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South Regional Report
Edited by Mike Jones - lovetoy2@geocities.com and
Chip Schramm - hms3@compuserve.com

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School has started back for some, the unforgiving southern summer heat is fading and the fall tours are getting started! It's sad to see the summertime start to pass but the fall promises to bring us some great music in the very near future.

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King Konga
August 20, 1999 - Muther's, Jackson, MS

One such show I was fortunate to see at the end of last month. I saw recent Woodstock performers, King Konga, at a little club called Muther's in Jackson, Mississippi. If you haven't caught this band live yet, do yourself a favor and check out their tour dates at their website. The band is taper friendly and that's always a plus for those of us that enjoy jam bands.

I was in the middle of a horrible summer cold but I wasn't about to miss this show. A very large group of people was going to see them for the first time and I did not want to miss out on getting their reactions. The band played a great set with several highlights.

One highlight was seeing normally acoustic guitar clad singer Dan Hammond wielding an electric guitar. He had broken a string during one song toward the end of the set and played his back up during the next song. After that song was over, the first guitar wasn't quite ready so after hearing some pleas from the crowd, out came the electric guitar. Once he started really playing, I couldn't believe my eyes. I knew the guy could really play the acoustic well but when he picked up the electric, the wall of sound coming through his amp led me to believe he was being electrocuted. I was simply in awe! Hopefully, there will be more electric guitar performances by Dan in the future because the brief display I saw left a nice ring in my ears and a smile on my face.

Another amazing display of musicianship occurred between percussionist, Tony Lymon and drummer, Skeeto. They laid down some serious beats that rocked the walls of the room! The timing was impeccable and before they were done the entire room was clapping and sitting there in amazement at the display they were witnessing.

The band's recent release, Halo, only hints at the group's musical talents. Seeing them live is like seeing them at home. They are completely comfortable on stage and really seem to enjoy it and have fun and that attitude permeates the crowd. Not to mention that they are some of the nicest guys I've run across in the business.

This band has what it takes to make the big time. I just hope Lady Luck is kind enough to shine down on them soon.

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Edwin McCain w/ Beth Hart
August 31, 1999 - Rick's Cafe, Starkville, MS

Edwin has certainly come along way and his musical performance has evolved a lot since I first saw him many years ago. He has gone from plain acoustic to being backed by a full band; from being considered a jam artist to being considered almost adult contemporary courtesy of his last two singles. Regardless, the guy is still one of the best singer/songwriters of our time and he still puts on a great live show.

I had been looking forward to this show since I got a copy of his latest cd, Messenger. It also didn't hurt that I got to spent the evening with my arms around the girl that I am completely in love with.

I had heard that Edwin's opener, Beth Hart was a really good performer. I wasn't completely prepared for the almost anorexic Janis Joplin that I saw on stage. This girl was bad and she had the voice to back it up! I plan on buying her discs the next time I make it to the music store. She put on an amazing performance that left me wanting to hear more and made me really sorry that I was a little late getting there.

Edwin came out and played about 3/4 of his latest album. He started off telling stories about the songs and they were more than entertaining. I had heard some of them before at previous shows but Edwin really knows how to tell a story and never really tells it the same way twice. He also played some old favorites such as Solitude and by continuous crowd request, Sorry To A Friend. The highlight of the evening was when Beth Hart came back out to sing on a song from Messenger, called Sign On The Door. The two traded vocals and then Edwin let Beth go to town with it and she wailed. She pushed herself to the limits with her voice for this song and she got a nice round of applause in approval from the crowd.

This was a great performance by Edwin, probably heightened by the fact that a lot of his songs are about relationships and I just happened to be there with the girl all my dreams are made of. It certainly was a night to remember.

I want to thank Rick for bring such great music to his club. Starkville isn't exactly on most performers traveling plans as a hot spot but Rick seems to bring high quality acts in all the time and that requires a great amount of effort and endless hours of work. I hope the students in Starkville appreciate what this man does for them.

News on Nashville's - Big Jim Slade

We just found out that Big Jim Slade: "Plant Life is in the TOP 100 in sales (out of 1200 titles) at CD Baby! Just go to http://cdbaby.com/bigjim to find out how you can purchase this cd via credit card.

