Mickey Hart Lights a Fire Under the Cal Band
Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart traded the drum riser for the practice field, coaching UC Berkeley’s marching band, the Cal Band, through “Fire on the Mountain” ahead of the university’s first-ever “Grateful Bears” theme night.
“Think of an Island Groove”
“Fire on the Mountain,” which Hart co-wrote with lyricist Robert Hunter and the Dead released on Shakedown Street in 1978, doesn’t march. It sways. So Hart steered the students away from a stiff marching cadence and toward the song’s laid-back, reggae-tinged feel.
“It’s kind of a tropical thing… think of an island groove.”
“Keep the tempo up. It’s supposed to be a happy song.”
“Now you’re getting the feel of it!”
The session wrapped with Hart gathering the band for a group photo.
Grateful Bears Night
Cal’s first-ever Grateful Dead theme night celebrated the long bond between the university and the band.
Oski Joins the Dancing Bears
Cal teamed up with apparel brand Class Trip on custom uniforms and limited-edition “Grateful Bears” merchandise, blending classic Grateful Dead imagery with Cal blue and gold. The highlight: Cal mascot Oski the Bear marching right alongside the Dead’s iconic dancing bears.
29 Shows at the Greek
The Grateful Dead played 29 shows at Berkeley’s William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre between 1967 and 1989, making the campus one of the band’s true home stages.
Go Bears. Keep Dancing.
See Mickey Hart teach the Cal Band to groove.
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