From The Editor
I first saw Blues Traveler in the fall of 1989. They were playing
in the Columbia University bar, and they sold it out (maybe 125 people
could fit in there). These were exciting days for
the band. There was a crackle of energy in their music as well as the
scene and I was hooked. This was right around the time
that the Wetlands opened and I would check them out there pretty regularly
along with occasional Columbia dates (I recall a spring weekend date with
Sun Ra and an outdoor show over at Barnard). I continued seeing them when
I returned to Boston the next year. In the spring of 1991 I brought our
venue of the month editor, David "Manny, 3 Tires Are Plenty" Saslavsky
to his first Traveler show at the old Nightstage in Cambridge (in fact the
ticket stub from that show appears on the cover of my Jam bands book). As
I recall it was the "Gloria" that really blew him away that night.
As a result, it was with great sadness that I learned of the
passing of Bob Sheehan late last month. I will always recall him as a very
approachable guy (about ten years ago I saw a friend of mine bum one
too many cigarettes off him at a Wetlands show and he was cordial even if
he did think my friend was something of an obnoxious, drunken doof- albeit
an obnoxious drunken doof who loved Blues Traveler and was genuinely
excited to be rapping with the band's bass player). I don't know what the
future will hold for the group but I do think it's worth it to go back and
give them a listen especially if you haven't done so recently. Check out
the "Live From The Fall" album or a show you have sitting on the
shelf- this is where you could really get a sense of what Sheehan
contributed to the band, as well as the group's collective flair for
exploration (their segues in particular have always tended to draw me in).
Quality entertainment. He will be missed.
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