{"id":2961,"date":"2011-08-02T01:10:36","date_gmt":"2011-08-02T08:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=2961"},"modified":"2011-08-02T01:17:34","modified_gmt":"2011-08-02T08:17:34","slug":"widespread-panic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2011\/08\/widespread-panic\/","title":{"rendered":"WIDESPREAD PANIC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

WIDESPREAD PANIC<\/strong><\/h1>\n

For their latest, the masters of improv draw upon comedy and tragedy alike<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

Widespread Panic frontman John Bell sees a sharp distinction between being a so-called \u201cjam band\u201d and being a band that\u2019s adept at improvisation. \u201cIt\u2019s the difference between playing while you\u2019re asleep and playing while you\u2019re awake,\u201d he says. \u201cTo apply yourself properly to improvisation, you need to have an awareness of the other players and know what they\u2019re doing with their instruments. There\u2019s an intensity in it that really wakes you up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell should know. Over the last 24 years, he and his bandmates have established themselves as one of America\u2019s premier improvising live acts. The Athens, Ga.-based group\u2019s shows have become so legendary,\u00a0in fact, that people sometimes forget that along with the spectacular musicianship comes a trove of great songs\u2014including those on the band\u2019s latest album,\u00a0Dirty Side Down<\/em>. Rife with celestial, guitar-centric jazz-rock, organ-laced boogie shuffles and shimmering balladry, the disc brings to mind everything from vintage Santana to\u00a0the astral-blues offerings of the Allman Brothers Band.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor this album, we concentrated on finishing one song at a time,\u201d says Bell. \u201cEvery tune was recorded live, with all of us in the room. We did multiple takes, and what\u2019s cool about that is you get new ideas through that process. Someone gets inspired to mess with the tempo, or the arrangement, or just the feel of certain things.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the bulk of Dirty Side Down<\/em> consists of Panic originals, one standout track is a cover of a never-before-released song written by Vic Chesnutt, \u201cThis Cruel Thing.\u201d The acclaimed Athens singer and songwriter died just days before the group began recording.<\/p>\n

\u201cListening to Vic\u2019s songs is like hearing a great comedian, someone who\u2019s not just spewing jokes but who\u2019s saying things with substance,\u201d Bell says. \u201cHe got into heavy stuff, but he also kept things light on the surface.\u201d In fact, while Bell\u2019s major influences include Motown, Van Morrison, Neil Young and Jeff Buckley, comedy albums by George Carlin and the Firesign Theatre fueled his ideas about lyrical wordplay.<\/p>\n

Bell is quick to point out, however, that Widespread Panic\u2019s music reflects\u00a0the sum total of each band member\u2019s tastes and experiences. Adhering to that philosophy has been key to the group\u2019s longevity. \u201cIt\u2019s important to remember that there are six of you, and that making music as six people is more fun than\u00a0being on your own,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a\u00a0team sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Russell Hall<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WIDESPREAD PANIC For their latest, the masters of improv draw upon comedy and tragedy alike Widespread Panic frontman John Bell sees a sharp distinction between being a so-called \u201cjam band\u201d and being a band that\u2019s adept at improvisation. \u201cIt\u2019s the difference between playing while you\u2019re asleep and playing while you\u2019re awake,\u201d he says. \u201cTo apply […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[70,10156,2264],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2961"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2961"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2971,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2961\/revisions\/2971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}