Jam band - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ambiguity

By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

band Talking Heads

Talking Heads

Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...

after Phish performed the cover of Remain In Light
Remain in Light
Remain in Light is the fourth studio album by American New Wave band Talking Heads, released on 8 October 1980 on Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in the Bahamas and the United States between July and August 1980 and was produced by the quartet's long-time collaborator...

. A broad sense of the term also became used retroactively in jam band circles for bands such as Cream

Cream (band)

Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...

who for decades were categorized as a "power-trio" and "psychedelic rock" and who when active were largely unrelated to the Grateful Dead. In his October 2000 column on the subject for jambands.com, Dan Greenhaus attempted to explain the evolution of a jamband as such:

"At this point, what you sing about, what instruments you play, how often you tour and how old you are has become virtually irrelevant. At this point, one thing is left and, ironically, after all these years, it’s the single most important place one should focus on; the approach to the music. And the jamband or improvisational umbrella, essentially nothing more than a broad label for a diverse array of bands, is open wide enough to shelter several different types of bands, whether you are The Dave Matthews Band or RAQ."

The Jammy Awards

Jammys

The Jammy Award are an awards show for bands typically called jam bands and other artists associated with live, improvisational music. The Jammys are sponsored by Relix magazine, Jambands.com, and promoter Peter Shapiro...

have had members of non-jamming bands which were founded in the 1970s and were unrelated to the Grateful Dead perform at their show such as New Wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

The B-52's

The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...

. The Jammys have also awarded musicians from prior decades such as Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

Debatability

Some artists such as The Derek Trucks Band

The Derek Trucks Band

The Derek Trucks Band has been called a "group of musicians that share a passion for improvisation and musical exploration" by a reviewer at Allmusic....

are known for resisting the jam band label. Dave Schools

Dave Schools

Dave Schools aka "Dave Smalls", is the bassist for the band Widespread Panic , and hails from Richmond, Virginia. In addition to playing with Panic, he has had numerous side projects with Jerry Joseph, The Stockholm Syndrome, J Mascis and the Fog, Slang, and Acetate...

of Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring...

said in an interview, "We want to shake free of that name, jam band. The jam band thing used to be The Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...

bands. We shook free of that as hard as we could back in 1989. Then Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler is a rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock...

came on the scene. All together, we created the H.O.R.D.E.

H.O.R.D.E.

Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere or H.O.R.D.E. Festival was a touring summer rock music festival originated by the musical group Blues Traveler in 1992. In addition to travelling headliners, the festival gave exposure to bands, charities, and organizations from the local area of the...

tour, which focused a lot of attention on jam bands. Then someone coined the term jam bands. I'd rather just be called retro. When you pigeonhole something, you limit its ability to grow and change." An example of a prior-era band that gained the label "jam band" through an active affiliation with the 1990s jam band culture is The Allman Brothers Band

The Allman Brothers Band

The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...

. However, Gregg Allman

Gregg Allman

Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...

has been quoted as recently as 2003 by his fellow band member Butch Trucks in stating that rather than being a jam band The Allman Brothers are "a band that jams". Although Trucks suggests that this is only a difference of semantics the term has a recent history for which it is used exclusively. An example of this discernment is the acceptance of Les Claypool

Les Claypool

Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...

as jam band in the year 2000. Though famed from an entire decade with Primus

Primus (band)

Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...

(a band that jams) and solo works, it was in creating the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade

Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade

Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade is one of many musical projects involving Primus bassist Les Claypool. The original band was formed in summer 2000 and consisted of: Les Claypool , Todd Huth , Jay Lane , Jeff Chimenti , Skerik , and Eenor...

with members of Ratdog

Ratdog

RatDog , is an American rock band. The group began as a side project for Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir and bassist Rob Wasserman. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in December 1995, following the death of Jerry Garcia on August 9, 1995, RatDog became Bob Weir's primary band...

and releasing Live Frogs Set 1

Live Frogs Set 1

Live Frogs Set 1 is a live album by Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, released by Prawn Song Records on 10 April 2001. It chronicles the first part of the 8 October 2000 show the Frog Brigade played at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, the second part released as...

that as Budnick has stated "marked [Claypool's] entry into [the jamband] world." Budnick has been both editor in chief of Jambands.com and senior editor of Relix Magazine. He wrote Jam Bands (1998, ECW Press) and then an updated book Jambands (Backbeat Books, 2003) and is typically credited for "popularizing" the term "jam band".

1960s–mid 1980s and the rise of the Grateful Dead

The band that set the template for jam bands was the Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

, led by legendary San Francisco-based guitarist Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia

Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...

. Drawing some inspiration from Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

's short-lived supergroup Cream

Cream (band)

Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...

, the Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

specialized in improvisational jamming. Though the band never enjoyed heavy radio airplay or television support, the band developed a rich catalogue of songs to compliment their experimental jam sequences. The Grateful Dead continued to tour regularly, aside from a hiatus lasting from 1974-1976.

They ultimately built a gigantic fanbase by giving fans a different experience every night. This included playing long, two-set shows featuring unique setlists, evolving songs, creative segues, and, of course, lengthy jams. Their fanbase of "Deadheads" responded by following the band to multiple shows and developing a type of hippy subculture, replete with a black market of concert-related products. The eventual heirs to this "Shakedown Street" fan culture, Phish

Phish

Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...

, formed in 1983, at the University of Vermont in Burlington. They solidified their lineup in 1985, and began their career with a few Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

songs in their repertoire.

Mid-1980s–1990

The Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

continued to grow their fanbase to nearly unmanagable levels in the second half of the 1980s. The party atmosphere of Grateful Dead shows drew in a new generation of fans, especially after they released "Touch of Grey

Touch of Grey

"Touch of Grey" is a 1987 single by the Grateful Dead, and is the band's biggest commercial hit. The song is known for its refrain "I will get by / I will survive". It combines non sequitur lyrics with a pop tempo. The music was written by Jerry Garcia, and the words are by Robert Hunter...

" which surprisingly became a hit song on MTV in 1987. The Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

eventually began playing football stadiums, with fans turning parking lots into campgrounds.

In the mid-1980s the bands Phish

Phish

, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians is an alternative rock jam band that originated in Texas in the mid-1980s. The band is best known for their 1988 hit "What I Am" from the album Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars. Their music contains elements of rock, folk, blues, and jazz...

, Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler

, Ozric Tentacles

Ozric Tentacles

Ozric Tentacles are an instrumental rock band from Somerset, England, whose music can loosely be described as psychedelic or space rock. Formed in 1983, the band has released 28 albums as of 2011, and become a cottage industry selling over a million albums worldwide despite never having major...

, Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic

, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is a primarily instrumental group from the United States, that draws equally on bluegrass, fusion and jazz, sometimes dubbed "blu-bop". The band formed in 1988, initially to perform once on the PBS series Lonesome Pine Specials. The Flecktones have toured extensively...

, Spin Doctors

Spin Doctors

Spin Doctors is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits, "Two Princes," and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong," which peaked the Billboard Hot 100 charts at #7 & #17 respectively....

, and Aquarium Rescue Unit

Aquarium Rescue Unit

Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit is an experimental rock group originally founded by Col. Bruce Hampton. The band gained popularity in the Atlanta club scene in the early 1990s and went on to tour with the first H.O.R.D.E. Tour. During the initial years, the band was composed of...

, began touring and playing jam band-style concerts. These groups' fame increased in the early 1990s. Widespread Panic began forming in Athens, GA when Michael Houser and John Bell began playing together. In 1986, after Todd Nance and Dave Schools joined the band, they played their first show as "Widespread Panic." Bands such as Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler

, and the Spin Doctors

Spin Doctors

also came from the same scene, playing jam-friendly venues and festivals. In some cases, their improvisations have taken a backseat to more polished material, which may be due to their crossover commercial successes, MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

videos, and mainstream radio airplay. Most notable in pre-jam band history was the obvious influence of the Grateful Dead. By the end of the decade, Phish had signed a recording contract with Elektra Records

Elektra Records

Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....

