November 2009

As another top-flight year with his Railroad Earth mates winds to a close, Todd Sheaffer will take a trip down memory lane before it ends.

[All photos by Adam Kaufman]

Last month came word that Sheaffer and the other former members of From Good Homes — the eclectic, cult-beloved New Jersey group that didn’t quite escape the 1990s — would reunite for the first time in a decade to play two shows, scheduled for December 18 and 19 at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ.

Hidden Track caught up with Sheaffer recently to hear a little about the long-awaited Homes reunion and what Railroad Earth has in store for the new year, too.

HIDDEN TRACK: Railroad Earth seems well. You guys have been staying busy.

TODD SHEAFFER: We’re good, really good. We’ve got some big shows coming up. and we’re going to be doing a big New Year’s run out in San Francisco and Portland. It’s awesome — we’re doing a couple nights at the Fillmore, which is one of the great venues of all time of course and one we obviously love to play at, and we’ll be in Portland for the new year again, like last year. READ ON for more of Chad’s chat with Todd Sheaffer…

Umphrey’s, the little band that could from the Midwest, is still out 100 plus days a year throwing rock shows peppered with excellent covers and chops galore. This is how its always been. But this fall when the band traveled to the Mishawaka Amphitheater something special happened underneath that Colorado moon and it has kept on happening all over the country.

The band has been more focused as of late with more patient, momentum building grooves that emphasize the whole rather than the sum of its parts. Don’t get me wrong, Umph is still umph, and the threat of metal is always around the corner, but there are some must hear musical moments that show a definite turning point in Umphrey’s improvisational language. The groof has found them and we here at Hidden Track want you to hear it.

[Photo by Jennifer Kirk]

This installment starts in Las Vegas, NV. Vegas has always been a big vibe location for Umphrey’s. This particular night, Brendan told the story of the first time the band played in Vegas and put all the money they earned on black, urging the opening band, Iration, to do the same. This Professor Wormbog will be the first of many highlighted “Profs” in this ongoing series, and seems to be the anthem of “Team Umphrey’s”. Kris allows the groove to develop slowly and the jam results in some funky exploration.

READ ON for the ITK > #5 > ITK from Salt Lake City…

The last person you would’ve expected to show up at a Joe Perry Project concert was off-again/on-again Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler. Tyler and Perry have been at war through the

Seeing the boys from Leroy Justice on stage tends to remind me of the scene in Cheech and Chong’s Up In Smoke when Curtis first passes out the new uniforms to the band.

Man (Chong): No, hey man, if we’re gonna wear uniforms man, you know let’s have everybody wear something different.
Pedro (Cheech): Yea, that’s it. Yea, we want something wear everybody wears something different man, but the same, you know?

Always dressed to the nines in their “same, but different” vests and three piece suits, Leroy Justice have managed to differentiate themselves as a distinct up-and-coming rock band in New York City – no easy feat to say the least. In the past year, the band put out a killer record with producer John Siket (of The Siket Disc fame), shared the stage with some impressive names like Hill Country Revue, Backyard Tire Fire, RANA, & Cornmeal and struck up a friendship and distribution collaboration with the folks at Hittin’ the Note Magazine (an Allman Brothers & friends glossy). Trust me, it won’t be long before smaller acts hope to share the stage with them.

We caught up with lead vocalist and guitar player Jason Gallagher on the heels of the group’s big Halloween show at the storied old Greenwich Village haunt the Bitter End to check in on all the exciting developments throughout their banner ’09.

Ryan Dembinsky: First off, let’s talk about the Halloween show where you performed Steve Miller’s Greatest Hits in its entirety. Don’t get me wrong — I mean, who doesn’t like some Steve Miller — but this is a pretty random selection. Can you tell us how this choice came to fruition?

Jason Gallagher: Our friend Steve Zahn (actor, guitarist, and owner of a horse named “Dude”), suggested it a while back when we were talking about possibly doing another Halloween cover album. In high school, we pretty much listened to that greatest hits album daily, and I never got tired of it. It always represented this super sweet sounding “produced” rock ‘n’ roll. Also, it’s a ton of fun to play, and that’s what we like our Halloween shows to be. READ ON for more of Ryan’s chat with Jason Gallagher…