Mike Fleiss is the creator of some of the most engaging reality show content in the history of TV, and in keeping with that adventurous spirit, the producer is revisiting his rock ’n’ roll roots and hitting the road with a new musical project.
“I have a new band that I’m starting with my longtime friend Pat Mayer, who I played in bands with since the ’80s,” Fleiss revealed. “We have a new tribute band. We both love the Grateful Dead, and we both love Neil Young, and we both played in tribute bands around those two artists.
“But it dawned on us that nobody had ever combined them into one band, so we're creating a combination tribute band called Grateful Young. We're just going to play Grateful Dead and Young covers.”
While Young's music is often praised for its emotional honesty and depth ranging from acoustic folk to hard rock, the Dead is known for its trademark blend of rock, folk, bluegrass, and psychedelic tunes.
Fleiss is onto something once again with his latest brain wave. Tribute bands not only create a unique experience that goes beyond just music for fans, but they also foster a sense of community among listeners, creating spaces where like-minded individuals can share their love for a particular artist or era.
Mike Fleiss adds that he and Mayer will be playing lead and rhythm guitar.
“Pat and I play both,” Fleiss shared. “We're going to go on a little tour in the spring from Santa Barbara [California] up to Portland [Oregon].”
To prepare for the tour, Fleiss says he’s been streamlining a set list.
“It’s going to be fun. We’re just starting to work on it now where Pat and I are getting together next month to work through the songs and figure out how we're going to go from one artist to the other in the same song and break those things up,” Fleiss notes. “It's going to be awesome. I think people like those two bands.”
Mike Fleiss is more than prepared to take on the task of co-fronting Grateful Young. The TV executive not only jammed with the late, great Eddie Van Halen and developed a meaningful friendship with the rock god, but he also directed a documentary titled The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir, which delves into the life of Weir, one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead. The film was well received and won an Audience Award at the 2014 San Francisco International Film Festival for Best Documentary Feature. Deadheads can stream it on Netflix.
Weir told Rolling Stone how the documentary came to be.
“Director Mike Fleiss convinced me there was a story there. I’ve felt for the longest time that I’ve got to write a book,” Weir told the iconic music publication. “I’m going to have to do it, I realize, but this gives me another year or two to gin up the resolve to do it. This buys me some time. So I jumped at the chance.”
So did Fleiss. “I love the Grateful Dead,” he exclaims.
The music fan admits he has a room in his house stacked with memorabilia from the legendary group sure to make a Deadhead green with envy. “I have a bunch of stuff that Bobby's given me that I treasure, and I've got quite a collection of Grateful Dead stuff.”
