Frontman of Pittsburgh's Grateful Dead tribute theCAUSE steps out with first all-original set

By Scott Mervis / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Eric Weingrad has spent the last 22 years letting his own songs play second fiddle to the Dead.

On Saturday, Weingrad, who, as Pappy, fronts the Grateful Dead tribute band theCAUSE, will play a full set of his own songs for the first time, at a solo acoustic gig at tacOcat on the North Side.

“They all have some sort of blues behind them,” Weingrad, of Friendship, says of the songs. “So, some are country blues, some have an old R&B feel, some are like psychedelic blues, which is along the lines of the Dead. Some are gospel-based. I'm a little all over the map, but I typically stick to older-style stuff like the ’60s, ’70s. That was just how I grew up, that's my favorite music, so I write in that kind of style.”

Weingrad won’t be completely alone with his 13 songs.

“I'll use my looper,” he says, “so I can play some rhythm and throw some solos over to make the songs actually, you know, not insanely boring.”

Eventually, he’s going to get around to recording the originals, which date back to the early ’90s. 

“I'd love to throw down all of these,” he says. “They're all arranged and ready to go, but I just can't afford to go into a studio and hire the musicians. Some people have their own home studios. I’m a tech idiot. I’m so not good with that stuff.”

Formed in 2003, in the fledgling days of tribute bands, theCAUSE has become a popular attraction taking on the Dead. More recently, Weingrad launched the satellite group Reuben’s Painted Mandolin, a band of revolving musicians covering the music of the Jerry Garcia Band, which, like the Dead, plays a lot of covers.

“We've really been bringing good crowds because it's more appealing to a larger span of people,” Weingrad says. “You not only get the Deadheads, but you get people that dig Motown songs and they dig old Van Morrison or old Band songs. The Jerry Garcia Band, I'm sure you're aware, was way different than the Grateful Dead, so to do that music, it just appeals to a broader base.”

For Weingrad, who’s raised three kids, being in the tribute game was the practical path.

“I took the easy road just to make the money playing — you know, there's more money in playing covers and doing the tribute thing than there is playing my original stuff,” he says.

Weingrad plays at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at 520 E. Ohio St. No cover. His set is followed at 8:30 p.m. by Massive Hawk and SHBW upstairs.