News
Edited by Staff
11/13/99
Ratdog Show Moved
The Tuesday November 16 Ratdog show scheduled to take place at
the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey has been moved. The show
will instead take place in Morristown, New Jersey at the Community
Theatre. Tickets for the Trenton show will be honored at the new venue.
For up to date info, visit the GDTSToo web site.
11/12/99
God Street Wine Calls It Quits
God Street Wine, a jam band that has been around since the late 80s, has
decided to disband. The band gained popularity in the early 90s during the
same period that bands like Blues Traveler, Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Spin
Doctors, Widespread Panic and Phish started to emerge from the club scene.
They will play two final shows at the Wetlands Preserve in New York City
December 22 and 23. In a lengthy letter that will be posted on the
band's
website later tonight, guitarist Lo Faber makes the announcement and gives
many reasons for the band's decision.
"I've always believed in being completely honest and frank with our audience,
(which is not generally the case with entertainers, believe me)," says Faber.
"I want to tell you the truth about why we won't be playing any more shows
after 12-23-99. Well, there are a lot of reasons. Some have to do with money.
Some have to do with the fact that we're not as young as we used to be, and
some have to do with our own personal preference. It would be an
oversimplification to say 'we can't afford to tour'. Any band can afford to
tour, it's just a matter of how miserable an existence you're willing to put
up with. A couple tours ago, the situation was basically, 'you guys can
afford to tour if you go out without a tour bus, just a van, and one less
crew guy.' So we thought about it, and how much we liked the playing and the
music, and we did just that. Even now, if we were willing to go out in a van,
and lug our own equipment, and maybe sleep on a floor or two, we could not
only 'afford to tour,' we could make a pretty decent living. In fact that's
exactly what we did from 1988 to 1992, when we hired Michael Weiss, our first
full-time crew member. But doing that at age 32 is a lot, lot less appetizing
than it was at 22.
And what is the point of enjoying what you do, if the doing of it becomes so
difficult that instead of loving it you hate it? Sometimes people get
indignant when I tell them how little money we've made
over the years. Sometimes people say how screwed up the music business is
when music that they don't care for is going triple platinum while at the
same time God Street Wine can't make a decent living. Well, we have no
complaints, and we feel damned lucky to have made a living doing what we
loved for the better part of a decade--which, incidentally, is a lot
further than many, many very talented people get with their music. There
are people out there right now making great music that will never be
popular and will never make them a dime. I mean, sure, the system is
screwed up, and sure, we would've liked to make more money and be more
popular. No question. But we got to be a part of something extremely
special for a good chunk of our lives.
On December 22nd and 23rd, 1999, at the Wetlands in NYC, God Street Wine will
be playing the last shows of our eleven-year career. Call them our 'farewell'
shows. Call it our 'last waltz'. We haven't really decided what to call them,
but the fact remains that on the 22nd and 23rd, we will get up on a stage
together, turn our amps up, and jam for a few hours in that strange way that
some crazed people seem to like....for the last time."
Faber says the Wetlands shows will feature many special guests and will be
taped for an upcoming live album.
11/11/99
Trey Anastasio Talks About New Phish Albums, NYE
Phish is currently busy recording its new album, due out this spring, in
guitarist Trey Anastasio's 200 year-old barn in Vermont. The album is being
produced by Bryce Goggin, (Pavement, Spacehog among others) and engineered by
John Siket. "This barn was going to be torn down," says Trey. "So I bought
it, moved it to my property, and we brought in our gear. It feels great to
be recording on our own turf. It's close to our homes, and we feel looser in
our own space, not looking at the clock. We're doing more playing than
usual. We have piles of material - it's been a prolific period of writing
over the last couple of tours. We stay up all night playing. I think this
new album will sound more like our live show."
On November 23 Phish will release Hampton Comes Alive, a six-CD album that
features two concerts from November 20 and 21, 1998 uncut and unedited.
Unlike Phish's first two live albums, which were recorded on digital
multi-track tape and then remixed, Hampton Comes Alive was recorded live to
two-track. "It's naked," Trey says. "We wanted to put it out there, warts
and all. I think it's more exciting than a polished, fixed-up live album.
We do have the shows on 48-track, but we ended up using the two-track
soundboard mix. You're getting to hear live fader moves, which affects the
dynamics of our playing. It gives it one more level of realness of the
moment. It's really captured exactly as the fans heard it in the hall, which
is in the spirit of what we wanted the album to be. It also takes away the
critical element of the band. In a different situation, we might have taken
songs out because of things we didn't like here and there, but once we
decided to go with the whole show, then of course everything could stay in.
This really reflects the character of the shows we were doing at that time.
Since it's a whole show, the album tells a story, from high points to low,
from quiet to loud. The second set of the first night and the first set of
the second night sound especially good to me, but I like it all. I'm happy
about the jam after 'Simple.' It has no connection to the song, and we don't
often have the opportunity to release that sort of thing."