Please continue to check out www.bigjimslade.com for show updates. BJS is getting some long overdue regional exposure. On Saturday, September 25th, BJS will be playing with Soulkiss, www.soulkiss.com at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, Missouri. The next show in Nashville will be on Friday, September 17th at Springwater with Taildragger.

The recording sessions have come to an end for Big Jim Slade's second album. The next steps are to mix, master and burn the cd's. We will definitely keep you posted on any updates. If everything goes well, we hope to have the cd available by the end of 1999!!!

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Phish
July 1, 1999 - First American Music Center, Antioch, TN

by Tim Hanby

Its been a long time since the likes of Phish have graced Nashville with their music. In a town known for its music and talented musicians, about the only thing that could have stopped this show would be weather. Unfortunately this turned out to be the case but not before Vermont’s finest etched another scorching show into the books with a little help from some friends. The Lot scene was jumping with good vibes and bongos echoing across the volunteer countryside. Sunny skies heated the air as folks mingled and talked about the previous nights tour opener in Kansas. I met Mike Gordon in the lot and asked him about his new movie he has been working on. He told me its really "weird" and that he was still working on the soundtrack. I wished him well and headed for the gates to claim my spot. To my surprise I noticed that the stage setup had been changed. Jon Fishman's drum set was now setup in the center of the stage instead of the usual far right setup and Mike Gordon had swapped with Trey Anastasio.

Showtime started at 8:00 o'clock with the familiar riff of Punch You In The Eye (PYITE). The only glitch here was that they had forgot to turn the boy's mics on so the first line showed Trey moving his lips with nothing coming out. They recovered well and threw a curve ball with the next tune Billy Breathes. An unusual spot for this tune being that it is very mellow but I thought keeping the fans guessing is what these guys do best. This song breathed deep with emotion and inspiration as the sun set in the foreground. Next up was a song inspired by a dream lyricist Tom Marshall had one night about an ugly pig , Guyute. It's a long song with a huge composed piece in the middle that almost makes you feel like your dreaming. As we awoke to the next song, Trey expressed his fondness for Nashville and all its talented musicians and that he had one special person he wanted to play with. Out walked Jerry Douglas with his Dobro in hand and a scream of joy from the crowd knowing good and well that a legend had just stepped onto the stage. The opening chords to Wolfman's Brother rang out and they were off and running. A very special version of this song was laid out in front of Nashville as Douglas whipped his dobro into action and added that special touch to the song that found itself deep into jamming potential after about 5 minutes. So Trey & Jerry swapped licks and got into a nice groove but the best was yet to come. For the rest of the set, Phish brought out some more guest to help get the show moving into a country direction. Ronnie McCoury on Mandolin and Tim O'Brien on fiddle. They tore into "Beauty of My Dreams" and "Doin' My Time" with O'Brien on vocals. "Roggae" off the Story of the Ghost CD proved to be the most adventuresome tune of the night combining heavy guitar licks from Anastasio along with the soft melodies of the mandolin and fiddle. They did not stray from jamming and improvising a beautiful jam on the end of the song. Next they flew through "Water in the Sky" and brought out a new tune from Trey's solo acoustic tour "Get Back on the Train." This adventurous tune was simply made to have a fiddle playing in the background and with the help of the other Phish members, added a little funk and spunk that was missing from the solo versions. The set closer found another special guest waltzing onto the packed stage. None other than Gary "El Buho" Gazaway from the Giant Country Horns helped move along "Poorheart," a song written about Mike Gordon's four track recorder that was stolen from him in college. So with 8 fine musicians on the stage, I stood there absorbing the energy and sound as each person took a solo with his instrument. Probably the best version of this little ditty ever laid down.

