All Jam Bands Episodes

On the surface Russ Lawton and Ray Paczkowski are two great musicians who are known mostly as the drummer and keyboard players for the Trey Anastasio Band. And though that has been the case for the better part of the past two decades, these two have also been active in their own project Soule Monde. This funk jazz outfit have now released 4 albums. I caught up with the duo to talk about Soule Monde and we got into a whole bunch is things. Since we had these guys on back in July to talk about the...

Dumpstaphunk have been honing their brand of New Orleans funk for the past 17 years. Of course it helps that Ivan and Ian Neville both have the sound in their bloodlines, but this entire outfit is more than just the sound of funk past, it's actually way bigger than those original roots. On their latest record Where Do We Go From Here, the band shows off its prowess in a pot pourri of genres and blend sounds for a fiery hot 4th record that not only packs a sonic punch, but is also politically cha...

Garage a Trois, made its debut some 22 years ago with Mysteryfunk, to wide acclaim in 1999 and then evolved into several different configurations before a hiatus in 2015 after releasing " Always Be Happy, Stay Evil". GAT was always a side project for drummer Stanton Moore, Guitarist Charlie Hunter and saxophone player Skerik. But they back with a new album Calm Down Cologne and perhaps some touring down the road. I caught up with Galactic dummer, and a third of GAT trio, the great Stanton Moore ...

For those who are unfamiliar, Leon III is primarily made up of Andy Stepanian and Mason Brent who were in Charlottesville based Wrinkle Neck Mules. I only bring up their former band as a point of reference for the kind of music they used to make, an Americana blend of honky tonk, alt.country and the like. This project though, is different with lusher sonic textures, and very exciting influences that blend for a very cool album experience. An experience that is severely lacking in our singles bas...

Crying for Hope is the new George Porter Jr. and Runnin’ Pardners album. This is actually the first Runnin’ Pardners record since 2015 and that release was an EP. That isn’t to suggest the Meter’s alumnus and bass player George Porter Jr. hasn’t been busy, but this configuration at least has been on hiatus. So when we caught up with the legendary bass player we asked what made him decide to work on this project again... First Song: 00:14: Crying For Hope Interview Begins: 03:37 Extro Song: 27...

It’s been a weird year to say the very least for bands and musicians who have been unable to tour like they have in the past. For funky jam band outfit Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, who released their 5th album Presto in late January of 2020, they had to significantly pivot their plans for the year. Luckily they’ve been able to play a few shows here and there and Saturday night, they’ll be doing a livestream from the Brooklyn Bowl, a Super Bowl PPPPre-Party. I caught up with the band’s front man Gr...

Describing the aesthetic that is Lespecial isn’t the easiest of tasks. On the surface, they are a power trio, who add samples, synths and several other elements to their sonic landscape. Digging deeper, you figure out there music is quite complex and while extremely progressive, has definitive improvisational qualities, which make them quite appropriate for the jam band scene and beyond. We caught up with Luke and Jonny of Lespecial to get their take on their new record Ancient Homies, the proc...

Pluto Gang is a 6 piece band from Charlotte, North Carolina and they have a super interesting story, one that probably would have been told very differently if not for COVID-19, the pandemic and the lockdowns. In fact, the irony is that the pandemic may have sped things along for the band, in terms of putting out music, and beginning their rise within the Jam Band community. It's not often that new music strikes me, but when I got Better Out Here, I reached out immediately. Only after making a c...

Rising stars Goose got on the COVID-19, pandemic, isolation train pretty quickly back in the spring, and created a virtual summer event called "Bingo Tour" that consisted of four shows and six additional days of activities for their community and fans all live streamed for a fee in late June.. Those shows and indeed the entire programming for "Bingo Tour" were very well regarded and well attended. On November 25th, the band will release a video compilation of those live shows, along with a 55 mi...

I’ve been a fan of Aqueous for quite some time and have always been impressed with Mike Gantzer’s approach to the band’s evolution. With the Covid-19 pandemic still in our midst, bands like Aqueous are short on options to play live and make a living. So with the release of the Ardmore concert, I decided to catch up with Mike Gantzer and find out what he and his band mates are up to. First Song: 00:14: 6s and 7s Interview Begins: 11:14 Extro Song: 37:54: Good Days See omnystudio.com/listener ...

I had the chance to catch up with Holly Bowling yesterday ahead of her Wilderness show in Colorado, to talk about amongst other things her forthcoming record “Seeking All That’s Still Unsung” full of exclusively Grateful Dead songs and her piano interpretations of those songs and lots more. First Song: 00:14: St. Stephen Interview Begins: 11:11 Extro Song: 38:40: Saint of Circumstance See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Revivalists are one of the most active straight ahead Rock n’ Roll bands out there right now. And while they aren’t a “Jam Band” per say as most of the bands are that we feature on this show, they do jam, and fit nicely into the southern rock, ethos. They have a very distinctive sound, and at the heart of that sound is their lead singer David Shaw. So to hear that he’s put out original material, of course I was intrigued. Luckily we were able to track down David, and we had a lovely conversa...

