For over two decades, Mike Fleiss called the shots as a creator and executive producer of massively popular reality TV shows. But these days, he’s trading in soundstages for sound checks and rocking out with his new band, Grateful Young. The concept marries the iconic sounds of the Grateful Dead’s jam band style with Neil Young’s legendary folk-rock catalog — and it’s bound to keep the free-spirited content creator “Rockin’ In The Free World.”
The TV maverick recently opened up about his unconventional career pivot from pioneering unscripted television to hitting the road on a nationwide tour.
Fleiss’ first love has always been music. “I love two things -— I love the Grateful Dead and I love Black Sabbath,” he declares from his home, which is full of memorabilia from those legendary bands. His impressive collections include original artwork intended for a Black Sabbath album cover and prized gifts from Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir, with whom Fleiss produced an acclaimed documentary, The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir.
But now it’s time for Fleiss to strap on his own Strat.
“We have a new tribute band,” Mike Fleiss says of the group he started with longtime pal Pat Mayer. “We both love the Grateful Dead and we both love Neil Young and we both played in tribute bands around those two artists, but it dawned on us that nobody had ever combined them into one band.
“So we’re creating a combination tribute band called Grateful Young. We’re just going to play Grateful Dead and Young covers.”
Grateful Young offers a fusion of iconic music bound to enchant fans of both artists. The band is set to tour from Santa Barbara, California, to Portland, Oregon, marking another innovative chapter in Fleiss’ dynamic career. The setlist is bound to be stacked with fan favorites such as “Touch of Grey” and “Cinnamon Girl.”
Fleiss’ journey highlights his multifaceted career and enduring influence on the fields he engages with. He entered the game as a sports writer, and while he had nothing but respect for the newspaper industry, he acknowledges that television was an inevitably more lucrative path.
However, his narrative isn’t merely about creating content, but also about forming genuine connections with his work and his audience.
As blockbuster reality shows he created continue to captivate audiences, Fleiss is personally seeking an unscripted adventure on the open road, powered by the groove of the Grateful Dead and Neil Young’s truth-telling lyricism as he redirects his effervescent energy into a new authentic artistic pursuit.
“That’s going to be fun. I think people like those two bands,” says Fleiss, who picked up personal guitar tips from late guitar legend Eddie Van Halen during the chats and jam sessions the two shared over the years. “Pat and I play both lead and rhythm [guitar].”
