Widespread Panic Ready to Spook Asheville

Widespread Panic is back for Halloween gig
by Jedd Ferris, for Take 5 Music Online




Widespread Panic has always been good for a night of rowdy improvisational roots rock. But on Halloween, the Southern jam kings let it all hang out. The six-man, Georgia-based outfit has built a massive loyal following after more than two decades of hard touring, keeping fans on their toes with ever-changing set lists from a deep catalog of original material.

The band’s annual Halloween show has become a special event in Panic lore, as past gigs have been filled with elaborate stage themes and unexpected covers from the Ramones “I Wanna Be Sedated” to The Doors’ “People Are Strange” to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre.” In the past, the Halloween show has been held in the more reputably decadent environments of Las Vegas, New York City and New Orleans, but this year the celebration comes to Asheville on Wednesday night at the Civic Center Arena .

Halloween '05

In the past year Panic has found a new stride, thanks to the addition of Jimmy Herring on lead guitar. Herring—who joins founding members John Bell on lead vocals and guitar, John “JoJo” Hermann on keyboards, Dave Schools on bass, Todd Nance on drums and Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz on percussion—has done time in the Allman Brothers Band and the Dead and has enhanced the group’s signature tunes with rapid fire runs and skillful touches of Southern psychedelia. Herring is band’s third lead guitarist. Founding member Michael Houser passed away after a battle with cancer in 2002. His spot was filled by George McConnell of the Kudzu Kings until 2006.

Ahead of the big show Bell took some questions from the road.

Question: How has Jimmy Herring helped reinvigorate the group?

Answer: He is a great player, and just as importantly, he’s fun to be around. He fits into our dynamic and adds to it in a positive way. That’s crucial when you’re out there doing over 100 shows a year. He has a lot of great song ideas.

Q: You guys just finished recording with producer Terry Manning (Led Zeppelin, Lenny Kravitz and ZZ Top). What can you tell me about the new album?

A: It will be out in late winter or early spring next year. When we make a record, everyone is encouraged to put their two cents in. We had 25 partially baked ideas after doing some pre-production, and we brought it down to 12 tunes. They’re like a family with different kids. They all fit together with some similarities, but they’re all individuals. What we came up with is an honest reflection of where we are as songwriters, not just throwing it through a computerized meat grinder and coming up with something commercial.

Q: This was the second disc done with Manning. What do you like about working with him at his Compass Point recording studio in the Bahamas?

A: We trust Terry a lot with his wizardry. It’s good to get away from our hometown atmosphere, where everyone can be distracted. Removing ourselves and getting down there to work has had a positive effect. When we’re in the Bahamas, you’d think we’d be at the beach, but we’re in the studio 12 hours a day storming the castle. Next time we’ll take a day off and go fishing.

Q: This is your second show in Asheville this year. Why did you decide to bring this special Halloween show here to town?

A: For Widespread Panic, Halloween is a major holiday, so we like it to be someplace special. Asheville has grown on us over the years. We could tell that’s where the good vibe was going to be. We keep secret what we’re going to do. I don’t even tell the boys what I’m going to wear before the show. It’s the one time we get to play make-believe and do a lot of tunes that we wouldn’t normally play.

Q: You’ve played here 12 times since 1988. Do you have a favorite Asheville memory?

A: Playing at the Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam a few years ago was really heavy. There were some great players there, and I got to play with Sam Bush and John Cowan. It’s such a fun event for a great cause.

Q: What does Panic listen to in the tour bus?

A: Dave and Jimmy just turned me on to Jeff Buckley. His album “Grace” just blows me away, from the lyrics and vocals to the production to the overall mood. It’s a very heavy record. We also watch a lot of comedy. We just watched Patton Oswalt do a hilarious 2 1/2-hour ramble. Comedians are so performance-based. It seems a lot more live than some of the music you can expose yourself to. It’s raw nerve.

Q: Since you and Michael Houser were the original foundation of this group, did you have any reservations about continuing after he passed?

A: I considered the options and immediately realized it was never going to be the same. I think we did the right thing by sticking it out and continuing to play. But there’s still a healing process going on. We wrote so many fun songs together that I didn’t want to lock up the kid’s bedroom and never go in there again. I wanted to keep as much of the experience and relationship alive as I could. I don’t regret it at all.

Q: A lot of the grass-roots bands that Widespread came up with have called it quits. Why have you guys continued so strongly over the years?

