Skiing and Music

[KustyTheKlown]

They have good management/marketing, I don’t think pete is their management tho. They have a TGR merch line it’s so fucking strange. The Grateful Dead and … goose?!? They also had a big write up in mountain gazette. There’s some sort of skiing connection, or at least the marketing wizards made it so.

To me they sounded like boys who really like listening to phish and my morning jacket in their dorm room.

 

[crank]

I have not seen nor heard Goose but yes they have really blown up. THey just sold out a bunch of nights in a row at the Capitol and are headlining festivals. They are from either Norwalk or WIlton CT where I hated living for 20 years.

Another new band I like, bunch of young guys are Dogs In a Pile. Though like many of these bands I prefer hearing them play covers. I want them to put their own spin on them but if they aren't writing great songs I'd rather hear them play great songs.

We also like the Revivalists and have been following/ seeing them since they were playing in bars and in side the lodge at the old Mountain Jam. Not a jam band but a band that can jam and they have a few great songs of their own.

 

[deadheadskier]

I don't think he is either, but he's clearly given them every opportunity from early on at Brooklyn Bowl, the Cap etc.

They kinda fall in the Twiddle category for me.

 

[Shredmonkey254]

I don't think he is either, but he's clearly given them every opportunity from early on at Brooklyn Bowl, the Cap etc.

They kinda fall in the Twiddle category for me.

Why Jam Bands Suck and Hawkwind Doesn’t​

Tim SommerSeptember 29, 2014
I was recently revising my Worst Bands of All Time list, and I asked myself, “Why are there no Jam Bands on this list? That seems very odd indeed, Tim, because Jam Bands are to music what Bret Easton Ellis is to Human Beings.” Part of the problem, of course, is that jam bands would clog up any “worst band” list almost immeasurably; but I decided to try to articulate why I have always considered Jam Bands exempt from the Worst Bands list:


Michael Rockefeller, who deserves better than to be casually referenced in a column on Jam Bands, though in this photo he does look like he might be on his way to a String Cheese Incident concert.
Like the cannibals who captured and consumed Michael Rockefeller in 1961, Jam Bands are generally an aberration that eat their own and don’t mess too much with outsiders. Yes, occasionally there’s a Michael Rockefeller-type incident, but these are rare enough that it’s generally (relatively) safe to pretend Jam Bands don’t exist, and just let them go about their own business.
However, the horrific atrocities of the last century have taught us to Never Forget, and we must, both as a culture and as individuals, never forget this: The world MUST know and MUST be reminded, in schools, in the household, and via the media, that NO ONE who owns a Mandolin should ever, under any circumstances, be permitted to listen to an Ornette Coleman Record while on drugs.


Impaled Nazarene, a Finnish Death Metal Band
It’s true, I just don’t get it, Jam Bands, that is, and by “don’t get it,” I mean I really really don’t get it. Occasionally, I will hear a Dead song and think “Huh…Phil Lesh has it going on,” but beyond that, the whole freaking genre is a black freaking hole to me. Maybe it’s a “lifestyle” thing, like the way most hardcore music was; I mean, you can throw a dart at a list of Finnish death metal bands and any name you hit will be more aesthetically pleasing than virtually any American hardcore band of the early/mid 1980s, but hardcore was a social thing, see? Oh okay SSD were pretty good and the Circle Jerks were great, and no, I am not counting the Bad Brains, because they were a musical life-force of astounding powers, a Nut-Cracking Shiva, so, they are their own freaking genre. And yes, Nut Cracking Shiva is a pretty goddamn hot band name.
Where was I?

In reality, I think the primary reason I cannot even remotely stand Jam Bands is because, well, because they’re not Hawkwind. See, the world deserves amazing jam music, which is to say, music of spontaneity and power and barely controlled but totally controlled out-of-control-ness and music that sounds great on drugs and music that sounds like you’re on drugs even when you’re not and music that sounds like an endless highway curling under the aurora borealis and music that sounds like the universe waking up in the morning and getting out of bed and music that sounds like the universe tucking itself into bed at night; but somehow, Jam Band music in the U.S. only sounds like one fucking thing, like the brutal lubrication-less wanks of people who have picked up the worst parts of jazz and bluegrass and who really paid attention when they went to Berklee.

WHERE DID THIS IDEA ORIGINATE THAT ‘JAM BANDS’ ALL HAD TO MOVE THEIR FINGERS REALLY FAST?!? That’s not a worthwhile skill, that’s just proving you had no friends in high school.



