China Cats
The China Cats are the premier Grateful Dead tribute band in Santa Cruz and the San Francisco Bay Area. Formed in 2008 as the band "Dough Knees," by Scott, Roger, Steve, and original lead guitarist Theo Wilson, they regrouped in 2009 as the China Cats, brought Mike Owens on board as permanent drummer, and with Matt Hartle taking over the lead guitar chair in 2010, with the first appearance of the current lineup being on March 27, 2010 at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. Since that time, the China Cats have played all over Northern California.
San Jose Mercury News:
“Every time The China Cats play a song, it’s a new experience. We’re not playing the 1973 version of the song or the ’79 or the ’92 version. We’re playing the 2017 version of the song," Hartle said. "On these tunes, anything can happen. There are certain things that are specific, and certain things that are wide open to interpretation. It’s never about going back. It’s always looking to the present moment that we’re having."
"Grateful Dead tribute bands are a dime a dozen, rarely capturing any of the Dead's actual appeal or virtuosic jamming, but (The China Cats) actually do the legacy proud. What became a one-off tribute last year among self-professed Deadheads has grown into a primary concern, and for good reason: instead of trying to attempt note-for-note re-enactments, (The China Cats) evoke the spirit of the Dead through limber jams potent enough to give even the sober a contact high."
— santacruz.com
The China Cats aren’t a cover band," says Nicholas Meriwether, archivist of the Grateful Dead collection at UC Santa Cruz. "They approach the Dead’s work with the same kind of reverence and sophistication that the Dead themselves showed in their own forays into American roots music."When you listen to the Cats," Meriweather adds, "old favorites take on new lives, revealing facets that will delight and amaze even jaded listeners. These guys aren’t copycats — their sets demonstrate how the Dead’s music now is a part of the great American songbook, alongside the giants who first inspired the Dead."