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In the midst of issuing a pair of new EP's (Feather on Wood and Oil on Glass) and also in the midst of a full-on tour, instrumental electronic band Lotus - have found themselves part of an interesting remix project. Lotus member Jesse Miller has remixed a track of Big Gigantic (an alias for Motet saxophonist/producer Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken), "Thinking Out Loud," off of the album 'Fire It Up,' while Lalli returns the favor, remixing the Lotus track, "Simian," off 'Oil on Glass.'

"Dom's compositions always feature strong melodies, so I wanted to keep that element mostly in tact for this remix while using a different tempo and beat than the original," explains Miller. "I spent a day bouncing tracks to an old 4-track tape machine to get some analog grit and manual EQing on the mix, hence the Cassette moniker in the title."

These two exclusive remixes can be streamed online or download at lotusvibes.bandcamp.com/album/lotus-big-gigantic-remixes. Downloads can be in MP3 format or other formats - including full quality .wav files - and fans will set their own price for the downloads. All proceeds will be donated to Musicopia (www.musicopia.net). Musicopia is a non-profit organization that brings educational music enrichment programs to schools and communities throughout the Delaware Valley.

In addition to this Lotus/Big Gigantic cross-pollination on these two aforementioned remix tracks, both bands will be touring together in November for several shows - see the list of dates below. What better way to get prepared for these upcoming shows than to check out these beat-heavy remixes.

For their epic fall tour, Lotus broke new ground in a way that no other rock band has done prior, it allowed their legion of fans to pay-what-they-want for tickets. The Pay-What-You-Want-Tour featuring Lotus was an eight night run of shows in western U.S. states, sponsored by Ticketweb, that let the fans decide how much their show ticket would cost. At the $15.00 Pay-What-You-Want level or higher, fans received free digital downloads of Feather on Wood and Oil on Glass. The Pay-What-You-Want-Tour was part of a larger fall tour that still finds Lotus crisscrossing the United States.  In addition, Lotus recently announced a New Year's eve run in Pennsylvania that will culminate with an epic New Year's Eve Show with MSTRKRFT at Philadelphia's Electric Factory. Leading up to the big night, the band will stop at Mr. Smalls Theatre (Pittsburgh, PA) on 12/29 and The Note (West Chester, PA) on 12/30, both with support act Tigersapien.

October 30, 2009 -- Jacksonville Beach FL , based Saltwater Grass is currently in pre-production for their upcoming album due out in early 2010. In addition to preparing for Bear Creek Music Festival in Live Oak, FL. (Saturday 5 pm, Music Hall Stage) the band has been busy welcoming a new member, as well as performing for former President Bill Clinton and opening for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

 
"This album is going to be a definite departure from the first one," said guitarist Ryan Daley. "We've spent a year writing and have really focused on exploring our influences a little more, something I feel we only hinted at on the first album."
 

One major change in the SWG sound is the addition of James Nicholson on drums. The former Berkeley student and protege of Atlanta 's Jeff Sipe (Leftover Salmon, Aquarium Rescue Unit) joined the band in September and made his presence known from his first show, opening for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Freebird Live in Jacksonville Beach , FL.
 

"I'm glad he was able to make his debut at a big show like that, he's added a new dynamic and really marks the next step in the evolution of the band," said vocalist Rich Hansen.

 
SWG found themselves in Orlando , FL in early September sharing stage with Bill Clinton when the former president speaking on campus at the University of Central Florida .
 

"That was a thrill and a totally unique experience," said bassist Austin Johnston. "Music has taken us a lot of places but there is no way I would have bet on meeting the president because of it."
 

Look for Saltwater Grass on the road in early 2010 in New Orleans La. , Atlanta , GA. Charleston , SC. and Asheville , NC . as they tour in support of, as yet untitled second album.

www.myspace.com/saltwatergrassband
www.saltwatergrass.com

www.reverbnation.com/saltwatergrass

Leftover Salmon today announced an extremely intimate and special performance kicking of their "Celebrating 20 Years" tour. On Monday, December 28, Leftover Salmon returns to The Eldo in Crested Butte, where the band played its first show together on New Year's Eve 1990.

