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Perpetual Groove - All This Everything

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Ever since the term “jamband” was coined, it has been applied to a continually wider spectrum of music, but those in the midst of the genre and the “scene” know a true jamband when they see one. They are unmistakable in their musical quest for the cosmic and transcendent through repetition, improvisation and the fusion of every genre under the sun. 99% of them produce tedious, airy pap, not just because they never reach their lofty goals, but because they wouldn’t know the cosmic and transcendent if it was sitting on their face.
Green Lemon has been named 2004 New Home Grown Band Of The Year by the Home Grown Music Network, listed as one of the Top Bands To See Live in 2005 by Jambase.com, featured in Relix Magazines On The Verge column, where they were labeled A Band You Should Know About, and more recently, Relix named Green Lemon One of the 10 Summer Star Bands to Watch.
Green Lemon is:
Matt Fioravanti - Bass/Vocals
Wayne Allen - Guitar/Vocals
Lincoln Greenhaw - Guitar/ Vocals
Jonathan Cordero - Keys/Vocals
Chris Cox - Percussion

Interviewed by  Colleen "Bean" Mulcrone

HGMN:  Who were your biggest influences growing up and has it changed much since you started touring with your own band?
Matt: We were all influenced by the democratic ideas of Thomas Jefferson, the Talking Heads, Hendrix, Floyd, Radiohead, and originally "jam bands" such as The Disco Biscuits and Phish but that changed slightly after we hit the road. Now after we have been on the road and grown into our selves a little more, all of our musical tastes are very different from one another.

HGMN:  You seem to cover a wide range of cover tunes, including some not-so-serious musical experiments. How important are cover tunes to your band or to the execution of your performances? What songs have you always dreamed of covering? What covers have presented challenges to your musical abilities?
Everyone: What Covers?!?!? Do you have lawyers or something??? More talking heads, Any Hendrix, Any Zepplin, Thomas and the Jeffersons, Creed. What Limit? You know we be 450 double tall sippin' on Cristal.

HGMN:  What cartoon characters do each of you relate to?
Chris: Foxy Brown, The black chick on Drawn Together
Jon: Raphael of the Ninja Turtles
Wayne: Papa Smurf (Smurfs)     
Lincoln: Frilock (Aqua teen hunger force)  
M.J.: Harvey Birdman (Harvey Birdman Lawyer)

HGMN: on your self-titled album, "Intergalactic Cigarette" follows a song titled "Intergalactic Intercourse". Do you believe that your music possesses orgasmic qualities? What emotions are you hoping to elicit with your songs that are absent of lyrics? In these two particular selections, were you really trying to convey sexual energy?
Matt/Link: Yes. We have done tests, lots of tests. Jim Morrison once said that everyone lives in a circular city and in the center of the city is sex. We live in that city. We own a record store downtown. The second part of the question....The thing about music with no Lyrics is that the thought path remains undirected without lyrics to tell them what to think. Therefore people create their own experience and see their own visions. It's not like we feel we have nothing to say, its just that sometimes people say it better for themselves. Third part...All energy is a manifestation of sexual energy.   

HGMN:  What is your favorite music festival that you've participated in? How would you describe the experience of being a part of this type of musical gathering? Are their any memorable anecdotes that you are willing to
share?
Everyone: WAKARUSA!! Beer every twenty yards......oooooh.....beer.............GREAT BANDS!!! Not just Jam Bands, which was great. Very diverse scene musically. An over all enjoyable experience. Kinda like a southern California gangbang. Third part.....From Wakarusa? We all applauded Robert Bradley for going to the Port-o-pottty, and met many of the musicians we greatly respect. That was the most meaningful, lasting part of the festival.

HGMN: Some reviews imply that you would rather not be classified as a "jam band." Wayne is shown to have said, "I personally don't think we're a jam band, but we get a lot of jam band fans at our shows." Why do you think you attract such a fan demographic? Do any of you consider yourselves to be a jam band? Do you feel that the label of "jam band" carries certain ominous stigmas?
Wayne: The reason I said that is because I feel, as well as the rest of the band, that "jam band" is a very bland way of describing a groups musical approach. We experiment live but a lot of the time when the term jam band is brought up, a picture of The Dead or Phish pops in to the mind. Although they both are great influences on us, we are not anything alike. The one thing we all agree on is we are as much a "Jam Band" as Cat Stevens is a Terrorist.   

