2005 was a whirlwind year both on and off the stage. Before we dive into ’06 we asked some of our favorite musicians, and some of the scene’s most creative forces, to look back on the rollercoaster year that was 2005, from hurricanes to wars, festivals to music themed cruises. Last week we offered a glance back from thirteen notable personalities (and eleven the week before that). This week we catch up with many more performers and those who work behind the scenes as well…

Dave Schools (Widespread Panic)

What will you remember most about 2005?
What I will remember most about 2005 is that it was the year the government and the president finally admitted to spying on US citizens.

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
I rediscovered Jimi Hendrix this year through the reading of the Charles Cross biography. Specifically I realized again what an amazing performance comprised the Band of Gypsys (Fillmore East) recordings and the Woodstock film.

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
The two CD's that won my affections most in 2005 were: My Morning Jacket-_Z_ and Dungen-_Ta Det Lugnt_.

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
Favorite performances: Dinosaur Jr. at Lollapallooza in Chicago last summer and Gov't Mule at Warren Haynes' Xmas Jam Dec 2005. Runner up: The Mooninites from Aqua Teen Hunger Force performing a heavy metal version of “Porch Song” at Panic NYE at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

Steve Adams (ALO)

What will you remember most about 2005?
Hurricane Katrina

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
The Kinks

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
Paul McCartney-_McCartney_

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
The Mother Hips at the Great American Music Hall San Francisco

Fuzz (Rolla, Deep Banana Blackout)

What will you remember most about 2005?
My Wedding.

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
I went back and listened to a lot of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd in general…took me back to high school!

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
It’s a tie…
Astor Piazzolla – Tango Zero Hour
Wilco – Yankee Foxtrot Hotel

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
If my performance, "Rolla" Thanksgiving show @ Acoustic Cafe, Bridgeport, CT
If other artist performances, Jeff Tweedy acoustic – Kingston, NY

Jonathan Schwartz (Relix Magazine/Records, Sirius Radio)

What will you remember most about 2005?
Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
Toubab Krewe. These guys are simple and complex all at the same time – and they make you DANCE!

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
John Scofield, A Go Go. I always find myself going back to this one.
It's the perfect music for any occasion.

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
moe.'s Tsunami benefit at Roseland Ballroom, specifically Trey Anastasio's solo acoustic mini-set. When Trey played, the energy in the room was unbelievable. It was one of those transcendental, musical experiences.

Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay

What will you remember most about 2005?
What I will remember most about 2005 is the influx of outstretched hands and open pocketbooks of Americans and other countries toward the victims of the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Given so many negative images throughout this year, I choose to keep the positive ones in the forefront.

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
I have to admit that I had never listened to the Zen Tricksters before this year. Singing with them at the Rex Foundation benefit in N.Y.C turned me on to what wonderful musicians they are.

What CD has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD player)?
I don't know that I can answer that question with one title. It changes all the time.

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
My favorite performance this year is wrapped up in the three Rex Foundation benefits that I had the honor of being a part: "Comes A Time" in Berkeley, and the Black Tie-Dye Balls in New York City and Washington D.C. They were all very, very special.

Alecia Cohen (Global Rhythm Magazine)

What will you remember most about 2005?
Watching Iraqi citizen's reactions when they cast their vote for the first time.

Name one band you discover or rediscovered in the past year?
Rediscovered in the past year: Amadou & Miriam

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
Congotronics 2: Buzzn’s Rumble From The Urb ‘N’ Jungle (Crammed
Discs)

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
A live Sufi music concert I saw at the Fes Festival of Sacred World

Todd Stoops (RAQ)

What will you remember most about 2005?
Hurricane Katrina and the tragedy in New Orleans. Having lived in Baton Rouge and New Orleans as a child I have always had a strong connection to both the city and the state of LA.

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
Blind Boys Of Alabama

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
Mr. Bungle -_California_

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
Gwen Stefani at the Bell Centre in Montreal – I believe she called it the "Harajuku Lover's Tour" – simply mind blowing!

Russell Batiste (PBS, Vida Blue, Funky Meters)

What will you remember most about 2005?
What I remember most about 2005? First it was the year I was 39 years old. Hurricane Katrina wiped New Orleans out. Members of my family are now scattered all over the country. If there are parades they won’t be like before. I had the pleasure of playing with my dad and my brother in New York City on my 40th birthday PBS (George Porter, Brian Stoltz and Russell Batiste) released a CD. George Porter and the funky Meters started to play the music that I wrote. After two years of not touring with Vida Blue, Page McConnell played with me on my birthday and during JazzFest week in New Orleans, I played on stage with Zigaboo Modeliste (my mentor) and Stanton Moore, who was my student.

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
Russell Batiste and Orkestra from da Hood

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
Live recording of orkestra from da Hood 205 in San Francisco and a live recording of Jerry Garcia at the amphitheater in San Francisco. Also, some live orkestra from da hood shows done on the east coast.

Aaron Kayce “Kayceman” (JamBase)
What will you remember most about 2005?
I will most remember: Hurricane Katrina in 2005

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
One band I discovered and love from the past year would be: Milton Mapes

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
Album that I’ve rocked most in 2005: My Morning Jacket’s Z

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
The Mars Volta at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA on 6/3/05

Al Schnier (moe.)

What will you remember most about 2005?
Seeing my daughter going to kindergarten.

