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A New gig for some old Riders
By David Pollan
dpollan@mscd.edu

Photo courtesy of shimonpresents.com Poster children for medicinal marijuana, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, from left: Buddy Cage, Johnny Markowski, David Nelson, Michael Falzarano and Ronnie Penque.

When Buddy Cage reunited with longtime companion David Nelson after more than 20 years apart, the meeting was emotional and visceral.

“We worked so well together that me and Nelson were between laughing and crying because we had surpassed our own expectations,” Cage said. “We were able to play some of the New Rider catalog, and the playing was so damn good it kept us going.”

That’s right. The time has come to hippify and hang around, because Panama Red is back in town. The buzz is true. The most smokin’ joint in town Feb. 2 and 3 will be Quixote’s True Blue for the long-awaited return of psychedelic cowboys the New Riders of the Purple Sage.

Spawned from the shadows of the Grateful Dead during the Haight-Asbury music scene, the New Riders have reunited with two of their original members and are punching out their lilting three-part country harmonies and groovy rock rhythms like never before.

“The music is just so damn good and timeless,” Cage said. “It’s always been a living organ for us.”

With the death of original bassist Dave Torbet and drummer Spencer Dryden, Nelson and Cage have teamed up with Michael Falzarano, Ronnie Penque and Johnny Markowski for the New Riders’ “renaissance,” as Cage calls it.

Co-founder John Dawson, the lead vocalist and main songwriter for the original band, is retired in Mexico and due to ongoing health problems will be unable to tour with the band. However, according to the band’s website, Dawson has given the band his blessing and is excited that his music is being heard again by a new generation.

The band first formed in the summer of 1969. Dawson was looking to play his songs, while Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia was looking to practice his wizardry of the pedal steel guitar. After playing in small clubs and coffeehouses for a while, the two found Nelson, an expert in both country and rock guitar, and signed him on as the electric lead guitarist. Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart played with the band early on as they began to tour with the Grateful Dead. Initially, the New Riders and the Grateful Dead were one and the same. In 1970, Spencer Dryden – formerly of Jefferson Airplane – signed on as the drummer.

Garcia’s time with the band was short-lived, as his busy schedule made it difficult for him to play with both the New Riders and the Grateful Dead. In the end, Garcia stuck with the Dead. With Garcia’s exit in 1971 came Cage’s entrance to fill the void on the pedal steel guitar. The band was now complete, and independent. That same year Clive Davis signed the New Riders to Columbia Records, and their self-titled first album was released to widespread acclaim.

Their creative style of music – mixing country, folk, and rock and roll – made them a unique and instant classic. The band released 12 albums, sold more than 4 million records and toured steadily over the next 11 years.

The band’s name came from Zane Grey’s novel Riders of the Purple Sage. According to Cage, the band was sitting around discussing names when a member of the Hell’s Angels saw a copy of the book on a shelf and suggested their moniker. Due to copyright reasons, the band could not name itself directly after the book – thus the “new” in their title.

“Nelson had a thing about starting bands with ‘new’ from some of his previous bands, so we named ourselves the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and it just stuck,” Cage said.

A little over a year ago some New York club owners requested that Cage and Nelson once again play as the New Riders for a few gigs. The two agreed, and joined by the new members, the renaissance began.

The band doesn’t plan on releasing a new album just yet. Cage said that in order to release a new album, the band would have to have an album’s worth of new material. The timeless tunes that will forever live in New Riders infamy will not be touched or re-recorded, Cage said. Currently, the band has about six classic tunes, four new ones and a couple of covers.

The band will play two 75-minute sets in Denver showcasing most of the New Riders catalog, old and new. They will also play a few Bob Dylan cover songs and, perhaps, even a Grateful Dead cover or two.

“I can’t make my statement in any less time,” Cage said of the 75-minute set.

Falzarano will fill the void of Dawson, lending his talents to guitar and vocals. Penque will be on the bass and Markowski on the drums. Both will also sing.

So hippies old and new, and all the ex-hippies who live the life of a pretender, come witness the New Riders as they ride through Denver for two shows that will leave you satisfied and yearning for more. It’s been one too many mornings without the New Riders, and there’s no need to go to work, but feel free to be a clown, because the New Riders are bringing Panama Red back to town.