Bill Kreutzmann, who with Mickey Hart provided the back beat for decades and thousands of Grateful Dead concerts, has a new band called 7 Walkers.  The New Orleans infused group recently released an album and is on the road doing dates in smaller venues than the veteran drummer is accustomed to playing, but Kreutzmann says he's having fun.  Asked by the Plattsburg (NY) Press Republican about Furthur, the band his former GD mates Bob Weir and Phil Lesh formed, Kreutzmann said, 'I haven't really got much interest in them. They sound just like the other bands out there doing it. What do you call those bands that copy other bands?'  Whoa, equating Furthur with Dark Star Orchestra and lesser Dead cover bands is a pretty harsh assessment of what Furthur is doing.  And he did not stop there.  He also came down hard on Furthur guitarist John Kadlecik, saying, 'The saddest thing is that they hired a guitar player that's not Warren Haynes.  It's too bad.  They should have hired a great solo guitar player.'  Bill, we love you and what you're doing with the Walkers, but really!  There's no doubt John was enlisted because he knew the material inside-out from his time in DSO and evokes the style of Garcia, but his own brilliance comes through in the songs he does with Furthur. 

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