Over the last few years, the Southern-fried soul, rock and blues outfit MOFRO has given Wilco a run for its money in the lineup change department. With the 2007 release of Country Ghetto, the band officially changed its name to JJ Grey & MOFRO and added the Hercules Horns to the mix. JJ Grey, the driving force behind the band, cited the personal nature of the songs he’d been writing as the main reason for the new moniker.
JJ and the rest of the MOFRO boys released their latest album Orange Blossoms in late August, which is chocked full of more tunes about the state of the band’s home turf. Let’s check out their debut music video for the soul-infused, horn-laced title track…
The Florida-based band is currently in the midst of lengthy U.S. tour, so be sure to catch them when they hit your town.
A couple weeks back, we mentioned that Neil Young had announced the dates for the 22nd installment of the Bridge School Benefit. Now, we’ve got a line-up to share. The all-acoustic shows, which will take place at the Shoreline Amphitheater on October 25 and 26, will feature appearances from ZZ Top, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Smashing Pumpkins, Cat Power and Josh Groban - as well as sets from the event’s host on each night.
Young is also showing some love to two two openers on his upcoming arena tour inviting both Wilco and DC4C to perform.
If you can’t make it out West for the shows, then maybe you can make it to one these recently announced tours…
Amy Ray of Indigo Girls fame heads out for a lengthy solo run (begins: 10/19)
Finally, we’ve got some unfortunate news for those of you who we’re hoping to head to Amsterdam for the 2009 installment of Jam In The Dam. Due to the current health condition of event founder Armand Sadlier - who is in need of a double lung transplant - organizers posted a message on their website announcing that there won’t be a Jam In The Dam next year. The message went on to say that the event will be back in 2010 for their 5th anniversary. We send our best wishes to Mr. Sadlier for a full recovery.
It only made sense that we’d wrap up our Jamband Graveyard week with a tasty ode to the bands that filled up all those Maxell XL-II’s that came flooding in and out of our mailboxes packed in bubble mailers on a weekly basis back during the tape trading heyday. Sifting through tape lists and getting an unexpected filler from an opening act surely turned a lot of us onto some of the bands we’ve mentioned this week. So sit back and enjoy some great live music…
We kick things off with GSW running through one their signature tunes: Nightingale. This song actually appeared on their first two studio albums. We’ve got a version from August of ‘92 at Bogie’s in Albany, NY. Next up is The Samples from around the time of their peak in popularity with Did You Ever Look So Nice from a 1993 show at Sandstone Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, KS. From there, we’ve got Leftover Salmon’s mash-up ode to marijuana that cribs music straight from the Grateful Dead with Pasta On The Mountain from the The Fillmore in San Francisco. Next, we’ve got Taste Sensation Overload from a Ominous Seapods ‘97 show at the now defunct mecca of jambands: The Wetlands. Finally, we close things out with Deep Banana Blackouta and a blistering twelve-minute long Bump And Sway from Irving Plaza.
Our look into the Jamband Graveyard wraps up this afternoon with a double-shot. Today, we’re going to feature a couple of bands whose names were routinely seen on bills at The Wetlands - and for all I know played there on the same night. First up is the highly underrated Albany, NY act the Ominous Seapods. Along with moe., GSW and Yolk they were at the forefront of the Upstate New York jam scene in the early to mid ’90s. Sure, they had a song called Bong Hits & Porn, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that these guys could flat melt some faces with their playing.
The classic Seapods line up with guitarists Max Verna and Dana Monteith were a force to be reckoned with, check out this live version of Cary’s Suite set to a photo montage of the band…
Our final band of the week added some much needed sexiness into the male dominated scene, mostly in part to the fact that they the had a woman lead singer. Fronted by Jen Durkin, Deep Banana Blackout played a blend of classic funk, soul and groove that turned their shows into monster dance parties. Let’s head back to the year 1999 for this version of Pakaloa Blues from the Gathering Of Vibes, that also features Michael Ray…
Ok, sure, I’m a bit late to the party on writing a traditional review of the inaugural Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, but with that being said I thought I’d just weigh in with some observations on the three day fest that took place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park a little less than a month ago with a bit of an open letter to it. So without further ado…
Dear Outside Lands-
First things first, so lets get this out of the way: I throughly enjoyed the time that I spent walking the grounds, seeing music and enjoying the general vibe of very well organized fest. How can anyone complain about the eclectic line up that was packed with both local and national powerhouse acts? Or one of the best food selections you’re going to encounter at a large scale event. Bringing in local vendors to serve high-quality fare was a welcome change of pace from what you’d find at the majority of multi-day events. Anyone that had the BBQ oysters, the pulled pork or the tasty Mexican food can back me up on this.
But with that being said, in order to make this a destination for out-of-towners or just a return trip for the locals there are probably some things we need to talk about before I can commit to returning for version 2.0. We know with anything in its first year there are bound to be some hiccups and no matter how much planning goes into it things will pop up at the last minute that you just didn’t think of. So we know that your hard at work thinking about next year. Here’s just some things that as an attendee might be useful…
Normally, we don’t tend to give much space to hardcore acts around these parts, but yesterday an interesting music video was making it way around the internets that featured the music of Minor Threat. The folks over at Mean magazine (yeah I’ve never heard of it until now, too) have recruited Oscar-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley to play the part of Ian MacKaye for a clip that pays tribute to the D.C. punk legends. Check it out for yourselves.
