Mockingbird's Album: The Lowdown

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Sharin' in the Groove: The Lowdown

Disc One:

1. Bouncing Around the Room  -  Arlo Guthrie & Xavier
2. Gumbo  -  Jimmy Buffett
3. Runaway Jim  -  the Gordon Stone Trio
4. The Wedge  -  Amfibian
5. Alumni Blues  -  Hot Tuna
6. Waste  -  Dave Matthews
7. Suzy Greenberg  -  Son Seals and Rebecca's Statue
8. Sample in a Jar  -  Little Feat
9. My Friend / Guyute  -  the Vermont Youth Orchestra

(click title for mp3 clip  -  click name for artist info)

Arlo Guthrie & Xavier is a fantastic folk musician, a perpetually youthful spirit, and a critical exponent of 1960s sensibilities and wonder. He has the perfect voice for Bouncing, and performs here with his son's band, Xavier. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.arlo.net and www.xavierweb.com
Jimmy Buffett is a Phish fan who shares with them a range of musical and lifestyle sensibilities. He has shared the stage with them in Florida, and performs here with members of the Coral Reef Band, singing the only Phish song that mentions a parrott. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.margaritaville.com and www.radiomargaritaville.com
Gordon Stone Trio - Gordon Stone was Phish bassist Mike Gordon's banjo teacher. Stone has performed on two Phish albums, both recorded in the same studio as the Trio's contribution to this tribute. Further, this (the current) incarnation of the Trio includes Russ Lawton, the drummer for Trey Anastasio's first "solo" tour. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.gordonstone.com
Amfibian features Phish lyricist Tom Marshall has been Trey Anastasio's key collaborator for years, writing lyrics for many of Phish's greatest songs. He performs here with his own band, which has built a following playing clubs in the same northeast area that birthed Phish. The track is produced by Chris Harford, who has played extensively with members of Ween and the Rollins Band, and features new lyrics and a smooth jam. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.amfibian.com
Hot Tuna - Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen, of Jefferson Airplane, here with their bluesy, folky thang, and smokin', a ruggedly retro revision of Phish's blues-inspired rock tune. Plus, vocals by Vanessa Kaukonen. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.hottuna.com
Dave Matthews - Dave's unique guitar tunings and distinctive voice intrigued Phish early on. His band opened three Phish shows, he shared the stage with them on at least two other occasions, and Trey recently (5-20-01) performed with the Dave Matthews Band. Here Dave offers a rare acoustic release, playing a song from the Phish album he has said brought him near tears. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.davematthews.com and MusicToday.
Son Seals & Rebecca's Statue - Son Seals has performed in guest appearances during several Phish shows, and Phish has performed the Chicago bluesman's "Funky Bitch" dozens of times. His colleagues for this track are a strong example of the explosive genre of "jambands" which have been influenced by Phish's music, shows, and success. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.sonseals.com and www.thestatue.net
Little Feat - Phish has performed three songs by Little Feat, a band with a long-standing sound and tradition in good ole rock. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.littlefeat.net
Vermont Youth Orchestra are in 8-12 grade and represent 27 schools in Vermont and New York. This track was recorded at a concert of Trey Anastasio performing with the Vermont Youth Orchestra. Although Trey is not on this track, he co-arranged the Phish tune for this 83-person string orchestra, who represent not only the magical power of a symphonic orchestra, but also the magical potential of music education. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.vyo.org

Disc Two:

1. Makisupa Policeman  -  The Wailers & Kkay
2. Sand  -  Tom Tom Club
3. Tweezer/Magilla  -  Michael Ray & the Cosmic Krewe
4. Julius  -  Merl Saunders and Funky Friends
5. Cars Trucks Buses  -  Project Logic & John Scofield
6. Axilla (Part II)  -  Preston School of Industry
7. Chalkdust Torture  -  Los Villains
8. Free (End of Session version)  -  The Boredoms
9. Faht > Catapult > Tweezer Reprise  -  Lake Trout
10. Poor Heart  -  FRED
11. Golgi Apparatus  -  Stanford Marching Band

(click title for mp3 clip  -  click name for artist info)

