Biography
Dose Hermanos consists of an improvisational piano partnership between Tom Constanten and Bob Bralove, each of whom has longstanding ties to the Grateful Dead. Born March 19, 1944, in Long Branch, NJ, Constanten first encountered Phil Lesh during their time together at the University of California at Berkeley in 1961. Shared enthusiasm for avant-garde music quickly led them to share living quarters. Constanten later relocated to West Germany for composition studies with several classical figures, while Lesh became a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Upon returning to the Bay Area, Constanten entered the group and contributed keyboards to multiple late-1960s recordings before departing in 1970. He sustained an active career of composition and performance, issuing solo albums by the early 1990s. Bralove entered the Grateful Dead organization in 1987, following eight years as sound designer and keyboardist for Stevie Wonder; their initial contact occurred during the filming of the television series The Twilight Zone. From behind the stage he helped shape the “Drums” and “Space” segments and received songwriting and production credits on Dead releases. In spring 1995 Constanten guested with Bralove’s ensemble Second Sight; the pair reconvened later that year at Jerry Garcia’s funeral and chose to collaborate. Their first public appearance took place in San Francisco in November 1995. Early sales of the debut recording Sonic Roar Shock occurred directly at concerts until Grateful Dead Merchandising assumed distribution. Live From California appeared in 1997, the video Shadow of the Invisible Man followed in 1999, and the third album, Search for Intelligent Life, came out on Relix Records in 2000.
Albums