RIDGEFIELD — With all the attention The Grateful Dead garnered in 2015 as the seminal roots rock ensemble's four surviving members celebrated their 50th anniversary, there was little talk of the band that was arguably responsible for launching The Dead's diverse package of classic early ‘70s albums and their eventual ascent into Rock & Roll history.

I'm talking about The New Riders of the Purple Sage (NRPS), which will be tooling into The Ridgefield Playhouse ON December 27. The band's current, and longest running, line-up includes former Bob Dylan bandmate Buddy Cage, Hot Tuna guitarist Michael Falzarano, Ronnie Penque, Johnny Markowski, and NRPS co-founder David Nelson who conducted a lively interview with The Newtown Bee ahead of the local tour stop.

According to the band's own bio, NRPS began as a part-time spin-off from the Grateful Dead when Jerry Garcia (pedal steel guitar), Phil Lesh (bass) and Mickey Hart (drums) teamed up with John Dawson (guitar, vocals) and David Nelson (guitar).

Although early live appearances were viewed as an informal warm-up to the main attraction, the group quickly established an independent identity through the strength of Dawson’s original songs.

By 1970 Dave Torbert had replaced Lesh, and Spencer Dryden, formerly of Jefferson Airplane, had joined as the group’s permanent drummer. Garcia remained in both The Dead and The New Riders until he found himself over committed, at which time Buddy Cage replaced him and the classic NRPS lineup was born.

Original NRPS bass player Dave Torbert and drummer Spencer Dryden and co-founder John Dawson have all died away, with Dawson's considerable musical legacy living on through the spirit of the current members — especially his dear friend and partner Nelson.

Before Dawson died he gave his blessing and was excited to know his music was still being heard live by a whole new generation of fans. And the new lineup has vowed to keep the NRPS spirit and tunes alive by taking them to fans everywhere.

The band’s most recent original project found Nelson teaming up with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter for the first NRPS CD in 20 years, Where I Come From (Woodstock Records).

During his chat with The Bee, Nelson talked about his relationships with Garcia, “Marmaduke” Dawson, and how Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter is still supplying enough new material to update the New Riders repertoire for years to come.

Newtown Bee: So how much songwriting are you doing these days, and what kind of discipline do you apply to creating new material?

Dave Nelson: I'm actually not like a songwriter who buckles down and writes a whole bunch of new material. The process of songwriting was something I discovered a little bit later in life. When I started in the '60s, I thought, why write a song when there are so many good ones out there I want to learn? It was a funny idea — the idea of writing a song. You'll never top George Gershwin — I mean, serious music. But these days I've written more than I ever had. I get into a groove and it's hard to stop.

Bee: When you're writing, are you focused on just getting it out on paper or on tape, or are you crafting a sound that would be more suitable for The New Riders?

Nelson: I don't know how to write for some purpose. It's always an abstract idea that I end up working out. Sometimes it takes a long time sorting through adjustments and feelings and things like that, and sometimes it just rolls out in 15 minutes.

It's like oil painting. You start out with a blank canvas and when you're done it's a finished work of art. If you feel obligated, it's probably not going to come out as good, but by the same token, you can't just sit there and wait for divine intervention to come either.

Bee: You said you came to songwriting late in your career, but you're still in the middle of your career?

Nelson: (Laughing) I started writing my own songs in the early '80s when the New Riders couldn't go on the road. I was left to my own devices, so I got into synthesizers and got myself an electronic sequencer, which helped give me a lot of ideas for songs. So then I started sending some of these random audio sounds to [Robert] Hunter and he filled out a few of them. And I had a friend in Fairfax who finished off a bunch of lyrics. Then I started taking a few stabs at writing the words and music, and that became the foundation of songs for the David Nelson Band.

Bee: Do you ever feel the spirit of Marmaduke Dawson standing over you as you're in the depths of writing songs?

Nelson: No way, because we were friends and always doing things together. He's always there in my head as all my friends are.

Bee: How would you describe the chemistry between you and Dawson during that kid of golden period where New Riders was really dominant in the Bay Area music scene?

Dave Nelson: It never seemed like chemistry — unless you're talking about LSD or something like that (laughing). But I'm making a joke — when you're doing things in a band with somebody, or even on a baseball team — you don't step outside and look at it as you're doing it. You're not the overseer or the manager, you're doing it.

I guess looking back, I'd have to say yeah, there was chemistry. And it was volatile and mixed, just like the times we were in. It's interesting to think though that if you took the original lineup or any line-up of the New Riders, there wasn't a period of time that we were the same group of guys with the exact same personnel. For the first year and a half, it was [Jerry] Garcia. Then The Dead started getting busy and he split. So we got Buddy Cage. Then we needed a bass player and so on.

