Don Was Is Still a Musical Force

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Not many people can claim a ghost as a job reference. As the standup bassist for Bobby Weir and the Wolf Brothers, musician, music producer and record company executive Don Was may be the sole—or perhaps “soul”—exception to that rule. And Was has the ghost of Rob Wasserman, bassist for Weir’s previous band Ratdog who died in 2016, to thank for his current gig.

“Bobby called me up in 2018 and said that Rob came to him in a dream and recommended me for the Wolf Brothers,” says Was, born Donald Fagenson in Detroit’s Oak Park suburb in 1952. “That’s where the band name came from, too.”

Weir is, of course, a Grateful Dead cofounder and its rhythm guitarist, whose current band will make a March 17 St. Patrick’s Day stop at the Riverside Theater. Along with Weir and Was the band includes drummer Jay Lane, pedal steel guitar player Barry Sless and other players. As you might expect, Grateful Dead songs and numbers from the Wolf Brothers’ new album Live in Colorado, released Feb. 18, make up a majority of the playlist.

“With the Wolf Brothers, Bobby was hoping to strip the music way down, inhabit the songs’ character and find fresh and honest ways to tell the same stories he’s told maybe thousands of times,” Was says. “We also do some Dylan. Set lists are planned a couple of hours before the show and we sometimes even follow them.”

The frenetic life of musicians is nothing new to Was, who also may be among the few musicians named after the band he helped form. Was (Not Was), formed with Detroit friend David Weiss in 1979, was named by Was’ infant son Tony, who was three at the time and enjoyed the theory of opposites. The bands’ highest charting hit was 1987’s “Walk the Dinosaur” and it has been known to still perform sporadically.

Was and Still a Producer

But the Grammy Award-winning performer/producer is better known for his skills in the control room. He has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Grammy-winning albums for Bonnie Raitt, Ziggy Marley and The Rolling Stones. In fact, he’s produced 9 albums for the Stones, who he first saw in performance at age 12 in 1964.

“Keith Richards is one of the most ‘colorful’ people to be in a studio with,” Was says. “I also did an album with The Highwaymen—Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. They are larger than life.”

If that all weren’t enough, Was also is president of Blue Note Records, a historic jazz label that has released albums by some of the world’s most influential jazz artists. As a triple threat of musician, music producer and industry executive, Was can offer music industry insights from a variety of viewpoints.

“Record producers and executives should have a keen understanding of what it really takes to write a song,” Was says. “Artists have to dig deep and get up in front of large crowds to tell their secrets, which puts them in exposed and vulnerable positions. Anyone who is insensitive to that ability and the courage it takes shouldn’t be in the music business.”

Cut the Labels Some Slack

But the similar understandings also hold true for the artists themselves, he explains.

“Artists need to cut record companies a little slack,” Was says. “I used to consider record companies an enemy that gave you bad advice and then stole your money when you were successful. I now know it is, in many cases, it's young people willing to work long hours because they love the music. Artists can’t expect them to understand the creative process and shouldn’t be so adversarial.”

In the case of fans, and in particular fans of the Grateful Dead and its offshoots, similar understandings between artist and audience also results in mutual benefits, he explains.

“Audiences who comes to see Bob Weir totally get the fact that he’s putting 100 percent of himself into the performance and he’s doing it because he understands the circular exchange of energy,” Was adds. “We live for that. Audiences should come to the show prepared to share the collective effervescence.”