MUSICMARAUDERS

MMW @ Loyal Earth Festival 4.19.09

November 16, 2009. Chicago, IL. The Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival’s Last Banjo Standing tallied over 20,000 votes from Midwest music fans in the last month, yet a mere 7 votes separated 1st and 2nd place when voting ended at midnight on 11/16. Two bands earned it, so, two winners were crowned, as the Festival announced that both Sexfist and Great Divide will appear on the main stage with Bela Fleck & The Fleckstones, Dr. Dog and the Emmitt-Nershi Band this 12/12. They’ll split the cash prize and share in the opportunity to repay their loyal followings with back-to-back sets to commence the day’s Main Stage lineup. Blues fusion extraordinaires Great Divide will kickoff the mainstage event, followed immediately by the hootenanny that is Sexfist. ADDED BONUS: Sexfist has invited its fans to enjoy “Break-Fist w/ Sexfist” while taking in the Great Divide set. More to come on what the boys will serve. Sexfist, Chicago’s most politically incorrect band name, started as a duo in

DJ Logic, keyboardist Steve Molitz (Particle, Phil Lesh & Friends), and Freekbass are putting together a project to tour late winter/early spring 2010. They initially got together onstage for a jam during DJ Logic's set at the Church of Universal Love and Music in Pennsylvania over the summer. It turned out to be one of those magical musical moments, so they have decided to do some full shows together. These three talented musicians are asking people that are interested to go to Twitter and answer "Name the new DJ Logic, Steve Molitz, Freekbass groove project. Tweet using the hashtag #logicmolitzfreek or hit DJ Logic and Freekbass directly at twitter.com/projectlogic and/or twitter.com/freekbass . The person whose name is chosen will be on the Lifetime - Guest List to this "yet to be named band's" shows. Source: Jambase.com

"Founders pianist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter first met and became friends in 1959 as they had both played in Maynard Ferguson's Big Band. Zawinul went on to play with Cannonball Adderley's group in the 1960s and Shorter with Miles Davis's second great quintet where both made their mark among the best composers in jazz. Zawinul later joined Shorter with Miles Davis's first recordings of fusion music as part of the studio groups which recorded In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew , although Zawinul was never part of Davis's touring line-up. Weather Report is, despite this, often seen as a spin-off from the group of musicians associated with Miles Davis in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Initially, the band's music featured extended improvisation, similar to Davis's Bitches Brew -period work, and instrumentation included both a traditional trap set drummer (Alphonse Mouzon) and a second percussionist (first Airto Moreira, later Dom Um Romão). T

Of all the music I have listened to from the 60s, Country Joe & The Fish seem to stick out the most. Besides the impact The Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Janis Joplin/ Big Brother & The Holding Company, etc. had on the development of Psychedelic Rock, which in turn influenced many varieties of Rock... Country Joe and The Fish represent a lot of what the counter-cultural movement stood for and are definitely one of the most, if not the most underrated band on the scene. Their lyrics being strongly anti-war or psychedelically driven, really shows the image they were putting across. Their music? It developed through the years. Electric Music for the Mind and Body is an acid drenched album full of great organ/ guitar solos and trade offs. The bass player lays down some great lines and at the same time allows for space so the other members can jam. As the years went on they added orchestration to their compositions in addition with the psy

... Have you ever come across a band that the mere thought of the band itself, not being more popular, boggles your mind? As you stand listening to the music; the people around you, (often times fewer in number than most shows you attend) dance uncontrolably. Smiles from ear to ear, the bar constantly serving beer to people looking over there shoulder in excitement of getting back to "action". From songs you've never heard prior, to great renditions of classic traditionals, song after song has you purely wanting more. For me The Henhouse Prowlers are that band. With tight instrumental exchanges and clean, often family like harmonies resinating through your eardrums, to your heart, to your feet. There is nothing else to do but dance, smile and be happy to be in the presence of good company. I was first introduced to The Prowlers through a friend of mine who played for a band called The Flatbellys. After bringing up his understaning of our mutual love for bluegrass music;

Jes, Greg, and I decided to drive down to Kalamazoo, MI for the recent Disco Biscuits show and Ultraviolet Hippopotamus after-show. We arrived in Kzoo, and got in. I had to wait a little for my friend to show up with my ticket, so Jes and I waited outside. As we waited we watched 3 people get kicked out, a couple people freaking out about it, others seemed happy to not be going to jail. We already knew this was going to be rowdy. The Disco Biscuits played the Kalamazoo State Theater, a beautiful theater with what I would say to have pretty good acoustics. The crowd, was the usual bisco crowd, spun out kids everywhere, everyone a total mess, security roaming around everywhere, kicking kids out who were zonked out on chairs, running through the aisle chasing people. It was seriously out of hand. At one point we noticed a dreaddy pregnant lady. I had to take a break from the crowd at that point. Despite the sheer ridiculousness of the crowd, the show for the most part was really good.

The moon lit the evening sky, as a mass of people lurked out in front of the Washington Square Armory. The energy was high, and the excitement was clear. Entering the castle-like venue it was it became apparent that it was going to be a packed house, and sweltering hot. Upon passing through security, the lobby opened up to what appeared to be a large gymnasium. The house lights dimmed, the stage lit up and out came moe dressed in skeleton costumes. Approxamately two and a half weeks after their last show (due to tour/date cancellations) moe came out heavy. The first couple of songs sounded good, with some good guitar work and a tease of what was to come in the light show. Then the song "Farmer Ben"... This song provided some rapping as well as a bummer of a vibe for the crowd, who was left looking around in confusion. Following up that mess was a version of Paul Simon's "Call Me Al". This was one of the songs on the fan based setlist voting that I did not reall