Summer Camp 2011 included a fun new addition for the smaller bands on the docket called The Matchups, which provided an opportunity to jam with members of the bigger acts
This week brought about a few interesting news items in the realm of digital music. First, came the news via Forbes that Facebook – in conjunction with Spotify, a European-based
Harry Hood is definitive of the type of song structure Phish became known for in the early days. The song meanders through a number of distinctive sections beginning with a simple minor key reggae groove, which sets the tone with a darker color. From there, the song weaves in and out of a catchy chord progression, moves to a powerfully haunting lead riff and resolves with a long improvisational section based on an uplifting major key progression. The song concludes with a hair-raising crescendo and the celebratory mantra, “I feel good!”
Over the course of Hidden Track’s lifespan, we’ve taken a couple different stabs at making a list of favorite Hoods, and it felt like a good time for the next iteration. It will remain a perpetual work in progress as the band plays new renditions and old gems get discovered, but nevertheless, it’s coming along. This time, we have a meticulously organized, iPod-ready download for your enjoyment as well as a stream at the bottom of the post. While these are mostly audience recordings or soundboards that are not part of official releases, but we tried to normalize the levels and made sure the volume is plenty loud. Without further ado, here is the list…
#1) 1993-12-31 – The Centrum, Worcester, MA – It’s only fitting: arguably the best show of them all should have the best Hood. Ten years from the start of their career, Phish held nothing back and delivered a handful of all-time favorites. The improvisational portion of this New Years Eve Hood perfectly exemplifies the climb from the tranquil beginning to the towering climax. This is my desert island song.
#2) 1994-11-12 – MAC Center, Kent State University – Kent, OH – This gem, like so many others from the era, exhibits very tight improvisation across the board and Trey forgoing his Languedoc in favor of an M-16.
- DOWNLOAD: Fifteen Favorite Harry Hoods
READ ON for 13 more outstanding Hoods and to stream them…
By now you’ve probably caught wind of Fox’s plans to air an animated version of the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite, which will include original voice-overs from Napoleon, Kip, Uncle Rico,
For most of us, the word “reprise” brings to mind one thing, Tweezer Reprise. But there have been plenty of other uses of the reprise over the years. For this
It’s quite rare for the jamband scene to witness a sea change. Great bands continuously come and go through the proverbial revolving doors, many of which manage push the preexisting boundaries ever further with impressive technical proficiencies, but true game changers are few and far between. Historically, the big shifts have come more from breakups or untimely passings, rather than necessarily pioneering musical innovations. Very seldom does a band or group of bands actually reinvent the sound.
The New Deal are one of those few bands that actually helped redefine the genre. Beginning in the late nineties, along with some well-known contemporaries, the band helped create a new sub-genre, live electronic music. By combining elements of techno music and live improvisation, they concocted a fresh new sound by playing electronic music in an entirely loop-free context with traditional instruments.
Fast forward almost 15 years – despite live electronic music’s position as one of the few fast growing segments of the scene – The New Deal has decided to call it quits, passing the torch to thriving young bands like Lotus and Papadosio. To reflect back on their days as a band, the emergence of this style of music, and the decision to go out on top, we caught up with New Deal founding member, Darren Shearer.
Hidden Track: Looking back to the emergence of the live electronic music scene, I think of really you guys and the Disco Biscuits in the late ’90s who started it all. It must have been really exciting to break ground on such and energetic new form of music when you were starting out. Do you remember thinking you were really on to something in the early days?
Darren Shearer: Absolutely. I recall going into clubs and bars when we were getting going and people just could not believe what they were hearing. And putting a band with a DJ was totally unheard of. Now, it’s the majority of billing in our scene. But those were amazing, adventurous days for us back then, both musically and career-wise. No one knew where to put us. One weekend we’re opening for Moby, the next Herbie Hancock, the next Fun Lovin’ Criminals, remember them?
READ ON for more of our chat with drummer Darren Shearer…
In conjunction with the May 10th release of Celebration, Florida, The Felice Brothers released an elaborate video for the lead single, Ponzi. The Ian Cinco-directed video portrays a woman tangled
As we look forward to festival season, one of the pleasant surprises will surely be the return of the complete original lineup of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. The band
To say the Felice Brothers marched off the edge of the map on their latest album Celebration, Florida would be a stretch, but the band definitely veered away from their well-worn path. Foregoing the straightforward folk romps for which they have become known, the Felice Brothers took their core acoustic song structures and morphed them into ambient, sonic departures. The distinction relative to band’s previous albums is dramatic, however, the reliance on elements like organs, drum machines, synthesizers, ambient sounds and found objects for percussion did not drive the material, but rather gave the band opportunities to learn, and ultimately build on their abilities as studio musicians.
[Photo by Nolan Conway]
“The skeletons of the songs themselves were written outside of that kind of influence,” lead singer and songwriter Ian Felice explains. “I wrote them with just an acoustic guitar or piano and a voice. When we moved into the space, we had a vision to depart and experiment with different kinds of instrumentation and sounds, so we got a couple different organs and beat making machines, and it was a big learning process, because we actually had to learn to play a lot of these things. It didn’t really inform the record or the songs that much, A lot of it has to do with keeping ourselves interested in the music.”
A “reinvention album” so-to-speak like this will probably take fans by surprise, but to the band, it just felt like growth. They didn’t want to make another album like Yonder is the Clock or the previous self-titled album. The Felice Brothers succeeded, as this time around they are more likely to hear references to Brian Eno than The Band. The process was intentional; they wanted it to sound different.
READ ON for more of our chat with Ian Felice of The Felice Brothers…
The first go-round of Steve Kimock’s recent NYC residency at Sullivan Hall included some sublime interplay between Kimock and New Orleans keyboard vet Henry Butler as evidenced by this rendition
