For more than four decades, organist Melvin Seals has stood at the center of a musical universe built on soulful grooves, gospel-infused warmth, and expressive improvisation. As a powerhouse Hammond B-3 organist, producer, and arranger whose deep musical roots span gospel, blues, and R&B, Seals spent 15 years as a core member of the Jerry Garcia Band, joining in 1980 and helping mold its genre-blending style until Garcia’s passing in 1995.
Today, as the leader of Melvin Seals & JGB, he continues to carry that musical flame forward, stretching and reshaping the repertoire for new generations while staying true to the spirit of the original band.
On Sunday, Oct. 25, Seals and JGB return to Asbury Park for a headlining performance at The Stone Pony. The show follows an active summer run through New Jersey that showcased the full breadth of Seals’ artistry — from an exploratory jam-filled performance at the Tropicana Showroom in Atlantic City on Aug. 15 to an appearance with the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel on Aug. 29.
For Seals, returning to the legendary venue on Ocean Avenue feels like coming back to familiar, cherished ground.
“I love the Stone Pony,” Seals said during a phone interview with The Pop Break from his tour bus. “I just love the layout. I love the history of it.”
Life on the Road and the ‘Whole Pie’
Despite a relentless touring schedule that keeps him constantly on the move, Seals admits he does not always realize how packed his calendar is until he sees it laid out before him.
“In all honesty, I don’t see it like that until I look at the calendar,” Seals explained. “When the agency calls you to say, ‘I got an offer for you,’ we go, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s take it.’ And then I look at my calendar and I’m just booked.”
As the years pass, balancing life on the road with family time alongside his grandchildren has become an essential priority. Yet the stage offers a unique fulfillment that nothing else can replicate.
“I love working. I love performing. I love the response from the audience, but I’m getting older and I have grandchildren and you want to spend some time with your family, too,” Seals said. “But again, this is another part of life that lights my fire, when I’m on stage. Nothing can give you that. That’s a reality by itself. So the stage, your road life, the home, the family life, it’s like a piece of pie. You need the whole pie.”
The Four-Piece Engine
The current Melvin Seals & JGB sound is the work of a formidable four-piece roster. Alongside Seals the lineup features lead guitarist and vocalist John Kadlecik, bassist and vocalist John-Paul McLean, and drummer Jeremy Hoenig.
A cornerstone of the band’s current dynamic is the tight interplay between Seals and Kadlecik, a veteran of Dark Star Orchestra and Furthur whose sharp, clear, Garcia-like guitar tone locks seamlessly into Seals’ dense organ textures.
“I pay attention to him. I paid attention to all guitar players, but when he’s been with you for a while, and he’s an excellent player, you just don’t get no better in this field,” Seals said of Kadlecik. “I’ve learned to get behind him in certain areas. I’ve learned when you’re going up for the climax of the height of the height and to build with him there where he’s not there by himself. I learn when he wants to break it down, make it quiet and have it by itself. You know, you pay attention. You learn those fine values and I’m there. I’m just trying to provide the room and space he needs for everything he does.”
When it comes to channeling Garcia’s singular style, Seals emphasizes that very few musicians possess the depth to carry an entire night rather than simply copying a few signature phrases.
“A lot of those guys get three or four of his signature licks and that’s it,” Seals observed. “You hear like, ‘Oh, I sound like Jerry.’ Well, no, that lick maybe came from Jerry, but the whole night, the whole song, the vibing is not Jerry. There’s only two or three that I’ve heard that can sit in that seat and John is number one for me, and then Jeff [Mattson] is the other guy with Dark Star – all night long you hear Jerry licks, you hear his rhythm.”
Setlist Surprises and Keeping the Legacy Alive
Rather than treating JGB as a static tribute act, Seals stepped naturally into his role as bandleader by keeping the music alive: stretching it, reshaping it, and bringing his own distinct voice into the mix while remaining faithful to the original band’s spirit. In concert, Seals & JGB blend classic Garcia Band staples such as “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and “Ain’t No Bread in the Breadbox” with Grateful Dead favorites like “Truckin'” or “Scarlet Begonias,” instrumental Beatles covers like “Come Together,” and occasional original pieces written by Seals.
“I’ve always thought that yes, this Garcia Band tribute band, we do all of his material, but there’s so many Grateful Dead fans that were not necessarily a Jerry Garcia Band fan,” Seals said. “And my thinking would be how great would it be to come to a Jerry Garcia Band show and maybe one of your favorite songs is ‘Truckin” from the Grateful Dead. How wonderful that could be to come to the show and bam, ‘Truckin.” Element of surprises. I’m full of element of surprises.”
That expansive approach draws a multi-generational crowd night after night, uniting fans who saw Garcia perform decades ago with teenagers discovering the music for the first time.
“It never ceased to amaze me,” Seals said. “And one of the reasons is that when I’m looking at someone that’s probably 17, 18, 19, if you will, singing the lyrics along with you, looking up at you and singing the words as well as someone that’s in the 50s or 60s or 70s singing the words, when you see that, it’s like, wow.”
Fulfilling a Promise: ‘This Music Will Live Forever’
For Seals, keeping this music on the road stems directly from a vision Garcia shared during a televised interview years ago.
“Jerry was on TV and they were interviewing him and he was asked in a funny kind of way, ‘Jerry, what would you like to see? What would you like the legacy (to be) when you’re gone?'” Seals recalled. “And Jerry just said, ‘You mean when I’m dead and gone?’ And he says, ‘I’d like to believe this music will outlive me, will live forever.'”
When Garcia passed away in August 1995, Garcia’s words echoed back to Seals.
“No one was working for a moment. And that’s when it clicked: Wait a minute, this is not what he said,” Seals reflected. “He would love for this music to continue on. And so that was the drive of getting started.”
Seals continues to honor that pledge, delivering high-energy shows that pull from the same well of soul, spontaneity, and connection that made the Jerry Garcia Band so special.
An Evening with Melvin Seals & JGB, 7 pm Sunday, Oct. 25 at the Stone Pony, 913 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.stoneponyonline.com.
