Wavy Train

The Wavy Train concept was first born in August 1995 in Charlotte, NC after the death of Jerry Garcia. Founding members Chris Caudle (lead guitar) & Cal Comerford (Rhythm Guitar) went to the Garcia memorial in Charlotte's Freedom Park with acoustic guitars as young pups and began playing Grateful Dead tunes. Inspired from the experience, Cal & Chris enlisted college friends John "Johnny D" Dimier (bass guitar) and Rob Armstrong (keyboards) to begin what was to become Wavy Train. The name was taken from the infamous prankster Wavy Gravy and combined with the words "....we're riding the Gravy Train." from the end of Pink Floyd's Have A Cigar. Tom Stanfel (Drums) and Stefan Hawkins (Percussion) were added in 1996. Our first show was August 9th, 1996 at Morey's Deli. We were a Grateful Dead cover band, at the start and added shows at Fat Tuesday, Jack Straw's, and Fat City. In 1997, Chris left Charlotte and Jason Byrd joined the band as lead guitarist, singer and song writer. In 1997, Marcus Farrar (Other People) replaced Tom on Drums. This was the lineup that began to experiment with original music. In 1999 Marcus left for NYC and Ben Speir joined the band on drums. This is the point Wavy Train began to get serious with original music. At the end of 2000, Wavy Train began recording 3 live shows at Visulite Theatre, in Charlotte, which was later released as a full length live album titled One Big Happy Accident. This was their first all original albums and was released in the summer of 2001. During 2001-2002, Wavy Train played from Asheville to DC to Charleston. In 2001, Jason moved to Maryland. In 2011 the band has reunited with new material and Jason Hawthorn on lead guitar and vocals. The band is currently working on a studio album with possible title All The Way Up. They have returned to playing live shows on a regular basis. After debuting a # of new originals this Spring tour, WT shifts gears this Summer/Fall to focus on playing some of the Grateful Dead's most famous shows