The Record Company Revisits ‘Easy Wind’ Cover For ‘Dead Of Summer’ Series

By Scott Bernstein Aug 11, 2026 • 6:47 am PDT

Each Monday in August, The Record Company are looking back at Grateful Dead covers they’ve done for their Dead Of Summer video series. The latest installment features the version of “Easy Wind” the band laid down for JamBase’s Songs Of Their Own video series in 2015.

For Songs Of Their Own, JamBase teamed with TELEFUNKEN to celebrate the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary. We began with a list of 100 Grateful Dead original songs (exclusively their tunes, not covers they often played) and tapped many of our favorite artists to record a cover version either at the old JamBase office in San Francisco or at one of the many venues around town and beyond. No song was allowed to be covered twice.

The Record Company chose “Easy Wind” for the 17th of 50 Songs Of Their Own installments rolled out over 50 consecutive days from May 17, 2015 through the date of the final Fare Thee Well – Celebrating 50 Years Of Grateful Dead concert on July 5, 2015. The band — guitarist and lead singer Chris Vos, bassist Alex Stiff and drummer Marc Cazorla — turned in a lively and gritty take on the Workingman’s Dead classic at JamBase’s former HQ.

David Onigman, JamBase’s CTO and a co-producer of Songs Of Their Own, looked back on the session and shared a few memories:

It’s always such a treasure to reflect on these sessions. For Songs Of Their Own, we released 50 new sessions over 50 days, and so many of the musicians who came through the JamBase office were people we were meeting for the very first time. Looking back now—after seeing where so many of them went from there—makes those memories even more special.

We were also ecstatic that someone had finally selected a Pigpen song from the available choices. I can still picture Chris sitting in the chair before they began, working through the rhythm of that opening line and making sure it rolled off his tongue just right: “I’ve been balling a shiny black steel jackhammer.”

I remember Chris coming up to my Songs Of Their Own co-producer, Jake Alexander, and me, pointing to some of the High Sierra posters hanging on the wall and asking whether we knew how the band might get booked at the festival. We politely explained that while we knew the High Sierra folks, they didn’t exactly consult us on the lineup.

Fast-forward a few years: The Record Company was playing High Sierra. I found Chris at the festival and reminded him of that conversation—and he remembered it, too. It was a very cool full-circle moment.

The band also gave us some vinyl when they visited the office. Years later, when I briefly started cataloging my collection on Discogs, I discovered that it had become something of a collector’s item—and, if I remember correctly, may still be the most valuable record I own.

The Record Company kicked off Dead Of Summer last week with a live version of “Brokedown Palace.” Yesterday, the series continued with “Easy Wind.” Stay tuned to The Record Company socials for future installments each Monday through the end of August.

Watch The Record Company cover “Easy Wind” for JamBase’s Songs Of Their Own series below: