REMEMBERING OUR LAST CONVERSATION WITH BOB WEIR

A year before his death on Jan. 10, the Grateful Dead legend shared some of his humble wisdom

- By ANGIE MARTOCCIO

In the end, I always thought about his Birkenstocks. I'd often glance over at them during our interview, both of our pairs positioned next to each other on the studio floor. Those are Bob Weir’s Birkenstocks! I thought. But he didn’t pay attention to the sandals, which had become his signature look in his later years. He was busy playing ball with my questions the best he could, stroking his beard and sipping from a glass of Coke. He gently opened up to me, the ice clinking around as he dug into his box of memories. I had no idea he’d be gone in less than a year.

At 77 — huddled inside what was then called A&M Studios, part of the historic Jim Henson studio lot that his bandmate John Mayer had recently purchased — those memories were still fresh. Sure, he needed that glass of Coke during a break in the interview, a sugar boost after he admitted he was “starting to fade a little bit.” But he was as sharp as ever, talking about stories that stretched back to the Sixties as if they’d all happened last week. At the same time, he was juggling several events to honor his band of 60 years, from the Kennedy Center to the MusiCares celebration, just before Dead & Company returned to the Sphere in Las Vegas for another residency. But he was nonchalant about it all. “I’m the same guy,” he said. “I still have to get out of bed in the morning, and my back’s cranky. Nothing much has changed.”