Those 'Pickin' On' projects were pretty great Bill.
There's been a connection between Grateful Dead music and Bluegrass ever since that second generation came along playing new songs with their old instruments. It comes and goes within mainstream bluegrass anymore, but it's been there all along. I think the exchange is healthy, and apparently I'm not the only one.
I'm often amused thinking about it now... my busiest gig these days is subbing on bass with a group of 30-somethings that cover Grateful Dead tunes Bluegrass style. But when I was their age and a little younger, the Grateful Dead were covering Bluegrass tunes their way. Funny how things go... here I am at 47 trying to figure out what Phil Lesh played on Cold Rain and Snow, to punch up a version of a really old tune, which is kinda' what the 'Dead were doing too. It's like a weird, deja-vu thing... like the Land-o-Lakes butter box, with the picture of a little Indian girl, holding a box of butter, with a picture of a little Indian girl holding a box of butter...
