The two albums that I will be discussing in this month's Jam Between the Dials column are by two bands that are as diverse as they come in this weird world of jam band music. String Cheese Incident and Conehead Buddha are from different regions of the country, have a totally different fan base, have a completely different musical style, and have recently come out with two utterly different new albums. That means new songs to play on the radio! And as we do every month, we are going to talk about which songs would be good for any reading DJ's to add to their playlist.

While Carnival '99 is an incredible album, it is obvious that the album is geared more to their fans, than to radio music directors. The double live album is full of songs which are over eight minutes long, and most of the songs on the second album are over ten minutes. But the few songs which are of a more playable time length could be really good on college radio. Songs like Hold What You've Got and Bar Stool are great AAA songs. Much like Leftover Salmon did a couple of months ago, String Cheese Incident can break out in the charts with a nice bluegrass tune in Hold What You've Got. The song has a great rhythm, a catchy little tune, and a great ending jam. The jam is a little long, but they can get away with it because its bluegrass (people are really entertained by bluegrass I've noticed). Bar Stool is a simple rock song with a nice piano part and a groovy chorus. Again though, the three solos/jams in the song may make the almost five minute song a little too long. Overall, especially for jam band DJ's, the album is a really nice, fun live album. Many of the songs have some great jam moments and are great to listen to.

Conehead Buddha's Rockets on the other hand, is a fun studio album. The quick beats and horn section make each song ska like with its upbeat and easily danceable sound. The songs are a nice length and are truly fun, catchy songs. Bubboy Brown is great, funky ska tune with incredible horn solos, and loud guitar pieces. The song should work very well on college ska radio along with jam band shows. For jam band shows, the title track works better. The quick chorus with intermittent horns is really sweet to the ears, and the groove couldn't be better. The ending jam of the song is what should make this song so appealing to jam band radio. It's real nice sweet and short.

Both of these bands are great live bands, and each one has managed to capture their great live sound onto CD.