Stackabones

Named after Woody Guthrie's burned daughter, Stackabones was formed in Austin, TX, by two East Coast buddies, Jim Brighton and Butch Zito. A fixture on the Austin scene in the mid-'80s, Stackabones found its way into Deadhead circles when its first single was played in between sets at a Grateful Dead show. Shortly thereafter, the band went into the studio with pedal steel hero Bobby Black to record their first album, which was quickly picked up by Relix Records, the record label arm of the magazine devoted to the Grateful Dead and the jam band scene. The band's strength was its songwriting, penned by both Brighton and Zito. Whereas other jam bands and musical moons in the Grateful Dead's atmosphere focused on psychedelic jamming, Stackabones focused on the songs. "Tall Grass" and "When the Fog Comes Rollin' In" are typical of the Brighton/Zito collaboration, with relaxing, swinging grooves and country undertones, but clearly influenced by the Grateful Dead and the Band. To add an edge, lead guitarists Brighton and Steve Doblick contributed touches of shredding psychedelic jamming. The band released a second CD in 1996, titled Cathy Ann, on the small California label Sailcat Records. In the '90s and 2000s, a version of Stackabones with Doblick and Brighton was working the club scene on the West Coast, while Zito continued working with a variety of acoustic outfits on the East Coast, including Railroad Pete, the Butch Zito Band, the Porch Chops, and Two Vagrants.