I was never really introduced to jam bands (Phish, Widespread Panic, etc.) until college, where everyone was obsessed with them. Although I definitely respect their musical talent and like a few songs, I utterly detest the genre. To me, the endless "jamming" and linking of several different songs together destroys the ability of a song to be an effective vehicle taking you from point A to B. You get lost along the way and it all seems to sound the same. Anybody agree?

and here was me expecting cream and hendrix to get a mention , now those guys jamming live i can really enjoy listening to , i havent heard the bands you mention so i cant comment on them . jamming is where it's at you find new ideas , liks , rythms ect

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The only jam band I really like is the one I'm in. We played a 15 min version of Roadhouse Blues the other night that was pretty good. The other guitarist and I traded back and forth between lead and rhythm... that's what happens when the singer is late.

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Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

I love jam bands. Jam bands are my favourite kind of bands.

I prefer Jelly or Marmalade bands...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

i've been a fan of jam bands for as long as i can remember. i remember the first time i heard "in a gadda da vida" on the radio. then i heard the long version. now when it comes on, i always hope they play the long one. i prefer the longer "light my fire" as well.

that being said, not every jam is a great one. if the musicians are going in different directions, a song can be very hard to listen to. you can go back to the psychedelic era to see what i mean.

when the guitar players are working off each other, maybe some tasty organ playing, and a solid bass and drum move the song forward , it can be a beautiful thing- i'll invest 15-20 minutes of my time- smiling all the way

The only "Jam Band" i really got into was Phish, friends tried to get me into Widespread Panic but just didn't feel it. I can totally understand your point of view on the endless jamming. I got dragged to a phish show and tried to ignore the hippy fans which to some extent i detest. but i was blown away. The thing I will say about Phish live is that some of their long jams work and some don't, but that's the thing when you take risks like that. There are some really amazing moments that have a lot of energy. Harry Hood off "A Real Live One" has a HUGE payoff and one of my favorites, but its 15 minutes so you have to be willing to devote the time. Stash is another fantastic example of great energy. Check that one out off the same live album if you care to.

I myself got very turned off by the extreme hippies. But its America so to each his own... plus... the grilled cheese sandwiches they make in the lot are quite delicious and could rival any Gordon Ramsey recipe.

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I've never been able to get into the hippie inspired jam bands. The smell of patchouli and B.O. in the crowd makes me want to vomit.

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

The Police are not a jam band, but at their concert a couple of years ago they really jammed out Roxanne. It went on so long I thought they were playing a different song until Sting started to get back into the vocals and was singing Roxanne, Roxanne, Roxanne.

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Many jams I have heard are just musical masturbation,trying to imitate the truly innovative jams of masters like the Allman Brothers where the jams had a beginning,middle and end,and didn't get boring.
Not many people can improvise over a two chord progression or even a three chord,and not repeat themselves...me included.

Grateful Dead did it well............ Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Can't stand 'em.

I believe in the "less is more" credo and the old "leave them wanting more."

I cant say I like jam bands in general but things like Santana,s live Soul Sacrifice or Deep Purples Highway Star off of Made in Japan are things that are up my alley. I dont like bands that set out to make each song 8 or 9 minutes just for the sake of length.

I was channel surfing with my satellite radio the other night and came upon a Phish jam but after 4 or 5 minutes it just got tired and repetitive. Having said that I could listen to Machine Gun or Who Knows for hours on end,just hit the repeat button and sit back.It seems that today's jam bands don't have the riffs to pull off a 7+ minute song.When I was in my teens we'd all get in my rec room and listen to Ina Gadda Da Vida,Soul Sacrifice, Band of Gypsies,Court Of The Crimson King,ELP etc. for hours usually in a herbal induced dream state-those really were the days.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

My fave band GN'R used to jam a lot during their VERY long shows while Axl got a suck of his oxygen mask. Always enjoyed it whether it was Izzy doing some Howlin Wolf or Slash playing the Godfather or just some plain old jam.

My own band does it a lot too between songs, kind of jumping into the moment, doesn't matter if it's in rehearsal or on stage, sometimes you discover something great you never thought was possible. I'm all for those moments. Kind of like a photograph in terms of once its gone its gone but it doesn't make that moment any less special.

CC

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Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
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