, and transformed from a New England/Northeast-based band into a national touring band (see: Colorado '88
Colorado '88
Colorado '88 is a 3-CD live album from the rock band Phish, recorded over several nights in summer 1988. Despite having only traveled outside Vermont occasionally, in the New England college and club circuit, Phish embarked on a tour in the west. The band played seven shows in ten days to tiny...

). While Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic

may not have the commercial success,"With its fusion of southern rock, jazz, and blues, Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic

has earned renown as one of America's best live bands. They have often appeared in Pollstar

Pollstar

Pollstar is a concert tour industry's leading trade publication that gets its information primarily from the agents, managers and promoters who are producing concerts. Founded in 1981, it is based in Fresno, California and has an office in London with correspondents in six countries. Pollstar is...

's "Concert Pulse" chart of the top fifty bands on the road, and they have performed more than 150 live dates a year."

Early 1990s–1995

In the early 1990s a new generation of bands was spurred on by the Grateful Dead's touring and the increased exposure of The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...

, Phish, Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic

and Aquarium Rescue Unit. Phish was building a large fan base at the time and innovating new concepts into their shows. This, combined with the early inception of the Internet in 1991, gave a way for fans to discuss the bands and their performances. Phish, along with the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and even The Beatles, were one of their first bands to have a Usenet

Usenet

Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...

newsgroup. Phish, in awareness of this started trying out new theatrics at shows, such as the Big Ball Jam from 1992–1994, the Secret Language created in 1992 (03/06/92 - Portsmouth, NH), and the Audience Chess match, that lasted the entire 1995 tour. A rapidly expanding concert-going market in the early 1990s saw Phish playing mid-sized amphitheaters already in 1993 and 1994, with the band really starting to build momentum. The band also earned chances to play at various large venues, such as Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

, by 1994's end. Many new bands were formed in the blooming scene. These were the first new bands to actually be called "jam bands", including ekoostik hookah

Ekoostik Hookah

əkoostik hookah is a rock band from Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1991, they host a biannual music festival called Hookahville, typically located at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio or at Frontier Ranch in Kirkersville, Ohio. The spring Hookahville happens over Memorial Day weekend, and in fall, over...

, Dispatch

Dispatch (band)

Dispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston ....

, Gov't Mule

Gov't Mule

Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...

, One-Eyed Jack, Leftover Salmon

Leftover Salmon

Leftover Salmon is a jam band from Boulder, Colorado, formed in 1989. Their unique blend of bluegrass, rock, country, and Cajun/Zydeco, which the band calls "Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass", has found favor with the jam band scene...

, Jambay, moe.

Moe.

moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....

, Rusted Root

Rusted Root

Rusted Root is a band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania known for their unique fusion of acoustic, rock, world and other styles of music, with a strong percussion section that draws from African, Latin American, Native American, and Indian influences...

and The String Cheese Incident. During the summer of 1995, Grateful Dead guitarist and frontman Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia

Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...

died, thereby ending the group's thirty years of activity. The surviving members of the Grateful Dead created a band called The Other Ones

The Other Ones

The Other Ones was an American rock band formed in 1998 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart, along with part-time Grateful Dead collaborator Bruce Hornsby. In 2000, Bill Kreutzmann, another Grateful Dead alumnus, joined the group, while Phil Lesh dropped out. In...

(they used the name "The Dead

The Dead (band)

The Dead is an American rock band composed of some of the former members of the Grateful Dead.After the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann formed a band called The Other Ones. They performed concert tours in 1998 , 2000 , and 2002, and released one...

" for some tours in the following decade). During the same period, Phish rose to prominence, and bands such as String Cheese Incident and Blues Traveler became successful. Many stranded Deadheads moved over to Phish scene, who was at the time the top touring jam band behind the Grateful Dead. Phish began a new chapter in their career after the demise of the Grateful Dead, as the band would see its popularity skyrocket, and hence be recognized mainstream, over the next five years.

1995–2004 and the rise of Phish and music festivals

Phish's popularity exploded after the death of Jerry Garcia, which ended the Grateful Dead. In spite of being ignored by most media, Phish drew large crowds to amphitheaters and arenas throughout the late 1990s. During this period, the jam scene gained more recognition as a distinct musical genre, with Phish identified as the obvious leaders. After a short hiatus from 2000–2002, Phish resumed a heavy touring schedule in 2003. By 2004, a variety of issues led lead singer/guitarist Trey Anastasio to break up the band.

