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[Funk Thompson]

I see a few other folks here talking about some of the music I dig, so figured I'd find out how the hippies are

Who here digs the "jam band" scene?  Who are your favorite acts?

I go to a lot of the music festivals, just got back from Summercamp in Illinois and hitting Wakarusa next week, then Rothbury over the July 4th Weekend.

My favorite acts are, in no particular order:

Madahoochi - my very good friends and a very talented group of musicians.  These are the folks who really challenged me to actually think about music and meeting them changed me from an "anything but country" music lover to a straight up music snob

Mofro - Southern Rock meets Jam Band, very soulful tunes, love JJ Grey's gravelly cajun vocals.

Family Groove Company - A recent favorite, heavy on the groove, I think of them as MMW-lite sometimes.

Medeski, Martin, and Wood - more jazz than jam, they are still one of the top acts in the jam scene.  Prefer them without Scofield, but enjoyed seeing the MM-Scofield-W show as well.

Sugarfree Allstars - A twosome from Saint Louis, just drum and keys and occasionally bass.  Lots of fun.

56 Hope Road - out of Chicago.  Seeing them tonight with Family Groove Company, actually.

Everyone Orchestra - more a festival jam session than a band, they basically get random artists from bands at the festival and just jam it out.  Sometimes it is really bad, but when it is good it is amazing.

Backyard Tire Fire - I think these guys are more indie than jam, but I see them at all the jam festivals.  The main guy of the band is an amazing and prolific songwriter - I've seen them three times in the last year and there were only 2 or 3 songs he played all three times.  Half the songs they did at Summercamp were introduced with "this is a new song..."

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - about the craziest jazz I can handle.  Sometimes, they are really out there but when they get their groove going it is sick.

Speakeasy - out of Springfield, Illinois I believe. 

Bockman - Columbia, MO.  They changed formats a few years back and really aren't a jam band anymore, but still break out some of the old tunes and play the jam festivals.

The Station - one of the best saxomophone players I know of, they also have a few really funny songs.

Tiffany Christopher - she is a solo singer / songwriter who has this really interesting folk / hip-hop blend.  Not sure how to describe it other than to say I really like it.

Then I also dig Green Lemon, Tea Leaf Green, Moe, Umphrey's McGee, The Hue, Zmick, Dark Meat, Cosmopolitics, Ween (another not-really-jam-band-but-in-the-jam-scene act), Trey / Phish, Mifune, Kinetix, Brother Bagman, The Hipnecks, Joe Stickley and the Blue Print, Groovatron, Galactic, Particle...  to name a few.

I like a few of the bluegrass jam bands as well - Avett Brothers, Hot Buttered Rum, Cornmeal, Arkamo Rangers, Big Smith, etc.

[Jackie Blue]

Particle and Soundtribe Sector 9 are the only bands of that genre I can stand.

[KickThatBathProf]

I enjoy MMW from time to time.  But other than that...

[suitupletsgo]

why don't we just do a good jazz thread so we can talk about how awesome Soulive is?

[Funk Thompson]

why don't we just do a good jazz thread so we can talk about how awesome Soulive is?

Well, the "New Topic..." button is right there...

[BlahBlah]

Gov't Mule, Phil Lesh and Friends and Ween, if they count.

[Jackie Blue]

No.  Ween is not a jam band.  No.

Well, if you've seen them live, I can almost see the logic, but still... no.

[Funk Thompson]

No.  Ween is not a jam band.  No.

Well, if you've seen them live, I can almost see the logic, but still... no.

Ween mixes shit up and does a lot of "musical improv", while also emulating countless genres and sub-genres of music...  I think if anything, Ween is the pinnacle of what a Jam Band could be if they just stopped taking drugs and stuck to the song they are playing

(Trust me, I know that many jam bands just go off on these little journeys on stage and you ask "what the hell happened to the song they were playing?"  When done right, this is awesome.  When done wrong, it is awful.)

[SleeperCylon]

I can't get into jam bands.  I didn't go to Berklee.

[Funk Thompson]

I can't get into jam bands.  I didn't go to Berklee.