Intermission was welcomed as a breather for a solid first set. As the second set started with heavy feedback and noise, I new we were about to see the other side of Phish. The spotlight shot down on Mike Gordon as he ripped into the bass line to "Down with Disease." The crowd welcomed this super heavy and fast version of this song to get back into the groove. They stretched this song out to about 13 minutes and summoned some powerful energy as lightning bolts started flashing across the sky. "Prince Caspian" was a nice breather as Trey's vocals shined and pushed this song into an incredible peaking jam before Page McConnell wound it down with a piano solo and transitioned right into "You Enjoy Myself." This epic song was played to perfection and played to the cheers of the crowd taunting the electric sky. Burst of lightning seemed to help Phish take it up a notch and stretch the song to about 20 minutes with a short bass solo by Gordon and vocal jam to ice the whole thing. By this point in time the bottom had fallen out of the sky and the storm had blown up into something dangerous. The band left the stage and came back out to play a ripping "Character Zero" to a drenched crowd. Wind blew rain into the pavilion as the crew scrambled to cover up the equipment. Wet but not disappointed, I made my way onto the lot and watched mother nature give a fantastic light show of her own and made my way to Atlanta, GA.

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Yamagata "Eveland"

by Bob Lykos

One of the main complaints heard from many fans concerning the performance of improvised music is that it frequently goes nowhere. "Those guys are simply aimless, they have no direction." While this is unfortunately true in some cases in which the artists strive for an all-out sonic attack brimming with raging solos verging on the edge of showboating, it is not a comment you will hear about the Memphis based band, Yamagata. This is not to say that their music lacks the fire necessary to get a crowd moving, for just the opposite is true. Instead of falling into the slash and burn trap from which many never return, soloing their way into oblivion, Yamagata's debut album "Eveland" establishes its presence in quite a different manner.

Fronting only three members on this all original, mostly instrumental album (in addition to a handful of special guests from the Memphis community,) Yamagata is deepened by the augmentation of horns and keys featured prominently throughout. The band's background in jazz, funk, and guitar rock is readily apparent, as they focus more on the totality of the music than on the contributions of individuals. The interplay between the instruments is spirited and enthused, with guitarist Joe Austin providing ample, and sometimes more subtle rhythms. This is blended with the melodic contributions of saxophonists Jeff Griffith and Jeff Huddleston as well as trumpet player Steve Dolan and trombonist Prentice Wulff-Woesten from Memphis contemporaries Freeworld. The undercurrents from bassist Andrew Neely and drummer Jimm Britt lend solid backing to the arrangements as they lock into grooves reminiscent of Medeski, Martin, and Wood, creating a blueprint for lengthy in-concert jams. The contributions of organist and keyboardist Ross Rice further enhance the music's thick tone, furnishing complimentary fills and accentuations with a jazzy vibe.

With an extensive list of influences ranging from Miles Davis to Steely Dan to the Beastie Boys, it is no shock that the music on this disc in some manners eludes categorization within the jazz, rock, or funk idioms, because at times it is only one, or all three simultaneously. "Eveland"'s slower numbers such as Fearing the Answer and Carnival are where the horns exploit their melodic presence to the greatest effect, furthering the sound not with heavy punctuation, but rather with simple, floating lines from which the other band members draw. The inclusion of vocalist Kelly Hurt on "Parachute Day," the album's only non-instrumental track, is also its softest, departing slightly from the heavier tone dominating the remainder of the songs. The compositions within the rock-and-roll vein are the ones that carry the album, however. Mud, Dancing Goats, and Referred Pain, highlighting Yamagata's jamming capabilities in full bloom, are solid examples of the extent of their experimentation, marked by Austin's heavy guitar and the rhythm section's focused propulsiveness. The combination of styles on this eclectic disc results in music sometimes tangential to Yamagata's strength, which is jamming, up-tempo instrumentals, but even the low-key songs exhibit a definite indebtedness to their precursors in the jazz and rock communities, by turns extending upon and falling back on their achievements.

As the first recorded effort for a band that has only been in existence for about two years, much of "Eveland" is a step in the right direction toward the creation of a distinctive sound which they can employ in the future. Over a year has passed since the album's recording, and there is no doubt that the group's tone and musicianship have progressed quite a bit since that date, but as a milestone of where they were then, "Eveland" represents the presence of a solid, yet still evolving band developing their own distinguished character.

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News on Athens, Georgia's Charlie Mars Band

To say the least we're excited about getting back out on the road after a long summer break. To say it was a break isn't exactly the truth. For two consecutive months we recorded album number three in John Keane Studios. It will be in stores October 10th, and pre-ordering has begun. The album will consist of 11 tracks and be titled "The End of Romance." We give special thanks to John Keane and guest musician/singer Vic Chesnutt for their many contributions.