Detroit Lighting members, from left, keyboardist Kevin Zoernig, lead guitar Ben Wright, drummer Paul Feathericci, and bassist Josh Martin; courtesy Detroit Lightning
Detroit Lighting members, from left, keyboardist Kevin Zoernig, lead guitar Ben Wright, drummer Paul Feathericci, and bassist Josh Martin; courtesy Detroit Lightning
Buried in the lyrics of the Grateful Dead classic “Jack Straw” is the phrase, “catch the Detroit lighting out of Santa Fe.”
For Josh Martin, Detroit Lighting seemed like the perfect way to name the Santa Fe-based Dead-tribute band.
“Well, we’re coming out Santa Fe,” says Martin, bassist and front man for Detroit Lightning, which is celebrating 10 years together by headlining the first DeadFest on Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Mine Shaft Tavern & Cantina in Madrid. The show is billed as Madrid is Dead Festival.
The daylong festival features seven bands on two stages and will pay homage to the music of Grateful Dead and the late-guitarist Jerry Garcia. In addition to Lightning, Albuquerque-based tribute bands Lonn Colanca and The Deal also will also play the main stage.
Performances on the second stage will include a number of other local bands. They will be exploring Garcia’s side projects and his early days playing the banjo and mandolin.
And like any good Dead show, it’s situated on a hefty lot, generally known as Shakedown Street, which feature numerous vendors selling a variety of Dead-related merchandise.
Martin splits his time between Los Angeles, California, and Santa Fe, but the 46-year-old managed to put the band together with guitarist Ben Wright, 43, in 2012.
“It was intended as a strumming, acoustic thing, low-key brewery vibes,” Wright says. “Josh and I have a shared musical history, and we immediately started thinking bigger. A strummier, folksy set. We went for it right off the bat. And it turned into a more ambitious project. It quickly gained traction ... and we’ve been riding the wave ever since.”
Like Martin, Wright’s boyhood friend, drummer Paul Feathericci, now 43, had studied music at the College of Santa Fe. He quickly joined the trio and started playing gigs around the city.
In the band’s early days, Kevin Zoernig sat in on keyboards when the venues’ stages were large enough to accommodate his participation. He joined the band officially seven years ago. Zoernig, who ran the music program at CSF, now teaches at New Mexico Highlands University and the United World College in Las Vegas.
Zoernig, 64, is also very aware of the tragic history of the Dead’s keyboard players. Several, including Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Keith Godchaux, and Brent Midland died while in the band or shortly after leaving it.
“It is kind of a unique role, not only because of the improvisational aspect but also the checkered keyboard past,” Zoernig says. “You can find recordings of the same songs with up to five different keyboardists.”
All of the band members like the freedom to improvise, which is what made the Dead so compelling in the first place.
“We have a great time playing their music and interpreting it in our way,” says Martin, who, like Feathericci and Wright, was introduced to the band by family members. Zoernig listened to Dead albums in college. “And each of the New Mexico bands interprets it in their own way, so there are a good variety of sounds.”
The DeadFest emerged after Detroit Lightning co-headlined a February show with The Deal at The Historic Lobo Theater in Albuquerque, he says.
“We were thrilled to get to play with The Deal and wanted to return the favor,” Martin says. “That was in the winter. I saw summer coming up and I knew an outdoor festival scene would be the perfect thing to get these bands together.”
Lighting’s contribution to the evolution of the New Mexico Dead scene quite naturally spurred DeadFest, says Wright, who also is the senior sound creative lead for Meow Wolf, overseeing the creation of the sound design for all of its exhibitions.
“We’re so psyched about it,” he says. “We’ve crossed paths with all of these bands. We feel it’s important to maintain connectivity with the various projects that are leaning into the Dead experience, but this is the first time bringing us all together under one bill, which I think is so cool.
“Music is about togetherness. We want to amplify all the voices that are doing this kind of work in the state. This feels like it’s a great step to bringing this all together and amplifying the approach to the music.”
Feathericci, who has a music-staging business that also works with Meow Wolf, is mainly looking forward to hearing the other bands.
“We’ll have a blast listening to some other Grateful Dead- and Jerry-inspired bands and have a wonderful day in Madrid with everyone,” he says.
Santa Fe dentist Renae Moreschini, 49, says she already has her tickets and is looking forward to the event.
“It was hard to be around the Grateful Dead after Jerry died, but I’m not feeling that mourning anymore,” she says. “It’s awesome to see people continue to carry the torch and bring people together.” ◀
▼ With Detroit Lightning, the Dea, and other bands
▼ 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25
▼ Mine Shaft Tavern & Cantina, 2846 NM-14, Madrid
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Detroit Lightning bassist Josh Martin.
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