A: You’ve got to do your best to stay open and make the right decisions along the way. A lot of it stems from recognizing each individual’s talents and forgiving each other when a lacking shows up. It’s a human thing going down. We don’t have a formula. We just go at things with the best intentions and have respect for each other. Outside of that it’s just keeping the creative juices flowing and writing songs together.

Widespread Panic Fans Hit Rock Bottom

pics by sydhartha

By Jeff Sherman
for OnMilwaukee.com

Widespread Panic, the Athens-based jam band, came to town this weekend for two shows at the Riverside Theater.

Of course, this also meant that their fans, many who travel from concert to concert, much like the die-hards who for years followed the Grateful Dead and Phish, also set up shop Downtown.

In the Rock Bottom parking lot, hours before the Friday show, concert goers (looking like hearty campers and tailgaters) from across the country started setting up. Dogs, people, vans, vendors and music filled the area all day and night.

Fans take over the
Rock Bottom Brewery parking lot

From Indiana, Alabama, Nevada and other states, fans filled the lot near the Riverwalk at Plankinton and Wells Sts.

One fan, Mike, from Las Vegas follows the band from show to show. He wholesales stereo equipment on side, but like many Panic fans uses the pre-show tailgates to support his concert habits. For Mike, this means selling pizza along with his friend Christopher who called himself the "general manager" for the pizza business.



Other fans sell hats, tee shirts, stickers, photos, grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, bracelets, books and other items. It's a community and a family that loves the band and the lifestyle. And when we say family, we mean family as many of the fans travel with dogs and their young children.



With a near perfect weekend of weather, the loyal fans loved Milwaukee. "The churches, the architecture, the development and Mo's," said one fan when asked about Milwaukee.


The band moves on to Indianapolis Sunday. Many of the fans, who paid $8/day to park in the lot, will follow the band immediately after Saturday night's 8 p.m. show.

Milwaukee, WI

John Bell Interview from Daily Times-Call

Enduring Panic
John Bell talks about Widespread Panic’s upcoming album, touring and the band’s longevity

By The Ear
The Daily Times-Call


LOVELAND — Long a Colorado favorite, Widespread Panic plays two sold-out shows at the Budweiser Events Center this weekend. This is the first ever back-to-back sellout for a rock band at the venue. The band’s annual three-day pilgrimage to Red Rocks attracts fans from all over the country.

Often compared to the Grateful Dead and Phish because of the three-hour shows and extended jams, Widespread Panic has crafted its own place in rock ’n’ roll. Its music resonates with Southern rock and country-western influences, but with its own stamp.

Among the many challenges this Athens, Ga., -based band has overcome was the death of founding member and lead guitarist Michael Houser in 2002 of pancreatic cancer. Following Houser’s wishes, the band never missed a show. Now, it is fresh out of the studio with its yet-unnamed 11th CD, due for release later this year, and ready to get back on the road.

The Ear chatted with the band’s frontman, vocalist/guitarist John Bell, on the eve of Widespread Panic’s fall tour.

THE EAR: Things are going well for Widespread Panic right now. Your shows are selling out from coast to coast, multiple Red Rocks shows sell out in 10 minutes, and the band has an excellent catalog of CDs. Did you ever think the band would have this level of success?

BELL: When we started out about 21 or 22 years ago, you just kind of hope while you’re having fun. And if things grow, that’s great, and if not, at least you had the experience. Right now, we’re still in the middle of it, inside looking out.

If you apply the word “successful” to us, we would define it as still being creatively viable while having fun. We’re very grateful that all that stuff is still happening.

THE EAR: Widespread Panic is about to start its fall tour. Are you looking forward to going back out on the road?

BELL: Yeah, a little bit. I get more excited when I’m out there in the thick of it. Right now, there’s that leaving-home thing that’s kind of a drag.

THE EAR: Did you take a vacation or did you work after the summer tour?

BELL: Mostly, I spent the time off doing the things you need to do to get caught up on the home front. We took a little time for ourselves. My wife and I and some of the guys from the crew and their wives piled into the car and went to the beach for a while. It was fun.

THE EAR: Widespread Panic tours are often 16 weeks or more. Is it hard to be away from home so much?

BELL: It kind of tugs at you a little bit, but it’s been part of the package for a long time now.

THE EAR: How do you account for having such a loyal fan base?

BELL: You’ll have to ask them about that (laughing). I can only say that we are real lucky to still be doing what we are doing. We’re lucky the folks keep coming out, we’re lucky to have the venues to play in, and lucky the system is in place for this thing we do to keep happening.

