Photo Credit: Susana Millman
Grateful Guitars has announced its intent to gift master improviser and Bay Area staple Steve Kimock with a recreation of Jerry Garcia’s Wolf six-string. The ceremonious occasion will occur during the artist’s 40th-anniversary celebration of his band Zero, which will happen over two nights, November 8 and 9, at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, Calif.
Highly regarded for his idiosyncratic style and fluid approach to jamming, Kimock has garnered a reputation as a Bay Area stalwart, hailed as one of Garica’s favorite guitarists during the latter’s later years. From his esteem in and around San Francisco, Kimock’s musical celebrity extends far beyond The Golden State, performing with various Dead-adjacent offshoots: Other Ones, Phil Lesh & Friends, and Dead & Co., while participating in stage time with storied jam greats such as Phish’s Mike Gordon.
“It’s an extraordinary instrument and a really touching vote of confidence that I’d be worthy of such a gift,” commented Kimock. “I’m humbled and truly grateful. Beyond that, it’s an inspiration to hold and play, and it’s sure to advance my playing. It’s a very special gift at this point in my life.”
During Zero’s four-decade celebration at Mystic Theater, Kimock will receive a replica of Wolf, a custom-built, Doug Irwin-Certified Wolf 2.0 #4 ax crafted by Bill Asher inspired by Garcia’s original, which was his first custom-made guitar: an asymmetrical neck-to-body design composed of purpleheart and curly western maple, adorned with an identifiable cartoon wolf sticker–placed by the Grateful Dead great, and later inlaid below the tailpiece by Irwin.
Grateful Guitars Foundation is a 501(3)(c) nonprofit founded by Andy Logan in 2019. It aims to acquire world-class instruments with storied pasts to extend the gift of music to the next generation of artists who seek to celebrate and continue its unique history.
Tickets for Zero’s 40th-anniversary concerts at The Mystic, featuring Grateful Guitars Foundation’s gift Wolf replica, are on sale now.