Neither did I...  gotta love how just saying "jam band" makes everyone think "dirty hippy"...  You also can't spell, it's Berkeley OH SNAP! 

I kinda figured that this forum, being largely focused on indie music (News Flash:  Most Jam Bands are independent, unsigned, or self-produced bands...), would be a little less into the stereotyping thing. 

Try to judge each band on its own merits, not on what label it is assigned or what genre it is.  Anyone who likes any type of music can probably find at least one "jam band" that they would like, because, again, most jam bands emulate or combine various other types of music.

If you like Jazz, Funk, Folk, Bluegrass, Blues, Prog-rock, Indie Rock, Fuzion, or Electronica...  you can find a jam band you'd like.

[De_El]

"dirty hippy"

Do they? Cus when I think jam bands, the cultural archetype I think of is the "bro." So jam bands are associated with hippies, then? I'm kind of curious how they came to be associated with douche-y frat types.

[Funk Thompson]

"dirty hippy"

Do they? Cus when I think jam bands, the cultural archetype I think of is the "bro." So jam bands are associated with hippies, then? I'm kind of curious how they came to be associated with douche-y frat types.

The only Jam Band I know of who seem to attract the frat type is O.A.R.

Most of the people at the music festivals I go to fall somewhere between "liberal arts major" and "wookie."    You do see some frat types at them, but that is mostly because the festivals are a huge party and the local colleges always supply a good portion of the crowd.

[De_El]

*nods* This is perfectly logical.

[Dimmukane]

Umphrey's McGee and Disco Biscuits are about as far as I go in terms of 'jam bands'.  Disco Biscuits aren't typically classified as a jam band, but that's what I think they are, anyway.  Just with more techno involved.

[Funk Thompson]

Umphrey's McGee and Disco Biscuits are about as far as I go in terms of 'jam bands'.  Disco Biscuits aren't typically classified as a jam band, but that's what I think they are, anyway.  Just with more techno involved.

Disco Biscuits, STS9, Galactic, Particle -- all the "electronic funk fusion" bands are pretty much kings of the jam scene right now.  Then on the other end of the spectrum you have Umphrey's or Moe who are more prog-rock-jam-band.  Though even they on occasion play with a bit of an electronica sound (Moe at least...)  Then you have the southern rock Jam Bands - Tea Leaf Green, Mofro, etc.  Then the bluegrass bands, Avett Brothers, Cornmeal.  The jazz - MMW, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey.  The funk, Greyboy Allstars / Tiny Universe / Karl Denson, Bela Fleck and the Fleck Tones (not a jam band, but hot damn can they jam and again a big player at the festivals), Ivan Nevilles Dumpstaphunk - but then funk has always had jamming, same with jazz.

Primus is now a huge name in the jam scene, for the last three years or so - starting when Les was in Oysterhead with Trey and Copeland, and now countless times where Les played with some of the big names at whatever festival he was at.

Deny it all you want but Ween, Wilco, and now probably even Weezer are being seen as part of the jam scene.

Hell Black Crowes have been embraced by the jam scene, and have been doing some improv / "jamming" at their shows too.

[Ballard]

You also can't spell, it's Berkeley OH SNAP! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berklee_College_of_Music

[Funk Thompson]

You also can't spell, it's Berkeley OH SNAP! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berklee_College_of_Music

Well I'll be damned.  Thought I had you

[Jackie Blue]

Deny it all you want but Ween, Wilco, and now probably even Weezer are being seen as part of the jam scene.

Hell Black Crowes have been embraced by the jam scene, and have been doing some improv / "jamming" at their shows too.

There's a difference between fans of a genre liking certain bands and those bands being in said genre.

I'm an indie rocker, basically, but I also "embrace" Public Enemy and Willie Nelson.  That doesn't mean those two have any connection to indie rock.

So while lots of jam band fans may also be fans of Wilco and Ween, that doesn't mean Ween and Wilco are jam bands, or that they should be recommended as such.

If we're going to use genres (particularly by creating a whole thread about one genre) then it's probably useful to keep them accurate and reasonably well-defined to avoid confusion.

