Area club celebrating iconic Dead bassist, 80

Quick, who’s the eldest member of the Grateful Dead, living or deceased?
If you said bass player Phil Lesh, you win a complimentary dancing bear sticker. But you probably didn’t know that “Lesh Philling” was getting ready to turn 80 years old.
To celebrate the occasion on Saturday, March 14 – one day before his actual birthday, WOW Hall is bringing in Dead cover bands Brothers Jam and Help On The Way. All tickets are $8 for the Jam into the Dead III performance, which begins at 8:30 p.m.
Phil, himself, will be in New York at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre for March 13-15 shows with Phil Lesh & Friends.
There are some who say that late Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia used to have his own place to stay whenever he was visiting author Ken Kesey, who grew up in Springfield and later moved to Pleasant Hill. The “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” author died in 2001.
At the very least, the two legendary artists spent a lot of time together – going back to 1965 with Kesey’s Merry Pranksters’ Acid Tests – so he knew Garcia, Lesh and all the band members well.
Kesey shared a daughter, Sunshine Kesey, with Carolyn “Mountain Girl” Garcia, Jerry’s former wife. Carolyn and Sunshine have joined forces to support the McKenzie Homewaters Campaign, which helps people protect their western Oregon habitats.
The two women have stories to tell about Ken and Jerry’s passion for preserving the Earth and its waterways. Send donations to: McKenzie River Trust, 120 Shelton McMurphey Blvd., Suite 270, Eugene, OR 97401.
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If you’re looking to make a jam-band weekend out of it, Shafty — the Northwest’s premier Phish cover band out of Portland — is stopping in at Whirled Pies on Friday, March 13.