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Homegrown Happenings
Edited by Marcie Vogel - taz@earth.nowhere.net

Happy 1999! This year will be remembered by all as a special one and here at Leeway Productions we are super excited to be part of what we think is the next big thing for music. We hope you and yours have a prosperous, joyous and healthy year! From all of us - PEACE! Lee, Marcie, Lisa, Jim, Bryan and Edwin.

Random Chaos:

There is a CD coming out in February which will feature Day by the River, Jiggle the Handle, and Vinyl all doing live tunes. It will be called "3 Sets - a Collection of Jambands from across America" and will be on Lauan Records (member of Homegrown Network ).

For details http://www.lauan.com

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Baaba Seth, from Charlottesville,VA, will be coming out with their second CD in early Feb. It's untitled as of yet, and it's from a live show. The band is a member of the Homegrown Music Network and is also in the Jam Bands guide. The web site is at: www.baabaseth.com Thank you,
Hope Clayburn
hopeac@msn.com

Or you can call the band's manager:

Hank Wells @ Sam Hill Entertainment
1-888-872-6445 samhillent@mindspring.com

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The fine folks at MP3.com were so impressed with the song Sunday from Day by the River's CD "Fly", that they have made it Song of the Day for Monday 1.11.99.

Surf over to http://www.mp3.com and look in the upper right portion of the screen for a quick link to download, and help support the Groove/Jam music community, Homegrown Music Network and, of course, the hard working guys in Day by the River by downloading this song.

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And now - some reviews of NYE shows:

DAY by the RIVER @ 12/31/98 Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA

From: Rich Bob rvining@honors.semo.edu

First, the complete setlist, courtesy of Mr. Brian C. Bond, taper buddy of the stars:

12/31/98 Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA

1999 --> Bus Korn --> 411 See You Puddin' Taking Over Some People Help on the Way --> Slipknot --> Naked

As Julie Andrews once sang.. "Let's start at the very beginning.. a very good place to start.."

Walt and I (Walter B. Pollock, not the legendary Walter B. Austin) arrived at the Variety sometime near 8pm to find it in a pretty cool little clubby area of Atlanta, something like a scaled-down version of Beale Street on valium (if that makes sense). Ran into Missy out front just as she was giving away her extra ticket to some lucky soul outside. How cool is that?

After venturing through the door into the Variety, we ran into Andy (everyone's favorite pimp-daddy) and Meredith and chatted for a bit before heading into the main hall to check out Mudcat, who played first. I must say the Variety is a pretty cool place to play/be, looks kinda like a large single-screen movie theatre (complete with seats and snack bar) but with a stage where the screen would be. Very spacious and lots of dance space up front. Good thing, because we'd need it later on. :-)

I won't say much about Mudcat and Tumbleweed Junction other than I really enjoyed them both and I'll be sure to see them again sometime if I get the chance. Mudcat has a really good blues-but-fun sound going on, and Tumbleweed Junction reminded me a lot of moe. if moe. used a didgeridoo and washboard/spoons. And if moe. dressed like they were going to prom in 1977. Blue tuxedos! Whew!

A large chunk of the River Rat community was present.. and I can't even begin to say how friendly, accommodating, and downright wonderful everyone was over the course of the few days I was in Atlanta. Anyway, we were all gathered up front and buzzing with excitement when it was about time for DBR to hit the stage. When they did come out, I remember wondering what the hell they were going to do because of the instrumental setup. Walt was behind his keys with a tuba (I think) on, Pat had his trombone, Jason had his mandolin, and I can't recall what Ted and Dave were doing. Regular instruments? Sorry, having a brain fart. Well, it became apparent just a few moments later what they were up to..

1999 --> Bus

This was a really fun combo. 1999 had the guys trading off vocal lines, and was really fun. I'll have to hear it again on tape to really remember how it sounded. Admittedly, I was way more wrapped up in the moment and excitement to give my undivided attention to the band. But hey, who wasn't? Anyway, it was fun to hear them play some more Prince (*love* Darling Nikki), especially since it was appropriate for the holiday at hand. Bus was cool as usual, can't remember much about this particular version. Again, have to hear the tapes.

