Leftover Salmon
Encyclopedia
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. The band took a hiatus in 2005, and spent parts of 2007 in a reunion.
, when a local band, the Salmon Heads (Vince Herman), asked some members of the Left Hand String Band (Drew Emmitt, Glenn Keefe, Mark Vann) to fill some missing spots in its lineup. The synergy worked and the result was Leftover Salmon. The lineup would change significantly over the years, but the "Big Three" -- Drew Emmitt, Vince Herman and Mark Vann—remained the heart of the band until Vann's death in 2002.
After the independent release of Bridges to Bert in 1993
and the 1995
live follow-up Ask the Fish, Leftover Salmon gained a spot on the H.O.R.D.E.
festival tour and a contract with Hollywood Records
. Their Hollywood debut and second studio album, Euphoria
with guest keyboardist Pete Sears
, continued to define their eclectic sound and introduced many songs that would become classics for the band.
In March 2002, founding member and banjoist Mark Vann lost his battle with cancer. He was succeeded by Noam Pikelny
.
In 2004 the band announced they would be going on hiatus at the end of the year.
An award-nominated documentary film of Leftover Salmon, titled Years in Your Ears, was released on DVD in November 2006.
Leftover Salmon reunited in 2007 and played six performances, including the High Sierra Music Festival
in Quincy, California
, the All Good Festival in West Virginia, as well as Denver and Boulder, Colorado shows in late December. Leftover Salmon marked their unofficial return to the stage with a performance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival on Sunday, June 24, 2007, as "Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman and Friends." They were introduced by Jeff Austin
of Yonder Mountain String Band
with the line, "No matter what the program says, we all know what's going on here."
Despite their various successful side projects, Leftover Salmon played seven times during the summer of 2008 and 2009. For a special New Years run, the band celebrated 20 years as a band by returning to the site of their very first show in Crested Butte, Colorado: The Eldo. The band played four shows through Denver and Boulder Colorado during this run while celebrating their 20th anniversary. Since moving Andy Thorn in to the banjo role, the band has been touring more than usual with small runs throughout the country.
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, formed in 1989. Their unique blend of 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...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, and Cajun
Cajun music
Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based, Cajun-influenced zydeco form, both of Acadiana origin...
/Zydeco
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
, which the band calls "Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass", has found favor with the jam band
Jam band
-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 of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
scene. The band took a hiatus in 2005, and spent parts of 2007 in a reunion.
History
The band formed by accident in 19891989 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
, when a local band, the Salmon Heads (Vince Herman), asked some members of the Left Hand String Band (Drew Emmitt, Glenn Keefe, Mark Vann) to fill some missing spots in its lineup. The synergy worked and the result was Leftover Salmon. The lineup would change significantly over the years, but the "Big Three" -- Drew Emmitt, Vince Herman and Mark Vann—remained the heart of the band until Vann's death in 2002.
After the independent release of Bridges to Bert in 1993
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
and the 1995
1995 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....
live follow-up Ask the Fish, Leftover Salmon gained a spot on 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...
festival tour and a contract with Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
. Their Hollywood debut and second studio album, Euphoria
Euphoria (Leftover Salmon album)
Euphoria is a 1997 album by Leftover Salmon, and their first release on Hollywood Records.-Track listing:#"Better"#"Highway Song"#"Baby Hold On"#"River's Rising"#"Mama Boulet"#"Funky Mountain Fogdown"#"Cash on the Barrelhead"...
with guest keyboardist Pete Sears
Pete Sears
Peter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
, continued to define their eclectic sound and introduced many songs that would become classics for the band.
In March 2002, founding member and banjoist Mark Vann lost his battle with cancer. He was succeeded by Noam Pikelny
Noam Pikelny
Noam Pikelny is an American banjoist. He is a member of the "Americana country-classical chamber music" group Punch Brothers and was previously in Leftover Salmon as well as the John Cowan Band.-History:...
.
In 2004 the band announced they would be going on hiatus at the end of the year.
An award-nominated documentary film of Leftover Salmon, titled Years in Your Ears, was released on DVD in November 2006.
Leftover Salmon reunited in 2007 and played six performances, including the 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...
in Quincy, California
Quincy, California
Quincy is a census-designated place and the county seat of Plumas County, California. The population was 1,728 at the 2010 census, down from 1,879 at the 2000 census. Quincy is named after the city of Quincy, Illinois...
