Because of their electronic influences Lotus does not incorporate many lyrics into their songs. If there are any voices they are recorded and are used for their sampling purposes. Of course, even without lyrics there can still be a distinct melodic line found in the song. In “Flower Sermon� the repeated melodic line acts the same as a chorus but is not found in similar places as other choruses. The “chorus� actually begins the song, and is repeated three times throughout. There are a few more repeated lines that are throughout the 13 minute piece, however, these are not nearly as important as the first, chorus type line. With this type of music there is a lot of organization but nothing repeats exactly as is heard in other recordings. There is a lot of improvisation throughout the band and each time the song is played it sounds a little different, continuing certain parts of the song while shortening others. This analysis is from a recording of “Flower Sermon� from January 20, 2006 at the Stone Church in Newmarket, New Hampshire. This performance sounded a lot like other times Lotus has played “Flower Sermon� with some great guitar and synthesizer improvisational sections.

“Flower Sermon� begins with a minute long introduction; this is mainly focused on the synthesizer along with bass and a bongo and symbol. A guitar enters lightly toward the end of the intro and with a small build up then a quick cut off then the song begins with its repeated section, which is essentially a chorus. This continues for 40 bars and is made up of a heavy harsh synthesizer, plucking guitar, bass, and quick drums. After a repeat of the “chorus� preceded by a short cut between the two an interlude begins. The focus here is the bass line in the beginning, and grows into a light guitar solo backed by drums, bass, synthesizer, and keyboard. The guitar solo lasts until 4:44 where the guitar plays written lines instead of improvising for close to 20 seconds before a xylophone enters and performs a solo from 5:00 to 6:45. After the xylophone solo the “chorus� returns, with a harsher synthesizer sound. This lasts for 32 bars and leads to another interlude which lasts until 8:18. The interlude has a sort of continuation however with a portion focused on the synthesizer and electronic sounds of the band, which is soloed here from 8:28 to 10:38. After this there is a bridge, less than one minute, which is followed by a breakdown lead by the bass drum and synthesizer. Here the time is cut into threes with triplets, and this lasts for 10 measures. After this the guitar enters but instead of just simple plucking guitar it is looped and has an echo effect applied. This makes it sound different than any other time in the song. When the end of the song comes it actually leads into the next song in the show and it hints at the melody found in that song. So instead of coming to a complete stop Lotus actually continues right on through to their next song in the live show.

Without conventional instrumentation, with vocals as well, it can be hard to move the song for part to part. The way Lotus breaks up their songs is with interludes, which act as a sort of verse. These interludes are never the exact same however, and they act as a kind of break where the band gets in touch with their electronic side, making trace like sounds with echo and other effects. The synthesizer and electronic sounds can actually be helpful in dividing the song into different parts instead of making them blend together. This is because the sounds which they can produce can vary a great deal. It is very simple for effects to be applied and this can help separate different parts of the song. Throughout the whole piece the time and tempo never drastically change, so rhythm, instrumentation, and texture all play a large role in dividing the song.

Lotus’ music is complicated, intricate, and layered. This is because it is polyphonic, having many melodies and lines moving independently while flowing together. There are still clear leading and accompanying parts, for instance drums and bass. However, each piece of the band does have solos and moments where they lead. Rhythm is a huge part of this, and Lotus exemplifies great rhythmic skills throughout “Flower Sermon�. The entire piece is a rhythmic feat, something the members of Lotus are capable of, they work very hard on nailing rhythms and all other aspects of their music, they did start out as high school band geeks.

There is always a steady tempo throughout “Flower Sermon�, around 165 beats per minute. This is quite fast and it makes the talent of the musicians that much more apparent. How this is divided changes throughout the song, it is usually divided in 2’s, however since Lotus is influenced by funk and other genres this usually changes. The most common rhythm in the song, found in the chorus, is this two sixteenth note followed by a quarter note pattern, which is swung as well. This gives a short short long feel through the repeated sections. This is one of the only common rhythms throughout the whole piece. The bass lines are also intricate and have complicated rhythms; they, along with the drums swing their beats as well. These two lines, in the rhythm and melodic sections of the band combine to make a well layered sound.

With this heavily layered sound, and intricate rhythms and note patterns, it is hard to imagine that there is also improvisation. Jam band music is centered around live performances with long set times and lots of improvisational sections. Lotus does a great job of bringing these performance practices together with their unique electronic jam mix of a sound. A lot of the lines and melodies are written, there are parts of the song that are in it every time it is played, but there is also a good portion of Lotus’ music that is not written and not held to any rules. There is an interlude/verse in “Flower Sermon� that lasts over two minutes and it is made up of a lot of improvised guitar and other improvised instrumentation with bass, synthesizer, and keyboard. This is followed by an almost two minute long xylophone solo, a majority of which is improvised. The fact that two large parts of the song are based on improvisation is a way Lotus keeps with the jam band aspect of their music.

