On the 25th anniversary of his death, the music of Jerry Garcia continues to have an enduring presence in the extended Grateful Dead scene that has thrived for more than a generation since his passing. His iconic guitar play and signature vocals have now been consumed and enjoyed by fans of all ages thanks to modern audio technology that’s fueled by a trove of Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band releases.
Jerry Garcia truly was built to last. So it is fitting that we pay homage today to “Built to Last,” one of his last song writing credits. It appears on the Dead’s final studio album that shares the same name. With poetic lyrics supplied by longtime collaborator Robert Hunter, it’s a song of hope and resolve in trying times – items that are very relatable today.
Its first performance in a live setting was on October 20, 1988, at The Summit in Houston, TX. “Built to Last” appeared in the second set, following “Playing in the Band” and right before the “Drums” section. It wasn’t played again until February of 1989 when it made its way into the first set at a show at The Forum in Inglewood, CA.
In an odd twist, the song itself did not live up to its title as it was predominately played only in 1989, often appearing in the latter stages of the first set, before being shelved soon after. But it does share the distinction, along with “Blues for Allah,”“Terrapin Station,” and “Shakedown Street,” of being the title track for a Grateful Dead album.
Were the band still playing today, there’s little doubt that this song would reemerge in the live setting as the lyrics about strength in times of adversity and self reliance more than play to the current climate. And the song truly does speak to the Grateful Dead’s legacy of establishing something firm and long lasting that will stand the test of time. Pair all of that with a passionate guitar solo from Jerry and you’ve got a winner.
With that said, here’s the last ever live performance of “Built to Last,” played in Albany’s own Knickerbocker Arena. As today we celebrate the life and music of Jerry Garcia, whose legacy was undoubtedly built to last.
“Built to Last” – words by Robert Hunter, music by Jerry Garcia
There are times that you can beckon There are times when you must call You can shake a ton of reckoning But you can’t shake it all There are times when I can help you out And times that you must fall There are times when you must live in doubt And I can’t help at all
Three blue stars / Rise on the hill Say no more, now / Just be still All these trials / Soon be past Look for something / Built to last
One blue star / Sets on the hill Call it back / You never will One more star / Sinks in the past Show me something / Built to last.
Built to last till time itself Falls tumbling from the wall Built to last till sunshine fails And darkness moves on all Built to last while years roll past Like cloudscapes in the sky Show me something built to last Or something built to try
There are times when you get hit upon Try hard but you cannot give Other times you’d gladly part With what you need to live Don’t waste the breath to save your face When you have done your best And even more is asked of you Let fate decide the rest.
All the stars / Are gone but one Morning breaks / Here comes the sun Cross the sky now / Sinking fast Show me something / Built to last
The Greyboy Allstars have re-released their 1994 debut album, West Coast Boogaloo and their surprise new album Como De AllStars. West Coast Boogaloo features Fred Wesley will be reissued on vinyl Friday, Aug. 7. The recording will also appear for the first time digitally on all streaming and download platforms.
The band was quickly embraced by the Grateful Dead and Phish audiences before there even was an actual “jam scene.” The Greyboy Allstars have paved the way for a new generation of bands to play jazz-based improvisation as dance music in rock venues. The Greyboy Allstars consists of saxophonist Karl Denson, guitarist Elgin Park, keyboardist Robert Walter, bassist Chris Stillwell and drummer Aaron Redfield. They are known as some of the most revered players on the modern funk and soul jazz scenes.
When The Greyboy Allstars self-released West Coast Boogaloo in 1994, its eight tunes felt both anachronistic and urgent. But their song, “Fried Grease” centered on an irrepressible new horn riff, bejeweled by wild organ runs and strutting guitar. Built with commanding drum breaks, an itchy bassline, and pensive keys, the song “Gravee” felt like a state of mind that could last forever.
The quintet’s latest album, Como De AllStars is their first in seven years and was released on July 3. It’s 25 years later, and the band is still at it—all while individual members have their own successful careers. Karl Denson plays in The Rolling Stones and his own Tiny Universe, Mike Andrews scores films, most recently The King Of Staten Island, Robert Walter leads his own 20th Congress and plays keys in Phish bassist Mike Gordon’s solo band and Chris Stillwell and Aaron Redfield are an in demand rhythm section with credits stretching from Elton John to Charli XCX. Como De Allstars is a stirring and timely testament to the revolutionary origins and powers of jazz, funk, and their boogaloo blend—and the Greyboy Allstars’ continual ability to deliver them.