Finally, I received an interesting email in my inbox last night from the folks at Bowery Presents. The New York City-based promoters are encouraging its loyal patrons of the Bowery Ballroom to attend a community board meeting tonight to show support for a new restaurant, to be located a block away, that is seeking its liquor license.
Here’s some info for those who’d like to help out…
We want to encourage new, well-managed restaurants to open in the community so that our guests will have a place to eat both before and after shows. The Community Board has requested that Travertine show its widespread community support through letters or by having supporters attend the Community Board meeting tomorrow evening 6 pm at SEIU HQ, 101 Sixth Avenue, 22nd floor, between Canal and Spring Streets). If you are able to attend, the Community Board leadership is merely going to ask supporters of Travertine’s liquor license application to stand up or show their hands (this should take no more than an hour).
Technically, as Scotty pointed out to me the other day, today’s band isn’t quite in the Jamband Graveyard. But when the band in question has only played a handful of select dates over the last few years and its members have full time commitments with other bands it’s safe to lump them into this category - though it’s not a fate that we want to wish on any act.
While jambands on the East Coast in the ’90s were more rock based outfits, Colorado’s Leftover Salmon brought something new to the blossoming world of improvisational music. The band members played an eclectic mix of instruments - banjo, mandolin, fiddle along with guitar, bass and drums and played their self-described brand of “Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass” - which included elements of bluegrass, rock, zydeco, folk, klezmer, funk and just about anything else they could think of.
Combining fantastic musicianship with the wry sense of humor from lead singer Vince Herman, you could pretty much expect the unexpected when you caught Leftover Salmon - wacky covers, made-up songs and as well as the head of Mayor McCheese propped up on stage. I’m not sure I’ve seen an act that had more fun than these guys, here they are with the calypso-infused Zombie Jamboree…
You can pretty much credit LoS for paving the way for like minded acts like String Cheese Incident and Yonder Mountain String Band. Leftover Salmon will make one of their now rare live appearances on Halloween at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium. Go check ‘em out!
A few months back we dug into the YouTube vault and dedicated a week’s Pullin’ ‘Tubes to all things Classic Rock. With The Dead reforming, Ernie hitting the road and the imminent return of Phish, we haven’t been this excited about all things jam in quite some time. With that in mind, we thought we’d revisit some of the bands we dug from back in the halcyon days of the scene for a little something we’re calling Ghosts Of Jambands Past.
I have the distinct honor of kicking things off this week and there was only one band that seemed appropriate. Around the late summer of ‘95, while thumbing through the pages of Relix, I was introduced to a band called God Street Wine. I still remember going out and buying $1.99 Romances - since that’s what you did in the prehistoric days of the internet in order to hear some new music - and being instantly hooked when I popped the disc in.
The band combined Springsteen-esque bar-rock, with jazzy Steely Dan-like ballads and the general goofiness that you found in early Phish albums - all fronted by one guy that kind of bopped around the stage and looked like Animal from The Muppets and another that actually kind of looked like The Boss. Let’s head back to December 26, 1996, when the band kicked off a two-night run at New York’s Irving Plaza - and a coincidently a night before I saw them for the first time - with Hellfire. Enjoy…
In one of those classic jamband pairings, Strangefolk opened night one and the Ominous Seapods night two. After taking in my inaugural GSW show, a few days later I’d catch moe. for the first time when they rang in 1997 at the now defunct Tramps - but that’s a story for another time.
Australian hard-rockers AC/DC will release their latest studio effort, Black Ice, on October 20. The album - their first in over eight years - will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and through the band’s website. The Aussie-rockers have also announced the North American leg of their Rock ‘N Roll Train tour - their first world tour since ‘01. The ferocious live act will kick off the 21-date tour on October 28, with a notable two-night stand at NYC’s Madison Square Garden.
If some balls out arena rock isn’t for you, than maybe one of these recently announced tour will be…
Looking for your moe. fix while they’re on hiatus? Then check out Al & The Transamericans (begins: 10/31)
STP front man Scott Weiland heads out on his own for a three week solo trek (begins: 11/11)
Finally, DIY indie-rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have lined up a brief Tuesday night mid-Atlantic tour which kicks off on September 16. Alex Ounsworth & Co. will hit the stage for seven consecutive Tuesdays at extremely intimate venues in Philly, D.C., Baltimore and Pittsburgh - where the band will presumably be road testing some much-needed new material for their fans.
Earlier this year, prog-rock progenitors Yes were forced to cancel their 40th anniversary tour when lead singer John Anderson fell ill with acute respiratory failure and was ordered by doctors to rest for six months. In an effort to avoid disappointing their fans, the rest of the band have decided to relaunch the tour sans Anderson by taking a play out of the ever popular “Classic Rock Band Without A Lead Singer” play book by going to the internet to find one.
The band announced that they had recruited Benoit David, who sings in a Canadian Yes tribute band Close To The Edge, as well as a prog-rock band of his own: Mystery. After being forwarded some YouTube clips of the singer in action the group realized they had found their man. Yes will kick off their tour on November 4th in Ontario.
Finally, Oklahoma natives The Flaming Lips are currently in the running to have Do You Realize?? be named their state’s official song. The Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots track is up against nine other cuts from the likes of JJ Cale, Elvis Presley and Three Dog Night. Voting is now open to the general public through November 15, with the winner being announced by the Oklahoma Senate in 2009.
