Terrapin revitalizes Grateful Dead sound
It’s not surprising that Terrapin’s career path mirrors the music of a band it honors and brings to life at each of its performances, the Grateful Dead.
“I think for us, it’s a continuing musical journey,” said keyboard player Matt Winthrop, one of the founders of Terrapin, who headline at the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk on June 21. “If we get lucky, it goes a little bit further,” he said.
Terrapin is a Fairfield County-based outfit, formed seven years ago by Winthrop, along with lead guitarist Geoff Schneider and rhythm guitarist and vocalist Paul Dunay, after Winthrop answered an add on Craigslist.
“I’ve been playing keyboards my whole life, and I’d been playing around in some other bands,” explained Winthrop. “I saw an ad that a Grateful Dead outfit was looking for a keyboard player, and I answered it. And when Geoff, Paul and I played together, we just gelled. The first time we met, at like 9 in the morning on a Sunday in a studio at Stamford, we knew right then.”
The band has earned its stripes and a strong following over the years playing the club circuit in lower Fairfield County. It was a regular on the rooftop patio at Bobby Q’s in Westport and was the first band to play at the restaurant’s Norwalk location, when Bobby Q’s Cue & Co. relocated to 11 Merwin St. and celebrated its grand opening.
Dunville’s in Westport and Breenan’s, the former tap room in Norwalk, were also favorite haunts. Terrapin has over 7,000 likes on Facebook, and its Wall Street Theater show continues a trend for headlining bigger venues.
“We’ve never played the same show twice. And we’ve played almost 180 concerts together, if you can call them all concerts, which is sort of fun,” said Winthrop.
“For some people, the Dead connotes a 30-minute Dark Star trippy type of song, and they think they’re going to get bored, if they’re not really into that thing. We are more of a progressive, dance oriented, in-your face Dead. We try and make it exciting.”
The band is also structured so that its members, who hail from Wilton, Greenwich, Stamford, Easton and Bethel, each take part in duties that keep the show on the road.
“Everyone has a role,” said Winthrop. “I’m a keyboard player, an agent, like a spokesman of the band,” he said. “JP Geoghegan, the drummer, does art and marketing. Paul does all the internet and commercerelated marketing. And Geoff is the musical director, who really builds and decides the catalog of songs, of which we now have over 100.”
The set lists are decided “within a week before the gig, at least the nucleus, the basic foundation of a set,” explained Winthrop. “And Geoff will share that and we’ll comment, and then we’ll fine-tune is as we go. The night of the show, things may change.
“Sometimes you feel the audience and you get more of an eclectic crowd or fans you can just tell want to hear songs from deeper into the catalog. So, it’s a little bit of everything in that sense.”
Winthop’s first Dead show was in 1987, and it reflects his penchant for his own band’s namesake. “I guess my favorite era is the ‘Terrapin Station’ era, the ’70s, early ’80s, the time when they were stretching out and doing new things.”
Terrapin has expanded its performance venues to include bigger halls and shows outside the state.“It’s really great to be able to finally play places like the Wall Street Theater and Ridgefield Playhouse and FTC, because it’s more legitimate. It’s more fun for the band. It’s more fun for the audience.”
Other band members include Ann Marie Palmieri on vocals, Ric LuBell on bass and Aaron Hagele on percussion.
Terrapin’s Wall Street Theater show will feature special guest Crispin Cioe on sax and author Howard F. Weiner, who will sign copies of his latest book, “Deadolgy: The 33 Essential Dates of Grateful Dead History.”
The Wall Street Theater is at 71 Wall St. in Norwalk. Showtime is 8 p.m. Doors at 7. It’s an all- ages event. For ticket information, visit wallstreettheater.com.