JiMiller Band still cooking in traditional Thanksgiving

From West Life Newspaper:

JiMiller Band still cooking in traditional Thanksgiving
By Charles Cassady

It's a Thanksgiving tradition, the JiMiller Band performing a pre-Turkey Day jam-music show that's dead-icated to the Grateful Dead. It happens tonight at the Winchester Tavern and Music Hall in Lakewood.

"We were the first band in the Midwest to do the jam band and the Grateful Dead kind of a thing," said Jim Miller, of Cleveland Heights — not about the JiMiller Band, but his previous outfit, Oroboros, which he managed and fronted for nearly two decades. Now he's at the head of the JiMiller Band, playing guitar and mandolin (along with Rick Davison on guitar, Brett Miller on bass, Steve Scheff on keyboards and drummer Fred Perez-Stable) to continue the tradition of freeform, jazz-infused improvisation-heavy rock that was made famous by Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh and - come on, you can name them all, right? If "the Professor and Mary Ann" pops into your head, maybe you've been to too many Grateful Dead shows.

Jim Miller confesses to having seen the Grateful Dead perform live 55 times ("What a knucklehead," he says of himself). A few times per year the JiMiller Band does an "all Dead all night" tribute, featuring Miller time variations on famous Dead arrangements and favorites. In a noble jam-band tradition, audience members will be permitted to tape the show for their own enjoyment, but bring some change for Cds of the JiMiller Band's own recordings, including "Family Roots," "Not Necessarily Dead" and the recent "Rock and Roll Always Do," which was recorded live at such Cuyahoga County and Akron venues as the Rhythm Room, Peabody's and the Dusty Frog.

It is an all-ages show, starting at approximately 9 p.m. The Winchester islocated at 12112 Madison Ave. in Lakewood; phone (216) 226-5681 for tickets and more information. The Web site for the band is http://www.jimillerband.com/.