Top Dead Center – A Biography

In 1999, several local Tucson musicians, from a multitude of different bands, finally decided to pursue a project which they’d toyed with for decades: that is, a Grateful Dead cover band. From backgrounds almost as varied as those of the Dead themselves, this group of friends locked themselves away in a small studio on Stone Avenue with their instruments and a stack of bootleg tapes.

Emerging after six months with a name and a large (and ever-expanding) repertoire of (mostly) Dead material, the newly-minted Top Dead Center began to play in clubs and bars around Tucson, carrying on a tradition of music as American as it gets.

Often narrowly described as “a country band on acid,” in fact the Grateful Dead’s music ranges from bluegrass to electronica, from folk to rock’n’roll, from country & western to tribal drum marathons, often within the same song. In reality, the Grateful Dead’s music simply defies description, and Top Dead Center has been, well, grateful to explore and share this vast musical world.

Top Dead Center has called Berky’s their home on Thursday nights for the past three years. It is at Berky’s where they, in concert with their incredible and indispensable fans, continue to attempt musical miracles and impossible feats of group thought.

The Personnel:

Linda Lou Reed, Vocals. Linda’s Drifters have been long-standing members of local bluegrass circles.  Over the years they’ve made regular appearances on KXCI community radio, the Pima County Fair and the Tucson Folk Festival.

Michael Begala: Guitar and vocals. Michael is a familiar sight around the nether regions of KXCI radio. His “latest” bands (which have in fact been Tucson staples for years) include The West River Band  (who dominated the stages at the Pima County Fair this year) and along with Linda Lou, The Drifters.

Randy Clamons: Guitar and vocals. Randy has been the focal point in a long string of bands stretching back to the seventies, including The Boomers, The Zonies, and Cap’n’John.  The three-piece classic rock/blues band Warhorse is his current project.

The Reverend John “J.W.” Walton: Bass guitar. J.W. is an ages-old veteran bassist in and around the Tucson music scene and long-time member of Tucson favorites Mondo Charlie. Along with Randy, he’s also currently playing in Warhorse.

SJohn Sting: Keyboards and vocals. SJohn’s credits include long stints in Binge and Cap’n’John.  Incredibly witty yet humble, he’s the band’s funny man and the most politically active of the bunch and he’s often published in the Arizona Daily Star Letters.

Brian Barbarisi: Trap drums, congas, vocals. Barbarisi’s set of accomplishments is far-reaching, to say the least. They not only include weekend gigs with Tucson’s latino- country western singer Robert Moreno and native blues band Ghösttöwn, but a Masters degree in Physics as well.