THE EAR: How is the new CD coming? Are you enjoying working in the studio with Jimmy Herring (The Allman Brothers, The Dead)?

BELL: We finished it! It was great working with Jimmy; he had a lot of great ideas. He fell into our unusual songwriting process very easily.

THE EAR: How does the songwriting for Widespread Panic come about? Is it collaboration, or do the individual members bring songs to the band?

BELL: This time, it was pretty hip. We had a session with Terry Manning (famed producer for Led Zeppelin, Al Green and ZZ Top) in the Bahamas for about a week, and everybody brought their ideas together. We put them in a big pile and started chipping away from there. We zeroed in on what felt good to everybody and went where inspiration led us. You are trying to get to that place where the music is at a magical level, where the music is playing itself. That’s when I’m the happiest.

And that magic is never a given; you can’t make it happen. If you try to make it happen, that can put the kibosh on it real quick.

THE EAR: Who are your musical influences? What are your favorite albums or CDs?

BELL: At home, I listen to the whole Van Morrison catalog. I always have my ear peeled for new Van Morrison stuff that comes out. He’s so prolific; he puts out a new album every six months so. I feel lucky to get to be a fan and not be picking his songs apart for song structure, a pitfall that comes with being a musician.

I’ve never seen Van Morrison live, but at the end of our last tour, we missed him by one day when he played Atlanta. If it had been a day earlier, I’d have been there.

THE EAR: Can I ask you about Michael Houser’s passing away? The band didn’t cancel any shows or take a break for more than a year. How did you have the strength to do that?

BELL: Oh, you know, maybe a little feeling of responsibility. There’s a whole machine going with a lot of people who are employed and benefit from the business side of Widespread Panic. Also, playing music for our own heads and hearts was very therapeutic. And there was probably a little dash of denial in there. It helped us from getting too wigged out about his death. It was what it was, and now it’s part of the whole story.

THE EAR: Did you enjoy the hiatus (the band took its first-ever extended break in 2004-05)? Will you be doing that again? Do you think it adds the longevity of the band to take that much time off?

BELL: Yeah, I enjoyed it while I was doing it. It was the first time we had taken an extended break, and I had to reset my gears. My autopilot system had been dismantled after taking 14 months off.

We’d do it again. It was a gas to be able to just sit there writing songs and doing other things. It helps you appreciate the rock ’n’ roll experience that much more. And it allows you to do other things that will, hopefully, complement the way you apply yourself and make you more rounded.

THE EAR: I know you are into Major League Baseball and playing golf. Does that help keep you relaxed when you are on tour?

BELL: Yeah, it was like I was saying about other things that add to the experience, that add a little spice. With both of those games, you’re out in nature, and in both games, you don’t know what’s going to happen from the first pitch or the first golf ball you hit. The turn of events (isn’t) choreographed, and that’s kind of the same with us. I like seeing that parallel in a non-musical experience.

Panic in Memphis Recap

Just Like Old Times for Panic in Memphis
by Luke DiStefano
10/4/2007 - for Gratefulweb.net


Widespread Panic made their return to Memphis, this time with a new twist, a new guitarist and a few old tricks up their sleeve.

This year’s Fall Tour-opening run marked the band’s first shows in this melting pot of American Music since the end of July, 2006, and a few changes were apparent this time around.

Not only was this their first time playing the new downtown FedEx Forum, only a stone’s throw from world-famous Beale Street, but it was new guitarist Jimmy Herring’s first Memphis Panic shows since he joined the band at this time last year.

The band’s last shows at their old home, the dark, dingy and loveable old space ship that was MidSouth Coliseum, were also two of the final three shows for former guitarist George McConnell, who had replaced founding member Mikey Houser just before his death from pancreatic cancer on August 10, 2002. McConnell quit last summer’s tour after the next day’s show in St. Louis, once he confronted the rest of the band regarding rumors of his lame-duck status.

But in a new venue, with a new guitarist, the same old road warriors lit the same old town on fire, showing the versatility that has made them a stalwart of consistency for over twenty years.

This show had a little bit of everything you could ask for from a Panic show.

There was the bouncy, happy sound, exemplified by the show opening trio of A of D, Space Wrangler and Walkin’ (For Your Love). It was Herring’s first try at the instrumental A of D, a song not played since longtime producer John Keane and Houser’s old guitar tech Sam Holt shared the lead spot to help the band finish last summer’s tour, before Herring was hired for fall. Wrangler and Walkin’ got the band warmed up and the crowd in the mood and ready to keep singing along with front man and resident preacher John Bell.

image from Gratefulweb.net

Another bit of joy marked the opening of the second set, with the instrumental Party at Your Mama’s House showcasing Herring’s growing sense of comfort with his new band in the form of a very patient jam. Bell also chimed in throughout with nice work on the slide, which is pretty much the only time during a show you can easily hear his instrumental contribution. But, hey, they don’t pay the man to play the guitar.