Just as music fans the world over are clamoring to get their fix, so, too, are musicians longing to get out in front of actual crowds and ply their trade. No live stream can replicate the energy of a live concert, where musical notes serve as a conduit facilitating an infinite loop of energy travelling between the band and the audience. Live music requires presence — you have to be there, to be sure — though not just in body, but in mind and spirit, too. Within that presence, as one finds alignment with the head, the heart, and the feet, is where the magic lives. As it has been said, “Seek and ye shall find.”
Bridging that thought, it’s been especially hard to find live music these days (no explanation necessary), especially that of the safe and socially distant variety with crowds respectful of both coronavirus and others’ personal space. Creativity has become the order of the day in terms of booking, and I’ve now been lucky enough to catch a few live shows in locales previously unthinkable: a field behind Woodbridge HS, the Asbury Park Elks Lodge, even a few backyards, not least of all my own.
Some days live music seems more poignant than others; Jerry Garcia’s birthday has always been one of those days. I’ll never forget seeing Jerry on his birthday at The Palace at Auburn Hills, August 1, 1994, one of just three performances by the Grateful Dead on this date. Well, in the summer of 2020, any live show is special, and just as I was one of the lucky ones to see Jerry’s birthday show in ‘94, so, too, was I lucky enough to see Cosmic open the Days Between (marked by the days between Jerry’s birth and death, 8/9/95) on August 1, 2020.
After having spent the day on the beach in Asbury Park with my wife, we parted ways {one of the beautiful things about our marriage is that even though we have divergent interests, she unilaterally supports my passions} and I grabbed some primo socially distant real estate at the Asbury Elks Lodge, right up front near the band and in front of the PA. I’ve spoken of silver linings in other recent musings, but my favorite one bears repeating: encroaching on someone else’s personal space has become societally uncool, and that bodes really well for an abundance of dancing space. Punctuality has also become the order of the day and, since timeliness is next to godliness, mine was rewarded not just with the best 10×10 foot square in the house but also with soundcheck, a tasty version of “Beat It On Down the Line,” even if the band ultimately decided not to play a “seventy-eight beat intro for Jerry’s birthday” after briefly parrying the idea back and forth.
Just fifteen short minutes after the announced start time of 4:00, everybody was dancing in a ring around the sun as Cosmic took to the stage and opened this gorgeous afternoon with the Grateful Dead’s anthemic summer song, “The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion.” This song has a short history with the Grateful Dead and wasn’t to be played live at any time after 1967, wayyyy before my time, heck, even before the actual summer of love later that same year, but to me it’s always been a party tune and set a fiery tone for the day as the band implored, “Hey hey, hey, come right away. Come and join the party every day.” An impressive and energetic “Viola Lee Blues” followed (is there any other kind???), before the band played “Set Me Free”, the first of seven original tunes they would play on this sunny August afternoon.
Shirtless guys and sun-kissed girls in long flowing dresses, spinning and twirling in a scene reminiscent of San Francisco’s Golden Gate park, the crowd was beauty personified. On this day, as we celebrated what would have been Jerome John Garcia’s 78th trip around the sun, none of us were thinking about the problems of the world, at least no more so than pertained to social distance and wearing masks. We were celebrating the life and music of Jerry Garcia, the outward expression of whose passion in turn shaped most of our lives. From the youngest among us who, forget about having seen Garcia live, probably shouldn’t have been drinking legally, to those with stories from the Avalon Ballroom and the last time they saw “Golden Road” live, our collective spirit embodied the principle of community.
Yet, in a whole world full of petty wars, “Throwing Stones” unfortunately seems to grow more relevant with each passing day. Political bullshit aside, it’s a fun song that set up one of the day’s highlights, “Cream Puff War”, driven by the insane timekeeping of drummer Dan Donovan, who would also provide an interesting bit of trivia during set break, “I wanted to make sure we worked this one into the setlist today since it’s the only tune (whose lyrics) were written by Garcia.” A short but combustible tune that the Grateful Dead only played in 1966 and 1967, Cosmic did it great justice on this most special day for Deadheads. That, I think, is the beauty of the Grateful Dead and the symbiosis they inspire between the musicians occupying their space and the deadheads taking it all in. Regardless of who’s holding the guitar, we’re all just fans (maybe fanatics would be more appropriate but let’s not parse words).
