GRATEFUL DEAD EXPERIENCE

The Schwag is a band of musicians dedicated to carrying on the vibe and music of the legendary Grateful Dead. Founded in 1991, The Schwag has performed over 3000 concerts all over the United States. This group averages 150 shows a year and has a working song list of over 200 songs from the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band catalog.

The Schwag has had the privilege of playing with a long list of legendary musicians over the years. For a span of four years, band leader Jimmy Tebeau toured the country as the bass player for JGB (Jerry Garcia Band). The Schwag has opened for many notable acts including String Cheese Incident, Marshall Tucker Band, Leftover Salmon, Sammy Hagar, Little Feat, and Railroad Earth. Some of the guest musicians that have played with The Schwag over the years include Chuck Berry, Bill Nershi from String Cheese Incident, Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman from Leftover Salmon, Butch Trucks from The Allman Brothers Band, Fred Tacket from Little Feat, Mike Gordon from Phish, Doug Wimbish of Living Colour, and Vince Welnick from The Grateful Dead. Honorary band members for full Schwag shows include Merl Saunders, Melvin Seals, Johnnie Johnson, Jason & Travis & Kang from String Cheese Incident, and Devon Allman (Gregg’s son.)

For many years, The Schwag has hosted its own 'Schwagstock' music festivals, drawing crowds of thousands together several times per summer. For the first few years, the festival changed locations between several different campgrounds in the state of Missouri until 2004, when the band found a new home for Schwagstock. They purchased and renovated a former children’s campground, known as “Camp Zoe,” in Salem, Missouri so that it could be the ideal place for thousands of people to get together and enjoy a weekend of music. After a few years, the new venue was a well-known destination for festival goers from coast to coast, attracting wide-eyed crowds from all over to enjoy shows from acts such as George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Keller Williams, Big Brother & the Holding Company, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and yes, The Schwag.

In October 2010, one month after the 45th Schwagstock, Camp Zoe was raided by government agents, and operations at that location were closed for good. After the raid, band leader Jimmy Tebeau was charged and imprisoned for being in violation of federal law 21 U.S.C. 856 on the basis that Camp Zoe concertgoers were observed by undercover agents as they were participating in drug- related activity. This law prohibits individuals from running a “drug-involved” property and is often called the “crack house statute.” Tebeau is the first and only music venue owner / operator to ever have been charged using this law, making his case an unusual one that attracted national attention at the time. After it was all said and done, Camp Zoe was forfeited to government ownership and Tebeau served a year in federal prison.

After his release, Tebeau reformed the band and continued playing concerts and festivals. The band has organized over 20 “Byrdfest” festivals in Arkansas and has even carried on the Schwagstock festival series in Missouri. Schwagstock is coming up on its 50th event, and there are no signs that the band is going to stop producing these festivals anytime soon.

In 2021, The Schwag is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The band has seen different stages, different crowds, and even different lineups, but there is a continuous theme of dedication to the job of creating a memorable experience at every show. Current band members include Jimmy Tebeau on Bass Guitar & Vocals and Robert “Frisbee” Coleman on Keyboards & Vocals. The Schwag band is now stronger than ever and is on a perpetual tour performing a different show every night of high energy organic interpretations of the Grateful Dead’s music.