Korn --> 411 See You

This sequence came next, and I'll be damned if it wasn't a showcase of the ability this band has to grab an audience by the balls and make them surrender to the flow (to steal a phrase from some other band). I can't begin to tell those outside of the DBR community just exactly why Korn was so special to many of us, myself definitely included. Shelved since 2/11/97, I think this tune was basically considered dead until a bunch of us started to whine for its return about 10 months ago. James Dunseth and I were promised the return of Korn if we made the first Seattle gig, and we were bound determined to get the damn plane tix to make it happen too. Hehe.. well, no immediate need for flannel now I guess. As Korn started up, I for one definitely fell into a bit of a state of confusion wondering if my ears were fooling me, but then they broke into that distinctive little Walt piano part and I knew for sure they were actually going to play it. There were hugs and handshakes and smiles all around as everyone realized what was going on. And to top it off, the song was played very well, with Jason on mandolin really setting it apart from the older versions. Just killer.

411 was its usual self from what I remember, never seen so many hands in the air for the 5551212 part. Cheesy or not (depending on your point of view), this is turning into one hell of an audience participation song. I don't remember the jam out of Korn well at all, but I don't recall it being the usual spacey intro to 411 which I'm kinda burnt out on. I'd love to see 'em fucking ROCK going into 411 sometime, I bet it would sound cool as hell (anybody got anything on tape to back that up?).

See You is just booty-kicking good, I've only heard it a few times now and it just keeps getting better. This is a great, solid, well-written song that I imagine will one day be blaring out the windows of my car if the sun ever shines again in Missouri. Is it just me, or have all the debuts this year been just absolutely kickass? Did somebody say "Can't wait for the next album"? Thought so... :-)

Puddin' Taking Over

Uh.. did somebody say JAMFEST? Whoa, Nellie! Any time these two tunes occur back to back, you KNOW some shit is gonna go down. Hot damn! I remember Pat jamming the hell outta Puddin'... even had the rock star face working hard during his bass solo part.

Side note: during Puddin' I took a look behind me to take a look at the room and its inhabitants, and I have to say the place was just going nuts. I don't know how many of those people had seen DBR before, but they'll all be back. What's capacity at that place, like 1500-2000?

Some People

Another in the family of Walt songs. Heard this one twice now (12/30 and 12/31) and neither time got to really *hear* it. Couldn't catch the lyrics for the life of me, they were pretty muffled/overpowered by the instruments both times.. or maybe it was where I was standing, who knows. Anyway, it had a very nice groove, kinda like Head in the Clouds, which doesn't get nearly enough play anymore. I'm looking forward to hearing this one on tape too to see what I get out of it.

Help on the Way --> Slipknot --> Naked

What a way to end the show.. Help > Slip served (in my mind) to pay tribute to the spirit of the evening by giving a nod to the Dead, the main focus of Dunham's show (unless I'm mistaken) and certainly the band that paved the way for the existence of the modern jam bands who are now experiencing a surging level of popularity. AS FOR NAKED.. well.. heh.. definitely the most eventful Naked I have personally been around. Honestly, I've heard Naked so many times on tape and CD (first track on Fly, how to avoid it?) that the song itself doesn't really excite me much anymore. I just kinda find myself waiting for the rap most of the time. I dunno, sometimes I think it would be more special if it were only played on rare occasions or whatever, kinda like stuff in the Harpua or Forbin's > Mockingbird neighborhood of the Phish world. I don't mean it should be Unbroken Chain or something, just that it might be more exciting if it weren't on most of the DBR material I own. Heh, there I go rambling again. Anyway, I believe Craig found the nakedness totals to be something along these lines:

1) one "true" topless woman, and at least 4 others with bra only status

2) at least 6 guys who tossed shirts on stage, maybe more

3) 3 pants around the ankles guys - ted and walt on stage, and craig

4) two instances of full frontal nudity - craig and walta b

As for the song itself, I can't say I remember much. The band just kinda became the soundtrack to the audience crazies at this point, it was really amusing to be in the midst of all the madness down in front of the stage. Big props to the southeastern hardcores, y'all are crazy. Gotta love it.