Another glorious original rocker followed, “Make Me Feel High,” as Wanda, Exalted Ruler of the Fraternal Order of Asbury Elks (I can’t shake the image of Fred Flinstone as Grand Poobah of the Royal Order of Water Buffaloes) made her way to the stage, seemingly intent on having a discussion with each band member during the middle of the song. Fully expecting a buzzkill announcement like “turn it down” or some shit like that, Wanda surprised me at the end of the song by taking the mic and welcoming us all while imploring us to “enjoy the music and the hospitality.” Poor timing aside, it was a nice message.
Taking the break as a chance to confess their hunger and ask for provisions, a familiar drumbeat signalled the start of “Samson & Delilah,” with bassist John “Jelly Roll” Nemeth taking lead vocals. John was a noticeable force on the bass all afternoon and I’m sure glad I had a hand in getting his mix turned up during soundcheck. “Wine Women Rock”, another original, this one with keyboardist Billy Siegel on lead vocals, was so good that one fan felt inspired to drop a tip in the bucket on stage left in the middle of the song.
Even when he’s not singing Dead tunes, Billy still has the Brent Mydland thing going on and I just love his vocals, this last being my favorite of the “Billy” tunes. Lead singer and guitarist Michael Jaskewicz went off script with the next one, a lovely version of Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece” before an explosive “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” that closed the set 75 minutes and almost 10,000 steps later.
I love that this band, with a local and loyal following behind them, has the balls to play their own songs in key spots of the set. Opening the second set with “This Fire”, they continue to make the statement that they are so much more than a Dead cover band. I haven’t asked but I suppose that’s why they dropped “Jerry Band” from their moniker, as they seek to grow and develop their own material. I’ve now heard eleven original songs over two shows these past couple of weeks, and here’s to hoping there’s an album release on the horizon.
“Foolish Heart” is always a treat and Jaskewicz characteristically dazzled with both his guitar and his voice. “The Wheel” gave way to “Crooked Tree”, another rockabilly original that really slams as Siegel pounded the black and whites. Some fine setlist wizardry gave an emphatic Siegel the chance to continue stealing this segment of the show with the joyous “Hey Pocky Way” that followed. There would be no MVP, however, on this sun-soaked afternoon, as it was a total team effort. “Run For the Roses” was the first turn through the Jerry Garcia catalog before “We Are Divine,” an original dripping with proggy funk that was one of the best songs of the night, GD or otherwise.
During “Terrapin Station,” I closed my eyes and transported to another time and place, enjoying the simultaneous delicacy and raw power of a song that, from the first time I heard it, literally shaped the rest of my life. The Rolling Stone’s “Loving Cup,” even if it felt more like Phish’s version, rocked like the set closer that it could have been (my notes here simply read, “Sweet Jesus!”), even though there was still a “Loose Lucy” and a “Might As Well” on tap. Singing thank you, for a real good time!
I’d have gone home happy right then and there, fully spent having shared all of my love and energy with the band and the folks around me, but if the band was going to treat us to one (or three) more, I’d dig deep and continue to give all of myself right back. One more original was followed by a pair of JGB tunes, the powerful “Mission In the Rain” and the prayerful “Sisters and Brothers”. “Mission” has long been a personal favorite, a song by Robert Hunter that really paints a picture of the human condition.
Of this song, Garcia, in an interview, once said “Mission in the Rain” was “… a song that might be about me. It’s my life; it’s like a little piece of my life. Hunter writes me once in a while.” I felt every bit of that with Nemeth’s foreboding bass notes and Jaskewicz’ stirring vocals. As for “Sisters and Brothers”, what better way to close the day than with the hopeful gospel of Charles Johnson song popularized by the Jerry Garcia Band, “My Sisters and Brothers.” I’ll leave you with the power of its words …
I wanna say to my sisters and my brothers Keep the faithWhen the storm flies and the wind blows Go on at a steady pace When the battle is fought, and the victory’s won We can all shout together, we have overcome We’ll talk to the Father and the Son When we make it to the promised land If we walk together, little children We don’t ever have to worry Through this world of trouble We gotta love one another Let us take our fellow man by the hand Try to help him to understand We can all be together, forever and ever When we make it to the promised land
18,651 steps on the lawn of the Asbury Elks. Who’d have thunk it???
