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by Alex Cosper (9/16/14) There's probably a good argument that improvisational jambands have been around since the Grateful Dead in the 1960s. Since the death of Jerry Garcia in 1996 many improvisational jambands have sprung up all over America. It's not a regional sound, as it is more of a multi-cultural international sound. The music draws from influences all over the globe. The truth is that this type of music has been going on for a very long time but it only started to catch the attention of the press whenever it became a news story that the Grateful Dead were the greatest touring band in history, without relying on hit records. The Grateful Dead got the most press, partly because they actually did have hit records like "Truckin'" and "Touch of Grey." But it's still important to point out they did countless arena and stadium shows over many decades with only a short stack of hits at pop radio, whereas there have been many pop stars with a dozen hits that can no longer sell out a small venue. For awhile in the early to mid 90s it appeared that Phish would be the successor to the jamband thrown with their similar blend of folk, rock, blues, country and hippy flavored dance music. They built up a following by touring with the Dead, as did the Dave Matthews Band. Now in 2014 there are zillion of improvisational jambands across America. Some of them have developed incredible followings, such as Umphrey's McGee in Chicago. Another rising band that mixes several psychedelic sounds in a modern way is Dopapod from the Northeast, where they have been together since 2007. They've played many big festivals including the Allman Brothers' big Peach Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 2012 they released their third studio album, Redivider, which was powered completely by solar energy. Most of Dopapod's music is instrumental and ventures into the experimental side of melodies and rhythms. Some of it sounds inspired by Pink Floyd and some of it sounds like it comes from a melting pop of multiple inspirations. It's very tuneful music that stands out in the indie world as an actual doorway into higher consciousness and not just typical indie marketing of super strange or super generic sounds. The music is original and has an inviting and expressive sound such as the song "Bubble Brain" from the Redivider album. The band's website is Dopapod.com. The following jambands are listed on ReverbNation, which is a popular site where you can find millions of indie bands that are categorized by genres as well as cities. Many of these bands are heavily influenced by 60s psychedelic artists such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. Blue Lotus Stoned and Beautiful The Settlement The Sonic Soup Jam-band The Garcia Project Quactus Pierre Henderson The Coco Butter Band 8 Minutes to Burn Higher Consciousness Sri Yantra Donnie Lee Anderson The Honey Oil eXperiment Will Hanza Pipeline Riot Sidecar Agogo The Casual Ties Barley Harvest Subplane Remi Zena Moses & Rue Fiya Hothouse Barkers The Pine Needles Spongecake and the Fluff Ramblers The Atomic Sherpas Montoj State of Jefferson Live Painter Neal Barbosa Xander Greene Vibratek Dreadlock Dave JG & The Bongo Island Band Xavier Devereaux Kaosz Theory The MuckleBuck WTF is Zat Peridoni Ken Younger The Tracii Guns League of Gentlemen mosT higH The Smoked Meats A.M.U.S.E.=Art.Music.Unity Ptolemy Jonny B. Wright Mo Tight A Boy and His Mess NG Onyeukwu On DonZubi Entertainment Jim Cathcart Michael Douet BiggsBeatProduction The Playboyz |
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