Music: Improvisation keeps the spirit of the Dead alive for China Cats
(WorldNews Music)

The joy of the jam. Deadheads have always embraced it. And so they embrace the Grateful Dead tribute band, The China Cats. Each performance is a new, communal journey. There’s one coming up on Dec. 29 at Redwood City’s Club Fox. The term “tribute band” can mean a lot of different things, from lookalikes to carbon copy sound to simply using the original artist’s work as a jumping off point. The China Cats fall more into that last category. “Grateful Dead music has become a genre,” said lead guitarist/vocalist Matt Hartle, reached by phone at his home in Santa Cruz. “It’s like in jazz — there are standards. Grateful Dead has become...