Phish held their first major music festival on August 16 and 17 1996 in Plattsburgh, NY, which drew 70,000 fans, and featured seven sets of music. This became the largest concert of the year, and Phish followed that up with similarly-sized festivals in the Northeast in 1997, 1998, and 1999. On December 30, 1999 through January 1, 2000, Phish held another enormous festival named "Big Cypress" in southern Florida, which concluded with an eight-hour set to begin the new millennium. Phish's final shows before their breakup in 2004 were at the Coventry festival in Vermont. As of 2011, Phish has played a total of nine multi-day camping festivals. The success of these festivals led other bands to start their own festivals, notably the Disco Biscuits, who held their first Camp Bisco in 1999, and moe., which began its annual moe.down festivals in 2000.

A more significant consequence of Phish's reinvention of large-scale festivals can be seen founding of the Bonnaroo festival in 2002. This multi-band, multi-day festival in Manchester, Tennessee, which annually draws close to 100,000 music fans, started as a jam band-focused festival. Over time, bands from many genres have performed at Bonnaroo, but the similarities to Phish's festivals are still apparent. Other music festivals have sprung up all over the country, and this has become an important part of the music industry, as bands seek ways to compensate for the deteriorating compact disc market.

2004–present

After Coventry, many Phish fans found themselves in a predicament similar to that Deadheads faced almost a decade previously. With no more Phish to follow around, the hundreds of thousands of Phish fans began investing time in the other top jam band acts of the day. This gave newer bands such as STS9

Sound Tribe Sector 9

Sound Tribe Sector 9 is an instrumental band known for their live performances. The band’s genre-blending sound is based heavily on instrumental rock and electronic music crossed with elements of funk, jazz, drum and bass, psychedelia, and hip hop...

, Disco Biscuits

Disco Biscuits

The Disco Biscuits are a band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania known for their live performances and light shows. The band consists of Allen Aucoin , Marc Brownstein , Jon Gutwillig , and Aron Magner ....

, and Umphrey's McGee

Umphrey's McGee

Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....

a greater opportunity to grow their fanbase. These bands have steadily increased their popularity, but so far, no jam band has reached Phish's attendance levels. It should be noted that Phish never reached the Grateful Dead's peak attendance levels, so the fragmentation of the jam band scene has been a long term trend. Phish announced on October 1, 2008 that they would return to the stage in March 2009 at Hampton Coliseum

Hampton Coliseum

The Hampton Coliseum is a multi-use cultural, entertainment and sports arena in Hampton, Virginia. Construction on the arena began on May 24, 1968 and the venue opened in 1970 as the first large multi-purpose arena in the Hampton Roads region and the state of Virginia, opening a year prior to...

.

Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic

became the top jam band (by attendance) once Phish broke up in 2004. Their southern jam style brings out large crowds to amphitheaters and large indoor venues. Bringing in Jimmy Herring

Jimmy Herring

Jimmy Herring is an American guitarist who is currently the lead guitarist in the band Widespread Panic. Herring is a founding member of Aquarium Rescue Unit and Jazz is Dead...

in 2006, a virtuoso jam band veteran guitarist, added a fresh edge to their huge catalogue of songs

moe.

Moe.

moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....

has maintained a tightly-knit fanbase through this period. Their enduring popularity is supported by steady touring, including frequent festival appearances. String Cheese Incident

String Cheese Incident

The String Cheese Incident is a band from Crested Butte and Telluride, Colorado formed in 1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang , Michael Travis , Bill Nershi , Kyle Hollingsworth , and Keith Moseley...

has mixed bluegrass and electronic sounds to build a devoted fanbase as well. SCI has significantly reduced their touring schedule in recent years, giving each of their shows a special reunion vibe.

Many of today's jam bands have brought widely varied genres into the scene. A jam band festival may include bands with electronic

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

, folk rock

Folk rock

Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

, blues-rock

Blues-rock

Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...