Setlist
Soundcheck: Beat It On Down the Line
Set One: The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) > Viola Lee Blues, Set Me Free*, Throwing Stones > Cream Puff War > Make Me Feel High*, Samson & Delilah, Wine Women Rock*, When I Paint My Masterpiece, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider
Set Two: This Fire*, Foolish Heart, The Wheel, Crooked Tree*, Hey Pocky Way, Run For the Roses, We Are Divine*, Terrapin Station, Loving Cup, Loose Lucy, Might As Well
Encore: unknown original, Mission in the Rain, My Sisters & Brothers
Well, moe. was supposed to perform at Vernon Downs this past weekend, but the powers that be pulled the plug just two days prior to the shows. Making lemonade out of lemons, moe. instead streamed both nights of shows from Big Blue North Recording Studio in Utica, where they had been rehearsing for the shows. The band sent the following video message to fans prior to the show.
Over the two nights, fans were treated to a tracks off the new album, This is Not, We Are, a few classic moe. jam vehicles and a couple of choice covers that left the fans buzzing on the couch and online.
Highlights from the two shows included a “St. Stephen” jam in the new song “Crushing,” “Timmy Tucker” and “Brent Black” both providing ample room for improvisation, and a cover of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” sandwiched in between “Bear Song” to end the first set of the weekend.
On August 1, the band paid tribute to Jerry Garcia on his birthday with a “West L.A. Fadeaway” that was anything but your typical cover of a Dead tune. Rob starts this out with heavy funk in his bass as Al’s gutiar takes a spacey journey to the lyrics. Full of just the right amount of notes, the band put a most unique twist on the song, one you’ll want to check out below.
With a rousing “New York City” to end the two nights, moe. tipped their hat to the Big Apple with their ode to the heart of the Empire State and epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic in America.
If you missed the shows, order here from Tour Gigs.
Setlist – July 31, 2020
Set 1: Johnny Lineup, Akimbo, Along for the Ride, Tubing The River Styx > The Pit > Dangerous Game > Bearsong > Walk On The Wild Side > Bearsong
Set 2: Brent Black > Mar-Dema > Who You Calling Scared, Four, ATL, Can’t Seem To Find, Billy Goat > Brent Black
Encore: Plane Crash, Jazz Cigarette
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uKkKXyMpKA
Setlist – August 1, 2020
Set 1: Buster, Downward Facing Dog > Deep This Time, Undertone > Letter Home, Tailspin, Skitchin’ Buffalo > Skitchin Buffalo Reprise > Wind it up
Set 2: George, Blue Jeans Pizza > Crushing > LL3 > Bullet, Don’t Wanna Be > Timmy Tucker
Phish frontman Trey Anastasio today releases his new album, Lonely Trip, comprised of songs written and recorded during lockdown at his home in New York City.
Initially, Lonely Trip songs were released through Anastasio’s Instagram over the past five months, and have been remixed by longtime studio collaborate Bryce Goggin. The album releases on Anastasio’s own label, Rubber Jungle Records.
Anastasio shared this on the making of Lonely Trip:
Lonely Trip was conceived and recorded in isolation at my home studio (aka Rubber Jungle) during the peak of New York City’s COVID-19 crisis, March — July, 2020. When the lockdown began, I had by chance just completed a weekend songwriting session with my friends and longtime collaborators Tom Marshall and Scott Herman. That session took place March 13th and 14th just as the crisis was beginning in New York, so the themes of fear and isolation were already finding their way into those first songs. By the time I arrived home, the situation in NYC had gotten much worse.
Knowing I wasn’t going to be leaving my apartment for a while, I started working. It felt therapeutic to write. I wanted to connect with our community in some way. The unplanned nature of the recording meant I didn’t have a lot of gear during this process. I had an electric and an acoustic guitar, a small amp, two microphones, some percussion, and two keyboards, including an old Kurzweil with very realistic drum sounds on it. Everything was recorded through a Spire 8-track. Lonely Trip is truly a raw, low-fi recording.
The process of writing songs became a reflective and healing experience. Being able to share these songs instantly with our community via Instagram felt equally profound. It harkened back to my youth, before there was a Phish, when I would write songs and home-record them specifically with the intention of sharing them with my circle of friends via cassette four-track recordings.
As the weeks went by, I worked on improving my recording techniques. I called recording engineers including Ben Collette and Vance Powell to get tips on microphone placement, and I purchased a bass guitar online. I also started tapping into a Dropbox folder with about 30 four-minute drum sequences that I had recorded with Jon Fishman over the last year.
For the previous few Phish albums (including Kasvot Växt and Sigma Oasis), I had been experimenting with writing songs, starting with drum beats that I had sung into my phone. Fish and I would go into the studio and record the beats exactly as I had sung them, with Fish launching off in his unique way after a minute or two. I used these beats as building blocks to many of the songs on Lonely Trip, and it explains how I could do a whole album in Rubber Jungle with such good sounding drums. Thank you Fish!
