2009

Something about a young band on the cusp heading out on tour seems to bring about all sorts of antics and funny stories. Having first come to know of the Minneapolis-based Roster McCabe after finding their spirited take on Warren G’s rap classic Regulator for an old edition of Bust Outs, we have since seen the name bantered about plentifully in the jamband circles, most recently as the Jambands.com New Groove of the Month.

In poking around a bit on their website, it quickly became evident that these guys have a close knit friendship where the music comes first, but the tomfoolery a close second. So, naturally they seemed like a fun band to check out a bit further.

What is Roster McCabe all about musically? The original songs tend to see-saw up and down through big frenetic jams and mellow reggae breakdowns throughout the course of their extended, but not belabored song structures. The most distinguishing trait would be the lead vocals of keyboard player Alex Steele who brings a hip-hop, roosty reggae energy which easily staves away the dreaded “standard jam fare” label. It’s a fresh approach, particularly for anyone who likes reggae music with a more energetic and improvisational bent.

In chatting with the band between shows in the early stages of a hefty Colorado run, we learned more about the group’s camaraderie and their music, while scoring ourselves one hell of an entry for America’s Funniest Home Videos along the way.

Hidden Track: First off, congrats on being selected to the New Groove of the Month by Relix and Jambands. That’s a big step in the right direction. Do you get the feeling that things are really kicking into gear these days for the band to make the jump to the next level?

Roster McCabe: Thank you, we were honored to be selected as the New Groove of the Month. Things have been growing steadily for us. The touring, practicing and writing has been slowly paying off, so we are just going to continue those things and see what happens. We were recently in Billboard as one of five up and coming national jam acts, so that was nice to get a little recognition for everything we have been doing.

READ ON for more of Ryan’s chat with Roster McCabe…

After months of speculation, the tour dates for the first Phish Fall Tour since 2000 have emerged. Phish.com has been updated with a cute little video highlighting the dates, which

Just as with Phish’s Summer Tour, Ticketmaster and Live Nation have started posting information about dates on the group’s Fall Tour before the actual announcement of the tour by the

The current issue of Rolling Stone lists rootsy singer/songwriter Cory Chisel as part of country rock’s new crop along with The Avett Brothers, Dawes and The Duke and the King.

I didn’t know much about guitarist Jim Weider’s Project Percolator band before I listened to the ensemble’s latest album, Pulse. I was familiar with Weider’s work as a member of both The Band and Levon Helm’s band, so I expected to hear your standard classic rock fare. Instead, I was treated to a wonderful disc full of complex, proggy tunes that grooved.

Jim Weider & Project Percolator – Squirrels in Paris

In fact, I enjoyed the disc so much that I reached out to Weider – known among musicians as the “King of Tone” – about Pulse, Project Percolator’s live shows and his time as a member of The Band.

Scott Bernstein: Please tell us about how you put Project Percolator together? The sound on the group’s two albums seems like a departure for you.

Jim Weider: The record I did before this was Percolator and this was a new direction I decided to take – more groove-oriented. I wanted to write myself out of the classic rock thing I had been doing on my earlier solo records. I cut that record with John Medeski, Tony Levin and Rodney Holmes. I went out and toured it with Tony Levin and Jesse Gress and we toured it for a while and then eventually I started working with Mitch Stein who’s fantastic. He used to play in the Kimock band. When Rodney freed up, Rodney joined up with us and they’re old buddies and have a great chemistry.

We slowly formed the band that you hear on this record. We’ve been touring for about a year and a half, so when we went into the studio to record Pulse we had been playing about half the songs. I really wanted to capture that live feel and I think we did it. We pared the songs down enough and didn’t overdub anything besides two or three tunes.

READ ON for more of Scotty’s chat with Jim Weider…