2nd Annual Tunes For Tots charity concert


Widespread Panic believes that art education, and in particular music education, is integral to the overall education and advancement of children. Art allows for personal expression, appreciation of ideas, celebration of cultural awareness, sharing emotions, and gives purpose to life. Widespread Panic agrees with research findings that art education supports more traditional academic subjects as well as being a worthy pursuit in its own right.

Last year’s 1st Tunes for Tots charity concert such a huge success! They raised over $100,000 that directly purchased musical equipment for The Union Grove High School Guitar Club, The Lovejoy Marching Band and a music classroom at Barnett Shoals Elementary School.

As you may know, good instruments are very expensive and many more schools are under-funded and in need, so Widespread Panic has decided to do it all again!

The 2nd Annual Tunes For Tots charity concert will be December 29th at the Roxy Theatre in Atlanta GA. Tickets go on sale December 2nd. Check out the Widespread Panic Tour dates page on the official WP website for
ticket prices and show details.


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Jerry Joseph and Jackmormons Featuring Dave Schools
Friday, December 1, 2006

THE MELTING POINT
295 E. Dougherty St
Athens, GA
(706) 549-7020

Tickets: $15 advance (conv fee $1.50)
General Admission
Doors Open at 6pm
Concert Begins at 9pm

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Fall 2006 Tour Tidbits


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Upcoming Tour Dates:


JOHN "JOJO" HERMANN DATES:
Nov. 29th - Bluebird Cafe, Nashville, TN
Nov. 30th - The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
Dec. 1st - Visulite Theatre, Charlotte, NC
Dec. 2nd - Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta, GA
Dec. 3rd - Music Farm, Charleston, SC

JOHN BELL DATES:
January 20, 2007 - John Bell and Friends Benefit Bash, Orlando, FL


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JB a.k.a. The Funky Chicken

MGM Las Vegas 10/30


Fall Show Notes:

10/30/06 MGM Las Vegas
First Time:
'Cant Get There From Here'
'I Want You (She's So Heavy)'
'John's Other Jam'
'People Are Strange'
'That Old Black Magic'

First 'Airplane' since 07/02/02
First 'Morning Dew' since 01/14/89
First 'Radar Love' since 10/31/96


10/07/06 Macon, GA
First 'Little Wing' since 7/1/89
featuring Susan Tedeschi on vocals

9/30/06 Charlotte,NC
First 'Happy' since 04/19/02

9/29/06 Charlotte, NC
First 'L.A.' since 11/20/01

9/24/06: Upper Darby, PA
First 'Spoonful' since 4/12/2003

09/14/06 New York, NY
First Time - 'Chest Fever'



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11/24/06 No Panic, just a piano...Jojo Hermann



No Panic, just a piano: Jam band player Hermann takes solo turn at Orange Peel
by Jedd Ferris, Citizen-Times correspondent

Since 1992 John “Jo Jo” Hermann has had his hands full as the keyboardist for the mega jam band Widespread Panic. But when he gets a break, he likes to revisit his early influences in Delta blues and Cajun boogie. Just back from a lengthy Panic fall tour, Hermann plays a solo gig at The Orange Peel on Thursday.

Going solo

“I’m not bringing anything. They’re supplying a piano, so all I have to do is walk in and play it. With electric guitars and drums I can’t play acoustic piano. I’ve always dreamed about playing a real piano on stage, which is why I am doing this. I’m going to do a lot of songs from New Orleans, as well as a lot of originals. I’ve been writing a lot of new songs about my childhood — reminiscing kind of songs. I’ll also throw in a few Panic songs for good measure.”

New atmosphere

“We’re setting up tables and chairs. People can come and order a bottle of wine. It’s a good date kind of thing, so people can give their ears a rest. It’s done a lot here in Nashville, where I live. It lets you flesh out the songwriting. The band is my preference, but it’s good to do this four or five nights a year. It forces me to get back to the craft of playing piano.”

Opening act Sherman Ewing

“He’s a great songwriter and guitar player from New York that I used to be in a band with called the Bureaucrats. We always wanted to hit the road and just do our songs together.”

Early influences

“I was also in a ska band in New York City, and the bass player told me to check out Professor Longhair. When I got turned on to him, it changed my life. It was like a teenager hearing his first Beatles’ song. It went down my spine, and I instantly went home and started learning all of his songs on the piano.”

