured withDark Star Orchestra after the death of keyboardistScott Larned and continues to play with them at the present time, although he also played sporadically with Phil Lesh and Friends in 2005 and continuously through 2006.[6][7] Rob has also collaborated with Grateful DeadlyricistRobert Hunter on seven songs recorded on his 2007 solo release,When We All Come Home.