2009

For this edition of Track By Track, singer/songwriter/banjo player Danny Barnes shares a quick factoid about each track on his latest album, Pizza Box. Pizza Box is Danny’s first album on the ATO label and the release features guest spots by label mates Dave Matthews and Rashawn Ross.

Caveman

I read the bible a good bit and one day I realized that the human condition really hasn’t changed that much. We live a little longer and don’t work as hard, but we really are just animals, or guys with sticks and rocks, to a degree. This has my country funk thing and a delta blues construction. Dave Matthews provides the levity, that’s him grumbling and whooping.

Road

When i was young, Black Sabbath Vol. 4, Aerosmith Toys in the Attic, T. Rex Tanx, The Sex Pistols record and stuff like that were a huge influence on me. I love the way those records sounded and I searched for that feel in this song: like you are riding in a fast car…with the windows down on hot a summer night. The poetry in this song is an amalgam of several stories i’ve heard from friends that went to the joint. One of my friends said it was a relief to finally get away from the death trip and get off dope. It’s also about walking away from your own issues and moving metaphysically to a healthier place. Boyd Tinsley loaned me the guitar I used on this and the Marshall amp.

READ ON for a taste of Pizza Box and for more stories about each track…

Back on December 2, 1983, Phish played their first gig for an unappreciative crowd at the Harris-Millis Cafeteria on the campus of the University of Vermont. Tonight, the band celebrates

So far all but one of the fabulous Widespread Panic Archives releases have been from pristine multi-track recordings. Today, the band announced that they will start releasing two-track recordings with

For those of you just tuning in to Dream Focused, we have been examining Umphrey’s McGee’s new style of jamming; a departure from the ADD driven metal mania and an exploration into a cohesive groove.

[Photo from 11/11 – Toronto by Tammy Wetzel]

This edition finds the boys at The Mesa Theater in Grand Junction, CO. Off the beaten path and deep into tour, the band was in excellent form for a packed house and wrote an amazing setlist. Not only was the song selection fantastic, the improvisation this night was some of the best all fall.

We start with a particularly groovy version of August. The song has what Umphreaks call an “implied” Jimmy Stewart. This Stew is patient and winds up being a fairly danceable section with a great Bayliss solo to end the tune.

The next section is a run of songs that start Set II. This is how you want a second set to open; old school segue with very fluid and tight improv sections. Front Porch > Resolution > Front Porch winds up going many different places with the utmost attention to the crowd’s energy.

READ ON for more Umphrey’s audio from Grand Junction…