HGMN: If each of you could suddenly acquire the talents of any one musician throughout history, which would you choose?
Wayne: Trey Anastasio   
Jon: Art Tatum    
Lincoln:  Jimi Hendrix
Chris: Charlie Hunter on Tambourine    
M.J.: John Lennon

HGMN: Have you built a connection with your yellow school bus? Does it have a name? What goes on in that schoolbus?
Jon: We love our bus so much that it breaks down every 2000 miles. It actually has become who we are......Unstable and operating only on faith. Second Part....Duppy Conqueror. Third Part......What goes on in the bus is not proper for print or human ears.

HGMN: What is your favorite album of all time? What is in your CD player now?
Wayne: Pink Floyd - Dark side of the moon
Lincoln: Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the pink robots
Jon: Radiohead - Kid A
M.J.: Counting Crows - Desert Life
Chris: Queen - A Night of the Opera

In the CD player.....
Wayne: CD player is broken
Lincoln: Moondance, Van Morrison
Chris: Chromeo
M.J.: The Eels, Bright Eyes
Jon: Sam Cooke, Live in Harlem 1963

HGMN: What do you usually do for fun on your off-nights?
Link: We have sex with neighboring galaxies and then never call them.

Learn more about the band at www.GreenLemonBand.com

Under the Influence: A Jam Band Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd

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Regardless of their object of adoration, tribute albums generally need at least one of two things to work: great songs and a roster of contributing artists with enough artistic tact to find a balance between their own voices and those of the songs they choose. With eleven of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s best, the first criteria is taken care of, and for the most part, Under the Influence – A Jam Band Tribute To Lynyrd Skynyrd does pretty well with the second as well.

Garaj Mahal - Mondo Garaj

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Garaj Mahal is the merger of four virtuoso musicians, bassist Kai Eckhardt, guitarist Fareed Haque, drummer Alan Hertz, and keyboardist Eric Levy, who successfully blend the styles of jazz, funk, and rock like no other band before them. Perhaps the label of “Jamband Supergroup” suits them most appropriately, as these players each have an impressive musical resume for which they bring to Garaj Mahal. Their unique blend of styles and musical cohesiveness have earned them praise by both fans and musicians alike, and their latest release, “Mondo Garaj,” only further proves that Garaj Mahal is the real deal and are torchbearers to a jamband movement all their own.

Revision - What It Is

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Recently signed with a reputable booking agency and proudly touting their second CD, Ithaca's Revision are giving things a try in the hard-touring climate of cafes and clubs around the northeast and beyond. If more people get to hear their latest album, What It Is, the quartet may find their upward journey a bit more manageable.

Terence Higgins & Swampgrease - In The Bywater

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Terence Higgins, internationally known as drummer for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, is as well versed in the churning New Orleans funk style as any man can be. Born and raised in NOLA, Higgins has performed with everyone from Widespread Panic to Dr. John to Norah Jones, and has even gained his own set of peers in other drummers such as Brian Blade, Russell Batiste Jr., and Stanton Moore. Higgins appears on dozens of albums, but with his first “solo” CD his own ideas have become a force to be reckoned with.

Assembly of Dust - The Honest Hour

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First with Strangefolk and now with the Assembly of Dust, Reid Genauer has made a career of infusing solid songcraft with a dollop of jam. In a scene whose attention span is just negligibly longer than the wider world of music in general, Genauer’s formula has kept him afloat longer than most acts. The Assembly of Dust frontman owes this longevity to two things: his own songwriting talent and his understanding that a good song often needs nothing but the barest musical foundation.

SeepeopleS - The Corn Syrup Conspiracy

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Just a guess here: tens of thousands of independently produced CDs are released into the world every year. NOT a guess: most of them are, well, really bad. Some are OK, some are hilarious, and some are good. And some are the kind that become staples in your CD player, and you can't believe such a great album was produced by a band you've rarely heard of. That's what we have in The Corn Syrup Conspiracy, the second effort from Portland, ME outfit Seepeoples.

Keller Williams - Stage

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Despite his age, on stage and in life, Keller Williams is a child at heart, and his new live release, Stage, is a youthful romp through his playground. For those who have completely outgrown their kindergarten days, the double disc set will be an interesting novelty, sparking enough interest for one or two listens but eventually falling to the forgotten bottom corner of the toybox with all the other outgrown playthings. For the less jaded listener, however, Williams will become the friendly kid next door, always willing to share and never tiring of friendly company.

Phish - Undermind

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Have you heard that Phish is calling it quits? Of course you have. Did you hear the new musical confirmation that this is a good thing? No? Then get Undermind and you'll understand.

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