Kokomo on stage at the Club Casino, Hampton Beach, NH on August 14, 1985. (L-R) Brent Mydland, David Margen, Bill Kreutzmann and Kevin Russell (photo (c) and courtesy of Stevo Rood

David Margen and Kevin Russell on stage at Club Casino, Aug 14 '85 (photo (c) and courtesy of Stevo Rood)

Brent Mydland on stage with Kokomo at Club Casino, Aug 14 '85 (photo (c) and courtesy of Stevo Rood)

I was at that show! - the venue was called The Casablanca - it was a small nightclub on East Henrietta Rd. - there is now a T.G.I.Fridays in that location ;)



I met Brent briefly in the parking lot before that show. I had a "Hot F***ing Jorma" sticker with me (Hot Tuna was also on the bill that night), and he signed it on the back, asking "you're not gonna just stick this somewhere and throw away the backing, are you?" I assured him I wouldn't (and haven't) - I think I got fellow bandmembers Billy Kreutzmann and Santana bassist David Margen to sign it also, not sure, since that sticker is in a box somewhere in the house!

Brent, Billy and David Margen signed the back of the Jorma sticker

Bill Kreutzmann at his drum kit at Club Casino in Hampton Beach, NH, Aug 14 '85 (photo (c) and courtesy of Stevo Rood)

Bill Kreutzmann shares some wisdom with the crowd during a Kokomo show at Club Casino in Hampton Beach, NH, while bassist David Margen looks on (photo (c) and courtesy of Stevo Rood)

Brent Mydland was always in the shadow of the other members of the Grateful Dead, because he was always "the new guy." One of the many interesting aspects of the Grateful Dead was that fans could see the musical interests and abilities of the individual musicians in their various side projects, and then see how those sounds were integrated or excluded from the Dead's sounds. Most Deadheads, however--and I am certainly including myself--paid little attention to Brent's individual activities outside the band because they were too busy following Garcia or Weir.Certainly, if you were a Bay Area resident, and you had a chance to see Jerry Garcia or Brent Mydland in a club, you would generally pick Jerry. Also, like most Dead fans I liked many kinds of music, and being fortunate enough to see the Grateful Dead regularly, I made a point of seeing other groups rather than the spinoff bands. As a result, Brent Mydland projects tended to be quite obscure. Kokomo was a group that only existed for the Summer of 1985. Although all the players are recognizable, I know of no circulating tapes, no reviews, don't know anyone who saw the band and can only guess exactly what they played. I'm not suggesting that the band was world changing, or even any more than a solid bar band, but one of the purposes of this blog is to document little known performances of the Grateful Dead and its members.-guitar, vocals-keyboards, vocals-bass, vocals-drumshad been in an "arena rock" band called 707 from 1977-83. They had a hit called "I Could Be Good For You" on Casablanca Records, and three albums on Casablanca and Boardwalk. Despite some success on tour opening for larger acts like REO Speedwagon, the band broke up in 1983. Kevin Rusell, originally from Detroit, had moved from Southern California to Marin County during his time in the band.was a Berkeley musician had played bass for Santana for several years (1977-82), as well as playing bass in a variety of other groups.All the dates come from contemporary newspapers or the Grateful Dead hotline recorded messages.w/Zerow/Zerow/Jorma Kaukonen [solo]A Commenter writes:And true to his word, here it is (front and back)As if that wasn't enough, reader Mike sends in a photo of the Casablanca Club in the mid-80s (not likely the night Kokomo was playing)w/ZeroMy notes (now twenty-three years old) say Bob Weir and Merl Saunders played with them.If anyone can direct me to an online tape, or has a setlist, or went to a show, or knows someone who went to a Kokomo show and recalls the description, please put them in the comments.In the next Summer and Fall, with Jerry Garcia out of commission, band members played a lot of shows in local clubs. Kreutzmann and Margen started The Kreutzmann/Margen band, which involved into Go Ahead, which will be the subject of future posts.