, jazz fusion

Jazz fusion

Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...

, psychedelic rock

Psychedelic rock

Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...

, southern rock

Southern rock

Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...

, progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

, acid jazz

Acid jazz

Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...

, hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

, hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

, and bluegrass

Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

sounds. The electronic trend has been led by such bands as The Disco Biscuits, Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9)

Sound Tribe Sector 9

, Lotus

Lotus (rock band)

Lotus is an instrumental electronic jam band formed in Indiana in 1999 now based in Philadelphia, PA and Denver, CO.-History:Formed at Goshen College in Indiana in 1999, and after a few years of playing what they describe as "funk/jam music", Lotus recruited percussionist Chuck Morris in 2001 and...

, EOTO

EOTO

-Description:The band's music is created live and without prerecorded loops.The band formed in 2006 as a side project of The String Cheese Incident incorporating looper pedals, like Echoplex and the DJ program Ableton. According to one reviewer, the duo sets their live instruments free and take on...

, and The New Deal. Bands like moe.

Moe.

moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....

, Umphrey's McGee

Umphrey's McGee

Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....

, Assembly of Dust

Assembly of Dust

Assembly of Dust is a rock band formed in 2002 by former Strangefolk frontman Reid Genauer. Genauer formed the band while enrolled in the MBA program at Cornell University...

, The Heavy Pets

The Heavy Pets

The Heavy Pets are an American jam band based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida who perform rhythm and blues, jazz-funk and reggae fusion with rock and roll. Officially formed in 2005, they appear regularly at music festivals such as Bonnaroo, Langerado, the New Orleans Backbeat Jazzfest, Wakarusa Music...

, and The Breakfast

The Breakfast

The Breakfast is an American jam band known for its style of progressive and funk rock.-History:The band was formed in East Haven, Connecticut in 1998 with the original lineup consisting of guitarist Tim Palmieri, bassist Ron Spears, drummer Adrian Tramontano, and keyboardist Jordan Giangreco...

have carried on the classic rock sound mixed with exploratory jams. Members of the Grateful Dead have continued touring in many different configurations as The Dead

The Dead (band)

, Bob Weir & Ratdog

Ratdog

, Phil Lesh and Friends

Phil Lesh and Friends

Phil Lesh and Friends is an American rock band formed and led by Phil Lesh, former bassist of the Grateful Dead.Phil & Friends is not a traditional group in that several different lineups of musicians have played under the name, including groups featuring members of Phish, Little Feat, and the Zen...

, 7 Walkers

7 Walkers

7 Walkers are an American rock band featuring former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann and guitarist Papa Mali-History:The band formed in 2009 out of informal collaborations between Bill Kreutzmann and Papa Mali. Kreutzmann had been featured as a special guest at several of Mali's concerts...

, and Furthur

Furthur (band)

Furthur is a rock band founded in 2009 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. The original lineup also included John Kadlecik of the Dark Star Orchestra on lead guitar, Jeff Chimenti of RatDog on keyboards, Jay Lane of RatDog on percussion, and Joe Russo of the Benevento/Russo Duo...

Jam scene

The contemporary jam scene has grown to encompass bands from a great diversity of musical genres. A 2000-era genre of jam-band music uses live improvisation that mimics the sounds of DJs and electronica

Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

musicians and has been dubbed "trancefusion" (a fusion between trance music

Trance music

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...

and rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

). Progressive bluegrass

Progressive bluegrass

Progressive bluegrass is one of two major subgenres of bluegrass music. It is also known as newgrass, a term attributed to New Grass Revival member Ebo Walker. Musicians and bands John Hartford, New Grass Revival, J.D. Crowe and the New South, The Dillards, Boone Creek, Country Gazette, and the...

and progressive rock

Progressive rock

are also quite popular among fans of jam bands .

Hundreds of jam-based festivals and concerts are held throughout the United States every year. The Bonnaroo Music Festival

Bonnaroo Music Festival

The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011...

