BRATTLEBORO-Supporting live music at an iconic local venue and helping Windham County residents in need: That is what is taking place at Stone Church on Saturday, Nov. 29.
A few days after Thanksgiving, local food shelves could be bare, so New York–based Shakedown Citi - a Grateful Dead tribute band - decided to do something.
The band is asking audience members to bring non-perishable food items to the show to help replenish the local food offerings at Foodworks, the food shelf at 141 Canal St.
The program of Groundworks Collaborative takes the form of a free and welcoming neighborhood grocery store that "serves as the area's most heavily utilized food shelf program," according to Sarah Habeck, Foodworks coordinator, who called it "uplifting and encouraging to see our community join together in solidarity in this fight against hunger."
The program provides high-quality supplemental food to those in need, offering a variety of items including dairy products, fresh produce, bread, and shelf-stable pantry items, Habeck said.
In an email to The Commons, Stewart Goodbody, the band's communications director, who spent decades celebrating Thanksgiving with her family in South Londonderry, wrote, "The Grateful Dead built a community around generosity - around showing up for one another. Our post-Thanksgiving show at Stone Church feels like the perfect moment to honor that spirit with a food drive."
She continued, "As the lyric says, 'Reach out your hand, if your cup [be] empty, if your cup is full, may it be again.' That's what this is all about: connection, gratitude, and giving back to keep the circle flowing.
"It needs to be continuous - just because Thanksgiving is over doesn't mean the effort stops. Giving kindness, giving love, and giving people specific items that they really need - like food - is just like the music ... it never stops."
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Shakedown Citi first met in the Shakedown Street parking lot of Citi Field in Queens one afternoon in 2023 and had the "instant lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry" that happens once in a lifetime. They describe themselves in their publicity materials as "seasoned, full-time musicians, singer-storytellers and Grateful Dead nerds from New York City with a deep love and passion for the Grateful Dead and all affiliated catalogues."
Band members include: David Mendelsohn, bandleader and founder, on vocals and guitar; Garrin Benfield on vocals and guitar; Matt Zebroski on drums; Matt Lasurdo on bass and vocals; and Mitch Marcus on keys, sax, and vocals.
The Commons caught up with Mendelsohn at his home in Manhattan to talk about why this music is still so popular, how to create a masterful set list, and what keeps him and his bandmates performing up to 15 shows per month, year-round. Here's an excerpt of the conversation.
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Victoria Chertok: Your band's name, Shakedown Citi, is a is a nod to the Grateful Dead song "Shakedown Street" and also to the vending area in parking lots at shows. What is your band's origin story?
David Mendelsohn: Yeah, that is where our name comes from. It wasn't quite as serendipitous. I showed up in the parking lot and found someone playing guitar and then drummer, Matt [Zebroski], and I joined in. We had been going camping a lot during Covid, and when we're camping, we were constantly listening to Grateful Dead shows and thought how cool it would be to play some Dead tunes.
Then, I got in touch with an old college friend, Steve Cohn, who played bass and who could probably play any Grateful Dead song really well. We wound up doing a little show locally in the Poconos, and that was fun.
Steve said, "I know this guy who's the best Jerry Garcia player I've ever met. His name is Garrin." And we were like, "OK, sure. Why not?" And then we found an amazing keyboard player. So then the four of us played together and became Shakedown Citi, and the rest is history.
V.C.: Is it true that the band has never had one rehearsal?
D.M.: That's right! We have never had a full band rehearsal.
V.C.: The Grateful Dead just celebrated 60 years at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco this past summer. There were 60,000 people in attendance at three sold-out shows. Why do you think this music is still so popular 60 years later?
D.M.: It's great music and brilliant songwriting. In fact, it's some of the best American songwriting that's ever been done. It stands the test of time, and it's created a genuine subculture of Deadheads.
This subculture that grew up around the Dead became bigger than the music and became its own identity. And for a lot of people there's this nostalgia, but you can find that with any tribute act.
The community continues to exist and to grow. This music lends itself to full-fledged improvisation and interpretation. People experienced things throughout the last 60 years, and they can close their eyes and put themselves right back there. That's powerful.
V.C.: You play professionally in three bands.