The album was ultimately mixed by my friend Bryce Goggin, and as always, Bryce’s mixes sound incredible. Thank you Bryce!
Lonely Trip was my message in a bottle during this time, and I wish I knew how to properly thank all of you in our community for listening and responding. It meant so much to me. Thank you. Wishing all of you much love and safety during this turbulent time.
This album is dedicated to the heroism of our healthcare and essential workers.
— Trey
From Anastasio’s experience to your ears. Doing what few performers have done during this great pause, Anastasio releases an album that conveys the emotions of doubt, fear, joy, loneliness, love and many more in a seamless album. As songs appeared on Instagram, Phish fans jumped at the opportunity to revel in the unique and fresh tracks that were inspired by the same lockdown conditions they were experiencing. The result of Lonely Trip is a journey through the past five months and will serve as an uplifting musical bookmark on this era.
Long Island jam band veterans, Cousin Fungus, have a long history of strong live performances. Some even credit them with contributing strongly to the establishment of a much more vibrant jam band scene today. With the release of 22, Vol.1, the band has released its best recorded material to date. With Volumes 2 and 3 promised to be right behind, veteran as well as new fans are in for quite a sonic treat.
The band is made up of three brothers: Thomas (bass guitar, vocals), Christian (drums, percussion) and Henry (guitar, vocals) Stanziale. Good friend, Dennis Belline, Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards), rounds out this group of stand-out musicians. The tight knit bonds between the members are on display on here in the cohesiveness of their sound. The collaboration just feels natural and easy.
From the opening keyboard notes on 22, Vol.1 evoking the Who, the songs sound both nostalgic and yet contemporary. This volume clocks in at just over forty minutes and the seven songs included are positive, almost celebratory. As bands and fans gear up for the return to live music shows, keep an eye out for Cousin Fugus. They are at the top of their game and ready to get back to the jam!
Key Tracks: Embrace, Black Cat Black Dog, Caravan
With the release of 22, Vol.II, the Cousin Fungus crew unleashes their first album of live tracks. These seven songs have been honed and developed over the years, crafted with audiences watching. The guitar work is as steady and solid as you’d expect from these jam band veterans. And the keyboard contributions really stand out, sometimes as featured solos, but also as a connective agent between all of the pieces assembled here.
Cousin Fungus doesn’t shy away from exploring different styles of music either. There are bluesy elements, funky stylings and straight ahead roaring guitar riffs.
The final installment of the “22” trilogy will be released in the coming months.
The moe. Miracle Mile Drive-In concert was cancelled days before it’s shows on July 31 and Aug. 1. by venue management on July 29 due to safety concerns. Vernon Downs Casino Hotel was scheduled to host the performances but abruptly changed their minds with continuing concerns revolving around the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers of the event stated that, “Despite putting a comprehensive health and safety plan in place for the events, Vernon Downs management made the preemptive decision to not allow the concerts to be held on-site due to the continuing health and safety concerns surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the article in Observer-Dispatch.
The band announced via their Facebook that their moe. Miracle Mile Drive-In would have to be canceled due to the short notice given to them by Vernon Downs Casino Hotel. They also stated that refunds will be automatically issued by Ticketmaster to all original ticket purchasers.
The promoter of the show, Creative Concerts Inc, states in their Facebook post that Vernon Downs Casino Hotel breached their contract and forced the show to be canceled. “We’re devastated by this turn of events and are still committed to bringing safe socially distanced events to upstate and central NY….Thank you for being so supportive of our efforts hopefully we can find a new venue in the near future that will honor their promises and commitment,” stated Chuck Chao, President of Creative Concerts Inc.
moe. also announced that, “While [we] can no longer play for you in a live concert setting, we will still perform for you live via webcast. We have been rehearsing in an historic church-turned-recording studio and will broadcast two full moe. shows from this setting, starting at 7pm on Friday and Saturday evenings. We hope you can join us virtually. For tickets and more information, please visit tourgigs.com/shows”
Buffalo’s Intrepid Travelers welcome two new members to the band, saxophonist Ellen Pieroni (Folkfaces) and bassist Zak Beutel, who join the already stellar IT lineup of Donny Frauenhofer (keys, vocals), Brian Calisto (guitar, vocals) and Jon Fohl (drums, vocals).