, the All Good Festival in West Virginia, as well as Denver and Boulder, Colorado shows in late December. Leftover Salmon marked their unofficial return to the stage with a performance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival on Sunday, June 24, 2007, as "Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman and Friends." They were introduced by Jeff Austin
Jeff Austin
Jeff Austin is a mandolinist and singer best known for being a part of the Yonder Mountain String Band....
of Yonder Mountain String Band
Yonder Mountain String Band
The Yonder Mountain String Band is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Jeff Austin, Ben Kaufmann, and Adam Aijala, the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings to date.- History :The band's history stretches back to...
with the line, "No matter what the program says, we all know what's going on here."
Despite their various successful side projects, Leftover Salmon played seven times during the summer of 2008 and 2009. For a special New Years run, the band celebrated 20 years as a band by returning to the site of their very first show in Crested Butte, Colorado: The Eldo. The band played four shows through Denver and Boulder Colorado during this run while celebrating their 20th anniversary. Since moving Andy Thorn in to the banjo role, the band has been touring more than usual with small runs throughout the country.
Current members
- Vince HermanVince HermanVince Herman is a guitarist and singer best known for being one of the founding members of Leftover Salmon. Leftover Salmon started in 1989 as somewhat of a melding of the Left Hand String Band and the Salmonheads, and became more and more popular over the sixteen years that followed...
- Vocals, Guitar, Washboard (1989-present) - Drew EmmittDrew EmmittDrew Emmitt is a mandolinist, guitarist, fiddle player, occasional flutist and singer best known for being one of the founding members of Leftover Salmon, as well as being the frontman of the Left Hand String Band, Drew Emmitt Band, and the Emmitt-Nershi Band....
- Vocals, Mandolin, Fiddle, Electric Guitar (1989-present) - Greg Garrison - Bass, Vocals (2000-present)
- Bill McKay - Vocals, Keyboards (2000-present)
- Jose Martinez - Drums (2009-present)
- Andy Thorn - Banjo, Electric Banjo (2010-present)
Former members
- Mark Vann - Banjo, Electric Banjo (1989–2002)
- Michael Wooten - Drums (1989-1997)
- Glenn Keefe - Bass (1989–1991)
- Joe Jogerst - Keyboards (1989-1993)
- Tye North - Bass (1993–2000)
- Jose Martinez - Drums (2000-2005)
- Noam PikelnyNoam PikelnyNoam Pikelny is an American banjoist. He is a member of the "Americana country-classical chamber music" group Punch Brothers and was previously in Leftover Salmon as well as the John Cowan Band.-History:...
- Banjo, Electric Banjo (2002-2008) - Matt Flinner - Banjo (2009–2010)
- Jeff Sipe - Drums (1997-2000, 2009-2011)
Leftover Salmon
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Bridges to Bert | - |
| 1995 | Ask the Fish Ask the Fish Ask The Fish is a 1995 live album by Leftover Salmon. It was originally released in 1995, but was reissued once in 1997 in Hollywood Records, and another time in 2001 on Bert Records.-Track listing:#"Carnival Time" - 3:48... |
- |
| 1997 | Euphoria Euphoria (Leftover Salmon album) Euphoria is a 1997 album by Leftover Salmon, and their first release on Hollywood Records.-Track listing:#"Better"#"Highway Song"#"Baby Hold On"#"River's Rising"#"Mama Boulet"#"Funky Mountain Fogdown"#"Cash on the Barrelhead"... |
Hollywood |
| 1999 | The Nashville Sessions | Hollywood |
| 2002 | Live | Compass Compass Records Compass Records is a Nashville-based independent record label founded in 1995 by musicians Garry West and Alison Brown. Currently home to nearly 100 folk, bluegrass, Celtic, jazz, and new acoustic artists, the label releases about 20 records a year... |
| 2004 | Leftover Salmon | Compendia |
Collaboration
- O' Cracker Where Art Thou?O' Cracker Where Art Thou?O' Cracker Where Art Thou? is a compilation album containing bluegrass versions of Cracker songs. The songs are played by two members of Cracker, David Lowery and Johnny Hickman, with musical accompaniment by Leftover Salmon.-Track listing:...
(Pitch A Tent), 2003 (with CrackerCracker (band)Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...
)
External links
- Leftover Salmon
- Leftover Salmon collection at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe 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...
's live music archive - Years In Your Ears ...a Story of Leftover Salmon DVD