Because of the improvisation aspect of Lotus’ music there are a lot of scales used throughout all of Lotus’ music, they center on minor chords, flatted third, fifth, and seventh, and other blues scales. The melody in this song however uses more major chords, while other parts of the song utilize these tones. With these notes Lotus creates a lot of complicated and busy patterns and most of their songs, especially this one, feel very complex while still being interconnected.

With all these wide ranging combinations of notes, sounds, and rhythms there is a lot of feeling evoked by “Flower Sermon�. Because of its complexity and its upbeat feel one cannot help but find themselves intrigued. This is all done without the use of lyrics as well, something some feel is necessary these days to make an interesting and thoughtful song. Lotus proves this wrong and is able to conjure up the same feelings as singers do with just their musical instruments. With guitar, bass, drums, synthesizer, looping and sampling programs, keyboards, drum machines, and a whole other assortment of secondary instruments, Lotus is able to make a very intriguing sound. They bring a lot of instruments and styles together to make music that is attractive to many audiences.

Jam band have always been difficult to categorize; the definition given in the program of the Jammys at Irving Plaza in 2000 was, “a rich palette of sounds and textures … [jam bands] share a collective penchant for improvisation, a commitment to songcraft and a propensity to cross genre boundaries.� Some of the first instances of this, though not yet called jam band, was the emergence of prominent groups such as The Grateful Dead in the 1960’s. It has since evolved, and has continued to change through today. Some of the features of jam bands, such as longs sets with impromptu improvisational stints, have been staples of the genre since the beginning. While these essential components will always be a part of the tradition of jam band there are new additions and new branches of the genre growing all the time. This is primarily because of the fact that jam is a tradition that originated from a number of wide ranging genres: folk rock, jazz fusion, acid rock, bluegrass, and free jazz (Budnick 224). One of the sub-genres that have come from jam band is “Livetronica�, also known as “Jamtronica�, which combines electronic sound and instrumentation with extended live improvisational performances (Livetronica.net).

The origins of this electronic subcategory of jam band are hard to pin point. David Murphy, the bassist for Sound Tribe Sector 9, a prominent band in the genre said, “We started playing instruments first, and later in life got into programming and producing. Ultimately, we were trying to find ways that we could integrate that on stage.� (Livetronica.net). This is one example of how a more traditional jam band gave birth to the new genre of livetronica. However, in some cases laptop musicians who were programming their music with computers wanted to have a way to put on a better live performance so they began incorporating parts of the jam band genre’s performance practices (Drumming 2). Nevertheless, there has been a huge boom in the number of livetronica bands especially due to the greater interest in more electronic aspects of music. These bands discover that when you put together these two scenes, electronic and jam band, there is the possibility of a much larger following and a responsibility to appeal to both parts of the crowd.

With the births of new sub-genres jam band has changed a lot since its early years in the 1960’s. With these new kinds of jam bands the traditional styles have evolved. However, one of the key aspects of jam band is that it can encompass many different kinds of styles, sounds, attitudes, and feelings. Jam band is sometimes looked upon as a bad label, even by bands that are classified as such, because all it really signifies is an interest in improvisation and unusually long songs that are best played live. “It’s because nobody really knows what to say about the stuff,� says Railroad Earth’s mandolinist Jon Skehan about the not so useful label of being a “jam band� (Jacobs Pittsburgh Post). So maybe the tradition hasn’t necessarily changed, maybe in fact this is what was supposed to happen. Since it never had a strong identity to begin with and was made to be elusive. For this and other reasons not a lot of people like jam band.

A prominent reason for this is the misconception that jam bands are most heavily concerned with sitting around doing nothing. For author Carol Brightman, a skeptic of the Grateful Dead who shared these beliefs, her views changed after she wrote a biography of the band. “The band became a torch for that sense of community, hanging out, not being too intense about anything, but being able to count on each other.� (Maine Sunday Telegram). Brightman said about what the Grateful Dead meant to their fans and continued, “The Grateful Dead never mentioned the Vietnam War because they felt politics were irrelevant.� So even though the Dead didn’t focus on the current news when they were getting their start they focused on the people and the lives they were leading during that time instead.