, held each June in Tennessee continues to provide a highly visible forum for jam acts, even though this festival has brought in many different genres over its decade-plus history. The All Good Music Festival

All Good Music Festival

The All Good Music Festival and Camp Out is a weekend-long event held annually in July. Since its inception in 1997, it has been held at venues along the Mid-Atlantic, including Masontown, West Virginia and locations in Maryland and Virginia...

, is one of the largest festivals with a pure jam band focus. This festival which began in 1997, and is currently held at Marvin's Mountaintop, in West Virginia. Other festivals that have been held in recent years with heavy jam influence include Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival

Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival

Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival is a four-day music festival held in early June at Mulberry Mountain near Ozark, Arkansas. The festival has been held annually since 2004....

, Rothbury Festival, Langerado

Langerado

Langerado Music Festival is an annual music festival, taking place in early spring in South Florida, first organized in 2003 by Ethan Schwartz and Mark Brown. In 2008 the festival was held at the Seminole Big Cypress Indian Reservation in the Everglades...

, Mountain Jam (festival)

Mountain Jam (festival)

Mountain Jam is a three-day music festival in upstate New York, held at the world class Hunter Mountain ski resort the weekend after Memorial Day. In its short history, Mountain Jam has become one of the top music festivals in the U.S. and the premier festival in the Northeast. Rolling Stone...

, and Summer Camp Music Festival

Summer Camp Music Festival

Summer Camp Music Festival is a jam music festival held each Memorial Day weekend at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Illinois. Developed by concert producer Ian Goldberg of Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment, the first year of the festival was 2001...

Taping

Jam bands often allow their fans to make tapes or recordings of their live shows, a practice which many other musical genres call "illegal bootlegging". The Grateful Dead encouraged this practice, which helped to create a thriving scene around the collecting and trading of recordings of Grateful Dead live performances. Most of the live shows on the Grateful Dead's 30 years of touring were recorded. It was probably the trading of recordings of Grateful Dead shows which built the band's fan base. Starting in 1984, the band recognized the fact that people were already "unofficially" taping their shows, so they started to sell taper

Taper (concert)

A Taper is a person who records musical events often from standing microphones in the audience for the benefit of the musical group's fanbase. Such taping was popularized in the late 1960s and early 1970s by fans of the Grateful Dead. Audio recording was allowed at shows and fans would share their...

tickets for a taper's section which allowed the tapers to bring their own microphones and tape decks to record with, as well as wrangle the tapers into one area of the venue so to keep them from interfering with other concertgoers. This type of encouragement has spread to nearly all of the jam bands. Some jam band enthusiasts argue that if a band does not allow fans to tape their live shows, this band is not actually a jam band in the Grateful Dead tradition.

Fans trade recordings and collect recordings of different live shows because improvisational jam bands play their songs differently at each performance and generally mix up their set lists so as to encourage fans to see them on multiple nights. Fans collect various versions of their favorite songs and actively debate which is the "best version" of any particular song, keeping lists of notable versions of those songs. They keep track of how many times a specific song has been played and note the frequency of performances of certain songs, and note the relative rarity or commonality of its performance during certain years. This increases the momentousness of a rare song being dusted off and played live, or played for the first time. Some bands play with this phenomenon by throwing short little "tease

Teasing

Teasing is a word with many meanings. In human interactions, teasing comes in two major forms, playful and hurtful. When teasing is playful and friendly, and especially when it is reciprocal, teasing can be regarded as flirting. People may be teased on such matters as their appearance, weight,...

s" into their sets. Playing, for example, a few bars of a famous cover song or hinting at a popular jam and then either never getting around to playing the song, or coming back to it after an extended jam. The use of segue

Segue

A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...

s to blend strings of songs together is another mark of a jam band, and one which makes for treasured tapes.

Music downloading

By the 2000s, as internet downloading of MP3 music files became common, downloading of jam band songs became an extension of the cassette taping trend. Archived jam band downloads are available at various websites, the most prominent ones being etree

Etree

etree, or electronic tree, is a music community created in the summer of 1998 for the online trading of live concerts. etree pioneered the standards for distributing lossless audio on the net and only permits its users to distribute the music of artists that allow the free taping and trading of...

and the Live Music Archive

Live Music Archive

The Live Music Archive , part of the Internet Archive, is a collection of over 60,000 concert recordings in lossless audio formats. The website is known for its extensive collection of Grateful Dead recordings.-History:...