[Funk Thompson]

True, though I was mostly just speaking about the festival scene in response to the comments about some folks associating jam bands with frat types.

"Jam Band" is a nebulous term.  I don't know how to define it other than bands that do a bit of musical improv and who play at music festivals.  Moe and Mofro sound nothing alike, but are both jam bands.

[trr005]

The only Jam Band that I listen to is The Black Keys...they are just awesome, and not just some of their stuff, all of their albums have something different to offer and what they offer is magic..give them a listen..

[Funk Thompson]

The only Jam Band that I listen to is The Black Keys...they are just awesome, and not just some of their stuff, all of their albums have something different to offer and what they offer is magic..give them a listen..

I'm quite looking forward to seeing them at Rothbury, have heard many good things.  So much that I'm trying to avoid hearing them before Rothbury, then go to their show and have my first impression be via their live set.

[Ballard]

I realize we've been over the genre thing already but on what fucking planet are The Black Keys a jam band? They're blues rock at it's finest..

[ALoveSupreme]

wouldn't "prog-rock-jam-band" be a bit of an oxymoronic term (the one that you used to describe bands like Umphree's McGee, etc)?  I've been under the impression that Prog Rock represents hard techincal musicalitiy with complex and usually adhered structures... whereas jam bands... jam out, and pretty much improvise. 

I only raise this because I worked the door at an Umphree's show and had to listen to a lot of Bros (yes bros... there were a lot of bros... bros enjoy jam bands) rave about the "Prog Rock" ability of the act... and it bothered me.

[Funk Thompson]

Well, I think Umphrey's does have both prog-rock and jam aspects.  Some of their songs do have this very complex, layered construction but then they know where they can tweak it and "play with it" to make each set different from the last.  I realize you can't really have it both ways, but it is the best way I know to describe it.  I'm no music major, so I calls it as I hears it, y'know?

[ALoveSupreme]

Maybe.  I can easily say I am not a fan, so I don't have much of an official viewpoint to say the least. 

However, after doing door duty was finished for this Umphree's show, a friend (who was also working the show) and I checked out the theater and it just sort of seemed like endless noodling prefaced by maybe a verse or something.

[Funk Thompson]

Maybe.  I can easily say I am not a fan, so I don't have much of an official viewpoint to say the least. 

However, after doing door duty was finished for this Umphree's show, a friend (who was also working the show) and I checked out the theater and it just sort of seemed like endless noodling prefaced by maybe a verse or something.

I won't defend Umphrey's "noodling" as I am not a huge fan, was just using them as a more well-known example - I enjoy seeing them but sometimes they just have these really long uninspired jams with occasional jarring changes.  For a jam to be good, in my opinion, it needs to....  go somewhere, and it needs to bring you along with it in a way that is entertaining.  Madahoochi is good at this, minimal repetition, the jam constantly progresses into defined segments of the song, lots of changing, layered instrumentals - improv with a plan.  Nuclear Man is probably the only song they have where they "noodle" too long, but partially because they are exploring a more electronic sound than their usual rock-n-roll feel.  Moe is another band that does a bit more with their jams.  The Hue is also a good example of jamming "done right."  Extended jams are much more tolerable (in my opinion) from more jazz or funk inspired acts.

If you don't like jam bands you don't like jam bands, but there is lots of good music in the scene if one is wont to look for it.

[Funk Thompson]

Here is an example of what I'm talking about - no noodling, no BS, just straight jamming rock and roll:  Under Her Sleeve

[dalconnsuch]

Particle and Soundtribe Sector 9 are the only bands of that genre I can stand.

very good very good

nothin is better than tripping balls and being at a soundtribe sector 9 show

particle i just now got intoo, need to keep listening, so far i like em too

[Funk Thompson]

i hate you so much

Who, me?

[muaddib]

I tend to prefer bands (both jam and non jam) of the electronica persuasion, so my favorite jam band is Particle, while I also like the Disco Biscuits and STS9. However, I'm also big fans of MMW and The Motet.