Though his name may not be instantly recognizable, Dan Horne is one the most active musicians and producers on the Jam Band scene. He is the bass player for Circles Around the Sun, plays bass and some pedal steel in the West Coast Grateful Dead tribute band Grateful Shred, and often tours with Jonathan Wilson as his bass player. He also had produced and engineered some great records from the friendly confines of his studio for Cass McCombs, Mapache and Pacific Range, the last two of which are am...

When I first heard of Band of Heathens a few years ago, it was because someone slapped the album Duende in my face. It’s a great listen, but it came out like 3 years ago. Since then Band of Heathens have also released a great cover of the Ray Charles album “A Message From the People”. So I was pretty excited to hear that the band which I hold in high regard due to their lyrics and musicianship had a new record “Stranger” coming. So we hooked up with our old pal Ed Jurdi a veteran of this podcast...

I’ve developed quite the report with many of the artists on the Jam Band scene in Northern California. Many of them aren’t just great musicians, but also great people who inspire all of us with their great music. Zach Gill’s full time gig is playing keyboards and other instruments with ALO but he’s also had a successful career putting out solo records. Cocktail Yoga is his fourth such effort plus the two EPs he’s put out as well. Not to mention his work with Jack Johnson and DJango. This dude is...

It’s been six years since Joan Osborne put out a record of original material, but her new 10 song record Trouble and Strife absolutely makes up for the wait. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the Bob Dylan covers record, and all the live playing she did to go along with it, plus her contributions to the first version of Trigger Hippy, but I think we can all agree that Joan has always had a very strong voice for socio-political advocacy in her writing and it’s something that’s been missing f...

I’ve had the pleasure of talking with Devon Allman and Duane Betts both individually and together both on the phone and in person. Each interaction has been totally cool, as both dudes are extremely cool and so knowledgeable and creative. It’s a testament not only to their lineage but likely more importantly insight into their love of their craft and this project that while still exciting isn’t as fresh as it once was. On August 28th the Allman Betts Band will release Bless Your Heart only a yea...

It’s getting harder and harder these days to figure out what genre any band fits into. Take Lotus for example. Are they Electronica, Jamtronica, a jam band, a disco band? Who the hells knows. One thing is for certain though, they are wicked good at what they do, and their forthcoming release Free Swim is an absolute sonic delight. I don’t just throw that out there, I’ve listened to Free Swim several times, and I have to say it truly is one of their best albums to date, and perhaps one of my favo...

LaMP is named for the three members of the band, drummer Russ Lawton, guitarist Scott Metzger and keyboard player Ray Paczowski. Each are very active musicians in the Jam Band community. Russ and Ray perform with the Trey Anastasio band, and their own outfit Soule Monde. Scott is involved with Wolf!, The Showdown Kids, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and more recently Circles Around the Sun. All three as you can imagine are veteran improvisers who are really good at their craft. Back in December 2018, t...

A quarter century since releasing their debut, West Coast Boogaloo, the Greyboy All-Stars are set to release their first record in almost 7 years, Como De Allstars. The title track is everything you've come to expect from this jazz and funk outfit with their boogaloo blend. While there is some timely chanting on the title track which we'll get to in our interview with Robert Walter of the band, make no mistake, this band is still the Greyboy Allstars, with even greater musical chops and prowess. I can't tell you how excited I was when I got a notification that the new single existed and indeed when I followed up and listened to it, I was giddy dancing in my condo. So it was with that, that I tracked down Robert Walter the keyboardist in the outfit to talk about the decision to put out new music even though they aren't the once active touring band they were in their hay day with each member moving on to more full time jobs. And that is exactly where the conversation started when I aske…

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In March of 2018 we got word that two stalwarts in the Jam Band world, Tom Hamilton and Holly Bowling were joining forces with a few other musicians to create something new called Ghost Light. Of course we got Tom and Holly on the phone and talked at great length about the project, and where things were heading. Just over two years later, after an album release, and several tours, they are releasing their first ever official live album taken from their performance March 30th, 2019 at the Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver Colorado. The album, like most Ghost Light shows is filled with original songs, covers, and exploratory jams that you just have to hear. Back when we chatted in March of 2018, Tom and Holly were both really excited about how the band came together in the process. Now some two years later, I wondered if that same excitement and cohesion still existed, and that's what I asked as I started my conversation with Tom Hamilton Jr.

Everyone in the Jam Band scene has some idea of who Mihali is. In case you don't, he's the front man for Vermont's Twiddle. Twiddle have been around since 2004, and since that time, Mihali has been the principal song-writer for the band. What you may not know is that Mihali has also spent a lot of time gigging as a solo act, but has never released his own album. As you'll soon hear, it's a project he's been thinking about for quite some time, and it really came together over the last few years. His music, as you'd probably expect, is rooted in reggae sounds and vibes. To produce the album he enlisted Eric Krasno, and invited a few friends to record as well. We caught up with Mihali fresh off his solo show at the Live from Out There virtual festival, to talk about Breathe and Let Go which he performed in its entirety and much more. 

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