The times were changing and so were we. Maybe The Dead was one of the few bands who mainly kept all the same personnel. But today's New Riders has had the same exact personnel for more than 10 years.

Bee: Does that mean you're now enjoying more familiarity and comfort in the performance arena than ever before over your half-century affiliation with New Riders?

Nelson: The fertile atmosphere and comfort level was never a problem no matter who was in the band. But the current lineup creates a solid foundation — when you introduce a new song, it's ready to go in a few minutes. And then if we're doing variations and twists on that tune, it's right there. Everybody is so comfortable with each other.

Bee: With 10 years playing with the same guys, how easy is it to just pull random New Riders tracks out of the catalog?

Nelson: Most of the time we have a rough suggestion of a set list, unless we're in a festival where we're in a compressed amount of time. You have to get a feel for the show when you're in the venue.

Bee: You've obviously done so many interviews, are there any old rock and roll stories that still come to mind from back in the day that ended up being really important or really special in the historical context of the band or the times you were in?

Nelson: Well, just after Jerry came back to playing after his [August 1970] car accident, we were playing a benefit show with John Khan, and Sandy Rothman. So we played some songs as a quartet, about a half hour. And after the show, which was great, we're hanging around and Bill Graham bursts into the room shouting how fantastic it was. And we're all looking up at Bill saying 'Oh Wow.' And Graham is going on about how this group gets down to the roots of the music and Jerry is just nodding saying, 'That's right, Bill...that's right, Bill — we get down to the roots.' So then Bill says, 'I've got to take this little band somewhere. I've got to do something with this group' And Jerry looks at him and says, 'Take us all to Broadway Bill.' And with a twinkle in his eye, Bill says, 'Hmmm... Broadway...' The next thing I know we're booked for 18 shows at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater on Broadway.

Bee: Was there anything you remember teaching Garcia that became an element of his regular playing style? Or was there anything he taught you?

Nelson: I don't know. We played a lot together and we learned a lot together. Playing bluegrass, Jerry was busy learning banjo, and I was learning bluegrass guitar, which was really different because guitar didn't play a lot of lead back then. Then the idea for an electric thing was like a goof. One night we were all hanging around my room and we'd be talking about the great new rock and roll tunes we enjoyed. Eventually, we all went out and got electric guitars and started to work those songs out.

Bee: Did you have a chance to see any of the Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary shows?

Nelson: We were in Chicago playing just a few blocks away for those entire three days, so all our friends and wives could go. But most of the folks from those shows ended up at our gigs checking out the second set. We specifically started late to accommodate the folks coming back from the show.

Bee: So let's come back around to Robert Hunter. You started talking about how he's playing a bigger role in the New Riders new musical repertoire.

Nelson: In the new New Riders, Hunter is sending me these whole folders of new music to use as I see fit. By now we've got 18 or 20 new Hunter/Nelson songs. There's a bunch on one of the new album Where I Come From, and another half-dozen on another album we did called 17 Pine Avenue.

Bee: While a lot of your music has been anchored in rock and folk, have you ever thrown all caution to the wind and climbed out on a limb doing music that is far removed from the comfort zone of those familiar styles?

Nelson: I went out in the summer of '88 with the 'Zydeco Cajun Review' with Zydeco Express, Rockin' Sidney, and Allen Fontenot and the Country Cajuns, and I played guitar in all three bands. Man, that was the most fun I ever had. Cajun music is a lot like — I was just having so much fun learning that music.

And I have to tell you one more story, I had an amplifier road case that had'The Grateful Dead stamped on one side and the Steal Your Face logo on the other. So every time I'd have that case out during a New Riders show, everybody would be talking about it. But when I got out on that Cajun Review, I'd roll out that case — either side — and nothing. Not one person was remotely interested in The Grateful Dead. And I started thinking wow, there are actually a whole bunch of really charged up music fans out there with seemingly no recognition or interest whatsoever in The Grateful Dead. There's still one strain of people out there who don't really know what that is.

Check out a recent video of New Rider's performing one of their most popular hits, "Panama Red" at the New Hampshire Page Farm Autumn Equinox Music & Arts Festival earlier this year.

Dave Nelson of New Riders of the Purple Sage channels Jerry Garcia on the Grateful Dead classic "Cumberland Blues" with his solo band at a Maui gig in February 2015.

For tickets ($37.50), visit the The Ridgefield Playhouse box office at 80 East Ridge, call 203-438-5795, or order online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org.