The Eldo is a very limited capacity venue and tickets go on sale Saturday, October 24 at 10am MST through Leftover Salmon Ticketing http://leftovertickets.jambasetickets.com. Tickets are $35 and show time is 10:30 PM.  

As previously announced Leftover Salmon will continue its 20 Year Celebration at the Boulder Theater December 30 & 31 and conclude with a 'Salmon and Friends' show at Denver's Ogden Theatre Saturday, January 2. Tickets for those shows are on sale now.

The New Year's show will be celebrated with three full sets of Salmon. The Emmitt-Nershi Band will open the December 30 show, while Great American Taxi will open the January 2 date along with several special guests. The Eldo will be an intimate 'Evening With' performance featuring only Leftover Salmon.

Additionally, the band is offering a complimentary historical musical compendium of 28 tracks as a special gift to fans and music writers in celebration of 20 years of Leftover Salmon as four-part download.  The first part of this special download series is available exclusively here.

Leftover Salmon's trademark sound that came to be known worldwide as 'Poly-ethnic Cajun Slamgrass' propelled the group from its humble Rocky Mountain beginnings to international critical acclaim while greatly influencing countless groups that soon followed in their footsteps, such as The String Cheese Incident, Yonder Mountain String Band and others.

About Leftover Salmon:

Leftover Salmon was formed by accident in 1989, when a local band, the Salmon Heads, asked members of the Left Hand String Band to fill some missing spots in its lineup.  The synergy worked and the resulting quintet went on to pioneer its own genre.  

After the independent release of Bridges to Bert in 1993 and the 1995 live follow-up Ask The Fish, Leftover Salmon gained a spot on the H.O.R.D.E. festival tour and a contract with Hollywood Records. Their Hollywood debut and second studio album, Euphoria, continued to define their eclectic sound and introduced many songs that would become classics for the band.

Other releases include The Nashville Sessions (1999) featuring scores of famous Nashville artists and session musicians as collaborators; Live (2002) the first recording with the new rhythm section, O Cracker, Where Art Thou? (2003) featuring Cracker members David Lowery and Johnny Hickman with LS as the backing band, and Leftover Salmon (2004), the first studio record since the loss of founding member, banjoist Mark Vann.

Each of the band's releases cemented its contemporary sound with the solid genre-bending fusion of newgrass, folk and blues. Through the course of the initial 15 years of Leftover Salmon has performed music with such contemporaries as Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, David Grisman, Jerry Douglas, Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, Pete Wernick, Col. Bruce Hampton, Oteil Burbridge, Bill Payne, Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, Pete Sears, Todd Park Mohr, Tony Furtado, Theresa Andersson, along with members of the The String Cheese Incident, Widespread Panic, Yonder Mountain String Band, and dozens of additional artists.

The band continues to break new ground with its highly energetic live performances and initiate new fans with each show.

Three generations of funk are set to converge at this year's Bear Creek Music & Art Festival Nov.13-15 at the beautiful Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, voted "Florida's Best Live Music Venue" by readers of Florida Monthly Magazine earlier this year.

World-class music is scheduled from such legendary artists as keyboardist Bernie Worrell (Parliament/Funkadelic, Talking Heads) and trombonist Fred Wesley (James Brown's Band), to current club favorites Galactic and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, with exciting fresh, new sounds from The New Mastersounds and Toubab Krewe. Just a small cross-section, more than 50 other artists will fill the peak autumn weekend with high-energy, upbeat and danceable music with a dozen performers offering two entire shows.

By bringing together all three generations of artists, the Bear Creek Music & Art Festival features a number of "Artists at Large" who are able to freely collaborate with other artists with a high degree of spontaneity. Among these "Artists at Large" are funk legends, Bernie Worrell, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame perhaps best known for his work with Parliament-Funkadelic and Talking Heads, along with Fred Wesley, a pivotal member of funk poineer James Brown's band, the Count Basie Orchestra and many more.