Jam bands today however sometimes do take stands on current events, and a lot of recent bands have politically charged songs and talk about subjects that are liberal and peaceful. They also connect with organizations that are trying to make a change and make the world better, they have benefit shows and donate a lot of funds from CD sales and concert ticket sales to charity (Maine Sunday Telegram). They still, however, have a strong focus on community and making everyone’s lives better. The way jam bands act toward their fans, audience, and their surrounding world, distinguishes it from all other genres. Because jam is heavily centered on lifestyle one can find many different sounding bands within the wide ranging jam band genre.

In the jam band genre every band has a unique sound, using different instrumentation, using different rhythm styles, and being influenced by different music. In the wide ranging genre of jam band one can hear bluegrass, funk, jazz, acid rock, and even techno, so every band has a different way of distinguishing themselves. It is very common for bands to say they “don’t want to be pigeon holed� and “can’t fit into any genre� this especially true in jam band. Since no one wants to be classified the best way to distinguish one’s self is to be different (Jacobs Pittsburgh Post). This is very evident in the livetronica category of jam band, this was something that hadn’t been thought of until the 1990’s and it is still a very unique side of jam band. Within the “jamtronica� genre there are ways to distinguish one’s self as well. Some bands use only keyboards, samplers, and drums to create a very electronic feel such as EOTO. While others, Lotus and Sound Tribe Sector 9, have a full band with guitars, bass, drums, and with a drum machine or sampler they are transformed into a fusion of jam band and electronic. It can be easier to differentiate you from others and separate from the norm in the jam band and livetronica scene then it is to do so in other genres because of the wide range that they both cover (Drumming Entertainment Weekly).

Distinguishing yourself is a key to fame in the jam band scene. The bands that have been pioneers in the genre usually become the more famous bands inside the scene. One of the problems surrounding the jam band tradition is that it is very difficult to reach outsiders and create a broader fan base; this can also be viewed as a plus in the jam band genre. Nevertheless, it has always been difficult to spread the jam band sound, whether it is centered on jazz, folk, rock, or bluegrass. Some bands that have done this while following somewhat “traditional� jam band guidelines are: The Grateful Dead, Phish, moe., The String Cheese Incident, and Umphrey’s McGee. These bands focus on outdoor, live shows, where they put on long sets that keep the crowd heavily engaged with improvisation and long solos (Budnick 249). They also use more conventional rock instruments, with bluegrass and country influences, that all sound similar to The Grateful Dead, undoubtedly the most famous of all jam bands (Budnick 251). These bands have more similar sounds then other jam bands, and they leave a more traditional mark on the future scene. With these more conventional jam bands come a lot of unconventional groups that break a lot of the “guidelines� put before them.

In the sub-category of livetronica, or electronic jam, there are also some well known bands. The majority of their fame comes from the fact that they combine two different scenes, with two groups of different people. Some of the more famous include: Sound Tribe Sector 9, Lotus, EOTO, The New Deal, The Disco Biscuits, and Zilla. All of these bands share electronic influences, but they do not all use the same instrumentation or style of music. Some are more laid back and more like trance, while others are very fast paced deep pulse to them like techno (Drumming 1). The different styles of electronica that bands bring simply add to the jam tradition, and will influence other bands down the road. These new additions are brought while also conserving old traditions, such as recording live performances. During a performance the crowd is very engaged, and is very involved in the total energy of the show. Each band in the jam band tradition has a loyal following, and those fans love to support their bands. These are signatures of the jam band tradition, an extremely involved audience. This is why jam band music is meant to be performed live, not in studios. This is why recording performances became so popular.

The first jam band recordings were in fact simply recordings of the live performance. This is very uncommon in other genres, but it has become a staple of the jam band genre. Starting with the Grateful Dead, tapes, CDs, and now mp3s, have always been recorded at most big jam band shows. In fact some don’t consider a band a real jam band unless they allow the recording of their shows, which in other genres is considered illegal bootlegging (Budnick 149). The fact that these recordings of live shows are the main recording, instead of studio albums, showcases the significance of that live performance. These performances, whether they are outdoors, indoors, at a festival, or at a small bar, are the most important to the jam band tradition.

What makes a band great in the jam band tradition is how well they put on a live performance. That is the first judge of how good that band is. Other portions of the bands performance that are considered when talking about their skill and virtuosity is the solos and improvisation that is performed. This also includes how well the band works together, and how well they can play together (Jamband.com). There are some bands, such as EOTO, where the entire show is improvisation and they have to work so hard to stay together and make a quality sound. These bands are considered very skilled, a similar band would be considered skilled in many other traditions as well, and are held in the highest regard. All jam bands have to practice very hard, and have to be very skilled musicians, because of the improvisation that so often takes place. Outside of their musical talent the members of jam bands are very engaged in the scene and the ideals that go along with it.

