At the end of September, a major rain storm flooded the entire bottom floor of the storage units where Tacoma musician Dean Tsapralis, AKA 'Dean the Dreamweaver' had many of his personal belongings and musical instruments from around the world. Dean has performed on many of these instruments in local settings such as The Antique Sandwich Co., The Union Station and The Museum of Glass. He has also performed in a variety of venues that include the Vera Project at the Seattle Center, the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco and even with our own Tacoma Symphony Orchestra.
For more than 55 years, Tsapralis has played drums and percussion instruments in a wide spectrum of musical expressions, including jazz, rock, blues, and gospel as well as beautiful celestial music with a custom glass instrument in schools, churches, and museums. His next performance at the Museum of Glass is in the afternoon of First Night, Dec. 31, from 1-4 p.m. He is also in the process of recording a CD of his glass instrument.
Because of this flood event, many of his instruments have been damaged or silenced altogether. His continued attempts to clean and salvage what he can along with being unable to perform have left Tsapralis both physically and financially drained. But as news of this situation began to spread through the community, both friends and fellow musicians decided to help him get from a lonely place of “Mud, Sweat and Tears” to a celebratory time of “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends” – they have created a benefit party for Tsapralis to be held at The Swiss Tavern on Dec. 29 from 3-10 p.m.
The suggested donation for the event is $10, and Tsapralis shared, "A beautiful art book that was created in Pakistan incorporated some of my personal instruments into the artwork and photographs, and copies of the book are being made available to sell at the benefit at a very low price." Several well-known bands will be playing, including Dakota Bob, Tatoosh, Tim Hall, Steve Cooley, Spin Cycle and Open Jam. Tsapralis notes, "One of the musicians scheduled to play is guitar wizard Jerry Miller, who created the legendary 60's group Moby Grape. Jerry and I have played at many clubs and blues festivals over the years. Our first recording session together happened 48 years ago!"