Listen, Hawkwind is a fucking jam band. Perhaps the best. They start up their generator and get into gear and the thing lifts off with a little weight on it like a helicopter pulling out of the U.S embassy in Hanoi and then BOY it kicks in and revs up and sounds like a greasy truck full of cows on dope speeding down the Autobahn, and at some point it runs out of gas and goes for a little nap in the restroom at the planetarium. Listen to Hall of the Mountain Grill (1974) and Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975) and Space Ritual (1973) and Live At the BBC (1972) and hear what a real fucking Jam band sounds like. And Stereolab are a fucking jam band, listen to Peng! (1992) and Switched On(1993) and you’ll hear buzzing guitars doing wheelchair races with Stephen Hawking and synths whizzing and bubbling and barely keeping up and it’s a Radiophonic Workshop of extreme melody and Mesmer-rhythm fighting over who gets to go inside your brain and pump it with the most aural adderall and absinthe, now that’s a fucking jam band; or try listening to the first album by Ash Ra Tempel, (1971), now that is the fucking definition of a jam band, it starts in space and ends up in the mosh pit, imagine the Stooges if the Stooges had way way way way way way way way


way way way way way too much cough syrup and forgot to write any songs; and do you want to hear two perfect examples of what a jam band should REALLY be, both from bands you’ve actually heard of? Listen to “What Goes On” from 1969: The Velvet Underground Live, this is the sound of a band totally freaking losing themselves in the music; time stops, time goes eighty-eight hours in a minute, this is a band finding the perfect chords and hanging on to them through every single Bardo stage and living inside of those chords while lying on amphetamine-filled bean bags; and if you want something a bit more controlled but vaporizes the soul just as intensely, listen to “Carnage Visors” by the Cure, a 28-minute instrumental track released by the Cure in 1981 as a cassette-only bonus to their (phenomenal) Faith album; it winds through simple, endless, repetitive arpeggios, it sounds like a day-long Morphine dream that Dave Gilmour keeps on popping in and out of, it implies endlessness, an extraordinary quality for as song to project, it sounds like Robert Smith wrote a song while watching goldfish swim around in Goldschläger and it’s just perfect, and it’s exactly what a jam band should sound like.


And none of it sounds like a bunch of people practicing minor-chord mandolin runs while the rhythm section plays flyshit.


And there are a million more of ‘em out there right now, and Alex Maiolo probably knows the names of all of them, so get in touch with him for a list.

Oh…and as for that Worst Band list…we’ll save that for another time. Let’s just say that number one begins with an “O” and rhymes with “Ingo Boingo.”

 

[The Sneak]

What is the deal, though, with skiers being into jam bands? I never understood it. I went to UMaine Farmington in the 90s, moved into my dorm wearing a Ramones shirt I bought at their final ever Providence RI show, and of course my freshman year roommate was all about Phish and the like.

The divide cannot be broached. For proof, listen to how the Jerry Garcia band butchered Chuck Berry's 'Let it rock', and compare to the Stones' live at the Marquee 1971 version. One is a masterclass in rock and roll, one is...I don't even know what.

 

[Kingslug20]

I resemble the stereo comment. Mostly I just listen to my homebrew setup the office. Not much room to dance though...

As for skiing I enjoy the quiet. Something fast and maybe heavy on the way o the hill. Although I like the events work, between that and amp work I appreciate some quiet time.

Spent a lot if time building the stereo..and the home theater..but don't use them much..and I don't know why. I listen to 90% of my music in the car or on the hill.

 

[ThatGuy]

I’m definitely in the minority in that I prefer the Deads studio stuff (Workingmans, American Beauty, and Terrapin Station) to most of their live stuff. Definitely some gems but for the most part its not for me. As a musician I love improvisation in my own playing and I love Jerrys solos but it gets a little too out there sometimes.
On the other hand my buddy who plays bass loves the live Dead stuff and is in a few cover bands where they recreate setlists from different iconic shows. Literally has a complete recreation of Phils rig which cost an ungodly amount and their guitarist has a Wolf replica with Jerrys signal chain.

 

[MadPadraic]

I’m seeing them at MassMocha

We have tickets to the MGM (Fenway) show.

 

[Kingslug20]

What is the deal, though, with skiers being into jam bands? I never understood it. I went to UMaine Farmington in the 90s, moved into my dorm wearing a Ramones shirt I bought at their final ever Providence RI show, and of course my freshman year roommate was all about Phish and the like.

The divide cannot be broached. For proof, listen to how the Jerry Garcia band butchered Chuck Berry's 'Let it rock', and compare to the Stones' live at the Marquee 1971 version. One is a masterclass in rock and roll, one is...I don't even know what.

