As the old bumper stickers used to say, "There's nothing like a Grateful Dead concert."

That's true. But a decade after the final Grateful Dead concert, some bands still are around to make old Deadheads (and young ones) happy by continuing to play the music they love.

Fungus has been doing so since 1991, coming together around the height of the Dead's popularity. They got off the ground by playing shows whenever the Dead wasn't on tour, mainly because all the members wouldn't have been available during those periods.

"Half the guys in our band were hardcore and were following them around," explains co-founder Dave Gasbarro, a Connellsville native who now calls Jefferson Hills home.

Fungus got its start after the demise of the national recording act the Zippers, at which point that band's guitarist, Terry Callahan, had some free time.

"Terry and I were heavily into the Dead back then," Dave says. "We started jamming, picked up a drummer, picked up a bass player."

A couple of eventual members - bass player Steve "pUNK" Cunningham and keyboardist Bill Maruca - came from Sandoz, another band that specialized in playing the music of the Grateful Dead (and that released a cool album on Relix Records, "Unfamiliar Territory").

Fungus peppers its sets with originals and covers of songs by other artists. But the foremost consideration continues to be paying tribute to the Grateful Dead.

"The feeling is still there, the reverberation of what they created still exists," Dave says. "That speaks volumes about what the Dead were, that the people still want to hear us."

When they get the opportunity, that is.

"It's getting harder to go places to see live music, let alone music that you like," he laments. "Karaoke and DJs rule."

You can catch Fungus live, though, including shows at Moondog's in Blawnox on July 8 and at Lumberjam II in Eighty Four on July 22.

Tie-dye is optional.