March
Bryan Rodgers
2003-03-25
Welcome to Jambands.com and Home Grown Happenings! I'd like to introduce you to the newest group of Home Grown Music Network Members for Spring 2003! These bands were chosen based on music first and I think it may be our strongest lineup yet. We've got veterans like Tony Trischka and upstarts like Raisinhill, west-coast funk and east coast jazz, and even bluegrass from Santa Cruz. You, faithful jam-stuff reader, are the first to know about these kind new members! ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) From the wild and wonderful west coast comes the mesmerizing funk energy of ALO! Based in San Francisco, this quartet strives to make the audience feel as uninhibited as possible by way of their free-loving, cathartic, down-and-dirty funk! Their lyrics will make you smile while the music controls the rest of your bodily gyrations. While listening to their CD Time Expander, you can practically feel the sweaty dance floor frenzy that percolates beneath their glitter-washed grooves. This stuff screams "late night throw down"! The members have performed everything from bluegrass to jazz to rock in their previous ventures, and the combination of that experience is what makes ALO special! Either/Orchestra You don't find too many innovative big bands these days, but Either/Orchestra has been creating futuristic big band sounds for nearly two decades. This ten-piece juggernaut has featured musicians such as John Medeski, Mike Rivard (Club d'Elf), and Mark Sandman (Morphine), all the while led by saxophonist Russ Gershon. With several bedazzling horns, a rhythm section that can handle any task, and immense musical sophistication, Either/Orchestra runs the gamut of possibility. This is sophisticated jazz that shows the influence of great performers from genres like jazz, rock, swing, and funk. Garaj Mahal A true jam supergroup! This incredible four-piece has more pedigrees than a kennel club! Any of the members could easily front their own band and be successful. Fortunately they are making music together and the musical world is better for it. Made up of outrageously prolific guitarist Fareed Haque, former KVHW drummer Alan Hertz, world-renowned bassist Kai Eckhardt, and scintillating keyboardist Eric Levy, Garaj Mahal binds explosive funk energy with stimulating instrumental acrobatics. These guys are musicians in the truest sense of the word, perfecting their craft over time with bands like The Flecktones, Weather Report, Sting, Steve Kimock, John McLaughlin, and tons more. This is music that exercises the mind as much as the body. Not to be slept upon! Lotus Occupying the interstellar boundaries between house, trance, world, jazz, and rock, Lotus crafts a hypnotic concoction of dance grooves. Their eye-popping first album, Vibes, will soon be entirely sold out. They'll be putting more of their mesmerizing jams on record very soon. As fans await the band's next release, they can continue to experience Lotus' humanized electronica as they tour the eastern half of the US. Spiritual and meditative yet energetic and jubilant, this band is sure to garner a dance-happy following! Perpetual Groove This Savannah, GA quartet is about to explode on to the national scene. There's simply no way to put this band's sound into words. Endearing melodies and lyrics tangle with open-ended exploration to yield an unforgettable sonic experience. The music, once freed from the structure of one of their many finely tuned songs, twinkles with the joyous hop of electronic dance music but it is rooted in the natural domain of guitar, bass, keys, and drums. The result is a passionate reworking of the improv-rock genre that is cerebral and epic. Drawing large crowds in the south, P-Groove's live shows are noted for the astounding tightness of the band as well as their retina-tickling light show. They are now touring nationally. See them and be perpetually hooked! Raisinhill Cinematic and cohesive is the sound of this Connecticut trio! Raisinhill's debut album is simply one of the best maiden voyages we've ever been on. With three highly skilled members contributing equally, the band moves as one through widely varying territory. Flowing breakbeats, elastic jazz workouts, intense improvisation, and pyrotechnic rock spasms all have a place here. Guitarist John Kasiewicz urges the band along gently through wide-open jams or forcefully into sonic oblivion. Upright bassist Brian Anderson is a constant molder of tones, nimbly plucking the strings or using a bow to create dirty effects. Drummer Jay Bond is steadfast in numerous modes, and at times can create perfect rhythms using a "less is more" approach as well as a hard-hitting style. Fantastic original compositions! Reid Genauer & The Assembly of Dust - Reid Genauer, co-founder/ lead-singer of fabled Vermont band Strangefolk, is acclaimed for his powerful voice and expressive songwriting. His debut solo album, The Assembly of Dust, is bursting at the seams with pop, rock, jazz, country and folk, woven together in cohesive themes. The band features an impressive group of jam veterans: Percy Hill keyboardist Nate Wilson and bassist John Leccese, Groovechild guitarist Adam Terrell and Moon Boot Lover drummer Andy Herrick. "The Assembly of Dust' is an impressive effort featuring Genauer's soulful vocals and solid compositions... deftly enhanced by the band's instrumental and vocal prowess." Burlington Free Press StrungOver! StrungOver has cultivated a unique newgrass sound that incorporates modern day influences into a traditional acoustic medium. If you don't think you like bluegrass, this band's appealing mixture of jazz, gypsy-Dawg, and traditional melodies may change your mind. With their traditional lineup of mandolin, guitar, bass, and banjo, the fact that the band calls Santa Cruz, CA home might be a bit puzzling. However, bassist Hugh Broughton and guitarist Michael Thurman are originally from South Carolina, and twin brothers Jeremy and Jason Lampel hail from New York City. Starting their musical relationship in 1999 on the streets of Santa Cruz, StrungOver has created an album that is full of bluegrass roots but gleams with the unique mixture of the members. This music owes as much to James Brown as it does to Bill Monroe! Tony Trischka Band - With banjo player extraordinaire Tony Trischka at the helm, TTB provides new sonic realms for the banjo. A crew of top-notch instrumentalists on sax, bass, drums, and guitar mans their forays into outer space. The band covers a broad spectrum of American music. "Off-road, banjo-driven urban eclecticism," "a new blend of psycho-jazz-groove-grass"...whichever mouthful you choose, TTB's sound is a canny composite of rock, bluegrass, and jazz. You'll love the unearthly instrumentals powered by the incredible players that make up this space-age group! You can find out more about these bands, sample music online and over the phone, find out tour dates, and buy music by visiting www.homegrownmusic.net. The newest edition of the Kind Music Catalog will be hitting the mail in about a month as well! Thanks for reading and I'll write you next month! Bryan Rodgers
www.homegrownmusic.net "Breathe easy...the less you have to offer, the less you stand to lose." - UM
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