THE THIRD MIND featuring Dave Alvin, Jesse Sykes, Victor Krummenacher, Michael Jerome, Mark Karan

Supergroup’s All-Star Live Line-Up Includes Dave Alvin, Jesse Sykes,

Victor Krummenacher, Michael Jerome, Mark Karan, and Willie Aron

 

What started four years ago as a wishful music fantasy, the supergroup of “Californian

Psychedelic Rockers” (Doom Charts) is now a reality. The brainchild of GRAMMY awardwinning

guitarist Dave Alvin and veteran alternative music bassist Victor Krummenacher

(Camper Van Beethoven, Monks of Doom, Eyelids), The Third Mind’s two studio albums–The

Third Mind (2020) and The Third Mind 2 (2023)–feature guitarist David Immerglück (Counting

Crows, Monks of Doom, Camper Van Beethoven), drummer Michael Jerome (Richard

Thompson, Better Than Ezra, John Cale) and vocalist Jesse Sykes from her critically

acclaimed group, Jesse Sykes and The Sweeter Hereafter. The Third Mind live psychedelic

improv performances include the addition of guest guitarist Mark Karan (Bob Weir's Ratdog,

Phil Lesh, Delaney Bramlett) subbing for Immerglück, and special guest, the legendary LA

musician Willie Aron on Keys.

Hailed as a “must-see” by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Third Mind made their live debut

performance at the 2023 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s legendary Golden

Gate Park, which CBS News Bay Area proclaimed “a spectacular performance.” A 10-date West

Coast tour followed the festival garnering rave reviews including Twangville who noted, “if you

want to experience a set of musicians at the top of their game improvising down a psychedelic

rabbit hole, go catch The Third Mind.”

Of Live Mind the members offer:

Creating improvisatory music in a recording studio is a little scary but attempting the same free

form, no holds barred musical approach in a live setting in front of an audience can be

downright frightening. Fortunately the members of the Third Mind are up for the challenge.

Bringing all of their various musical histories and passions together in order to create something

new and different at each performance, the Third Mind never fails to astonish and inspire me. –

Dave Alvin

“It goes without saying that there are always going to be certain musical moments that just can’t

manifest unless an audience is there to witness and to be witnessed . One could call it a shared

conjuring. I hope this recording captures some of the raw sweetness of that beautiful universal

exchange.” –Jesse Sykes

There’s a set list, sure, but none of the shows we’ve played have been remotely the same. I

play a lot of different “kinds” of music, but being able to improvise within a structure is what I’ve

always lived for… at a point in time when the whole world seems scripted, this little band carries

forward the idea that spontaneity and improvisation actually stand for something: freedom. –

Victor Krummenacher

Being called to play with incredibly talented musicians that give you the opportunity to be

yourself, push your own boundaries, and somehow make it all work in a slightly different way

every night, is a great gift indeed. One that is never lost on me. –Michael Jerome

“We re-interpret the songs nightly, never playing anything exactly the same way twice… staying

true to the musical approach I’ve loved for so many years playing in the Grateful Dead family.” –

Mark Karan

The Third Mind’s eponymous debut was released in 2020, featuring extended and psychedelic

versions ranging from 8-10 minutes of songs by Alice Coltrane, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band,

and Roky Erickson’s 13th Floor Elevators. Following its release, tour plans were thwarted by the

pandemic. The group reconvened in 2022 for a second album – The Third Mind 2 – which

shifted from the instrumental focus of their first effort to vocals with Seattle-based Jesse Sykes

at the helm covering songs from the late ‘60s by the Electric Flag, Fred Neil, Dillard and Clark

along with an original tune, “Tall Grass,” penned by Alvin and Sykes.