Meanwhile, planning is in high gear for Phish's
two-day millennium
celebration December 30 and 31 at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation
in Florida. "We're combining our usual end of summer big concert event with
New Year's and taking it over the top," says Trey. "We wanted a place where
we could play outside. Everything is on grass, there's plenty of room, and
people can camp next to their cars. It should be good weather, knock wood.
We're playing all night, from 11:30 to dawn, which we've always wanted to do.
We'll be drinking lots of coffee!"
Agents of Good Roots Release EP
Agents of Good Roots has announced the release of a five-track EP entitled
Seed. It includes a CD-ROM video with a 12-minute documentary shot while the
band was in the studio recording its upcoming album, Needle and Thread, due
out in February of 2000. The EP features over 30 minutes of music including
"John Brown," which will be on the new album. A live version of the band's
interpretation of the Dire Straits classic, "Sultans of Swing" is also on
the EP along with fan favorites "Pin Up Girl" and "Alaska." Seed is
avalailable now at
http://www.agentsofgoodroots.com.
Phish's Raleigh Show Changed to General Admission
Phish's December 16th show at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, NC has been
changed to a general admission event. There were originally reserved tickets
distributed for the stands and general admission tickets for the floor, but
because of a miscommunication in the promoter's office, all seats will now be
general admission. Anyone who has purchased tickets for reserved seats and
is not interested in going, can obtain a refund at the place of purchase.
For more information, visit http://www.phish.com/news2.html.
11/10/99
Leftover Salmon Phone Home
Leftover Salmon's website now features a new section where fans can tune in
and hear messages from band members while they're on the road. Available in
either MP3 or real audio, the messages are called in from the band's tour bus
via cell phone. In the latest phone update, guitarist Vince Herman and Drew
Emmitt talk about their recent shows with Robert Bradley's Blackwater
Surprise as well as their respect for the Del McCourey Band. To listen,
visit
http://www.leftoversalmon.com
11/9/99
A New Jam Band Website
Headjams.com, a new website devoted to selling jam band merchandise over the
Internet, has just been launched. The site features a roster of bands, along
with bios, music (both streaming and for download) and club listings. The
initial bands that have signed on include Blind Man's Sun, Cousin Fungus,
Lake Trout, Nozmo King, One-Eyed Jack, The Last Hombre's and ulu. "When I
was approached by Mark Rechler at Headjams, he told me that his goal was to
promote the site and the music as a boutique-style web site," says ulu
drummer Dave Hoffman. "Whereas places like Amazon and CD Now are like the
Tower and HMV's of the net, Headjams would be like the cool local record
store that always has something special." Check it out at
www.headjams.com.
Phish Hoping to Foil Counterfeit NYE Tickets
Bands, venues and ticket companies are preparing for widespread counterfeit
tickets this New Year's Eve. Because most tickets will be significantly more
expensive than usual, drastic measures are being taken to prevent fake
tickets from being scalped. In addition to their custom-printed mail-order
tickets, Phish plans to issue tickets with a 3-D holographic foil that is
impossible to duplicate according to Shelly Culbertson of Dionysian
Productions. The special tickets cannot be printed on the thermal printers
that Ticketmaster uses so Phish will provide them with stock to sell and
distribute. The tickets will cost fans more ($150.00), but will enable them
to recognize fakes. Phish has warned that the New Year's event will sell
out in advance. For more information, visit
http://www.phish.com/bigcypress.html
Sector 9 Show to be Webcast
Sector 9 will play Legends Lounge in Las Vegas this Thursday at midnight EST. The performance
will be webcast on www.digitalclubnetwork.com. The band has
a trance fusion sound that has been turning a lot of heads recently. They
are currently touring nationally and will continue through Colorado and
California before heading east. DCN has just announced that Strangefolk's
Wednesday night performance will also be webcast at midnight EST. Past jam
band webcasts that Legends Lounge and DCN have hosted include The Disco
Biscuits and Foxtrot Zulu.
11/8/99
Townshend to release 6-CD Box Set
Pete Townshend has just announced he will release a 6-CD box set entitled The
Lifehouse Chronicles. It features the rock opera "The Lifehouse" which
Townshend has been working on since 1971. He was not satisfied with the
original rehearsals, and took a break from the project to start writing
Quadrophenia. Nearly 30 years later, Townshend has decided "Lifehouse" is
ready to be made public. The rock opera tells a futuristic story about a
global community, based in part on the teachings of Townshend's spiritual
mentor, Meher Baba. The album also includes an audio documentary, live
recordings and orchestral pieces. The box set will be sold exclusively
through Townshend's new website, www.eelpie.com (which is not yet up and
running) and at Best Buy stores. It is due out in early December.
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