Chest Fever is a melting pot of rock and roll, a deep musical exploration of a vast catalog steeped in storytelling, told through the prism of the American Mythos and the cosmic spirit of the West Coast. From The Band and Bob Dylan’s collaborative home recordings, The Basement Tapes, through Music From Big Pink and The Last Waltz. The thread connecting all of this music is a storytelling tradition that runs through all the known corners of an “old weird America”, as noted by scholar Greil Marcus. Chest Fever is the next step in this tradition, moving the legacy of The Band forward into the 21st century. The stories, legend and community of The Band live on through the passion and magic of Chest Fever, newly embodied in the live performance and burning energy they bring to every stage.

Officially approved by Robbie Robertson, Chest Fever is comprised of keyboardist Jody Bagley, guitarist Dan Cervantes, and bassist Blake Dean of the San Diego Music Award-winning rock band Mrs. Henry, rounded out with organist Doug Organ, drummer Allan Ritter, are releasing a full live recording of the iconic LP Rock Of Ages in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the seminal release.  Today, Chest Fever has dropped “The Genetic Method > Chest Fever.”

Cervantes says, “‘The Genetic Method > Chest Fever’ was a staple of ALL shows of The Band, and of course, their iconic album Rock Of Ages features an amazing otherworldly version featuring all kinds of fun-apropos quotes and melodies Garth Hudson would grab out of the ether. For our version, Doug Organ did his thing as he does and created this beautiful of-the-moment composition while indulging in a request from one of us in the band to add “Oh, Canada” (did we mention he is Canadian). It was always great to hear how things would  morph night to night, but we always came in guns blazing on ‘Chest Fever’ and this night was most triumphant with the horns.”

Although Chest Fever is reinterpreting another group’s songbook, they are far from a cover band. “We consider it an honor to be performing this music live and having the opportunity to carry the torch of The Band” tells Cervantes. “Rock Of Ages is by many considered to be the definitive live album by the group. This is for the actual fans and diehards.” While The Band often gets put into the jam-band “crunchy” category along with the likes of The Grateful Dead or The Allman Brothers, there was certainly a sense of fluidity that permeated their live performances. “The way the songs themselves are played is interpreted on a night-to-night basis” says Ritter. “The parts are all there, but the way they come together fits into this cosmic space of melodies talking to one another and moving in and out of the music.” Indeed, even the famous horn arrangements originally done by Allan Toussaint were reinterpreted by Chest Fever’s orchestral horn/string arranger Jesse Audelo.

While we can no longer vibe to Robertson and crew through a haze of smoke and the cheer of the crowd, through the inspired work of this modern band of brothers we can still drink deep from the well of cosmic creativity that opened to us all. These recordings capture the magic of gifted players locked deep in the groove, magic crackling through the hot summer night. As Organ puts it, “turn it up loud when you’re listening, and it’s like being there. ;)”