I often wonder what drives people to certain kinds of music.
For me heavy metal is a rush...
But I like Steely Dan..yet I don't really know why.

 

[Smellytele]

I like classic metal - sabbath, maiden, priest.
I also like the dead. Not a big fan of the 90/00’s jam bands like phish, widespread panic, string cheese or Moe.
I do like some of the bluegrass jam bands like greensky bluegrass, yonder mountain string band and billy strings.
Also like the Wood Brothers not sure how to classify them.

 

[pinion]

As I am reading and listening to Misfits, realizing punk is under-represented here aside from a few mentions. My skate playlists are mostly punk, don't listen to any of it on the mountain though. My brain dedicates certain genres to certain moods/activities/locations like that. Weird.

 

[Shredmonkey254]

I like classic metal - sabbath, maiden, priest.
I also like the dead. Not a big fan of the 90/00’s jam bands like phish, widespread panic, string cheese or Moe.
I do like some of the bluegrass jam bands like greensky bluegrass, yonder mountain string band and billy strings.
Also like the Wood Brothers not sure how to classify them.

I think the Wood Bros fall under Americana / Folk if they need to be catagorized. Saw them at Club Helsinki in Great Barrington a bunch of years ago with maybe 15 others there. That was a great show,

 

[Shredmonkey254]

As I am reading and listening to Misfits, realizing punk is under-represented here aside from a few mentions. My skate playlists are mostly punk, don't listen to any of it on the mountain though. My brain dedicates certain genres to certain moods/activities/locations like that. Weird.

When I used to ride with tunes, I found that I needed every song to be really upbeat to combine with the groove of sliding downhill. I stopped listening to music on the hill because I no longer wanted to make playlists. And I’m fine with that. And I despise anyone listening to music while on the lift, you should be engaged in conversation with your fellow travelers!

 

[Smellytele]

When I used to ride with tunes, I found that I needed every song to be really upbeat to combine with the groove of sliding downhill. I stopped listening to music on the hill because I no longer wanted to make playlists. And I’m fine with that. And I despise anyone listening to music while on the lift, you should be engaged in conversation with your fellow travelers!

My music is playing through my helmet and I can still have conversations on the lift. As far as making playlists I just listen to my favorites on spotify and listen to the already made daily ones sometimes.

 

[Kingslug20]

Biggest pain us ripping all the cds to the mp3.
I want to do it for my wife..but it takes days..

 

[Smellytele]

Biggest pain us ripping all the cds to the mp3.
I want to do it for my wife..but it takes days..

I did that 15 years ago all 400 cds.

 

[deadheadskier]

Any Ween fans? That's the only band I'll travel more than 3 hours to see regularly these days.

My boat is named Captain Fantasy.

I used to travel great distances for Phish and the Grateful Dead. Phish I'll only see local weekend shows. Post Jerry Dead projects I gave up on years ago. I'd rather see JRad, DSO or even regional Dead cover bands. Love Bob and Phil, but they've just slow down way too much in the past 10 years. Even though I know they won't be around for much longer, I'm good with the memories.

 

[zyk]

As I am reading and listening to Misfits, realizing punk is under-represented here aside from a few mentions. My skate playlists are mostly punk, don't listen to any of it on the mountain though. My brain dedicates certain genres to certain moods/activities/locations like that. Weird.

Currently doing taxes... Operation ivy, Pennywise, etc... Puts me in the mood. Also what I often listen to on the way to the hill.

 

[Shredmonkey254]

Clash, Hank Sr, and Gram Parsons!
As Lux Interior sang…”You got good taste!”

The Lynx and I have been listening to the Cramps tonight, thank to you! Our biggest regret - never seeing them live. Possibly one of the best rock bands ever.

 

[jimmywilson69]

As I am reading and listening to Misfits, realizing punk is under-represented here aside from a few mentions. My skate playlists are mostly punk, don't listen to any of it on the mountain though. My brain dedicates certain genres to certain moods/activities/locations like that. Weird.

I've never really dove into Punk.

I agree that certain moods trigger certain types of music.

Any Ween fans? That's the only band I'll travel more than 3 hours to see regularly these days.

My boat is named Captain Fantasy.

HUGE Ween fan. I've seen them live more than Phish. For my 35th birthday my wife bought me a fishing trip with Deaner. He was a good captain and had lots of great stories to tell.

Love the boat name! My handle is from a Ween song, can you came that song?

They are the best band no one has ever heard of and bring it for 3 hours every show.