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
I don’t think there was a single artist that I discovered or rediscovered in '05. I'd say it was largely due to the fact that I was avoiding listening to too much stuff while we were working on the latest moe. studio album; however, I really don't recall reading about much from 'new' acts that really piqued my interest. I'm still holding on to new releases from Coldplay, Broken Social Scene, Death Cab, & My Morning Jacket that I'm really looking forward to hearing.

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
Paul McCartney, Chaos & Creation

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
I'd have to say the most memorable performance would have to be the Tsunami Relief Benefit we did @ Roseland in NYC, with Trey, Sam Bush and Medeski. There were some moments that night that will stay with me for a long time. There was a point during "Night Speaks to a Woman" when Trey completely exploded and the audience was right there with us. It was one of those flashes I won't likely forget.

Andy Bernstein (Pharmer’s Almanac, HeadCount.org)

What will you remember most about 2005?
It's sad to say , but this is the year that Phish fans turned on Trey Anastasio. Busting on Trey became sport in the jam scene, some of it deserved and some of it not. Without fail, Trey's name now always has negative connotations attached to it, in every conversation. I, for one, am tired of all the negativity, and look forward to the inevitable day when he does something musically fantastic and wins us all back.

Bill Laswell

What will you remember most about 2005?
It’s difficult. Every day there’s something happening. Time just goes by, you know? I don’t think of it in terms of years. If I said something it’d probably be 2004. I get mixed up with the months.

Name one band you discovered or rediscovered in the past year.
I go through phases where I’ll listen obsessively to different sort of areas, and lately I’ve been hearing a lot more progressive stuff, a lot of metal, black metal, drone stuff. A lot of heavier music recently. Some bands that are known, some that are more obscure.

What CD has appeared most often in your iTunes?
I don’t listen to music so much, it gets in the way of making records. I’m pretty obsessed with what I’m working on, and there’s a lot of stuff in my head. So I spend a lot of time listening to a work in progress, or something finished, and then again, I go through these phases where I’ll just kind of immerse myself in an area. But I don’t have an iPod with a million tunes on it, I don’t think of separating songs like that, I just think of it as one giant sound. I don’t have a favorite song, a favorite band, I don’t even have an iPod. There’s a lot going on in my head and I try to put that into the work, and the work is pretty much 24/7. It’s a little different way of doing things, but I think if I was listening to stuff all the time, I wouldn’t be able to do my own thing.

Favorite performance from the last 12 months?
Tabla Beat Science in a place called Chichibu in Japan was nice, but that was a little longer ago, I think that was last year. I just made a band called Method Of Defiance with a drum n’ bass DJ and a live drum n’ bass drummer, and then we work with guest people. That’s pretty hardcore, and really fast and pretty intense and obviously using a lot of dub and metal effects, and we work with guest artists. That’s been an interesting thing that I think can develop. Improvising has been key to me, I like to keep improvising. I work a lot with John Zorn, and we still manage to find opportunities to go and play in good conditions, in the right places, and actually improvise without any discussion of the music, which is always interesting to me. So there’s been a few in that kind of area.

Tom Hamilton (Brothers Past)

What will you remember most about 2005?
Gas prices, natural disasters and a really big concert.

Name one band you discovered, or rediscovered, in the past year
Low. I heard their album The Great Destroyer in February and have been singing its praises to anyone who will listen since. GO GET THIS RECORD!!

What album appeared most in your iTunes?
Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
OR
Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run

What was your favorite performance from the past year?
Pink Floyd, Live 8 UK.

Evan Winiker (Steel Train)

What will you remember most about 2005?
It seemed to rain so much more then usual.

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
Dr. Dog, an amazing quintet from Philadelphia.

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
John Vanderslice's newest release, Pixel Revolt.

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
The Arcade Fire in Vegas on 10/29.

Pete Shapiro (The Jammys, Green Apple Music Festival, Wetlands)

What will you remember most about 2005?
A busy year—-too much going on

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
Tea Leaf Green and The Jayhawks

What has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
The Jayhawks

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
Secret Machines at Bonnaroo. From what I remember of it, it was my favorite how of the year! I had the good fortune of watching most of the show with Chris Ragan and the combination of his lights, the amplification off the white tent and the roar from the audience was awesome. Also, watching Ryan Adams play “Wharf Rat” with Phil Lesh at the Jammys.

Eric Lanese (ekoostik hookah)

What will you remember most about 2005?
Finding out it was just a reaction to my laundry soap.

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
Dada, The Jayhawks

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
Jack Dejohnette Latin Project

Hunter Brown (Sound Tribe Sector 9)

What will you remember most about 2005?
New Orleans

Name one band you discovered (or rediscovered) in the past year?
Archie Bell & the Drells’ Tighten Up. My pops was in basic training with him and would always play music like this when i was little,… plus some old reggae tapes that I haven’t heard in a while.

What is your favorite performance from the past twelve months?
Lately, STS9's rehearsal sessions. We’ve been writing some new material and having to listen to it a bunch to work the kinks out. Also, new material we'll be releasing on 1320 records. i.e.: tusk, sub-id.

What album has appeared most often in your iTunes (or CD Player)?
Damian Marley, Catalyst, Santa Cruz. Cee-lo, cCtalyst. and DJ shadow, Fillmore, San Francisco.