JAMerica

August 5, 2013
This oral history of jam bands is told through the words of the musicians and others connected to the jam band scene, which is well known for its improvisational style, passionate audiences, and extended live shows. Though the scene has its roots in midcentury jazz, the hippie bands of the ’60s, and the psychedelic music of the 1970s, this book focuses on the music created from the late ’80s to the present day. While it could use some more background on groundbreaking bands like the Allman Brothers and Cream, the book features members of well-known jam bands like Phish, Blues Traveler, and Widespread Panic. It creates a detailed picture of how jam bands rose from small clubs in Manhattan and small towns like Burlington, Vt., to create a cultural movement that includes the H.O.R.D.E. tours of the 1990s and today’s Bonnaroo. Though very few in the book want to be pigeonholed by the term “jam band,” the musicians interviewed explore topics like what it means to be a jam band, the influence of the Grateful Dead, the power of live music and a dedicated fan base, and the free taping of live shows. Conners (Growing Up Dead) has, by synthesizing these different ideas into a harmonious collection of quotations, musings, memories, and even e-mails from fans, created a literary work that captures on paper the collaborative, spontaneous, and uplifting nature of the jam band music.

August 15, 2013
A meandering oral history of the modern jam-band landscape. Conners (White Hand Society: The Psychedelic Partnership of Timothy Leary & Allen Ginsberg, 2010, etc.) is no stranger to these misty mountain hops, having already chronicled his latter-day tenure as a Deadhead in his memoir, Growing Up Dead (2009). Here, the author borrows the oral history form of history-making championed by the likes of Legs McNeil and dozens of lesser rock 'n' roll historians. Although the narrative does get us, finally, to the present day, the book is very much rooted in the post-Jerry Garcia vacuum of the early 1990s, into which countless improvisational musicians stepped. Speaking of the infamous H.O.R.D.E. festival that originated in 1992, John Popper of Blues Traveler says, "We wanted to call it Lollapatchouli. But we wanted people to take it seriously, and my fantasy, being into Attila the Hun, was: it's a cold day someplace in Kansas when, in from the south, comes Widespread Panic Fans consuming everything in their way, and from the north are Phish fans, and from the east comes Blues Traveler, and from the west comes Bela Fleck." Conners includes interviews with all of these and more, including festival icon Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction and Mickey Hart and Bob Weir from the Dead. Some of the other bright lights, like Trey Anastasio of the seminal (and cult-inspiring) jam band Phish, seem to have been conveniently plucked from interviews in magazines like High Times. There's some substance here in the debate over concert recordings, but Conners guides most of the conversations to talking about the vibe, that mystic connection between fans that may be lost on anyone who isn't a serious devotee of this scene. A coda of comments from fans with bon mots like "Festivals are church for the open minded" ends the book, for better or worse. A mostly superfluous volume that will nonetheless appeal to fans of the scene.

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October 15, 2013

Author and jam band fanatic Conners (Growing Up Dead) has interviewed for this book, as he states in the introduction, musicians who were open to being associated with a work about the jam band scene. Supplementing these pieces, previously recorded interviews, some by Conners, are interspersed throughout. Using the interviews, which span many generations of jam band history, the author aims to uncover the roots and evolution of the genre. Each chapter includes various responses to one question, often in the form of reminiscences, encompassing the history of the musicians' jam band experiences from influences, gigs, relationship with fans, and much more. Conners concludes with "A Few Words from the Fans" for another perspective. Readers interested in the history of the jam band scene from the musicians' point of view would be most interested in this book. Prior knowledge is not necessary, but reading a little about the bands first will enhance the experience. VERDICT While the extended interview format can feel very long to read, Conners's goal is to gather the history of jam bands from the musicians, and that is achieved.--Elizabeth Berndt-Morris, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mount Pleasant

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