RatDog was an American rock band. The group began in 1995 as a side project for Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. After the Dead disbanded later that year, RatDog became Weir's primary band.

From 2010 through 2013, the number of RatDog's performances were limited while Weir toured with Furthur. Ratdog played two shows in both January 2012 and August 2013. In September 2013 it was revealed by Primus bassist Les Claypool that RatDog would be "getting back together this next year", as Lane had chosen to leave Primus in order to rejoin RatDog.

In February and March 2014, RatDog resumed more extensive touring, with Steve Kimock on lead guitar, Jeff Chimenti on keyboards, Jay Lane on drums, and two bass players, Robin Sylvester and Rob Wasserman. On August 10, 2014, Bob Weir and RatDog cancelled their summer and fall tour dates without explanation.

Original, and then-current, bassist Rob Wasserman died on June 29, 2016. On August 31, 2016, Weir reunited Ratdog for a special tribute to Wasserman, at the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, California. Weir welcomed a number of guests to his show, including Steve Kimock, Mark Karan, Dave Ellis, Robin Sylvester, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane – all of whom were former and/or present members of RatDog. The band also welcomed Lukas Nelson and DJ Logic, who each sat in with the RatDog ensemble.

Founder and lead member Bob Weir died in January 2026.

Notable guests

Since its formation, many guest musicians performed with RatDog, including Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Donna Jean Godchaux and Bruce Hornsby. Other well known guests included Joan Baez, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Derek Trucks, Al Schnier, Ekoostik Hookah, Trey Anastasio, Les Claypool, Pete Sears, DJ Logic, John Popper, Dickey Betts, Sammy Hagar, Mike Gordon and Keller Williams.

Band members

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals <small>(April 1995–July 2014; died 2026)</small>
  • Rob Wasserman – stand up bass <small>(April 1995 – October 2002, January 2012 – July 2014; died 2016)</small>
  • Jay Lane – drums, backing vocals <small>(April 1995–July 2014)</small>
  • Matthew Kelly – guitar, harmonica, backing vocals <small>(April 1995 – September 1998)</small>
  • Vince Welnick – keyboards, backing vocals <small>(September 1995 – December 1995; died 2006)</small>
  • Johnnie Johnson – keyboards <small>(February 1996 – May 1997; died 2005)</small>
  • Dave Ellis – saxophone <small>(November 1996 – December 1999)</small>
  • Mookie Siegel – keyboards <small>(December 1996 – April 1997)</small>
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards, backing vocals <small>(May 1997–July 2014)</small>
  • Dave McNabb – guitar <small>(September 1998)</small>
  • Mark Karan – guitar, backing vocals <small>(October 1998 – June 2007, May 2008 – January 2012)</small>
  • Kenny Brooks – saxophone <small>(May 2000 – January 2012)</small>
  • Robin Sylvester – bass guitar, stand up bass <small>(March 2003–July 2014; died 2022)</small>
  • Steve Kimock – guitar <small>(July 2007 – April 2008, Aug 2013–July 2014)</small>

Timeline

Lineups

thumb|right|200px|Bob Weir and Jay Lane performing with RatDog in April 2009.

{| class="toccolours" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="float: width: 375px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #E2E2E2;"

|-

! Dates

! Lineup

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 04/22/1995 – 08/25/1995

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Matthew Kelly – guitar, harmonica, vocals

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 09/01/1995 – 12/12/1995

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Matthew Kelly – guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Vince Welnick – keyboards, vocals

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 02/20/1996 – 10/20/1996

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Matthew Kelly – guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Johnnie Johnson – keyboards

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 11/09/1996 – 12/08/1996

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Matthew Kelly – guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Johnnie Johnson – keyboards
  • Dave Ellis – saxophone

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 12/10/1996 – 04/15/1997

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Matthew Kelly – guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Johnnie Johnson – keyboards
  • Dave Ellis – saxophone
  • Mookie Siegel – keyboards

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 05/28/1997

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Matthew Kelly – guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Johnnie Johnson – keyboards
  • Dave Ellis – saxophone
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 06/07/1997 – 04/05/1998

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Matthew Kelly – guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Dave Ellis – saxophone
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 09/06/1998

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Matthew Kelly – guitar, harmonica, vocals
  • Dave Ellis – saxophone
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Dave McNabb – guitar

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 09/09/1998 – 09/20/1998

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Dave Ellis – saxophone
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Dave McNabb – guitar

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 10/29/1998 – 12/02/1999

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Dave Ellis – saxophone
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Mark Karan – guitar, vocals

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 12/30/1999 – 03/26/2000

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Mark Karan – guitar, vocals

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 05/05/2000 – 10/19/2002

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Rob Wasserman – bass
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Kenny Brooks – saxophone
  • Mark Karan – guitar, vocals

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 02/05/2003 – 02/09/2003

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Kenny Brooks – saxophone
  • Mark Karan – guitar, vocals

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 03/04/2003 – 06/17/2007

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Robin Sylvester – bass
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Kenny Brooks – saxophone
  • Mark Karan – guitar, vocals

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 07/05/2007 – 04/12/2008

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Robin Sylvester – bass
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Kenny Brooks – saxophone
  • Steve Kimock – guitar

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 05/17/2008 – 01/26/2012

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Robin Sylvester – bass
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Kenny Brooks – saxophone
  • Mark Karan – guitar, vocals

|-

! style="background:#e7ebee;"| 08/16/2013 – 7/12/2014

|

  • Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
  • Jay Lane – drums
  • Robin Sylvester – bass guitar
  • Jeff Chimenti – keyboards
  • Steve Kimock – guitar
  • Rob Wasserman – upright bass

|}

Discography

  • Evening Moods (2000)
  • Live at Roseland (2001)

References

  • Ratdog collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive