Joe Russo’s Almost Dead closed out their 2023 touring schedule and ten-year anniversary with three blistering performances in Madison and Chicago over the weekend. A beautiful Wisconsin fall day greeted the band and fans for the opening night. From note one, the band was in complete control. Shifting between numerous musical genres and rhythms at the drop of a hat. No surprise. It’s been that way for several years.
As the band rolled through set one, a theme in the setlist started to appear. The band was reaching even deeper into its bottomless musical repertoire. Songs that see the light of day a couple of times a year were flowing non-stop. A spicy Alligator, along with Bob Weir’s Gonesville and the third performance of The Beatles I’ve Just Seen A Face were shining examples.
Russo and company had the gas pedal floored the rest of the night and weekend. After an Eyes of the World – Dancing in the Streets combo, it was back to the rarities with Kings Solomon’s Marbles – Silvio (or Sylvee-O)– Cream Puff War and ultra-rare Mission in the Rain to close out night one.
The festivities headed south to the Riviera Theater in Chicago for the final two nights. Like the previous night, the band created a furious energy from the get-go. Especially with explosive versions of Here ComesSunshine and Playing in the Band. Both reaching a pace that required Russo to use all eight of his drumming tentacles to keep up. Scott Metzger tore through Bob Dylan’s Tell Me Mama and Tom Hamilton followed suit with Dire Straight’s Romeo and Juliet to continue the deep dive theme from night one.
The band was greeted with a heightened energy and curiosity as they took the stage for their final show of the year. It didn’t take long to transfer that energy into the music as they ended 2023 with one of its finest shows of the year. A three song combination of The Wheel – Till the Morning Comes – Jack Straw got the “wheels” rolling in set one.
The final set was a showcase of the synergy the five musicians who came together for a one off show at the Freaks Ball in 2013 have created over the last 300 plus concerts. Uncle John’s Band, Let It Grow, and a rare Black Peter ignited a Mrs. O’Leary’s cow-like spark that almost set Chicago on fire again. The Eleven sent the band into overdrive that continued into The Music Never Stopped which ventured back into Black Peter and then the Allman Brother’s Hot’ Lanta before the reprise. Tom Hamilton closed the set with a heartfelt, passionate, raging performance of Morning Dew that almost had him in tears afterwards.
Rolling into 2024, JRAD seems to have found the perfect groove. Playing forty shows a year keeps their fans satiated while allowing each band member plenty of time to pursue their other musical interests. JRAD kicks off their 2024 schedule with three shows at The Capitol Theater in January.
With his second release Reflector, Daniel Donato drives his Cosmic Country locomotive deeper into his shifting musical universe. His direction is clear, he’s headed towards the truth. This voyage will never reach a destination because there is no end point. And Donato wouldn’t have it any other way.
Donato’s passion to explore what lies ahead is palpable and refreshing. Charging full steam into the unknown is exactly what you’d expect from a musician who has literally done the same thing on stage for half his life. At 28, Donato has plenty of fuel and experience to reach the furthest depths of his unique cosmic universe.
Age is one of numerous things in the Cosmic Country cosmos Donato finds irrelevant. “You’re new but you’re old. I feel that. After playing all the festivals we have, with a lot of bands the same age, I noticed the human measurement of age has nothing to do with the universal concept of experiential information. A musician can be thirty years old and have fifteen years under their belt. Another could be thirty and just started touring a few years ago. A lot can be noticed within that contrast. With that there is no hierarchy I operate off. For some reason, I got kicked out of the gate at an early age. I notice a startling difference at times.”
Donato’s years playing on the streets of Nashville and as part of Don Kelley’s band have solidified the country end of his musical spectrum. It also provides even more fuel to sustain his journey through the never ending world of psychedelia. “The idea of Cosmic Country is you have this duality.” Donato explains. “Country is three chords and the truth. That side of the spectrum is very simple. With something Cosmic, the definition of what is ‘infinite’ and most unknown is the cosmos. You have this contrast and a responsibility to cover everything from the ground to the sky. That’s what I wanted to cover on Reflector. In no small feat. Rose in the Garden, Till the Daylight, Half Moon Night those are simple country songs. Then there are more complex songs that are more cosmic. Cosmic country is the duality of simple but complex, but truthful all the while.”
Donato knows his role as conductor of the Cosmic Country express comes with significant responsibility. He’s got a century of country music at his disposal to make current and bring to an audience thirsty to be hip to the classics. “I feel like I’m getting to turn my fans on to a whole part of the American songbook. I mean what kid is listening to Marty Robbins when he’s 14?” Donato muses. “When I started listening to the Dead, I knew all the country songs they were covering. I had been to RCA Studio A where Marty Robbins recorded Big Iron and El Paso. Or Sun records where Johnny Cash recorded Big River. You can take old time material and bring it to life if the audience is willing to go there with you.”
Donato adds, “We will break out a lot of songs that people have never heard before. I feel our fans are really into that. My perspective may be slanted because I’m so in it I can’t see it objectively. Whenever we break out a song from Bob Wills that was recorded in 1957, people don’t bat an eye. They just dance to it. I think we’re at a place where there’s a real need to return to a nostalgic time that was more orderly and loving. Art is a great vehicle for nostalgia.”
Another critical part of the Cosmic Country experience is the crew Donato uses to bring his music to the masses. His band featuring Nathan “Sugar Legg” Aronowitz on keys, Will McGee bass, and Noah Winner drums provide immeasurable support and energy keeping Donato on course in the CC cosmos. Finding the right combination of personality and ability is something Donato says he learned by the side of Don Kelley for almost five hundred shows. “I said from the get-go this isn’t a sophomore album. When I played with Don, he was a great bandleader. He wasn’t the best musician, but a great bandleader. He knew how to find the right personalities that did inspiring things on their instruments. He organized people like a harmonious cosmic puzzle of personalities playing music. I picked up early on how he was able to assess players and pick the right guys to play on stage. You must have the best band possible with this type of music. It’s not like you can learn how to do it from a Dropbox of music files.”
Another facet of Reflector’s beauty is Donato’s ability to seamlessly space out songs along the wide range of genres that is Cosmic Country. From Honkytonk slammers Sugarleg and Loco #9 through the wide open Psychedelic Dance in the Desert, the album has a free flowing pace and ease. Donato says the songs quickly showed which direction they needed to go. “It’s right off the bat. Almost instantaneous. Weathervane, Double Exposure, Dance in the Desert, Gotta GetSouthbound. When I’m writing those, I’m listening to what the song is trying to say. These songs seem to let me know where they can go live. Probably because I’ve played so many days live over the last fourteen years. When I’m picking on something new, using my imagination, I can see and feel where it will go on stage. With Cosmic Country, I have two buckets to put things in. Psychoactive music and then stories. People need both. You need songs that take place in the garden and others in the forest where you slay the dragon, rescue the damsel and find the gold. That’s where the trip happens. The music will always tell me where it wants to go.”
Clocking in at just over an hour, Reflector is about the length of a Donato live set. Donato doesn’t waste a second of that precious time. The album flows smoothly as he conducts his cosmic train on short journeys like Lose Your Mind and Rose in a Garden. Songs like Gotta Get Southbound and Dance in the Desert offer a longer more scenic ride. Finding the right avenues to shine the brightest light on his current and future travelers is another area Donato says he places great focus on.
“I think you need to give people a lot now. With streaming, the vehicle of consumption has changed and altered the attention span of music. People don’t have a lot of time to dig into what you’re doing. They say the attention span is shorter. I disagree. I think the consideration span is different. People will listen to a podcast for three hours. But they consider things worthy of their attention for three seconds. So, if we pass the green light for someone considering us worthy of listening to, I wanted to give them a lot to dig into. There’s a massive opportunity to try to hit people in whatever psychological state they’re in. If you’re watching something on You Tube, you’re in a different state than if you’re listening on Spotify. That’s something we considered.”
As mentioned in part one, Dance in the Desert is one of the best songs released in 2023 by anyone. It’s so open and flowing it’s easy to see how Donato and crew have been taking it on a twenty minute excursion nightly. Reaching for the deepest chasms on stage is another perfect example of the duality Donato strives for. “Dance in the Desert feels very cosmic country in terms of what it can be. It’s technically not a country song, but it’s not safe in any way. I think artists need to go to the edge and see what you can find out there. That’s literally what the gold miners did. They went to the very edge of the land until they found it in the ocean and started digging for gold. That hero’s journey is analogous in the musical sense. You have to go to the edge with your musical tools and start digging.”
Constantly touring, Donato gets to drive the CC Express to that edge nightly. Keeping everyone safe on the tracks is another responsibility Donato cherishes. “The whole experience of a live show is to collectively direct the crowd’s energy to the music. We’re all hoping something good happens. Everyone is aligned and in agreement on some level. That’s a high ideal. You’re not going into a room other than a concert where everyone wants the same good thing to happen. At a sporting event, there’s half that want one outcome and half that want another.”
“If there’s 100 people in a room and four of us on stage, there are 104 shows happening.” Donato muses. “Even on a physics level, people are hearing things differently. The ‘G’ note coming out of my amp sounds completely different than the ‘G’ note someone in the back of the room with earplugs hears. There’s literally that many shows, realities, and lives happening. When I go on stage, I try to do the will of what is most eternally true to me. I fully surrender my life and the outcomes to that organizing force. Whatever happens is totally fine by me.”
Donato’s time on the road and stage have given him wisdom well beyond his 28 years. His focus is forward, but he’s always on the lookout for pitfalls that can derail his journey. “On the road there are many snakes in the garden and apples to be bitten. Metaphorically speaking. I want to do this for the rest of my life. I want everyone to know when I’m on stage, I’m trying my best. I notice the times I lose spiritual force, or the times I’m not giving it my all on stage. If I’m drinking too much or taking too many substances. That’s the classic downfall of anyone. Trey and Jerry got distracted on that level. I’m diligent these days about the road. I quit smoking cigarettes, drinking a bunch. My daily ethos is when I’m not playing with the truth onstage, I’m trying to seek the truth off stage. Anything that doesn’t hit in the center of that, I turn away from so I can keep my eye on the prize.”
Encore-
As the Cosmic express rolls down the tracks, another of life’s dualities is staring Donato directly in the face. The only certainty his future holds is that it will be uncertain. He concludes, “I like where we are now. I’ve been doing this long enough to know I don’t know where I’ll end up. I realize people who can create something that stands the test of time don’t know where they’ll end up either. How did Andy Warhol go from silk screen printings to mylar floating balloons? How does Garcia go from acoustic guitar in Palo Alto to using a rolling synth on Shakedown St. thirty years later? You don’t know where you’ll end up. That’s part of the faith required. I believe the actions our ours and the consequences are god’s. It’s taking what the world is telling you to do and seeing where it goes.”
“There are things I want to happen for our team and things to happen for our community. For the community, I want more people to get turned on to this music. I want them to find that ‘something’ in their life. Something that brings more life and truth from our music. For the team, we need more zeroes. Everyone on the road is working hard. Basically, doing three jobs. If we can continue to grow the scale of what we do. Get to better venues with better sound, lighting, staffing and ticketing processes, the community and team would be happy. It’s a temporal desire mixed with an eternal desire. Bringing value to people’s lives.”
If you’re not familiar with Don Kelley, Robert’s Western World or the term busking, it’s impossible to know the full story of Daniel Donato. Incredibly, even without that lengthy and pivotal part of his past, the 28 year old Nashvillian has brought more music from the cosmos than musicians twice his age. His latest album Reflector is technically his “sophomore” release, but Donato left anything sophomoric about his career and music in the rear view mirror ages ago.
These days, Donato’s focus is on one thing only, bringing his Cosmic Country genre of music to the world. He’s put his popular Allman Brothers tribute project Trouble No More on the backburner. That’s not where his inspiration is. It’s creating a constantly flowing energy back and forth from country music to psychedelia with his audience. There are plenty of stops along the way. Rock, Soul, Blues, Funk, and Jazz just to name a few.
If psychedelia is at one end of the Cosmic Country spectrum, it’s well represented in Reflector with Double Exposure, and both parts of Dance in the Desert. The latter is one of the best songs released in the indy music world this year. It has a beat, energy and natural openness that feels like a modern day Shakedown St.
With Reflector, Donato significantly shifts the starting point for the country end of Cosmic Country. Songs like Rose in a Garden, Hi Country, andHalf Moon Night continue the unique country flavor found in Donato’s 2020 debut A Young Man’sCountry. However, it’s full-on honkytonk instrumental rippers Sugarleg and Loco #9, where Donato takes a sledgehammer to the country end of his musical spectrum. His unbridled pace and fury provide a clear insight into his early days busking the streets of Nashville. Playing music in public for tips. That was followed by three years and almost 500 concerts by the side of Music City legend Don Kelley at Robert’s Western World. A Nashville country music institution across the street from the Ryman Auditorium.
It’s these formative years as a Nashville street performer, session worker, and member of Don Kelley’s band that set the wide parameters for the deep country influences Donato brings to Cosmic Country.
pic: Brotherhood of the Guitar
Donato sat down with SlideandBanjo for a wide raging interview covering his new release Reflector and his incredible journey from playing for tips on the streets to playing in front of thousands and thousands of paying fans. All before turning 30 years old. He begins by discussing the evolution of his current musical palate. “When I was playing with Don, I was really focused on being a guitar player and great musician in a band. I wasn’t spending a lot of time composing or thinking of that kind of stuff. When I left Don is when I started writing and singing more. The honkytonk paradigm is small in bandwidth. It’s not like the Grateful Dead or Phish where you may experience ten musical genres in one night. With Don, it was pretty much Bluegrass, Western swing, and ballads.”
Before looking at the post Don Kelley part of Donato’s musical journey, it’s best to begin with the multi year long trip he took just to sit in with Kelley’s band for the first time. At fourteen years old, Donato’s father would drop him off in Nashville’s touristy Broadway area. There he’d busk the streets almost every weekend. Eight hours a day Saturday and Sunday. Trying to save enough tip money to buy his dream Fender Telecaster guitar.
Among the mass of country music greats performing in Nashville at the time was guitarist JD Simo. A flat out country killer and local legend as the guitarist in Don Kelley’s band and its decades long residency at Robert’s Western World.
Still a young teen, Donato religiously showed up at Robert’s week after week hoping for an invite to sit in with his musical inspiration. Three years later, after thoroughly digesting Kelley’s massive catalogue of live tunes, Donato’s dream came true. He found the golden ticket and got his sit in the with the Don Kelley Band. With that, a baby faced Donato looking like he barely cracked triple digits in weight made the most of his chance. He went head to head with Simo in a honkytonk showdown clearly letting everyone know he can hang with the big boys. By 2012, a seventeen year old Donato hit a major milestone in his young career. The wunderkind with a growing reputation as a must see live performer was given a three year spot by Kelley’s side. Four nights a week. Four hours a night with a quick bathroom break.
This is where Donato says he cemented the country side of Cosmic Country. “When I first started playing music live and I was first getting turned on to music, it was through traditional country music. Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings. When I left Nashville to go on tour, I was getting turned on to all kinds of different approaches to music. That’s where the wide variety of music I cover comes from.”
Photo Jason Stoltzfus
Donato continues with the importance those deep country classics are to his current musical output, “With Cosmic Country, I want us to exist in the present, past, and future. That’s what truth is. It exists in all points of time. That’s why I think a lot of the older songs and influences will find their way into the Cosmic Country sound. It’s really based on what turns me on. Nine times out of ten when we’re driving to a gig, I’m listening to old time country music. Ernest Tubb, Tommy Collins, the old Bakersfield stuff. Music people would have never known. When I was playing at Robert’s all those years, that’s all that was played. It was a strange place. Roy Acuff and Hank Williams Sr. Stuff people don’t listen to on a great scale anymore. But it’s all I’ve listened to on some level. The spirit of that old music finds its way into what we’re doing now.”
Donato credits a night at the Ryman for opening his eyes to the musical possibilities ahead of him. He continues, “I saw Sturgill Simpson at the Ryman on Halloween 2015. The Ryman is less than thirty feet from Robert’s. Sturgill blew my mind. He wasn’t doing much differently than we did at Robert’s. I saw the commercial potential of this type of music and approach. So, I was off to the races. How do I find my own sound and niche on this highway? That’s when I set my sights on being a storyteller at the center of the stage.”
Around this time, Donato discovered another vision shaping muse. The music of the Grateful Dead. Their devotion to playing live and telling tales of old Americana were a perfect complement to his insatiable urge to expand his musical vocabulary and horizons. “If there’s anything I’ve learned playing music half my life. There’s no need to rush. The music will take you there if you have faith in it and you show up every night and play like your life depends on it. That’s the simple answer for me. The Grateful Dead influence is everywhere if you’re trying to improvise on stage. You can’t get away from them. It’s the pinnacle of the American idea. The epitome of what life can be is symbolized in the Dead. I’m just a branch on that tree. It’s like a spirit that can inhabit any band.”
Donato went directly to the Grateful Dead playbook with the 15 song Reflector. Play them as much on the road and let them evolve naturally before going into the studio for fine tuning. “We had 150 shows under our belt when we went into the studio for the record.” Donato recalls. “My philosophy is that the stage is the most important place for music. That’s when it’s really alive. It’s happening and being created and experienced by everyone in the room. That’s way different than a record. The stage is a celebration, and the record is a presentation. There’s a duality there that’s real. I wanted to make sure before we recorded a single note, we had played these songs a lot. The songs told us what they needed individually before we put them on tape. There was a lot of playing the songs to the crowd to see what was turning them on and us on.”
The shine of Reflector is its ability to satisfy the appetite of long time Donato fans while inviting those who want to hop on the Cosmic Country train to come aboard. Songs like Lose Your Mind, Gotta Get Southbound, and Weathervane are certain to be setlist staples going forward. According to Donato, all roads lead to the stage. “A lot of these songs on the record are out on You Tube in their live skeleton. If people are already turned on to these songs, they’ll go and listen to the record and be like cool this sounds different. For those who don’t know us yet, the record is an easy entryway into what we do live. Everything bleeds into the live show forever and ever. I feel a responsibility by being the organizing principal in the Cosmic Country trip, to give everyone and anyone what they need to knock on the door and come inside. I feel like we did a great job with the record. There are a lot of four-minute songs that are easy to listen to. Then they can go online and see a nine minute version. How did they do that? Interesting.”
Coming up in part two, Donato continues the deep dive into the ethos behind his Cosmic Country way of life. And for Donato, it’s just that. The way he lives his life. He’ll delve into his process and responsibility for creating music along the wide Cosmic Country spectrum. He also shares his long term vision and philosophy on his perpetually morphing genre of music.
Donato closes part one discussing any changes he wanted to make with Reflector for his “sophomore” effort. “I didn’t want to change anything. I like subscribing to the mindset of going through experiences with showing up as much as I can for where I am in that given time. I was different during the sessions of A YoungMan’s Country than I was in Reflector. Both records were made with an intention of truth, beauty, and goodness, but in different frequencies. As listeners dive into both, they’ll be able to hear my progression in my journey in this life and feel the evolution organically and honestly.”
The Mempho music festival made another triumphant return to the Memphis Botanic Gardens with its most diverse lineup to date. Rock and roll ruled Friday’s opening night. Headliners The Black Crowes tore through their long list of classics to the delight of throngs of mid southerners who have made the festival a permanent addition to their concert calendar.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead made their Memphis debut with a setlist that would have any deadhead drooling. From the opening “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” to a shortened “Throwing Stones” because they ran out of time, the band delivered one of their best festival sets in ages.
The ladies were not to be denied on day one. Lucius literally ventured into a welcoming crowd towards the end of their set. Without question, Larkin Poe opened the eyes of lots of new fans with a roaring rock and roll blues set that was the surprise highlight of the day.
The musical vibe shifted in the pop/alternative independent direction for day two of Mempho. Dinosaur Jr woke up the crowd and surrounding neighborhood with the loudest set of the festival. Things settled for alternative greats Ween, Band of Horses, and Paul Cauthen.
But day two was all about headliners My Morning Jacket. They easily matched the overwhelming abundance of energy and anticipation coming from the crowd. Their two hour set did not disappoint. Especially with sit ins from Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses) on “Wonderful” and J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr) on “One Big Holiday” and “Dancefloors.”
Photo- Austin Friedline
The final day of Mempho 2023 was more Rock and Soul than Rock and Roll before wrapping up with some country flair. The Zyn stage took care of the soul with performances by Billy Allen and the Pollies followed by The War and the Treaty. Lake Street Dive changed course and closed down the Zyn stage for
the year with a country flavored rock set. That country vibe and electricity immediately shifted to the Adams Keegan stage as the Turnpike Troubadours closed out the festival in grand style.
Here’s a gallery of photos from the 2023 Mempho Festival.
The Midwest music festival season was in full force the weekend of September 9th and 10th. The second annual All IN music festival and inaugural Miracle In Mundelein brought an eclectic mix of musicians and music lovers to Indianapolis and Mundelein Il. While young, both festivals were well run and well attended leaving festivalgoers anxious for bigger things to come.
Bassist Karina Rykman, fresh off the release of her debut album Joyride got the main stage at the All IN fest cranking with a raucous Friday afternoon set. Cory Wong, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave kept the energy rolling on the main stage leading up to an enthralling set by the legendary Tenacious D. Both Jack Black and Kyle Gass had the crowd mesmerized with their unique combination of music, humor, story telling, and much more. A previous day of travel nightmares and a drummer with a 102.6 degree fever couldn’t slow down Joe Russo’s Almost Dead from closing out night one with a two hour start to finish heater of a set.
It was more of the same on the main stage for day two with Quinn Sullivan followed by The Main Squeeze getting things going. The evening session was as great as it was diverse. Greensky Bluegrass delivered a seismic bluegrass set followed by an equally outstanding performance from Trey Anastasio (who played with Bob Weir, Les Claypool, and Billy Strings at Strings’ wedding the night before). Umphrey’s McGee closed the fest out in grand fashion with a Led Zeppelin tribute set featuring Jason Bonham on drums.
The inaugural Miracle in Mundelein festival, the first to feature open cannabis consumption was equally well received boasting a strong lineup of musicians for a first time fest. A chill reggae set from Stephen Marley kicked things off. The pace picked up from there with crowd pleasing in your face sets from Action Bronson and Cypress Hill to wrap up day one. Karina Rykman and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead made the three hour trek from the All IN fest for day two of the Miracle in Mundelein. Both acts using the extra space, open air, and kind vibes to outdo their high level performances from the day before. Lettuce offered almost two hours of non stop funk with an extra helping of bass between Rykman and JRAD’s sets.
Joan Osborne has been riding a wave of creativity the last few years. She’s quite aware of this and has no intention of hopping off her musical surfboard anytime soon. Osborne’s latest release Nobody Owns You (her third since 2020) makes an incredibly strong case as a career best. A three decade plus long career as one of the finest vocalists around.
Osborne dons many hats throughout the album. Her first collaboration with producer and co-writer Ben Rice. There’s the reflective Osborne looking back on her career in Should’ve Danced More, So Many Airports, and Great AmericanCities. The motherly Osborne comes out in the title track Nobody Owns You and Women’s Work.Time of the Gun and Dig a Little Ditch offer Osborne’s realistic take on current events. The album peaks with her role as a daughter in the super personal Secret Wine and The Smallest Trees.
Osborne’s vocals are as on point as they’ve been throughout her career. However, it’s the lyrics and music behind the vocals which set this album apart from her others. Both are as simple and direct as can be. There’s no preaching and complaining. Just Osborne reflecting on the same life events her longtime listeners are undoubtedly going through. Sending a daughter to college and into the real world. Watching a parent’s mental and physical decline. The end of a long-term relationship or simply looking back on the long road you’ve traveled with no regrets.
SlideandBanjo caught up with Osborne to discuss her latest release. She begins by noting the difference between this record and the others from her storied career. “This record came out of a time of a lot of personal upheaval. That left me emotionally raw. It’s not great, but it allows you access to your emotions and deep feelings. I used that to write these personal songs. This record is the most personal I’ve ever done. It’s partly in response to turning 60 last year. That’s a moment when you take stock of your life and ask yourself, if I only have “x” years left on the planet, what am I going to do with that time? What needs to be done that I need to stop waiting to do? There’s a directness in the songwriting that comes from that desire to get to the heart of the matter. I’m an admirer of people who write that way. From Hank Williams Jr. to Lucinda Williams or Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. Writers who cut to the meaning and say things in simple language.
Osborne says she and Rice were in a similar mental headspace making the album. That led to a unique connection that flows throughout the album. “It was great working with Ben. He was interested in all the different poems, lyric ideas, and songs I brought him. It may have been connecting with him on a personal level. His father passed and he was experiencing this loss in his life when we were working together. He was enthusiastic about all my ideas. His thorough way of working really allowed the songs to blossom quickly. If we were working on lyrics and the song needed another verse. I felt I could go in a room for half an hour and come back with two or three options. It became obvious what I was trying to say. That’s a good position to be in as a writer. You say it a couple of ways. The one that’s the best becomes clear to everyone.”
As Osborne explains, her life and musical experiences gave her the confidence to be as direct as possible throughout the album, “I wanted to write songs that are unique to me. This is what my life is like now. I’ve written songs in different ways before. Short stories with characters. But I didn’t want to do that this time. I wanted to be straightforward and say what’s on my mind in a simple way. I’m not sure if anyone is paying attention to what I’m doing. I have my fans and am so grateful for them. As far as larger music business, it’s not like my name is on everyone’s lips. That can be liberating because if no one is watching, you can do what you want. Not be worried about what others think. It was a permission to be straightforward and personal. I ended up feeling really good about writing songs like this at this point in my career. I’m not bored with this. I have things I didn’t have years and decades ago I can dig into. It’s a rich time for me as an artist and I am happy to tap into those things.”
The highlight of the album is the song Secret Wine. Written for her mother who is starting to show signs of Alzheimer’s, Osborne’s simplistic tale of fear and hope will hit you deep in your soul. “I don’t want to let her go. But if I must, I must. Please take her hand and comfort her and show her who to trust.” According to Osborne, the song was originally a prayer, but was converted into a song thanks to her in-studio collaboration with Rice. “My mother is beginning to show signs of Alzheimer’s. She’s losing bits of herself. That’s difficult to watch. The song Secret Wine is about that. Hoping she can replace the things she’s losing with something positive and wonderful. There are negative things about her slipping away. But she also has a childlike energy which is a beautiful thing to see. It’s like she’s stepping back into this more innocent time. The song is a wish for protection for her.”