But that wasn’t all this show had in store.

There were the hard rocking foot-stompers. The upbeat Tie Your Shoes followed Walkin’, and gave the crowd a usual second set piece of sandwich bread in the first set. The song allowed both the rapid-fire notes of Herring and the rolling bass line of Dave Schools to shine.

More songs in this vein would follow the rest of the night, from the dark rollercoaster of funk that is Pigeons in the first set to their heavy take on the traditional blues of Junior in the second set.

One of the hardest rockers came in the person of Glory, making its first appearance in a set in nearly six full years. And the band nailed this version, appropriately providing a rare surprise for the fans in a town with its own special place in Panic lore.

And while Herring continues to find his comfort zone with this group, there are still noticeable growing pains. It seemed as though he approached shows in the spring as a contest to see how many notes he could play during solos, this Eddie Van Halen-esque style being a stark contrast to the floating, psychedelic sound of Houser. He began picking his spots a little better over the summer, but he overdid it a bit this time on songs like Big Wooly Mammoth and Surprise Valley.

The rest of the band had their moments, too. One can expect some hiccups during tour openers, and this Friday in Memphis was no different. Schools started early for the encore, Imitation Leather shoes, before becoming visibly agitated. Bell appeared to sound unsure of himself as he began the vocals to Climb to Safety, which led to a slightly disjointed beginning. And a second set drop back into Chilly Water from You Got Yours was a bit sloppy.

But, as it is with most Panic shows, the good far outweighed the bad inside the Forum.

The highlight of the first set came with the jam out of Rebirtha, into the fan favorite Ribs and Whiskey. The former ended with lots of funk and great work from Herring, before dissipating into easily one of the longest, most patient Ribs intros that this reviewer has heard, with Herring accented nicely by great slide work from Bell, both flowing over Todd Nance’s steady kick drum.

More exemplary jamming followed in the second set, first with the opener, Party, and then with one of the funkiest versions of Climb to Safety you will ever hear. Keyboardist Jojo Hermann carried the jam with his clavinet, riding on top of a funky bass line from Schools that reminded one of their cover of Solid Rock, and song from Bob Dylan’s Christian revivalist period. It was a wonderful change of pace for a song too often mailed in with little variation within the jam.

Hermann was not done there, however. His next standout moment would begin a stretch of the show that exemplified why fans still come back to Panic after all these years, because they feature a dark, evil edge to their sound that is truly unmatched by anyone else in the scene.

A drum intro from Nance and percussionist Sunny Ortiz led into an especially sinister version of Dr. John’s I Walk on Guilded Splinters, featuring Hermann putting the fear into the crowd with a mix of funky Hammond B-3 and chaotic piano. The jam also featured outstanding work by Herring and a lot of call-and-response between the two of them.

Guilded segued nicely into a Chilly Water sandwich, the meat being more loud, dark, thunderous rock in the form of You Got Yours. The band followed this with the unquestionable highlight of the evening, Colonel Bruce Hampton’s Time is Free, which Herring effectively carried on his back with one stretch of psychedelic shredding after another, helped by Bell’s growling vocals and rambling raps.

The set very well could have ended after Chilly Water, and probably should have ended after the marathon version of Time is Free, but Herring jumped right into the roaring stomp of Neil Young’s classic, Mr. Soul, finally ending a monster second set and leaving much of the crowd exhausted, undoubtedly nursing sore arms from constant fist-pumping.

The crowd hardly seemed bothered by the short encore, but, after the previous stretch, who could blame them?

After all, once Imitation Leather Shoes gave them time to catch their breath, the debauchery of Beale Street awaited them outside the Forum’s doors.

09/21/07 FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

1: A of D, Space Wrangler, Walkin’ (For Your Love), Tie Your Shoes > Pigeons, Blue Indian, Rebirtha > Ribs and Whiskey, Big Wooly Mammoth

2: Party at Your Mama’s House > Junior, Glory, Smoking Factory, Surprise Valley > Climb to Safety, Guilded Splinters > Chilly Water > You Got Yours > Chilly Water, Time is Free > Mr. Soul

E: Imitation Leather Shoes

-end-