Panic’s recent fall tour

“It was fantastic. Having Jimmy Herring on guitar is wonderful. I’m excited to be onstage with him. It’s a good fit.”


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11/21/006 Elation Lighting on Widespread Panic tour

Candace Brightman

When drawing up plans for Widespread Panic's 28-date U.S. tour this autumn, lighting designer Candace Brightman wanted the visual show to be as free-wheeling and spontaneous as the group. To accomplish this goal, Brightman, who served as LD for Grateful Dead for 20 years, worked with Andrew Gumper of AG Light & Sound, which assisted in the programming and visual design of the show.

The duo chose a gear package built around eight Power Spot 575IEs and 32 Power Wash 575Es moving heads from Elation Professional. Three truss arches were constructed over the stage, with the eight Power Spots being positioned on the centre arch. The Power Washes were placed eight each on four separate strips of trussing encircling the stage, two extending diagonally at the front, and two running along the sides of the stage perpendicular to the arches.


"Candace was looking for something different," said James Watral of AG Light & Sound. "The Power Spots produce an amazingly varied palette of colours and array of effects over centre stage. They can create virtually any visual look you want."

The Power Spot 575IE's effects include: a full-functioning Iris, 11 colours plus white and UV, 16 replaceable gobos on two wheels with gobo overlaying, a built-in 4.9mW red laser, and a 3-facet rotating prism. The Spots' versatility fits in with Candace's creative vision of "having a mish-mash of everything coming together in unison," said Watral. The Power Wash 575E wash effects are used to splash colour around the stage and out into the audience.

Both of the 575-watt fixtures were also chosen because of the "brightness versus cost" factor, according to Watral. "They're brighter than 300s, but very reasonably priced for their high output."

Upon seeing the Power Spot 575IEs in action at the tour's first stop at Radio City Music Hall in New York, Brightman said she found their brightness "amazing". She also was impressed by the Power Wash 575E's 8°-22° zoom.

Another benefit of the Power Spot 575IEs and Power Wash 575Es is that they come in a compact case the size of a 250-watt fixture. Their innovative small case design, along with their lightweight electronic ballasts, make them ideal for touring, said Watral.

"The Power Spots and Washes are definitely good to work with," commented Watral. "From a service standpoint, they stand up really well on tour."


Chris Henry for L&SiOnline


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11/20/06 Birthday Wishes for Todd







Drummer Todd Nance of turns 44.
Happy Birthday Todd!

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Widespread Panic to Headline Langerado in March

South Florida's most Eclectic Festival Returns


Widespread Panic will perform one night only
Tickets go on sale @ 10am EST on
Dec. 1 at www.langerado.com


South Florida's most Eclectic Festival Returns
The 5th Annual Langerado Music Festival
will be held March 9, 10 & 11, 2007
at Markham Park in Sunrise, Florida

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11/04/06 Widespread Panic Parking Lot Breakfast Combo?


What's in a name?


The terms 'Pot' and 'Grass' have long been synonymous with Marijuana. I personally have heard many other terms used to describe the euphoric inducing smoke. I've also been to my share of Widespread Panic pre-show lot scenes. I can say in the many years of attending shows from one coast to the other I have never heard Pot described as 'Widespread Panic Parking Lot Breakfast Combo'.


Am I out of the loop? Have my friends been holding out on me? Have I been laughed at when I've asked "Pass the joint"? Should I have been asking "Pass the Breakfast Combo"?

While reading a recent article in the Orange County Weekly I cringed when I read Pot described this way. I really wasn't stupefied as much as I was disturbed. Just the thought that many of the OCWeekly readers may now associate my favorite band with illegal drug use or conjure up thoughts of drug users wandering around a Panic pre-show lot event really irritated me.

The article was a witty piece about the legalization of industrial hemp and it's relation to it's "cousin" Marijuana.

"...(a.k.a. pot, grass, chronic, the Devil’s Weed, Widespread Panic Parking Lot Breakfast Combo)..."

I thought I should research this more and what better way than to Google the term to see what other people across the vast interweb have said about the phrase. I typed in the phrase with quotes, without quotes, used a variety of words, did advanced searches and finally I gave up. My search did not match any documents. Nothing. Nada. No one anywhere on the web has mentioned the phrase.

This left me to beleive that the person who wrote the article, namely MATT COKER, simply made up the phrase. I googled Mr. Cooker and found plenty of information on him. Even his favorite music came up in one search.