Jam band is a genre that is meant to bring people together, and have a support system within that group. It is not always about the music as it is as much about the people and mission surrounding it. This mission is to build community, hang out, not being too intense about anything, and be able to count on each other, in the words of author Carol Brightman. No matter who comes to a concert they are brought into the community, and treated similarly to everyone there (Lannin).

The jam band world is so wide and inclusive and because of this it is difficult to find a typical member, of the band or the audience. The most typical person at a jam band performance is usually young, around 20-30 years old and the majority of concert goers are white. These are the only things close to a norm at the shows, however they are broken regularly. Even if someone looks out of place they are welcomed and soon are part of the crowd. So no matter who you are you can feel welcome and have a great time (Relix July 2008). Everything involved with the concert revolves around this idea.

The songs that jam bands sing are usually about happy times and about being surrounded by happy people. One can see the connection to how the performers act, and what they sing about, and who the crowd is made up of. Everyone at a jam band show can be confident they will leave happy, whether it is a performer or an audience member. Because it is a happy-go-lucky tradition the whole crowd’s mood replicates this (Lannin).

Because of jam bands’ beliefs and stance on a lot of issues it is safe to say that it has always been an identity that resists the cultural norms of our society and stays out of the mainstream music scenes. This does not mean there are not thousands of fans, dedicated fans; this means what these people believe in is not common in our society. That is what keeps jam band music so authentic, there is never any worries about contracts, record deals, or money, these bands what to create good music and a good atmosphere.

Works Cited

Budnick, Dean. Jambands, Dean Budnick, Backbeat Books 2003.

Drumming, Neil. “Pushing Your Buttons�. Entertainment Weekly. Friday, Feb. 25, 2005. Copyright 2005 Time Inc.

Jacobs, Justin. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Thursday, July 10, 2008. Copyright 2008

Lannin, Joanne. Maine Sunday Telegram. Sunday, December 27, 1998. Copyright 1998.

San Francisco Chronicle. “Almost Dead: Jambands at a Glance�. Sunday, May 21, 2000. Copyright 2000 The Chronicle Publisher.

Relix Magazine. Bernstein, Steve; Baldwin, Aeve. Copyright 2008, Relix LLC.

http://www.jamband.com, Budnick, Dean; Steinberg, David; Miler, Andy; Jesse Jarnow. Varying dates. Published by
Relix.

http://www.livetronica.net, varying authors. Copyright 2008, Livetronica.

This is a clip of Wookiefoot performing on September 26, 2008

Because the Cabooze is also a fairly large barnot all the people there have a strong interest in the music being played. This brings in a crowd and group of people that would not typically be a part of a similar show. This added, not all so common, demographic fostered some of the much found diversity in backgrounds at the concert. This didn’t stop interaction between all who attended, as well as between the performers and the fans however. These “foreigners� were also part of the community at the Cabooze because of other similarities, such as everyone always smiling and laughing with each other, giving the whole place a great feel. This may have been because of the many states of intoxication that the majority of people were in, but it was present nonetheless. Because of what Wookiefoot is, a jam band who just loves to play music that makes people happy, and the fact that there was a bluegrass band opening, there were a lot of people in attendance from what you could call the “neo-hippie� scene who are known for going to outdoor music festivals. One could find a lot of this happy go lucky feeling spreading throughout the crowd. Even by the middle of the show one could see the crowd becoming very uniform in attitude, an attitude of loving to have a good time and always dancing no matter if it’s their favorite song or if it’s one that they have never heard before.

It is assumed that you have a good time at a show like this, but that is where the guidelines end. The idea of a show like this is that there is no real order or conventions. The opening band, for instance, played for almost two hours, something that if done at another show, they would have been booed off the stage. This is possible because of the fans views on music. They just want to listen to good music that is fun, even if it means they watch a band they have never heard. This long set-time tradition continued through the headliner; they played for almost two and a half hours. The crowd at this show clearly did not have the usual short attention span found at other shows, and this allowed the bands to play so much longer then at another type of concert. The actual security at the Cabooze, the bouncers, is generally easy going. This and the fact that a good proportion of people there were partaking in the activity meant that a lot of smoking, of tobacco and other substances, took place even though it is illegal. At this concert, as well as shows similar to it, you find that the audiences, and bands, do not have many set rules to follow. Even the security does not always follow the set rules they may have.

