All Jam Bands Episodes

Having listened to Marcus King Band’s Carolina Confessions now several times, I can tell you, that Marcus has grown as a songwriter, and this collection of songs shows a maturity beyond his years that match his guitar playing. We caught up for a lengthy discussion about the record while Marcus and his mates were on the road last week. he Marcus King Band are headed overseas for a bunch of dates, but will be back in North America ready to play what I can only assume will be a whole bunch of sold out dates so check out marcuskingband.com for tour and more. Get your tickets now.

If you’ve part of the jam band scene for a while, you’ve no doubt heard the name Erik Deutsch. He’s been somewhat of a fixture dating back to his days with Fat Mama, solo pursuits and now part of Leftover Salmon. He is an extremely talented keyboard player and lends his talents to a multitude of projects. We recently caught up with Erik to talk about his solo record Falling Flowers.

Color Wheel is Aqueous’ first length album since 2014s Cycles, and though the band has released a few EPS, Live compilations and regularly release their live shows we haven’t had new studio music from them in quite some time. Actually the album is being released in waves with three tracks of ten each week. We recently caught up with Mike and Dave to talk about Color Wheel, touring and much more. We’re excited to hear more from Color Wheel and catch them live on the road during their fall tour. For more on Aqueous visit Aqueousband.com. You should also check out the podcast “All in With Aqueous” from our Osirispod pal Myke “Memo” Menio.

The Lockn’ Festival in Arrington Virginia has wrapped up, and we have some audio goodness for you to enjoy, as a recap of the festival. Episode 131 part 2 features more great performances from the festival including songs from Southern Avenue, Turkuaz, Spafford, Umphrey’s McGee, and Widespread Panic featuring Margo Price.

The Lockn’ Festival in Arington Virginia has wrapped up, and we have some audio goodness for you to enjoy, as a recap of the festival. Episode 131 is our first ever two-parter, and in part one you’ll hear music from Lettuce, Ghost Light, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Foundation of Funk (with Zig Modeleste and George Porter Jr.) and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead as we wrap up this summer’s last great music festival!

Though the record won't be out until September 28th, I did have a chance to sample it, and have to tell, you it might be their best to date. You can tell that the band, fronted by Dave Brandwein has really coming together and matured on this record. As you'll soon hear, this record was more collaborative then past efforts, and sonically you can tell that this band is hitting their studio stride. Long known for awesome live performances, I suspect Turkuaz will take another giant leap forward with their brand of funk, R&B, rock, and psychedelia. We chatted with Dave Brandwein about recording the new record, the song writing process and some other cool things. You should definitely check out turkuazband.com for tour dates, to pre-order Life in the City and much more.

Living in the shadow of a family member is nothing anyone truly wants to deal with. Particularly, when your parent, is a musician in a world famous band who is adored by millions of people. Following in their footsteps, can be, and likely is a daunting task, but being able to carve out a niche for yourself with the rich history of a last name, can and is brave and noble. Such is the case for Devon Allman who has trudged through the music industry for some twenty years, and Duane Betts who has done the same, for quite some time. Needless to say, both thrive on their father’s legacies and talent but more to the point have become great musicians in their own right. We have spoken to both individually, but recently got the chance to catch up with them both on tour as part of the Devon Allman Project. You can learn more about the Devon Allman Project at devonallmanproject.com. Check out the new Duane Betts EP Sketches of American Music wherever you listen to music or at duanebetts.com.

Truth be told, when the latest album from Circles Around the Sun showed up in my inbox a few weeks ago, I was psyched to check it out. Circles or CATS is undoubtedly one of my favorite acts going right now. They are a four piece instrumental jam band. On the surface, knowing that Neal Casal, Adam MacDougall, Dan Horne and Mark Levy are the players in the band, you are likely to think this is some hippie outfit performing jams straight out of a Dead show. Truth is, while those sorts of sonic landscapes are very much part of their sound, this record, Let it Wander is filled with all kinds of jams from all sorts of different genres. We recently sat down with Adam MacDougall the keyboard player in the group, who also performs with Neal Casal in Chris Robinson’s Brotherhood to talk about Let it Wander, and making a go of CATS. For tour dates and to get Let it Wander, you’ll want to check out their website at circlesaroundthesun.com. You may also be intrigued to check out our youtube channe…

I have long been fascinated by the emergence of the live EDM/Prog rock thing and it’s place within the Jam Band scene. That conversation has to involve Papadasio a five piece originally from Athens, Ohio who now call the hot bed of southern music Asheville, North Carolina home. We recently sat down with brothers Billy and Sam Brouse along with Anthony Thogmartin to get the lowdown on their genre-less sonic tour de force. Papadosio will be on the road quite a bit over the next little bit. You can get all the details at papadosio.com . We’ve also created a YouTube and Spotify playlists, and those details are available on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds.

