The spring is a busy time of year for musicians.  Many bands are out on tour after a brief winter hiatus; others are hard at work in the studio, writing songs or laying down tracks; still others are exploring other collaborations, sitting in with other bands, or working with side projects; even beyond that, many are gearing up for the coming summer tour.  For both bands and fans alike, one of the hallmarks of that summer tour season for the past four years has been a celebration of the Summer Solstice with the Gathering of the Vibes.  There is a handful of bands that were there at the beginning of the Gathering and have returned year after year to help sing in the summertime.   Klyph Black of the Zen Tricksters, Luke Smith of Strangefolk and Nate Wilson of Percy Hill were kind enough to take sometime out of their busy schedules and reflect on the Gathering of the Vibes as it celebrates its fifth year by returning to Seaside Park in Bridgeport Connecticut in June of 2000. 

Nate Wilson, keyboard player for Percy Hill

Dan Alford: Percy Hill is a perennial favorite at the Gathering of the Vibes.

Nate Wilson: It's just a great time every year. It just keeps getting better.  We'll always do it as long as they ask us.

DA: Any favorite memories?

Nate Wilson: I sat in with moe. and Deep Banana Blackout last year.  That was fun.  I think it was the third year, Charlie Hunter played here and I got to see him.  It was the first time I ever saw him play and it blew my mind. I'll never forget that.  It's always good memories here.  It's a really great festival.

Luke Smith, drummer for Strangefolk

DA: You guys have played every Gathering of the Vibes.

Luke Smith: SUNY Purchase, that was the Dead Head Heaven.  That was the really great one.  It was much more focused on the Grateful Dead than the others.  That was in 96 and Garcia's death was still really fresh.  It was a gathering of Dead Heads, both the bands and the fans.  I think all the bands there were really related to the Dead in some way.  They learned a lot from the Grateful Dead.  At least we did; we do.  You know, in terms of approach and the live music experience. 

DA: Well last year you opened your set with the first Strangefolk "Stranger," appropriate on many levels.  I think it took everyone by surprise.  Was it intentional to open that particular gig with that tune?

Luke Smith: Yeah, definitely. Yeah that was really our tip of the hat to Garcia and the Grateful Dead.  He gave us so much inspiration.  I don't want to say we wouldn't be around but so many bands took so much from the Grateful Dead. 

DA: How has the Gathering changed over the years?

Luke Smith: Well aside from the size, I guess the change of venue every year is cool.  It lets people see a lot of New England.  Plattsburgh was really cool for us because it’s right across the lake from Burlington.  This Bridgeport venue is nice, on the water.

DA: Speaking of your home turf, can you compare the Vibes with the Garden of Eden?

Luke Smith: Well, the Garden is really about Strangefolk.  It's a weekend that the people who come to the Garden come for Strangefolk.  The Gathering or Berkshire [Mountain Music Festival] are more of a celebration of music, a big festival atmosphere.

DA: Musicians sitting in with other bands is part of the thrill of festivals for fans.  With you guys, there is a lot of crossover between Folk, moe., and of course Percy Hill.  To what extent do you plan it out?

Luke Smith: Well, those bands, those guys are our brothers, you know?  So we usually just wing it.  We get together in the afternoon and run through whatever we're gonna do and then do it.  Sometimes there might be a phone call the day before, but usually it just happens.  If anything like that happens again this year, it'll probably happen in the same way.

DA: I know Aaron Katz considers you to be a big inspiration.  He said that you really inspired him to get out there and just go for it, especially with Earth Suits Off.

Luke Smith: He also gave me credit on Color In Bloom. But he gives me too much credit when he says stuff like that.  If I've inspired anyone in anyway, it's indirectly.  I just go out and do my thing, do my best.  If people listen and get inspired, that's great.  That's also the way I take my inspiration, by listening and watching, whether it's Garcia or any other of those guys.  

Klyph Black, bassist for the Zen Tricksters

DA: You guys always put on a great show the Gathering but especially over the last two years, the Zen Tricksters seem to have really developed.  The band is incredibly tight.  How do you guys react in a jam situation?

Klyph Black: I think in the jam situation we try to listen to each other to see where each of us wants to go. You know, obviously when a song starts off, going into the jam it's just taking it from the groove of whatever tune we're doing whether it be ours, or somebody else's.  Once the jam is established and that's where we're going, it's more listening to each member of the band and seeing if Joe is changing up a beat, or changing something, so I go with him. Or I hear Rob play something that's an interesting, out of the ordinary riff or key change.  Try to pick up on that.  It's the same with Jeff.  I think it's all of us listening together to see where somebody wants to go, and go in that direction for a while.

DA: It's always apparent when a band really listens to one another.

Klyph Black: I think it's really important especially in that kind of situation, as opposed to a soloist playing over- You know, even if it's a jam, the difference between really being an improvisational jam and just being the base of a solo player...

DA: That's it. You guys are really monsters of true improvisation, listening and responding.  And you guys have played every Gathering of the Vibes.  Why do you keep coming back?

Klyph Black: For one, because it's fun.  It's a great scene.  It's nice to see how it's gotten bigger and bigger and progressed too.  And I guess we've kind of progressed with them, so it's nice to be part of something that's still happening. 

DA: The Tricksters play lots of festivals, The Gathering on the Mountain, High Sierra.  Can you compare the Vibes with other festivals?

Klyph Black: We also play the Oregon Country Fair. It's very similar to the High Sierra Festival. The caliber of the bands; the bands have been getting better and better; the same thing with the High Sierra.  It's also the same kind of set up with the vendors; it's a big event.  Actually, it really seems like the Gathering was the forerunner of doing that on the East Coast. Those festivals, five years ago, there really wasn't very much.  I mean the Gathering on the Mountain was new at that point too.  And I think that it was really an important thing to do because the West Coast was way ahead of everybody.  They've been doing, the Oregon Country Fair been going on for thirty years.

DA: Last year's set, in the middle of the set there was a Dark Star > Eilat > Dark Star.  I don't know what it was like on stage, but where I was, the sun was setting, the sky was turning purple and red; the breeze was coming in off the Sound.  It's one of my favorite memories, not just from the Vibes, but from the whole summer.

Klyph Black: It was a gorgeous day.  That always makes things much nicer.  We're looking forward to doing it again; it's going to be a lot of fun.  

It was.