{"id":947,"date":"2015-11-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2015\/2015\/11\/30\/leftover-salmon-returns-to-the-egg-on-december-2\/"},"modified":"2015-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"leftover-salmon-returns-to-the-egg-on-december-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2015\/2015\/11\/30\/leftover-salmon-returns-to-the-egg-on-december-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Leftover Salmon Returns to The Egg on December 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jamgrass legends Leftover Salmon make their return to The Egg<\/a> on December 2. Bassist Greg Garrison spoke with NYSMusic about the group’s\u00a0first time back in Albany since the 2003, the group\u2019s influence on the jamgrass scene, their songwriting process and release of the live album 25<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For fans of bluegrass and its speedier cousin, jamgrass, the welcoming atmosphere can be felt as \u201ca happy, fun festival vibe,\u201d as Garrison describes it. The upbeat, progressive improv nature of Yonder Mountain String Band and Greensky Bluegrass can trace itself back to Leftover Salmon, whose unique genre of Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass is an instant jolt of energy to audiences around the country. Bringing the audience to their feet at The Egg will be thanks in part to drummer Alwyn Robinson, a role often not filled in typical bluegrass acts. \u201cThe fact we have always had a drummer and looked to find a well-versed and good drummer, and with our current drummer Alwyn Robinson from Brooklyn, kept up with the tradition of energetic drummers that we\u2019ve had,\u201d noted Garrison.<\/p>\n

There are of course other bands who preceded Leftover Salmon in their contributions to the jamgrass scene. Hot Rize, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Newgrass Revival paved the way for Leftover, marking a lineage that dates back to the early 1980s, connecting current jamgrass-descendants with their predecessors. Over the years, Garrison has seen bands come and go, and the sound changed ever so slightly over time. \u201cThe faces and names of the bands have changed, and some have done better than others, like Railroad Earth and String Cheese Incident, who are paving the way for how far you can push the genre as far as crowd and sound. The ones who stay a little truer to roots \u2013 Yonder Mountain String Band and Greensky Bluegrass and the like, you could listen to them 10 years ago and now, while the material might change and playing has gotten better, it has matured, it\u2019s still the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Greg
Greg Garrison, photo by Andrew Wyatt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The evolved newgrass sound can be found within their recorded albums as well. On their albums High Country<\/em> and Aquatic Hitchhiker<\/em>, listeners can find songs that change as they are performed live, whereas Garrison notes, \u201csome will stretch out a little bit and we see where it takes us, and take a simple arrangement and continually use it as a vehicle live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Songwriting on recent studio albums has been fresh songs that had not been road-tested. Songs were written individually outside the studio and once in the studio, arranged as a band and lyrics edited to polish the final product. \u201cAndy Thorn (banjo) was a live player since before he joined us. He used to see us when he was 15 years old. Now, he\u2019ll come up with a tune that is a fully formed Leftover Salmon tune before we get a hold of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

25<\/a><\/em>, a celebration of Leftover Salmon\u2019s 25 years of music, was released over Thanksgiving weekend. Selecting the tracks was a feat, taking three years\u2019 worth of shows and trimming the list down to 50-60 recordings to choose from. \u201cIt took a better part of a year to dig through it all and get what we wanted. Mario Casilio (sound engineer) spent time in the studio together mixing it and making sure it sounded good enough as a representation of the band. It\u2019s the first album I’ve been able to produce for the band. I feel like we picked some interesting tunes that don\u2019t get played very often, like an old version of \u201cBlister in the Sun,\u201d which we play once a year, so to capture a good one of those is great.<\/p>\n