From Amazon.com Matt Coker's profile:
Hello. My name is Matt Coker, I'm a fourth year student at University of California, Davis. My music collection is currently pushing around 500 CDs, which including The Beatles, Emmylou Harris, Led Zeppelin, The Velvet Underground, Tim Buckley, Rosanne Cash, The Clash, Warren Zevon, Modest Mouse, Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Cream, Big Star, Dwight Yoakam, Electric Light Orchestra.

There wasn't much in that list of bands and music artists that gave me any indication that this person, although eclectic in his tastes, is a fan of WP.
Another search revealed that Matt Coker is the executive editor of Orange County Weekly. I was not impressed.

I'll be honest and admit that during a concert, and I mean ANY concert and not just a WP concert, I have occasionally had a drink or smoked a little something to get into the mood. And I reiternate ANY concert which includes the time my brother and I took mom to see Merle Haggard and even when I attended a Harry Connick Jr show with my sister. Of course not too many concerts attract a pre-show "lot scene" and I've been to many of those scenes. I've met new people from all walks of life in "the lot" and most of the time were just talking and there's nothing else going on. No booze, no drugs just chatting it up. I'm not saying that drug use doesn't exist in those scenes as I'm certain it does just as it does before any musical event. But designating a band's name into a phrase which descibes an illegal drug is just irresponsible reporting especially for an executive editor.

Light-hearted or not I doubt Mr. Cooker would enjoy some random newspaper deciding to arbitrarily name their aricle... Marijuana. (a.k.a. pot, grass, chronic, the Devil’s Weed, Matt Cooker OCWeekly Potpourri). Actually, that sounds like a great name for a blog!!

The OCWeekly article can be read here.

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11/3/06 Documentary looks at the "jam" culture

Dreadlock culture' and jam bands examined in documentary
Screening at Bama Theatre followed by Q&A with director
By Keli Goodson

A snippet of culture not often seen in the public eye has been captured in an award-winning documentary to be shown at the Bama Theatre tonight at 9.

The film, "Dreadheads: Portrait of a Subculture," looks into the lives of jam band followers who dreadlock their hair and live day today, concert to concert, developing a kind of tribal society as they tour the country with others living the same way.

Steve Hurlburt, executive producer and co-director of the film, is also a writer, photojournalist, and musician, and he said himself and two partners talked about doing a documentary because he was intrigued by the subculture.

"We decided to go for it and see what there was," he said. "I got to thinking that there might be something here worth documenting."

Shooting for the film lasted three summers, from the summer of 2002 to the summer of 2004, he said.

Hurlburt said the film explores the history of dreadlocks, to influences on the kids that caused them to dreadlock their hair.

"Being a white kid with dreadlocks ... you look different from 99.9 percent of society," Hurlburt said, adding that the film also touches on the "things they bring into their lives, good or bad."

The film contains interviews with Jimmy Herring and John Bell, members of Widespread Panic, and Bob Weir, a guitarist for the Grateful Dead, among other artists.

Hurlburt said the artists in his film are rarely seen being interviewed.

Scholars and authors also appear in the film, expressing their opinions on the dreadheads subculture.

"It's a film about a slice of life that's vibrant, active, and a lot of people never get the chance to see," he said.

When working on the documentary, Hurlburt said he wanted to talk to four different groups of people: the white kids who dreaded their hair, the academics to put them into a social context, authors of books exploring the same concepts for their context and the musicians in the bands the dreaded kids followed around, to get their perspective on the culture surrounding them.

The co-director, Flournoy Holmes, doubled as the graphic designer. Holmes is best known for the album package of the Allman Brothers Band's "Eat a Peach," which "Rolling Stone" magazine selected in 1991 as one of the best 100 album covers of all time.

Holmes' son, Fletcher Holmes, was the film editor and main cameraman.

"They were both invaluable in putting together the film," Hurlburt said.

Hurlburt said the soundtrack for the movie features great jam band music, with his own band, Spunhuny, providing a lot of the music.

"Anyone interested in jam bands, or jam band culture, would definitely get a kick out of the movie," Hurlburt said. "It's fun, funny and it has a pretty good sense of humor."

The "Dreadheads" showing at the Bama Theatre will be followed by a question and answer session with Hurlburt.




The Crimson White Online

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