A to Z: Jam Bands

Last year at this time I was getting ready to travel south to the Wanee Festival and it is approaching in another week.As much as I would love to go again since the festival has an incredible lineup and it is in a beautiful setting, I have family issues keeping me home plus I have more than enough shows to keep me busy. I can elive it via youtube and my review.

A little taste via youtube...

Anyway this article is about Jam Bands for the letter J. Here is an article about Jam Bands I wrote and may were represented at Wanee or will be this year.

Here are the Allman Brothers...

Wanee isn't the only festival with Jam bands others I have blogged about include the Gathering of the Vibes and the All Good Festival. There are more festivals as well. However, the best jam band in my eyes is the Grateful Dead. I like the bands that have splintered from them but Jerry Garcia and the Dead can't be replaced. Youtube is pretty cool when you can find a clip from your first Dead show...

I've enjoyed jam bands from my generation as well especially a little band from Pittsburgh called Rusted Root..

Well enjoy the Wednesday vibes and maybe I'll see you at a jam band concert or festival somewhere..

2012 Gathering of the Vibes Lineup!

The 17th Annual Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival has released their initial lineup for 2012. The festival is scheduled to happen July 19-22 at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut. 40 plus bands are suppose to play and time slots have not been announced.

Here we go! For those who love some bass in their rock, Primus will be performing! Dead Heads you are in luck as Phil Lesh and Friends will be performing. Bob Weir and Bruce Hornsby will perform as well dragging jazz great Branford Marsalis with them. The Mickey Hart Band will be performing. 7 Walkers featuring Bill Kreutzmann will be joining the fun as well. So pretty much everyone who was in the Grateful Dead is bringing their current bands to the party.

Here is Primus in action via YouTube:

Here is Bob Weir in action:

Okay back tho the line up..

Sound Tribe Sector Nine will be there here is a taste from YouTube:

The Yonder Mountain String Band will be adding their magic. The Avett Brothers will also be hitting the stage..Here isa sample from YouTube:

Steel Pulse will add some reggae at the beach and Zappa Plays Zappa should be pretty cool. I saw Dweezil earlier this month and he is pretty cool! The Greyboy Allstars will also be there.Here is a taste from YouTube to get you ready..

Sounds like a good time already but there is so much more!

Here is the rest so far:

George Porter Jr and Runnin' Pardners
Keller Williams
Dark Star Orchestra
Mates of State
Deep Banana Blackout
ALO
Ryan Montbleau Band
Max Creek
Zach Deputy
Kung Fu
Joe Pug
Outernational
David Gans
McLovins
Dangermuffin
Yarn
Toubab Krewe
Dopapad
Cosmic Jibaros
Twiddle
Band Together
Andy The Music Man
Lucid
Late Night
Royal Family Ball (Soulive and Lettuce)
Conspirator
Gigantic Underground Conspiracy
The Machine

Tickets and information can be found here!

A to Z: Vibes

Is anybody getting excited about the Gathering of the Vibes Festival? Stay tuned I have some related articles in the works. In the meantime here is a link to their site.

Fifty Fifty Day

My interview with Jason Bonham fell apart today. Hopefully, we will be able to reschedule it. I was really looking forward to it, obviously since I am a fan of so many bands he has performed with.

Anyway, I had another interview scheduled and it went well. The interview was with Ken Hays the founder of the Gathering of the Vibes festival. I am working on typing it out now while it is fresh, but I will post a link in here about it. Couldn't tell me who is playing this year..but it was a heart felt conversation about the Grateful Dead, Michael Potashnick, the festival, and the city of Bridgeport.

Maybe I should I have invested in the blank tape business back in the day when I was actively trading Grateful Dead shows and others.

Yahoo! Hot 500 for February

Everyone likes a little recognition. I am no different. Today, I was awarded Yahoo's Hot 500 badge for February. Meaning I will have a badge on my Associated Content profile page for the month of March.

I've been away from the blog recently. Sorry, I had a bit of a bug going around and then when I wasn't under the weather sleep and other things got in the way. I am back and I will blog much more.

Short blog today but more tomorrow. Tomorrow I have two big interviews. The first one will be with Jason Bonham ans the second one will be with Gathering of the Vibes founder Ken Hays. Needless to say tomorrow will be exciting!

The Voice of The Gathering of the Vibes Has Passed Away

Michael J. Potashnick died at the age of 52 from  from pneumonia.The press release describes him as "The Voice of the Vibes" he acted as the festivals co-Master of Ceremonies since 2004. He was involved with Gathering of the Vibes since the first one in 1997. However, Michael was a key player in New England's music and arts scene. Quoting the press release "He was an integral part of the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival, the SoNo Arts Celebration, Bridgeport’s Polka Dot Playhouse, Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, Burlington’s Flynn Center for the Performing Arts" and that's not all.


In the same state I live in West Virginia, Mr. Potashnik was involved in "The All Good Music Festival." I know people don't think of West Virginia as being a cultural center. The state does have very talented folks from here. My area is rich in culture and I have the luxury to share the cultural wealth of nearby areas. "The All Good Festival" is by far the biggest music festival in the state. It is a major music festival on the Mid Atlantic and the East. I am sure Michael J. Potashnik's contributions to the festival will be dearly missed. 


His contributions to all of the music and arts events he was involved in will be missed. Artists and musicians need people like Michael. People don't replace people like Michael but I hope the festivals, the artists, and musicians find people who can fill his roles. His roles won't be filled by one. He will be missed.