No one would expect a band that covers the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers to smash a guitar on stage. Then again, Jack's Farm is anything but a typical cover band.

Guitarist/vocalist John Rattie decided to demolish his old Fender when the first version of the band played its last show at The Brewery, 223 E. Beaver Ave. in 1999.

"That was a good night," Rattie laughed, saying he didn't know why he did it. "It seemed like the thing to do."

Symbolically, that night might have been a turning point for Jack's Farm. The band had crumbled because members were not taking the project as seriously as Rattie and his brother, drummer Chris Rattie. In 1999, the band had a full-touring schedule, playing around 20 gigs a month, a goal the band is now trying to re-achieve.

"It was the first big amount of success for some of us," Chris said. "It was the first band that some of us were in to."

John recalled a particular incident that showed its demise perfectly. The band had spent a summer in Key West, Fla. and relationships were disintegrating rapidly.

"I would be walking back to the band house and I would pass one of the other members," he said. "They would act like I was a stranger. I guess in a camper that small ... everything you do gets on somebody's nerves one way or another."

After bassist Jimmy Lovcik and guitarist Arlo Tarr answered an ad for the open slots, the Rattie brothers became secure that the rest of the band is as serious about the project as they are.

"That ain't going to happen now," John said. "This band is serious, an unhealthy serious sometimes. We are striving to get a full calendar ... "

"It supercedes relationships ... ," Chris said.

"We have a hard time doing anything other than music," Tarr said. "If I go to the movies, I can't enjoy it. I feel guilty, like I should be doing something for the band."

"John had the original idea for Jack's Farm in 1999, when he conceived a band that covered the Dead's and the Allman Brothers' tunes with good accuracy and respect for the original music.

"Honestly, I wanted to play all the time, but I didn't want to play cheesy covers." John said. "We don't shortcut it and play it our own way."

"We try to be accurate, but if you're a good musician, your personality comes through," Chris said. "We are dedicated to learning the licks and learning the chords. We treat it with a lot of respect."

On any given Monday night at The Brewery, fans can expect to hear a wide variety of Dead or Allman Brothers songs, including; "Truckin'," "Casey Jones," "Eyes of the World," "Shakedown Street," "Estimated Prophet," "Blue Sky," "Elizabeth Reed," and "Dreams"

"I think we try to bring a concert to the bar," Chris said. "We don't want to be stuck in the corner with the juke box and dart board."

The band agreed the show is high-energy rock 'n' roll, but bantered over what the best song is to open a show.

"They like to throw me a curve ball," Tarr said.

"I like to ease it in . ..." Chris said.

"There's no reason to do that," John said. "Who wants to see a lounge act? I guess it just depends on my mood."

Then, all three went on to laugh about Lovcik's habit to try to bring up the energy right away.

"Jimmy could come out with 'Hells Bells,' " Tarr laughed.

From the repertoire Jack's Farm covers, one would think the band likes a lot of jam bands -- all three members denied this.

"To the hardcore jam band scene, I think we may be black sheep to that," John said. "I think what those jam bands forget is that the Dead were great songwriters. The jam was always secondary, to that ... no jam band has the balls to write a song."

"I like the ones that are on the top of their game," Chris said, mentioning artists such as Phish, Govt Mule and Leftover Salmon. "Those guys are where they're at for a reason."

The band idolizes the material it covers, and has opened for the Jerry-Garcia Band, Vanilla Fudge and Jefferson Starship, as well as almost playing with ex-Allman guitarist Dickey Betts.

"It was like getting to Disneyland and seeing that it burned down," Chris said.

Even though the plans to jam with Betts didn't come through the first time, the guys said they might have another opportunity to play with him. While other cover bards may stay just that the rest of their careers, the guys in Jack's Farm have bigger plans.

"The ultimate goal is play our own stuff." John said. "Hopefully, next year this time, the cover band thing will allow us to work on originals all day.

For more information on the band and its touring schedule visit www.wjacksfarm.com.