The Jerry Cortez Interview

Go Ahead ​by Jerry Cortez ​What turned into Go Ahead had several different incarnations. The first was a band called Kokomo, which featured Billy, Brent Mydland, David Margen, and Kevin Russell. Billy was the only member of the Grateful Dead in Go Ahead. Apparently, Brent was kind of in the wings saying, “That sounds like fun; I want to be part of that.” So Brent got involved and eventually Bob Weir got involved. ​I love Brent. I miss him so much. He was such a good guy and a remarkable musician. Even at rehearsal, man, he was playing like it was the last time he was going to play. Every time he played, you’d see his whole body move. We used to rehearse at Front Street, the old funky part of San Rafael. That was where the old Litchfield’s Hotel was. There were hookers. I’m thinking, “This is Marin County?” It was a two-block radius of drug dealers and hookers. Front Street was right in the middle of all that. That’s where we rehearsed. ​Garcia would show up and check us out. He dug the band actually. We played one gig in the Bay Area in Concord. The place was about half full. I don’t think they promoted the show. That was the first show Garcia came to. He was the first guy backstage after the show. He had a cigarette in his hand, and he came up and said, “You guys were fu*king great, man.” After that he came to our rehearsals.