{this month's letter refers to the poll we ran in mid-October regarding the impact of the Phish hiatus]

Dear Dean, or whom it may concern,

I am a little disappointed in one of the choices given in this months JamBands poll. It seems to make the assumption that an influx of new people to a particular scene is a detriment. I am sure that many of the musicians will welcome the opportunity to play to some new faces that may have previously spent all their time and money on Phish shows. Also, for some smaller bands it may mean the opportunity to move from really small bars to slightly bigger venues that sound better and are more professional. I fail to understand why this community is so hung up on smaller being better.Yes, I miss the intimacy of small Phish shows, but I am thrilled for the success they have achieved. On a smaller scale, I am much happier seeing Deep Banana Blackout at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY than crammed in the back corner of Valentines in Albany, NY.

Just a thought,
Abe Breehey we_phunk@hotmail.com

Dean responds:

As I told Abe, in an email I sent him a few weeks ago, I agree with what he has to say. Frankly, (and maybe this is the increasingly codgeresque side of me), my favorite venue size is probably a good-sounding historic theater. Then again I suppose that cuts both ways because some bands I really dig have progrssed to the point where it woud be unfair to the ticketless masses if they only played venues of this size. Beyond that, in terms of the poll, I would suggest that this was just one choice of many, expressing a sentiment that a number of people are articulating right now particularly in the String Cheese community (our webmaster David, who is a strong Cheese supporter, put together the poll). In terms of spreading the music, and achieving success I agree with you 100%. As readers of the newsletter know (ad nasuem), Jeff Waful and I recently began hosting a two hour weekly radio show on a big FM "modern rock" station in Hartford, CT just to help spread the good word (and the music).

I think this a fine topic for a feature essay, which I invite interested parties to submit for a future issue...