[PapitoSlapGuitar]

yeah! Jam Bands! hippies ftw!

no that's not sarcastic at all...

neither is that

anyway, my faves are Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (because i don't know how to accurately describe them any other way without using words like "Blu-Bop), Keller Willams, MMW, Umphrey's, Moe, Galactic, The Greyboy Allstars, Ozomatli, the Brothers Groove, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Innerphonic (if you like techno, they're an almost entirely techno jam band) and then classic associated acts, the Dead, the Allman Bros, i guess Phish to a lesser extent

and to respond to a general theme of this thread, the plague of bro-ism set upon the unsuspecting jam band scene i would guess is probably due to the relentless popularity of Dave Matthews (mind you i have nothing against him personally, his fans just tend to be pisses) and faux jammers like O.A.R. , not to mention the singer songwriter epidemic, but that's another thread altogether

[the-artful-dodger-rodger]

I'm more of a heavy metal/hard rock/jazz kind of guy

anyway, most of my faveorite have been mention already

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
Keller Willams
Umphrey's Mcgee
Moe
Galactic
The Greyboy Allstars
The Derek Trucks Band
Gov't Mule
Addison Groove Project
Dispatch
Garaj Mahal
Widespread Panic
Perpetual Groove
The String Cheese Incident

I think thats enough

[Funk Thompson]

The last two posts contain much awesomeness.

I was afraid of mentioning Bela Fleck as a Jamband as well.  That is one phenomenal collection of musicians and always an amazing show.

[godinpants]

The Necks.

They are pretty much one of my favourite bands right now.
A jazz trio from Sydney who basically get up on stage and improvise, according to their webpage they dont rehearse outside of playing shows.

And they sound awesome.
They've been doing shows with 2 sets lately, and I think the forced break they give themselves really helps, often they get caught in something that doesn't really go anywhere (like their album townsville, which is excellent, but not if you are in the mood for music that goes somewhere).

Also, i love MMW, Phish, Treys new solo stuff, C2B3 and the Frog Brigade. Unfortunately, my location prevents me from seeing any of these.

[Funk Thompson]

Also, i love MMW, Phish, Treys new solo stuff, C2B3 and the Frog Brigade. Unfortunately, my location prevents me from seeing any of these.

Pretty much anything Claypool puts together is bound to be freaky and made of industrial grade, concentrated awesome.  The C2B3 combination is the pinnacle of this so far. 

[PapitoSlapGuitar]

OH MY GOD Les Claypool i can't believe i forgot him, Bucket of Bernie Brains was in fact one of the finest concert experiences of my life, the pantheon of jam gods should strike me down immediately for my forgetfulness, i beseech you my meandering, cheeba smoking lords!

[ViolentDove]

The Necks.

They are pretty much one of my favourite bands right now.
A jazz trio from Sydney who basically get up on stage and improvise, according to their webpage they dont rehearse outside of playing shows.

And they sound awesome.
They've been doing shows with 2 sets lately, and I think the forced break they give themselves really helps, often they get caught in something that doesn't really go anywhere (like their album townsville, which is excellent, but not if you are in the mood for music that goes somewhere).

Also, i love MMW, Phish, Treys new solo stuff, C2B3 and the Frog Brigade. Unfortunately, my location prevents me from seeing any of these.

The Necks are pretty great. Hands down some of the best driving music ever, as well. Although, I don't really get this "Jam Band" genre. Is it bands that improvise around an un-improvised head or theme to tie the song together? Isn't that just jazz? Or maybe funk depending on the style? What?

[Funk Thompson]

Although, I don't really get this "Jam Band" genre. Is it bands that improvise around an un-improvised head or theme to tie the song together? Isn't that just jazz? Or maybe funk depending on the style? What?

That was kind of the point I was trying to make earlier, and why I pretty much always encase "Jam Band" with quotes.  It is a nebulous concept.

The worst - and most common - example of "Jam Bands" are bands that try and sound as much like the Grateful Dead as possible without being sued - long, meandering songs with no real motion to them and hippie self help lyrics sung badly.  The best are awesome jazz or funk inspired "fusion" acts that pull from many genres and pretty much make music on stage instead of just playing music on stage.

Any links to something by "The Necks" - I couldn't find anything in a brief search, and I'm lazy.