D.M.: I perform, sing, play guitar in three bands. But more than that, I also run all three as the tour manager. I handle a lot of the post-production stuff, too, and I work with a great marketing team.
There's Shakedown Citi, which plays Grateful Dead; there's Yacht Lobsters, which plays hits of the '70s and early '80s. And then we have the money maker: a wedding and event band, the Love Revival Orchestra.
V.C.: I heard that Trey Anastasio of Phish joined the Love Revival Orchestra recently to play one song at his daughter's wedding in Vermont. What was that like?
D.M.: Yes, that was definitely a very special moment! I can confirm that Trey Anastasio did sit in with the Love Revival Orchestra - featuring members of Shakedown Citi - on Nov. 1 at the West Mountain Inn in Arlington in celebration of his daughter Isabelle's wedding to Guerrilla Toss bassist Zach Llewellyn.
He joined the band to sing and play guitar on the Velvet Underground song "Rock 'n' Roll" and also wrote and performed a song with his daughter, Eliza, with lyrics that featured only letters of the names of the bride and groom.
Trey was an absolutely perfect gentleman, one of the nicest guys I've ever met who was constantly thanking the band for "letting him sit in."
Shakedown Citi performed the songs "Shakedown Street" and "Roses are Free" by Ween, as a special gift to the bride.
V.C.: Very cool!
Switching gears, where did you grow up and what was your first instrument?
D.M.: I grew up in Dix Hills, New York, an hour from New York City. I started playing guitar when I was 10 and took piano lessons when I was younger. I started listening to music, and I think MTV had just started, which was kind of a cool thing.
I'd always liked listening to music, and listening to classic rock, which at that time was just called "rock."
V.C.: Who were some of your early music influences?
D.M.: My biggest influence was the Beatles. Pink Floyd was huge for me. The Who was probably the first band I was an absolute fanatic about. Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and that kind of lent itself to growing into the Grateful Dead.
V.C.: This is your second time playing at the Stone Church. What is it about this venue that you are looking forward to?
D.M.: We played Stone Church once, and I thought it was going to be a cool room. It's an amazing venue with great acoustics. It's got this big pipe organ running through the whole thing. So I would definitely rank it as a really special venue with a really special community, so we're super excited to return.
Our show is on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. It's a great thing to do if you have family visiting. We're also setting up a food drive, which is a great thing to do around Thanksgiving time to acknowledge the less fortunate. So it's gonna be a great show at an amazing venue, for a good cause.
V.C.: How do you put dream set lists together?
D.M.: I am extremely passionate about set lists, and it's one of the things that really drew me to the Grateful Dead. I loved that they would play three shows in a row and not repeat one single song. I loved segues and the way they go from one song into another. I loved how they revisit songs, and I'm basically a kid in the candy store putting together the set list.
We're up to a 212-song repertoire now. And I find that so exciting, because I think at this point we keep them all in rotation. We're curating the set list so that it's just, in my opinion, all great songs that encompass all the great eras.
We're from New York City, so 212 is our area code. So we did a thing in October and we're actually in the midst of it right now, where we're going to play all 212 songs over the course of the month. I think we're at 156, and we have two more shows to go.
V.C.: Wow! So you don't try to copy Grateful Dead shows per se?
D.M.: Right. The band is really passionate about all the catalogues. So our brand isn't just copying the Grateful Dead, and it's certainly not just to play the same 40 or 50 songs that are fan favorites.
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Shakedown Citi takes the stage at Stone Church, 210 Main St., Brattleboro on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m.
The band will hold a food drive to help Windham County neighbors in need, so please bring nonperishable food items to donate to Foodworks of Brattleboro.
For tickets and more information, visit stonechurchvt.com and shakedownciti.com.
For more information about Foodworks, visit groundworksvt.org/programs/foodworks/.
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Editor's note: Stories presented as interviews in this format are edited for clarity, readability, and space. Words not spoken by interview subjects appear in brackets.
Victoria Chertok is a contributing writer to The Commons and The Keene Sentinel. Since 2017, she has published more than 200 arts and entertainment features, interviews, and columns in both newspapers, as well as in the Brattleboro Reformer.
This Arts item by Victoria Chertok was written for The Commons.