photo by Sam Murray
Pieroni shared her thoughts on joining Intrepid Travelers:
I’ve considered myself to be IT fam for the better half of the 5+ years Donny and I have been dating. Over the years, I’ve attended a bunch of shows, sat in on countless tunes, worked the merch table, and volunteered for IT fest. I’ve jokingly said for years “you should just let me join the band!” Well, recently they decided to finally listen and let me try IT out. It’s been a blast so far, immersing myself in new experiences like deep improvisation, exploring and building my pedal rig, composing new music, and taking on a larger role vocally than I have in any band before. It feels really good to be creative in new ways and be thrown into a band where folks are just as excited for the next chapter. The group chat is constantly lighting up with new ideas and I’m super happy to be a part of it.
Beutel looks as his joining IT and the long journey from fan to band member
One night in September 2014, I went to EBC, a staple in the town of Fredonia where I was attending college, to check out this band that all my upperclassman friends had exclaimed to be THE band to see in Fredonia. Upon entering, I was overtaken by the range of blissful sounds, to downright funk, and all the spaces in between. It was Intrepid Travelers, and immediately I was taken aback by their dynamic musicianship, inspired improvisation, and creative songwriting ability, as it had far exceeded any local acts I had previously seen. I bought a CD, and the Have You Seen My Rainbow Monkey EP was a mainstay in my old car that only took CDs and is now what I consider to be one of the ‘soundtracks’ to my first year at Fredonia.
Years later in late 2019, my buddy and I needed a drummer for a charity gig, and Jon (Fohl)n was the first person that came to mind, so we reached out and he joined us for a fun show. A few months later, I saw a post of his on Facebook that he was looking for some gigs, to which I reached out and suggested a side project, and let him know I was available if he needed bass for anything. In a somewhat serendipitous way, he let me know that he had been thinking about reaching out to me as Intrepid Travelers had taken a hiatus and weren’t sure what the steps would be moving forward, but that he thought I would be a welcome fit in the group and that we should give it a go. A few months after quarantine, and after many jam sessions with Jon and Brian, I headed over to Donny’s for the first practice with Intrepid Travelers as a whole, where we warmed up with the classic “Photobooth Youth” and launched into a 15-minute jam segment out of it, and the rest is history. It feels full circle in a way, as I can still remember watching these guys on stage in Fredonia and wishing I was up there with them, and to say I’m honored and excited to be in this band would be an understatement. Everything fell into place, and it’s only up from here. I can’t wait to see what the coming years hold for the band, and I’m so grateful to be along for the ride.
Naturally, keyboardist Donny Frauenhofer is excited for the band to return with two new members:
Intrepid Travelers is back with new songs, new members and new energy! I know its a strange time to be “back” as a band that primarily existed as a live act considering what has happened to the live music industry, but it really ended up being the perfect time to get the wheels turning again in a low pressure environment. We had already been talking since the fall about going hard on making content, and just having a greater focus on creating rather than just playing shows constantly.
Taking a break in the past year was both timely and necessary for Intrepid Travelers to get the creative juices flowing again:
In our time off, we were able to focus better on what we wanted Intrepid Travelers to be as both an entity and for each of us personally. The band being a living, breathing thing that evolves has been at our foundation since Day 1 (one of our earliest songs was called “Always Evolving”). The nice thing is theres very little pressure, so we’re just having fun – and our longtime fans, friends, and supporters seem to be really enjoying it. We played an outdoor show on a neighbors porch and the turnout was incredible.
We have some new, but familiar faces in the band. Zak Beutel, who I actually collaborated with over quarantine a few times, but I’ve just met recently, is taking over the bass and vocals role. Additionally, Ellen Pieroni of Folkfaces is joining on vocals/saxophone/mandolin/whatever other instrument she picks up. We also have a team for the first time since 2016 – Brandon Keller, who had put on Woodhenge Sustainability, Music, and Art Festival is helping manage and book for us, and we also have Tim Merrill who had worked as Witty Tarbox’s manager for a while is joining us to help in a more creative role.
Intrepid Travelers have also announced IT Fest IV to be held in Hannibal, NY for August 28-29, with very limited capacity. More information coming soon.
In 2020, it is nearly impossible to imagine 600,000 people gathering anywhere, but especially in the rural town of Watkins Glen for Summer Jam ’73. For live music enthusiasts, summer is the best time of the year. The warmest months typically mean road trips with friends to exotic cities like Hartford, Connecticut; Bangor, Maine; and Camden, New Jersey. It means forgetting your tent stakes and having to make new friends by begging for extras at music festivals. Summer is when the sun stays up the latest, the air smells the dankest, and live music infuses with nature in the most powerful ways.