Just like there are not a whole lot of conventions governing how the audience and performers act, there is not a whole lot of organization in the performance itself. Wookiefoot, as well as the opening band, The High-Strung String Band, do not have a lot of organization and they end up letting the crowd and the flow of the show run things. It is a lot of improvisation, taking requests from the audience, and playing very cool covers. For instance, Wookiefoot covered more than one late-90’s early 2000’s Alternative Rock hit, from bands 311 and Everclear. This is how a lot of jam bands operate; they get up on stage, stay there for a long time, and just put on an entertaining, funny, and exciting show. There was only a minimum of organization, namely that The High-Strung Sting Band performed first and Wookiefoot performed the rest of the show.

The music started around 9:30, The High-Strung String Band went on, made up of four members, a guitar player who sang main vocals as well as played the harmonica, a stand up bass player who also sang, a banjo player who played mandolin on a few songs who also sang, and a woman fiddle player who sang. This being a bluegrass band which is composed of these members has a predictable sound. They did not, however, simply follow these conventions. For instance, they played slower instead of the normal fast paced tempo found in country bluegrass. They started with only a small crowd in front of the stage. Soon this grew to a much larger crowd on the floor, and the band fed off of the noticeably growing excitement. They played a type of bluegrass mixed with country blues that was a slower type of bluegrass, however when the crowd started to build and got more excited the band began to play faster songs. The opening band played until about 11:15 and a noticeably long 45 minutes later Wookiefoot came on stage. It was very clear that the crowd was really there to see them. Everyone that was still sitting off to the side came to the floor. Wookiefoot has a fairly large stage presence; simply because of the large number of members the band is composed. Wookiefoot is made up of 10 people, two guitar players (one of whom plays the hand drum), a bassist, a keyboard player, a drummer, a saxophone player who plays flute as well, one male vocalist and three female back-up singers. They play a very interactive and exciting show, with a lot of fun songs. They would play a song and once they arrived at the bridge or chorus they would play it over and over, incorporating improvisation. They had a generally upbeat, engaging sound. The crowd was easily able, and very encouraged, to join in a sing with the band. Wookiefoot plays a with simple and fairly conventional jam band style. They have mostly very cheerful songs, with a few ironic amusing ones as well. In between songs they would engage the crowd, ask what they wanted to hear, and just have a fun with them. No matter what was going on the crowd was engaged in the performance and was able to connect with the band. This engaging with the crowd is clearly what Wookiefoot is attempting to do with their music.

Another defining attribute of Wookiefoot is their liberal values; these views are shared by close to everyone at their shows. A lot of the talking that the performers engaged in was surrounding politics and the current government situation. The concert was on the same day as the presidential debates, September 26th, and there was plenty of mention of them. It was obvious which side the band, and the audience, was on. This is the case with many bands these days. However, Wookiefoot is very engaged with politics and political causes. For instance, they played many times in protest of the RNC and have participated in other types of politically driven concerts. This was a way in which the performers could share their views, and in doing this they built a community relationship between all the audience members and themselves. This sense of community was clear afterward because Wookiefoot, being a local band, took time to linger with the audience after the show.

This sense of community was exactly what Wookiefoot, The High-Strung String Band, and the audience wanted to get out of the show. Everyone there, from when the doors opened, was attempting to make new friends, and have fun with everyone around them. When the concert was actually going on you could feel yourself letting go and becoming a part of something larger then yourself. This was especially evident when you would see someone who didn’t look like they belonged be engaged by the people around them. For instance there was a group of four older women, around 45 years old, who looked like they had decided to have a fun night out with the girls. Audience members around them would try to dance with them and have fun with them. It was fun to see them go along with it and soon they seemed liked they belonged all along.

The fan base of Wookiefoot is primarily younger people, who have a more liberal view point. However, at this show I saw people from many backgrounds and of many different ages have a great night. There were people from 18 to 45 years old and every age in between. The differences in the lives these people lead outside the concert were sometimes very clear: college students, young businessmen, middle aged couples, and hippies who didn’t have a care in the world all made up the audience of the show.

In the beginning of the event most people were excited, and were talking within their group of friends. However, by the end of the concert, when everyone was heading out of the venue everyone was talking and interacting with each other. It was very interesting to see people that would probably not interact, let alone converse, with one another be talking and hanging out with one another by the end of the show. Jam band shows are able to do this because of the type of music they play, and the fact that they have so much fun on stage it spreads to the crowd.