The Golden Road

The founders of the Jersey Jams Fund have created a series of concerts that pay tribute to Jerry Garcia and his music, as well as raise money for the Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares Music Education Program.

By:Jim Boyle

J-Pat Dalton will perform music by Jerry Garcia as part of a tribute concert at Tumulty’s Pub in New Brunswick Aug. 21.

   The life and music of Jerry Garcia inspired a cult- like devotion, with thousands of diehard fans following the Grateful Dead across the country and just as many bands trying to emulate the group’s sound and peace-loving message. The guitarist and driving force for the Dead even inspired an ice cream flavor.
   The founders of the Jersey Jams Fund used the music pioneer’s influence to create a series of concerts that pay tribute to Garcia and his music, as well as raise money for the Jersey Jams, Jersey Cares Music Education Program. The concerts will continue through October, with a tribute CD scheduled for release in August 2005, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Grateful Dead and the 10th anniversary of Garcia’s death.
   Tumulty’s Pub in New Brunswick will host the next installment Aug. 21, headlined by popular local musician J-Pat Dalton.
   "Man, he’s a big influence, you know," Mr. Dalton said via e-mail while touring in Ireland and Scotland. "No matter which decade you choose to look at, the work he was doing at the time, there was always a little past, present, and future wrapped into one. He had this emotional singing style and this vocal quality to his guitar playing that was at times minimal, but always right on."
   Playing music professionally for about eight years, the Bay Head native is no stranger to concert events. In 1999, he organized, produced, hosted and performed at the New Brunswick Arts Festival, an effort he devised to give the city’s cultural community a chance to meet and collaborate.
   "Not that I want everyone to have the same vision," he says. "That would be like horse blinders. I think I wanted to expose each other to each other. I have always tried to jump around from scene to scene, community to community, and I knew all these great people and people may have heard of each other, but they knew nothing of each other."

J-Pat Dalton

   The three-day grassroots event returned in 2000 and helped spark smaller weekly and monthly events, but the hard work and free time needed to put together the festival became too much for Mr. Dalton.
   "I think there are a bunch of great people in New Brunswick that have a lot of the same goals," he says. "We have been meeting together and making things happen. I’m actually really excited about it. I think doing the smaller events is a better option for me because running a festival is a huge commitment."
   Although Mr. Dalton has always loved music, he has also spent much of his time on stage as an actor. He toured New Jersey in 1998 as part of a traveling production of Hair and received rave reviews after performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. For now, however, music is his top priority.
   "I’m not so much involved with acting at the moment," Mr. Dalton says, "but I have been casually devising a one-man show over the last few years that will hopefully surface in the next year or two. Basically, music has been on the front pages and it’ll probably stay there for at least a little while."
   An accomplished guitar, mandolin and harmonica player, Mr. Dalton’s blend of blues, funk and jazz has been popular throughout the United States and Europe. He’s a regular at Tumulty’s Pub and the Internet Café in Red Bank and makes frequent appearances in the Asbury Park area.
   A true believer in just making music, his debut album will soon be available for download free of charge on his Web site, www.jpat.info.
   It’s a philosophy that would have made Jerry Garcia proud, which is perhaps what prompted Mr. Dalton to get involved with the charity.
   "A bunch of my friends had been involved, Barbuda and some other bands," he says, "and I had a lot of respect for what the group did. I finally offered my services this past year with a joint benefit for Jersey Jams and for the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation. It was small, but well attended and really enjoyable."
J-Pat Dalton performs with the Jersey Jams All-Stars at Tumulty’s Pub, 361 George St., New Brunswick, Aug. 21, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $3. For information, call (732) 545-6205. On the Web: www.jerseyjamsfund.org