, which is part of the Internet Archive

Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...

.

More bands have been distributing their latest shows online. Bands such as Phish

Phish

, Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic

, The String Cheese Incident, Gov't Mule

Gov't Mule

Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...

, ekoostik hookah

Ekoostik Hookah

, Umphrey's McGee

Umphrey's McGee

Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....

, Lotus

Lotus (rock band)

and The Disco Biscuits have been offering digital downloads within days, or sometimes hours, of concerts. The Grateful Dead have begun to offer online, digital download only, live releases from their archives as well. While there is some obvious conflict of interest between the "free and open trading of shows" and artists packaging and selling the same shows for money, a dynamic equilibrium has been reached where die-hards trade and others are happy to pay for the convenience.

Some venues offer kiosks where fans may purchase a digital recording of the concert and download it to a USB flash drive

USB flash drive

A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...

or another portable digital storage device. Some bands, including The Allman Brothers, Zac Brown and O.A.R.

O.A.R.

O.A.R. is an American rock band composed of Marc Roberge , Chris Culos , Richard On , Benj Gershman , and Jerry DePizzo...

offer "Instant Lives"

Instant Live

Instant Live is a service by Live Nation which provides for the distribution of digital live recordings of concerts and music events, available soon after a performance has ended...

, which are concert recordings made available for purchase on Compact Disc or USB Flash Drive

USB flash drive

shortly after the show ends. Most major music festivals also offer digital live recordings at the event. Several vendors such as Instant Live

Instant Live

Instant Live is a service by Live Nation which provides for the distribution of digital live recordings of concerts and music events, available soon after a performance has ended...

by Live Nation

Live Nation

Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....

and ADERRA

Aderra inc.

Aderra Inc. is a music technology company based in Los Angeles, London, Melbourne, Tokyo, Nashville, New York, Paris and Luxembourg. The company specializes in recording live events directly to USB flash drives which are then distributed to the audience before they leave the venue.Aderra Inc...

offer this remote recording

Remote recording

Remote recording, also known as location recording, is the act of making a high-quality complex audio recording of a live concert performance, or any other location recording that uses multitrack recording techniques outside of a recording studio. The multitrack recording is then carefully mixed,...

service for instant delivery. Even though these shows are freely traded in digital format, "official" versions are still bought by fans for the graphics, liner notes, and packaging.

Venues and festivals

In the August 2006 issue of Guitar One on jam bands, the following places were referred to as the "best places to see jam music": Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado, where concerts are given in the open-air amphitheatre. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind the stage, a huge vertical rock angled outwards from stage right, several large outcrops angled outwards from stage left and a...

, Red Rocks Park

Red Rocks Park

Red Rocks Park is a mountain park in Jefferson County, Colorado, owned and maintained by the city of Denver as part of the Denver Mountain Parks system. The park is known for its very large red sandstone outcrops. Many of these rock formations within the park have names, from the mushroom-shaped...

, Denver, CO; Jam Cruise

Jam Cruise

Held annually in January, Jam Cruise is a music festival on a cruise ship. It features artists of the jam band genre playing at multiple venues aboard the vessel...

, Fort Lauderdale, FL; The Gorge Amphitheatre

The Gorge Amphitheatre

The Gorge Amphitheatre is a 20,000+ seat concert venue, located above the Columbia River in George, Washington. It offers lawn-terrace seating and concert-friendly weather....

, George, Washington

George, Washington

George is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 528 at the 2000 census. Its name is a play on the name of George Washington.The city is known for being near the Gorge Amphitheatre, sometimes being called, "The Gorge at George"....

; High Sierra Music Festival

High Sierra Music Festival

High Sierra Music Festival is a multi-day music festival held in Quincy, California, a mountainous area about 80 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada.The festival is held each year the weekend of July 4...

, Quincy, CA; Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Saratoga Performing Arts Center

The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is an amphitheater in Saratoga Springs, New York, which presents summer festivals of all kinds of music , dance, and opera, as well as a Wine & Food Festival...