The Wailers are perhaps the most recognized reggae group in the world. Their performance here, of Phish's only reggae original, is their first studio release in over a decade, and was produced by their original producer. It includes DJ Kkay in a surprising revision of a typically unassuming tune. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See alsowww.wailers.com
Tom Tom Club created some of the most rhythmic and danceable stuff of the 1980s, and continue to expand. (Fishman commented in a 1992 interview that Phish could as reasonably called a "Talking Heads band" as a Grateful Dead band.) TomTom's Chris and Tina are half of the Talking Heads, whose album Remain in Light Phish covered in its entirety 10/31/96. Their performance here includes maroon harmonies from Mystic Bowie. Tina talked about recording this Sand in a recent article on Jambands. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See alsowww.tomtomclub.com
Michael Ray & Cosmic Krewe - Michael Ray has played with Phish on various occasions, and was part of Surrender to the Air. Trey has also performed with Michael Ray and the Cosmic Krewe. Here they mix two songs - not one following the other, but two at once, iteratively and overlapping! Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See alsowww.audiblevision.com
Merl Saunders & His Funky Friends - Merl has performed with Phish, and Merl and Page have played together, on several occasions. Merl will also be playing a very special event in mid-July, TBA. Meanwhile, Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See alsowww.merlsaunders.com
Project Logic & John Scofield - DJ Logic is funky shit, period. His band Project Logic performs here with jazz guitarist John Scofield, oft seen in the jamband scene and also known for playing with Pat Metheny and others. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See alsowww.djlogic.com and www.johnscofield.com
Preston School of Industry - Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg was in Pavement, the influence probably cited most often by Trey. Now he's in Preston School of Industry, who brought the low-fi hard edge for which this song was written. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See alsowww.prestonschoolofindustry.com
Los Villains - Phish have performed Los Lobos' "When the Circus Comes" at least 40 times, and Trey glowingly lauded the band during Phish's 10/15/00 performance on Austin City Limits. Here, Lobos' leading personas David Hidalgo and Louie Perez perform with Dave Jr. and Louis III and their very L.A. band. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See alsowww.losvillains.com and www.loslobos.org
The Boredoms - Phish (and Fishman in particular) encountered the Boredoms during their first shows in Japan. The Boredoms have toured the U.S. several times, including the 1995 Lollapalooza. Like other of EYE's and Yoshimi's bands (Free Kitten, OOIOO, and UFO or Die), they are popular throughout Japan for their unique musical experimentation. Among other distinctions, they share with Phish use of a vacuum as an instrument. And they are also working on a project with Ween, who themselves are connected with both Phish and Amfibian (see above). Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also a fan site.
Lake Trout were affected by Phish but also represent influences on them. Here, they perform the final three tracks of Picture of Nectar, an album they have each enjoyed since its release. They do so in the style of drum'n'bass - perhaps the most energetic and intelligent form of the electronica wave which intrigued Phish from fall 1997 through 1999 - adding drums to a Fishman track which had no drums, and bass to a Mike song that had no bass. Hold on tight! Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See alsowww.laketrout.com
FRED - When Phish got serious with their a capella covers, they studied barbershop quartet techniques, with fills and tricks to make four people sound like six voices. Here are the guys that do it best: FRED are the 1999 Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA) International Gold Medal Quartet Champions. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See alsowww.fredquartet.com
Stanford Marching Band - On one of their first jaunts to California, Phish played a free show at Stanford. The Stanford Marching Band, a great example of "scatter bands', which combine the exploration of familiar music within an unconventional style of presentation, something Phish does as well. They provided this telling biography:
Hi. We're the Stanford Band. Unbeknownst to many, we, not the Giant Country Horns, were actually Phish's first choice for a horn section. We played at an early Goddard College gig, but were asked to leave due to an unfortunate but oddly comical incident involving a Magic Fingers bed, a corndog and a group of Armenian expatriates. Our performance of Golgi Apparatus represents our triumphant return to the Phish fold, and finally gives the world what it so desperately needs: an absolute slaughtering of a beautiful, beautiful thing.
Band manager Charlie Pollack, t'boot, is a nephew of the Dude of Life. Listen to an MP3 soundclip. See also www.stanford.edu/group/lsjumb/

Big ups to Marco Walsh for online marketing assistance.

Many of these artists' wares are available from MusicToday and Jambase.

mockingbird - n: any of several common species (esp. the Mimus Polygolottos) of birds in the the eastern U.S. known for their ability to precisely mimic the notes of other birds.

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