The emergence of Grateful Dead tribute bands, both locally and nationally, indeed internationally is at an all time high. Between members of the Dead playing the repertoire they made famous, to acts like DSO, JRAD, and others more locally like Mars Hotel and Barely Dead. The music lives on and has never stopped. Back a few months ago, we had Sam and Clay and Mapache on the show. A listener who heard the show, alerted us to the fact that this duo were part of yet another Dead tribute outfit Grateful Shred. Since then, we’ve heard several performances, and tracked their trajectory. We recently sat down with Dan Horne, who holds down the Phil Lesh role with the band, playing bass. You can check out Grateful Shred’s tour schedule at gratefulshredmusic.com or check out our Grateful Shred playlist on youtube at youtube.com/thesoundpodcast.

After talking to Grahame and Elliott of Midnight North about that record, I decided to check out where they were playing after Peach Festival. Turned out that they would be only 4 hours away in Canandaigua, New York, so technical producer Adam Karch and I hopped in a car and drove out to one of my favorite venues in North America. We indeed booked an opportunity to talk with members of Midnight North, and to our great amazement members of Twiddle. So picture it, me, Adam, and a roundtable that included Grahame, Ellliott of Midnight North, and Mihali, Gubb and Ryan of Twiddle. A few others interjected, but you get the basic idea. Our conversation started when I asked Mihali about hooking up with Midnight North a few years ago. For more midnight north info and dates visit midnightnorth.com, and for more Twiddle info visit twiddlemusic.com

Just over a year ago, we chatted with Grahame Lesh about the release of Midnight North’s record “Under the Lights”. Since that time, Midnight North has been reasonably busy, playing tour dates, festivals, and making various media appearances. With news that Midnight North was releasing a live record, “Selections from the Great American Hall”, we reached out to not only get Grahame on the show, but also Elliott Peck who shares lead vocal, songwriting and harmonies with Grahame. For more on “Midnight North Selections from the Great American Music Hall” visit midnightnorth.bandcamp.com.

The Magpie Salute is somewhat of a supergroup fronted by Rich Robinson once of the Black Crowes along with former Crowes Marc Ford and Sven Pipien, John Hogg who played in Robinson’s Brown Hookah and Matt Slocum and Joe Migestro who have played on several of Rich’s solo projects. The band’s birth came accidentally, after a show in Woodstock, and has grown organically since. It’s a great record with familiar sounds and some new ones. They’ve been touring consistently since 2016, playing all kinds of music on the road. Though the record isn’t out for a bit, you will be able to catch The Magpie Salute on a series of dates through out the summer. You can check if they’re coming to your town at themagpiesalute.com. You can also purchase some of The Magpie Salute’s live performances at nugs.net.

The Garcia Project performs full set lists of classic Jerry Garcia Band shows and is fronted by Mik Bondy, a “Jerry Head” to say the very least. The tone and spirit of the Jerry Garcia Band is what the Garcia Project pride itself on. We caught up with Mik on the road, as he usually is, to talk about the Garcia Project, and just exactly what they are up to. The conversation started when I ask Mik about his first encounters with Garcia… For more on tour dates, to hear some more music from GarciaProject or to watch some videos check out thegarciaproject.com.

We’re big fans of the music Mungion makes. Whether its the blend of different styles of music, the general groove, or the fun lyrics, these guys are what jam bands should be about, FUN! There 2017 ended with a bit of a thud, as you’ll soon here, but since the Winter of 2018 these guys have been gigging hard, and Live Fun Vol.1 is a compendium of some of the musical highlights of that tour. We caught up with friend of the show Justin Reckamp to check the pulse of the band coming off Summer Camp Festival last week, and to talk about Live Fun Vol.1 out now. Mungion’s complete tour schedule is available at mungion.com.

Dark Star Orchestra’s 7th annual Jubilee goes this weekend in Thornville, Ohio. Luckily for us ,we caught up with Rob Barraco just before the Buffalo show, the last show before the Jubilee. We asked Rob about his tenure with DSO, the Phil Lesh quintet and mastering the parts of four iconic keyboard players of the Grateful Dead. We’re looking forward to more great music from DSO and his latest project, California Kind. For more info on DSO, visit darkstarorchestra.net.

