
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 27, 1990                   TAG: 9007270591
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO                                LENGTH: Short

BRENT MYDLAND, GRATEFUL DEAD KEYBOARDIST, DIES

Brent Mydland, keyboard player for the rock band Grateful Dead, was found dead in his home Thursday. He was 38.

It was unclear when and how he died, said Sgt. Richard Terry of the Contra Costa County Coroner's office.

"We lost a brother and we are very devastated," said Grateful Dead spokesman Dennis McNally.

Surviving band members met Thursday night "to talk, to grieve and to figure out what to do next," McNally said. Tickets already have been sold for Grateful Dead shows in August and September in California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York City and in October in Sweden, West Germany, France and England.

The Grateful Dead formed in 1965 and were at the forefront of the psychedelic counterculture movement in San Francisco. Among their better known songs are "Truckin'," "Casey Jones" and "Touch of Grey."

Known for their diverse live sets and spontaneous "jams," the Grateful Dead today retain a strong following of fans known as "Deadheads." Many fans follow the band from show to show and trade tapes of concerts, which the band lets them record.

Mydland joined the Grateful Dead in April 1979, replacing keyboardist Keith Godchaux, who died a year later in an auto accident. Godchaux had replaced keyboardist Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan, who died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 27 in 1973.

by CNB