The Anton/Guberman Project have released The Collector Series, a limited-edition 12″ vinyl featuring unheard lyrics from Robert Hunter. Released by Telefunken Elektro Records, the project features an amalgamation of Bay Area notables including Greg Anton, Scott Guberman, Hunter, and poster artist Stanley Mouse.
Anton and Guberman have existed in the Grateful Dead periphery for years, with both members sharing the stage with band members both former and current. Anton rose to prominence as the drummer for Steve Kimock and the supergroup Zero, as well as working with other notables including Grace Slick, John Lee Hooker, Perry Farrel, Merl Saunders, and more. Guberman earned his bones while playing keys with former Dead keyboardists Tom Constanten and Vince Welnick, along with a host of other acts.
The story of how The Collector Series came together stretches a few years back to when Guberman relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and reached out to Anton, asking if he had any unused Hunter lyrics from their work together. As it happened, out of the 33 songs Anton and Hunter wrote together, a couple had not been properly recorded. This spurred the creation of The Anton/Guberman Project, which has now successfully saved Hunter’s lyrics from fading away by putting them to new, original music.
The first song on the record, “Just Because”, comes from a song Anton and Hunter co-wrote for a play written by The Aviator and Public Enemies director Michael Mann. As it happened, “Just Because” never made it to the stage, so Anton and Guberman decided to give it the rock n’ roll treatment. On the b-side is “Whisky’s Sweeter Than Milk”, a song that Anton and Hunter originally put together for John Lee Hooker’s final album. Unfortunately, Hooker passed away before the recording was finished, so Anton and Guberman decided to revive the tune by making it an upbeat, blues tune.
Along with Anton and Guberman, the band also features Stu Allen (Phil Lesh & Friends, The Rock Collection) on guitar, Mark Karan (RatDog, The Other Ones) on guitar, Robin Sylvester (RatDog) on bass, and Stephanie Salva on vocals. The group also recruited psychedelic poster artist pioneer Stanley Mouse to create the album’s cover, which slaps a bow on this tribute to Hunter and the music scene born out of the Bay Area.
The Collector Series from The Anton/Guberman Project, featuring the lyrics of Robert Hunter, is available to order now but is limited to only 300 copies. Scroll down to check out the album artwork designed by Stanley Mouse.