, Saratoga Springs, NY; The Greek Theater

Hearst Greek Theatre

The William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, known locally as simply the Greek Theatre, is an 8,500-seat amphitheater owned and operated by the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California, USA....

, Berkeley, CA; Bonnaroo Music Festival

Bonnaroo Music Festival

(Bonnaroo has become increasingly mainstream in recent years, and has seen a shift in fan base), Manchester, TN; The Warfield Theater, San Francisco, CA; Barrymore Theatre

Barrymore Theatre

-Barrymore Theatre:The Barrymore Theatre is located at 2090 Atwood Avenue on the east side of Madison, Wisconsin. The theatre has featured everything from music, movies, and masques to parties, porn, and puppet shows.-History:...

, Madison, WI; Higher Ground, Burlington, Vermont

Burlington, Vermont

Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....

, Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, Garrettsville, Ohio

Garrettsville, Ohio

Garrettsville is a village in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It was formed from portions of Hiram, Nelson, and Freedom townships in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 2,262 at the 2000 census. On July 1, 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 2,203 people resided in the...

; and the Jam in the Dam in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

.

One way to see many jam bands in one place is by going to a jam band-oriented music festival

Music festival

A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

. Some popular festivals that include jam bands are: Bonnaroo

Bonnaroo Music Festival

in Manchester, Tennessee; Rothbury Festival

Rothbury Music Festival

The Rothbury Festival is a four-day jam band music festival in Rothbury, Michigan at the Double JJ Resort. The festival first occurred in 2008 during the Independence Day holiday weekend. In addition to music and arts, the festival is intended to promote sustainability and promote overall...

in Rothbury, Michigan; Jambaloosa in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; The aforementioned High Sierra Music Festival

High Sierra Music Festival

in Quincy, California; All Good

All Good Music Festival

; Jerry Garcia's Birthday Bash (JGBB) in West Virginia; Some Kind of Jam, Pennsylvania; Langerado

Langerado

in South Florida

South Florida metropolitan area

The South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S...

; Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival

Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival

Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival is a four-day music festival held in early June at Mulberry Mountain near Ozark, Arkansas. The festival has been held annually since 2004....

outside of Fayetteville, AR; 10,000 Lakes Festival

10,000 Lakes Festival

The 10,000 Lakes Festival was an annual four-day music festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, at the Soo Pass Ranch that was held since 2003. 10KLF is currently on hiatus due to financial losses and was not held in 2010. Its name refers to Minnesota's nickname, "The Land of 10,000 Lakes"...

in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota; Camp Bisco in Mariaville, New York; Mountain Jam (festival)

Mountain Jam (festival)

in Hunter Mt, New York; Telluride Bluegrass Festival

Telluride Bluegrass Festival

Telluride Bluegrass Festival is held annually in Telluride, Colorado by . Although traditionally the festival focuses on bluegrass music, it often features music from a variety of genres. In 1974, its first year, it attracted 1000 participants. Currently the festival's attendance is capped at 10,000...

in Colorado; Hookahville in Ohio; Schwagstock

Schwagstock

Schwagstock is a music festival that takes place over the course of a weekend in an outdoor setting, and is intended to carry on the vibe of the Woodstock festival. Food, trinkets, glassware, carvings, beads, blankets, tie-dye clothing, and many other handmade and hippie-appeal items are available...

in Missouri; moe.down in Turin, New York; Vegoose

Vegoose

Vegoose was an annual Halloween music and arts festival that took place in 2005, 2006, and 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlike the Bonnaroo Music Festival — put on by the same organizers, Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment — Vegoose does not offer on-site camping...

in Nevada; and Summer Camp Music Festival

Summer Camp Music Festival

in Chillicothe Illinois.

List of jam bands

Some of the prominent artists associated with the jam-band scene include:

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Ambiguity

Debatability

1960s–mid 1980s and the rise of the Grateful Dead

Mid-1980s–1990

Early 1990s–1995

1995–2004 and the rise of Phish and music festivals

2004–present

Jam scene

Taping

Music downloading

Venues and festivals

List of jam bands

See also

External links