Grape

The Grapes were an American jam band and southern rock band band from Atlanta, who performed from 1986 to 1997. 1980s edit: Bassist/vocalist Charlie Lonsdorf along with drummer Preston Holcomb formed the band. Early guitarists included Danny Simmons, Katie Moore (of Deep Blue Sun), and Johnny Tessavarie who suggested the band be called The Dreadful Grapes. This name was used by Ken Kesey to introduce The Grateful Dead at a show they played in Oregon in the 1970s. Early influences for The Grapes and a large share of the early covers they played were songs by The Grateful Dead,Bob Dylan, and assorted other groups from the 1960s and 1970s. After Tessavarie left, the group replaced him with guitarist/songwriter Romin Dawson. At this point, the band dropped the Dreadful from their name and went through more line-up changes, eventually picking up lead guitarist Mike 'Ted' Norton along the way, as well as a second drummer/percussionist Steve Baird. Faced with rising popularity and being under legal age to play in clubs, they found theaters and warehouses to rent, designed and distributed flyers and hired Reese Webber and Johnny Hayes as sound engineers and Osti as the lighting designer. Hiring their own security as well, they put on shows at venues such as The Arts Exchange, The Trinity Gallery and the East Point Theater and many house parties in Atlanta including several shows at the Ned Shed. The band began branching out in the late '80s playing dates around the southeast. A nice break came from a band in the nearby town of Athens, Georgia where they began the righteous exchange of trading opening slots with Widespread Panic at each bands local home venue. Widespread Panic had a large audience in Athens at the Uptown Lounge. The Grapes had a large audience in Atlanta at a venue called The Metroplex. The Grapes brought WSP to Atlanta as the opening set and gave them a packed house to play for every time. Likewise, Widespread Panic would bring The Grapes to Athens and give them a packed house to play for at The Uptown Lounge. The Grapes and Widespread Panic shared the same audience for many years. It was a great scene: "country hippie kids with city hippie kids and we all gave each other what we needed. We stayed up all night too. Those were some really fantastic times!" says, Osti. {Lighting Designer many years for The Grapes following the hiring of Ted Norton and Romin Dawson in 1987} Later the two bands played other venues together as well. 1990s edit: At the end of 1990, the band added Steven Fink, keyboards/vocals, and immediately went in the studio with John Keane (Indigo Girls, Widespread Panic, R.E.M.) to begin work on their debut album Water To Wine, on their own Earwise label. At this point, percussionist Rick Welsh took over the second drummer duties. With the success of their second album in 1992, High Or Low, as well as being included on the Aware compilation album, the band toured constantly, averaging 250 dates a year, sharing the stage with acts such as Phish, who opened for the Grapes in Atlanta during this time. They were the only band to play all seven of the Great Atlanta Pot Festivals, including the 1992 show at Piedmont Park with The Black Crowes. With 60,000 attending, that show stands as the largest hemp rally to date. In 1993 the band signed with Intersound Records, releasing their third album, Private Stock. Tensions and personal matters saw the exit of Dawson and Holcomb around this time. During 1995, the band toured as a four-piece before adding Brooks Smith in 1996. They released their final album, Juice, in 1997 and broke up in May of that year. Their breakup was attributed by Lonsdorf to "the band running out of steam".

Source: Wikipedia

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