CBDB’s latest release Out of Line dropped May 4th, and its a solid record from top to bottom. It’s probably a slight departure from previous offerings from this southern jam band, and thats not a bad thing. Once purveyors of “joyfunk” these guys shifted focus since their 2015 release of Joy Fuck is Dead, and have since released an EP and a couple of singles that blend all kinds of musical styles. What is consistent though is Cy Simonton’s lyrics and storytelling throughout. It’s unfortunate that CBDB ​don’t make their way to the Northeast more, but in time, that too will happen for these guys. They are a great band, one that I think we’ll hear a lot more from. For more on CBDB visit CBDBMusic.com.

Warren Haynes, has been a favorite musician of mine, and indeed the scene dating back to his time with the Dickey Betts Band, his subsequent tenure with The Allman Brothers Band, and more recently and since, with his own outfit Gov’t Mule. Along the way, he’s played in other projects including the Dead, Phil and Friends, and as solo artist, and with various symphonies playing the works of Jerry Garcia. He is, for all intents and purposes one of the most prolific live guitar players of our generation, and his sound, both his singing and his playing are unmistakable and undeniable. Now over two decades since forming Gov’t Mule with the late Allen Woody and Matt Abts, Haynes continues his assault with that band, and it remains his main focus. Gov’t Mule will be out on the road all spring and summer, and you likely want to see them wherever you are, especially, if you can catch some of these Dark Side of the Mule performances that also have The Avett Brothers and Magpie salute on the bill…

Spafford is one of those bands, that I absolutely want to root for. They blend modern with the old, and create music that is both sonically appealing, but also a ton of fun. This band is the real deal. When I heard they were dropping a follow up to their self titled debut some six years later, I immediately contacted their manager and publicist to ensure we got the chance to speak to them, because I know, like me, you guys are certainly curious about what is going on. We recently spoke with Jordan Fairless, the bands bassist to get the inside scoop on the upcoming release “For Amusement Only”. For Amusement Only is absolutely a great record, but to fully experience Spafford sound you need to see them live. With several tour and festival dates this spring and summer, you definitely want to catch them on the road, or get their live releases at nugs.net. For more on the band, and that hectic tour schedule visit spafford.net and don’t forget to pre-order For Amusement Only out May 4th.

Last time we spoke to TAUK, they were gearing up to get in the studio to record the follow up to Sir Nebula. At the time I remember letting Matt and A.C. know that I really dug their sound, and was looking forward to new music. Well, since then, they have indeed recorded a new record, but before they release that canon of music in the Fall, they dropped an EP Shapeshifter 1: Construct a tidy 5 track effort with lots of new twists and sonic turns. We caught up with Matt to talk about the the EP and to get more info on the new record and their spring and summer plans….

A few weeks ago, while putting the finishing touches on one of our weekly Spotify playlists, I came across Big Something. Shame frankly that I didn’t know about these guys earlier, because they play a blend of music styles that I enjoy. In fact, its this sub genre of genreless bands that is continuing to pique my interest. Hailing from North Carolina, Big Something have been at this awhile and are set to release their fifth studio record, The Otherside in late April. Like other bands of their ilk, Big Something make their bread and butter on the road. This 6 piece has shared the stage with the likes of Umphrey’s McGee, Galactic and The B52s!

When two of your favorite musicians team up to create a new “super group”, you want to get all the details you possible can on the project. Unfortunately those details have been few and far between, so we tracked down Holly Bowling and Tom Hamilton Jr. to try and pry a little more out of them, about Ghost Light. We had a moderate degree of success, and are excited for the release of their debut record, and their upcoming tour as a band.

A few weeks ago, during the north east leg of Spafford’s tour, they invited Goose to open their shows. I had never heard of them, so I checked out their record on Spotify, and really dug what they they were doing. We even played a track on our weekly playlist on Spotify. They saw on Twitter that they were part of the playlist and reached out. I’m glad they did. Always great to hear from guys excited about the music they are making and the response they are getting. Goose is definitely a band we are going to keep on our radar, and you should too. Their current tour schedule and more is available at Gooseband.us.

The Animal Liberation Orchestra is one of those bands that you listen to, and they just instantly make you happy. This quartet features Dan Lebowitz on guitar and vocals, and when he isn’t playing with ALO he is quite busy in a whole host of projects. We caught up with Lebo as he’s affectionately known to talk ALO, his gigging with Phil Lesh and lots more. Seriously, Lebo is one in a million. A very sweet guy who had so much to share, and would have talked for hours if we asked him to. We’ll keep an eye out for new ALO music, and of course any projects Lebo comes in contact with. You’ll be able to catch him at the High Sierra music festival this summer. For more on ALO visit alomusic.com and for more on Lebo visit lebomusic.com.