Among the featured bands performing two sets at this year's festival are Galactic, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, The New Mastersounds, Toubab Krewe, Dub Conscious and Lettuce. Other festival highlights include Perpetual Groove, Lotus, Steve Kimock Crazy Engine, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Hill Country Revue, Benevento Russo Duo, The Slip, Bonerama, Pnuma Trio, Papa Mali Band, Garage A Trois, Yonrico Scott Band and more than two dozen more. The complete artist lineup can be found online at www.bearcreekmusicfestival.com.

In addition to live music, 12 talented painters will create live art during the musical performances, providing their own artistic interpretations of their experience while on stage. These original paintings will be displayed and sold in the Bear Creek Art Tent.

Giving Back & Getting Involved:

Continuing its commitment to community in a variety of displays, Bear Creek once again presents its 'Green Program' - the festival's pursuit for environmental improvement with a pledge to use more biodegradable materials, exhibit water conservation policies, habitat protection efforts, increase recycling and more throughout the park's environmentally-friendly facility.

Bear Creek also hosts a weekend-long food drive in support of The Food Bank of Suwannee Valley by asking all festival patrons to bring a donation of canned goods and non-perishable food items. These items are placed in one of the Festival's many receptacle barrels located at the main gate and throughout the venue; in addition, anyone bringing five canned goods or more will receive a complimentary festival poster and sticker for their contribution. The festival is also hosting the second annual Bear Creek Feed the Hungry Disc Golf Tournament happening on the Music Park's 18-hole disc golf course. Its mission is to raise funds for the Food Bank of Suwannee Valley. This fun, casual and charitable disc golf tournament raised hundreds of dollars as well as hundreds of pounds of food during the 2008 event. Tournament schedule & sign-up details are available online.

Through proceeds and donations from a silent auction at the event, the Bear Creek Music Festival will support The Dreams of Recovery Foundation, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization formed to assist individuals with spinal cord and brain injuries. The funds raised will help these individuals receive the therapy they so desperately need and the necessary equipment that will promote nerve regeneration and muscle mass. Grants of financial support will be offered for individuals to participate in approved therapy programs which are not covered by insurance, grant individuals with equipment to improve their daily life, and grant approved institutions necessary funding to conduct scientific research to find a cure for paralysis. 

The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park:

Conveniently located between Jacksonville and Tallahassee, the Bear Creek Music Festival is located just minutes off of I-75 in Northern Florida at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida off US 129 north at the famous Suwannee River.

The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is a one-of-a-kind outdoor music venue and campground and was recently bestowed the honor of Best Live Music Venue in 2009 by readers of Florida Monthly Magazine. The 700+ acre resort overlooks the historic Suwannee River and offers unmatched primitive campsites, water and electric campsites, five shower houses and cabin rentals, as well as a full amenity package including canoeing, an authentic craft village, mini golf and disk golf courses, full service restaurant, natural amphitheater, music, festivals, a general store, golf cart rentals and more.

Ticketing Options:

Thursday night's pre-festival kick-off party starts the vibe off right Nov. 12 featuring full sets from Toubab Krewe, Pnuma Live PA, Pimps of Joytime, The Heavy Pets, Brother Bean & Gravity A. Admission for Thursday night's show is $40 and includes music, primitive camping and is only available to weekend festival ticket buyers.

VIP packages offer a more upscale festival experience including access to all music performances, primitive camping Friday through Sunday, exclusive access to the VIP area, reduced price beverages and three meals (Friday - Sunday lunch). VIP Ticket prices start at $325 until Nov. 5 and are available online at www.bearcreekmusicfestival.com or by calling the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park Office at 386-364-1683.

The Park office can also process requests to upgrade already purchased weekend tickets to VIP Tickets. Bear Creek Music Festival advanced weekend tickets are available now online for the early pricing of $140 through Nov. 5 and includes all music performances and primitive camping Friday through Sunday. There is no charge for children 12 and under with a paid adult weekend ticket.

Official Bear Creek Music & Arts Festival website: www.bearcreekmusicfestival.com