Anyway, fantastic evening all around, and Soup was pretty good too. Must say they improved though when Walt and Jason joined them onstage. Soup reminds me quite a bit of some group in the vein of Strangefolk or The Samples, pretty enjoyable listening for a while but not quite as groovin' as I typically like. Sort of a younger God Street Wine maybe. Opening with four Dead tunes further punctuated what I felt had started with DBR's Help > Slip earlier, a homage to the genre's roots while celebrating its bright future. Plus they're just plain fun to play and dance to. :-)

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BLIND MAN'S Sun @ The Elbow Room, NYC

From: Gumption10@aol.com

The Elbow Room in NYC's Greenwich Village was sold out. There was no re-entry and apparently, there were plenty of people waiting for others to leave so that they could come in for this three set extravaganza that lasted until almost 4am.

Set I: Sputnik*-->Spates-->Sprockets, Shadows jam-->marching
cadence-->on screen countdown-->Auld Lang Syne-->Bang The
Drum*-->surf jam-->Gather the Troops-->Bang The
Drum-->Hampton-->Fugitives-->1999-->Fugitives, New York, New York
tease, Virtue of Life!

BMS manager Mike Chiapetta, dressed in polyester and an afro, speaking like someone out of "Goodfellas", introduced BMS alter ego The Whett Knots. Dressed as an 80's hair band, they performed Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping"* with everyone on an instrument other than their own. They ditched the costumes for...

Set II: Hero D/E, Living Conditions-->Fool In the Rain*-->Living
Conditions percussion jam-->Fool In The Rain!, Indescartion*, Rhythm
section jam (drums, bass, and marimba)-->Its Not Your Way-->Living
Conditions!, Ob La Di tease, Lion**-->Someone Save Me (last 1/3 only)

Set III: Mental Affairs-->"Happy New Years" vocal jam-->Mental Affairs
(with marimba tease: "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"), How Flows The
Stream, Soliloquy, Tubthumbing reprise, 1...4**-->Saber Dance-->Juggling Om

*--first time played in concert
**--unfinished

The energy never let up...the longer songs were broken up into their component pieces and played with such variety that even this veteran BMS concert goer was taken by surprise at several of the twists and turns.

At the appropriate moment, Marco announced there were 20 seconds till 1999...at that point we were asked to watch the screen behind the stage...shouting out 10 thru one, the numbers were interspersed with pictures of massive planetary explosions like you would expect from a Star Trek movie...the only thing (and I only realized this much later) is that The visuals lasted at least 45 seconds to a minute and so who knows at what point we actually crossed the threshhold...I wasn't too surprised by Auld Lang Syne, but Todd Rundgren's "Bang the Drum" came out of nowhere...in addition to a united audience singing along, I think I heard JD (who was playing a cheesy sounding synth for this) teasing Elton John's "Crocodile Rock".

BMS has been increasingly willing to experiment lately...the end of "Hampton" segued into "Fugitives" with the latter starting at the sing-along chorus...another nice surprise...actually, this was the second of its kind...since the lengthy opening trilogy did not leave them with enough time before the Magic Moment to play all of "Shadows", Gage jumped started things on the drums and everyone else joined in for what was essentially the bulk of the middle jam...but I digress...

Fugitives then went into Prince's "1999" which was probably played by every band in the world tonight...admirable job here, especially Kevin singing falsetto.

Set II opened with a portion of one of the two grand opuses (opi?) that appear on the new BMS double CD..."Hero's Requiem" has five parts, the first three of which have yet to be played live...the final two parts, referred to on setlists as D/E (but actually called "Lucifer's Irony" and "Dusk and the Rising Moon") have been played a great deal over the past several months...I have, at times, wished that E would be played without D to preserve the energy, pacing and flow of the set being performed...this night, however, this highly orchestrated piece seemed to be embellished with an improvised extension befitting The Prince of Darkness...I will never again hope for this tune to be skipped over.

A few months back I unsuccessfully suggested an obscure tune that seemed like a great cover for BMS...I thought that like Phish doing "Yamar", it would just become their own...my suggestion, FWIW, was "Hanging On A Heartbeat" by The Hooters (BMS diehards--seek this out and tell me if it wouldn't be great ;-))...anyway, since being rejected I kept other suggestions to myself...yet I knew that someday they would play Zeppelin's "Fool In The Rain"...I thought it would be a great opportunity For Kevin to shine on the marimba...but he never took the spotlight...instead, Marco's vocals on some of the long sustained Robert Plant howls just stole the show...he did not try to duplicate the famous inflections, instead, using what must be acknowledged as his own distinct style.