As many festival professionals, seasoned Shakedowners, and road warriors are isolated in their hometowns waiting for social ‘undistancing’ to begin, we take a trip back in time to July 1973 — to Summer Jam at Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway. Thanks to Dave Smith’s Historic Essay, and many other stories written by attendees of the mega-event, we’ve put together a list of 1973 Flashbacks from that iconic yet blurry weekend.
UPSTATE NEW YORK’S LARGEST CITY
With 600,000 people crammed onto 95 acres, Watkins Glen became one of the most densely populated areas on Earth! It is estimated that 1 in every 400 Americans trekked to the event, many being young adults from the Northeast.
JAM BEFORE THE MUSIC
New York State Police estimated 20 miles of roadblocks (with over 50 miles of traffic) by 4am Saturday morning — 8 hours before the first band was set to take the stage. Traffic was so backed up many guests abandoned their cars and walked tens of miles to get in. On Wednesday night, 48 hours before the actual event, police estimated roughly 50,000 new guests in a town of 3,500. By Thursday, that figure doubled and by Friday night, Watkins Glen was a quarter-million strong. New York State Troopers recalled Woodstock and the nightmarish traffic problems. This was worse.
ICONIC MUD OF NEW YORK MEGAFESTS
Tents, tarps, flip-flops, beer cans, strollers, coolers, empty peanut butter jars, and fancy sun hats were among the items caked into the mud long after the event was over. Much like New York’s iconic music festival four years earlier, Woodstock, Summer Jam ’73 had its fair share of torrential rain and ass-shaking hippies to create an Upstate NY mud bath for the ages.
IS THIS STILL SOUNDCHECK?
The Band and the Allman Brothers Band both put on longer (and more rocking) soundchecks than usual to warm up the early attendees, but The Grateful Dead put on a two-set pre-show for the ages. Bassist Phil Lesh did his best to remind the crowd, “This is still just a test,” as they introduced Set II, but happily, no one was buying it. “This whole thing is a fraud, we’re really clever androids,” Lesh announced before breaking into a legendary “Bird Song.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7L1zD4Xh-Q
TRANQUIL(IZERS) AND SERENE
How do you take the beauty of the Finger Lakes Region and make it even more spectacular? Drugs. Jamaican grass, speed, LSD, magic mushrooms, mescaline, cocaine, and a suspicious clown peddling Ex-Lax were a few of the items found at the mind-altering buffet that weekend. Dealers made so much money selling everything from animal tranquilizers to bags of oregano, that some of them rented U-Haul storage trailers just to leave behind come Sunday morning.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
With over half a million young adults gathered from all parts of the country, there was almost zero violence (one stabbing reported). A 74-year old Watkins Glen native, George Rehety, reported from his lawn chair, “You know, these are nice kids. I haven’t seen one fight.” An eight-year-old from nearby Corning, NY had this stellar recap: “Music was good, but I couldn’t understand the words. What was that funny smell? The food that I tasted was really yummy.”
LOCAL LAW KEPT IT COOL
600,000 drunk and stoned young people in blazing heat — what could go wrong? The sheriff of Schuyler Country was Maurice Dean of Watkins Glen. As one of the youngest sheriffs in the Empire State, his age helped him understand the prevalent generation that was “invading” his town. When comparing the Summer Jam crowd to the Can-Am crowd just one week earlier, a mounted cop said, “I’d rather deal with these kids than the race crowd any day. I’ve never been called ‘Sir’ so many times in my life.”
BUZZED AND CONFUSED
The drug of choice for the weekend was Jack Daniels and Canadian Club whiskey. Pull tab beer cans like “Genny” went for 99 cents a six-pack, but only if you were prepared. The local beer suppliers were fresh out. “And I’d filled the place with beer, up to the ceiling,” Jack Mafianey, the Beverage Baron himself, said. “This is ten times bigger than the Grand Prix.” With the biggest party on Earth happening in a tiny town, beer disappeared. According to Dave Smith’s record, concert beer initially went for $.75 a can and when all the ice melted, warm beer cost a quarter.
