The band started at an
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) benefit at
The Fillmore Auditorium in 1997. At this time the band included
Roger McNamee, a venture capitalist; Giles McNamee, investment banker, board member of EFF and Roger's brother; guitarist Bert Keely of
Microsoft; Bill Bennett, a marketing and communications strategist; and
Tony Bove (rechristened "TBone"), author of books about computers and the Internet. The band backed
Grateful Dead members
Bob Weir and
Mickey Hart in a series of fund-raisers for
Al Gore and
Bill Clinton (
Tipper Gore played congas during one Silicon Valley soiree). The band spent three consecutive summers (2000–2002) taking a special course developed specifically for them by
Jefferson Airplane guitarist
Jorma Kaukonen, who assembled a faculty that included guitarist
G.E. Smith, bassist
Jack Casady (Kaukonen's partner in the Airplane and
Hot Tuna), and pianist
Pete Sears of
Jefferson Starship and
Hot Tuna who joined the band after these camps. Casady also produced the band's CD
52 Week High. The band toured from 2001 to 2006 sharing concert bills with artists and bands such as
Little Feat,
Leftover Salmon,
Country Joe McDonald,
Bob Weir,
Ratdog,
Mickey Hart,
Steve Kimock Band,
Particle, and
The String Cheese Incident, and have appeared on stages ranging from the Alaska State Fair to
B.B. King's club in Times Square, New York City. In June 1998, the band played
The Troubadour (London), and again in June 2001. The Flying Other Brothers performed benefit concerts for groups as diverse as
Seva Foundation,
Camp Winnarainbow, the
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, and the
Rex Foundation. The band also played as the backing band for all-star benefit concerts including one for
Jefferson Airplane drummer
Spencer Dryden on May 22, 2004, at
Boz Scaggs's club Slim's, featuring
Bob Weir,
Warren Haynes,
Peter Rowan, and
David Nelson. The concert was put together by
Pete Sears. The band also played as the backing band for a benefit memorial concert on July 29, 2005, for concert promoter
Chet Helms at the
Great American Music Hall. The music was put together by
Pete Sears and featured
T Bone Burnett,
Bob Weir,
Mickey Hart,
David Nelson,
Country Joe McDonald, Terry Haggerty,
Leigh Stephens, Bobby Vega and Joli Valenti & Friends. The $50 admission price also included a package of limited edition posters designed by such artists as
Stanley Mouse,
Wes Wilson, Chris Shaw, and
Alton Kelley. On May 23, 2006, the band backed
Bob Weir and
Mickey Hart and jammed with
New Riders of the Purple Sage in a benefit for
Vermont Senator
Patrick Leahy at Washington, DC's Renaissance Hotel. The band's last tour in 2006 included several dates with
Particle in the Pacific Northwest, a tour of Alaska, and the
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park, S.F., in which
T Bone Burnett joined the band for a song. The band recorded tracks in Village Recorders, Santa Monica, CA with
T Bone Burnett as producer (August 5–7, 2006) including "Take a Drive," "Another Summer of Love," and "Road to Here" released as part of the retrospective box set Circle Back! File:tony_bert_bobweir.jpg|The Flying Other Brothers with Bob Weir at
Sweetwater Saloon, Mill Valley, CA File:Clinton_fobs_thumb.jpg|The Flying Other Brothers with Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Clinton at Stanford University == Personnel ==