For those who own "Of The Spheres", the new double CD from BMS, "Indescartion" is clearly a landmark piece that I comfortably put in the company of "2112" or "Hemispheres" from Rush...introducing the song, JD declared that "Indescartion" is the toughest piece to play in their entire reportoire...I will not attempt to offer my analysis of the song's content, since I suspect even those who can recite every word probably find the piece akin to some scripture worthy of interpretation...while I have no reason to knock BMS lead guitar player Dave, the band's complicated arrangements and other virtuosos often deprive him of the opportunity to shine...noteworthy here is the crescendo of the finale, "Resolution"...consider this metaphor: if you are judging a surfing competition, you rate difficulty based on how severe the wave is, then you factor style and ability to ride it--this crescendo (minus Dave) is among the greatest grooves that BMS lays down (note that I don't often speak in terms of the groove but that in this case "the wave" is represented by the groove that everyone but Dave is playing) and Dave plays--bar none--the most uplifting and inspired solo, scoring maximum style points for his ride...Marco also deserves recognition for outstanding vocals on this most demanding number.

"Lion" was not only unfinished, but the segue into "Someone Save Me" was at the post jam vocal part, earning the same praise as with "Fugitives" and "Shadows".

That is about it for the observations...not sure if anybody was taping though this is a travesty if not...I had recently thought about starting a thread for the perfect BMS setlist...but this may be it...visit www.blindmansun.com for tourdates, merch, and to sign up on the discussion group.

FYB,
Dave Berman

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The MIRACLE ORCHESTRA @ Bad Girrls Studios in Jamaica Plain, MA

From: Caroline Davidson popawheelie@erols.com

I had an awesome NYE at Bad Girrls Studios in Jamaica Plain, MA with the Miracle Orchestra.

Bad Girrls is a loft space that we crammed 300 people into and danced the night away. The band bought $800 worth of liquor and beer and set up an all you can drink bar, the subway was free and ran til 3am and the band played until 5am.

Personal highlights for me were:

The overall atmosphere of this dysfunctional love circle :)

The naked fire twirler that came out at 11:45 pm - we turned out the lights and the band got tribal while Emily had two wands that she twirled to the crowd's delight, it was a liberating experience.

The big ole phatties that miraculously appeared right after midnight. I swear everyone had one of their own...

Shakedown Street (which was a jumpin'-for-joy, sing-a-long played with special guests and a special spirit that brought everyone together in the unity of song and memory).

The intense freedom that happens when the music begins and everyone is on the same page with smiles and bright lit eyes.

I am so lucky to be a part of this beautiful music and I hope this feeling lasts! Happy New Year everyone, I hope you are safe and humble

Caroline

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Daly Planet @ Hincheys , Hilton Head Island, SC

From: Dregan6922@aol.com

Uncle Pen> Sleufoot> Me and My Uncle> My Time To fly Shamrockin'> Lowcountry Boil w/ Salsa on the Side (i'll never forget that title) Henry> Glass of Wine> Rank Stranger The Final Page Midnight Moonlight (bravo!)

These guys are doing good things! They kicked it off about 11 p.m. with a bluegrass band that is really wierd and unique (and fast!). They've got one hell of a mandolin player, a dreadlocks-to-his-ass autoharp player!?, a hick on bass, and a 16 year old wonderboy on acoustic guitar (this kid can pick and sing but can't drink). They were fast, slow, funny, original, traditional and fun. Their originals are really funny and well written and they payed tribute to the masters like Bill Monroe, David Grisman and Pete Rowan.

After the New Years toasts they thanked everyone and went back stage. Then came out with electric instruments and played as The Daly Planet, an electric jam band. Same guys, all on different instruments! They covered the dead well but I prefer their original material.

Gettin' High w/ Jesus (or could be Change My Jeans)> Stella Blue Alligator> Circle Round Celebration> Trainstopping> Sign of the Times

Encore: Gettin' High w/ Jesus