GO CHASING WATERFALLS
Nude swimmers were surfacing all over the beautiful Finger Lakes Region. At the end of Main Street, Chequaqua Falls saw its fair share of bare butts, and Aunt Sarah’s Falls in Montour Falls became a communal bathtub by the Sunday morning. Locals laughed at the sight of concertgoers emerged in the local ponds off County Route 16 — a favorite for Watkins Glen snapping turtles that loved to chomp anything that dangled past them. One local couple looked outside their window to see a trio of young women spraying each other down with a hose. Not the usual Saturday night ritual in Watkins Glen.
WILL WAIT FOR FOOD
Forget about fast food in rural Finger Lakes towns back in 1973. Jim Teemley’s Meat Market and Deli was the next best thing for the dry-mouthed hippies that descended on the community. Teemley’s wife recalled, “It was as orderly as a school cafeteria, the kids were very polite and mannerly, and there were no incidents of potato chip bags or candy being stolen.” On Route 414, the Simpson’s store ran out of food at a record pace, and although the Raceway was prepared for 150,000, they didn’t properly supply for four times that amount. Luckily, with free entry, the extra $10 fans brought for the now free concert entry was more than enough to acquire sustenance.
While the world may never see another Summer Jam ’73, music festivals will return. The sweet sound of live music will fill the air. You and your friends will make unforgettable memories. And concertgoers will wake up on another hazy Monday morning with mud in their Birkenstocks. 2020 may prevent us from partying with 600,000 like-minded people, but it won’t stop us from discovering the wonders of nature and finding community through the chaos.
Kids These Daze is a detailed description of the world’s musical genres, interpreted by Casey and the Comrades. It’s as though they’re telling you about their worldly travels, but this time, you’ll actually want to hear about someone else’s vacation stories. Casey Cranford (of BIG Something) and friends, have fused a wide variety of sounds together that add spice to their jam band undertones – and strung together, it makes for a very exciting album.
In their press release, they say “listeners will find a completely original sound” Completely original? No. But when you step back and look at the big picture, then yes – the execution of the album is fairly original. Special guests like, Nick MacDaniels, Becca Stevens, Paul Hanson, Billy Cardine, Saxton Rose, Nate Werth, and Lucy Woodward, bring their impressive musical talents to the table, which makes each track unique and dissectible.
One thing that allows them to be so eclectic is the EWI (electronic wind instrument) played by Casey Cranford. His instrument can emulate the sounds of most winded instruments, allowing the group to morph into different genres. The saxophone is the most prominent sound we hear throughout the album, which can be heard playing the extremely memorable licks on “H1N1” and “ExciteBikeRack.” Speaking of – these tracks are the most interesting and energetic of the bunch. In “H1N1” We’re thrown straight into, what feels like a sandstorm raging through the Arabian deserts. We dive and fall into a fast paced race through memorable licks and avant garde solos. Then we’re seamlessly dropped into heavy, dense breakdowns that keep things spicy. The whole track is 7:39 second roller coaster of sound.
In “ExciteBikeRack,” we feel this sense of constant forward movement, coupled with hard hitting left and right turns, which allows for an ideal space to solo over in a live and studio setting. The hardest hitting turn is the rap break by TommyBlaze336. Not something we hear often in a “psychedelic space fusion” band, as they have proclaimed themselves to be.
Aptly named, “Fall” is the jazziest of the album. We feel like we’re free falling through space, with our attention being gently directed to the wide array of solos from a lush saxophone and bright keyboard, brought to us by Julian Sizemore. The track does drone on a for a while but as it ends, we feel ourselves “surviving the fall” as the lyrics go, and finally reaching the ground, entering the next song of the album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdRiAnF3T3k
So is this a “completely original sound” as proclaimed? In the grand expanse of time, no, it’s not original. So many key aspects go into making a sound that is distinguishable and different from anything else. Someone’s very unique voice, guitar tone or production tactics, are what give a band a unique sound. Somehow, we’ve heard these songs before. We’ve seen cooky instruments in a jam band, we’ve heard a jam band use Middle Eastern/ Arabic tones and scales, we’ve seen the concept album about how technology is double edged sword, and we’ve experienced the psychedelic space jam band. But again this should not undercut the fact that this album is interesting, impressive, full of creative licks and hooks.
It’s always impressive when people master their instruments, when groups of six or more can collectively agree on a vision, and make it come to life in a well executed and precisely produced manner. But being one of a kind doesn’t mean adding layers and layers of instruments and fussing every known genre together. It’s something that comes naturally, even accidentally, over years and years. We hope this group reaches that threshold, where we the listeners can hear a song, a lick, or vocalist, play something that is quintessentially Casey and the Comrades, because it’s obvious these men and women have the talent to make it happen.