She continues, “I wrote this after talking with my sisters about the things that were happening with my mom. I brought it to Ben in the studio. He and I worked on the music. His father just passed, and he was going through his own time of dealing with loss. We were so appreciative to have the studio to come to and bring all these emotions. We needed that sanctuary to work through all the stuff going on in our lives. Otherwise, we’d just be going nuts.”
Smallest Trees, an homage to the innocence of being a child is another highpoint of the album. Osborne channels some Bob Dylan like imagery with the lines, “Oh the smallest trees hold the most beautiful birds, and the smallest mouths speak the most beautiful words.” She reflects on her memories of that special time in her life. “That’s from thinking what it was like to be a small child. Remembering the moments I felt so much love for my family and my mother especially. It was like that love had replaced every cell of my body and that’s all I was. As we get older, we can lose touch with that feeling. I have a young nephew. When his mom or I walk into a room, he explodes with happiness and launches himself at you. To feel that kind of love is a beautiful and ephemeral thing. It doesn’t last forever your capacity to do that. Maybe we get back to it as we get older. I’m hoping that happens to me. But it’s there in childhood. I don’t think there are many songs about that.”
Osborne tries to impart some motherly words of wisdom in the title track NobodyOwns You. “You’re as free as the wind in the street and it’s time to stand up on your feet. Darling, you’re complete. Nobody owns you.” While her daughter may not be ready to listen to these pearls of wisdom, Osborne is confident others will. “My daughter is eighteen and done with me for now (laughs). That’s very natural and I don’t take it personally. I feel these are still words of wisdom worth saying. So instead of talking to a wall, I put those thoughts into a song. Hopefully, at some point she’ll listen. Until she does, it’s out there for anyone who needs it. It’s a message young women can stand to hear. As far as we’ve come in supporting them and telling them they can be whatever they want to be. There’s another cultural undercurrent that makes them feel everyone has to like them. Nobody can be mad at them. They have to look a certain way. Act a certain way. You can’t step out of line. Can’t make mistakes. I think it leaves them open to being manipulated by people who don’t have their best interest at heart. I wanted to say it in a simple way that you don’t have to give yourself to people who aren’t on your side.”
Albeit more tongue and cheek, the theme of knowing your true value continues in Women’s Work. “This is for the women with full time careers while raising kids with their partners. They also have that second shift at home.” Osborne muses. “Often, do more than an equal share of the work at home. Their male partners believe and are totally convinced they do half as much. And it’s just not true. (Laughs). The song is leavened with a bit of humor. But it’s a song that if women stepped out and went on strike, this whole place would fall apart.”
Current events are front and center in Time of the Gun and Dig a Little Ditch. Instead of preaching and looking for solutions to a never ending problem, Osborne uses both offerings as a way of accepting the times and navigating through them as unscathed as possible. “It seems like this era we’re living in is defined by the number of tragedies and mass shootings. Guns have usurped our communal lives as Americans. Whether you want to deal with it or not, it’s around you all the time. You hear about an awful shooting and then you send your kid off to school and wonder if it’s going to happen to them. We’re all living with this right now. That’s where the title came from. We’re living in a time of the gun. I hate that, but I can’t turn away from it. I should understand it and face up to it. Figure out what it means in my life. What am I going to do about it and what is everyone going to do about it?”
She continues, “With Dig A Little Ditch I came up with the line, ‘Dig a little ditch and push the devil in.’ I thought there are devils all around us. You don’t have to look far to find them. It’s a very simple message of what you can do. You have to dig a little ditch and put the devil in. That’s the work we’re doing right now. I tried to put it in a simple poetic language.”
Riding high from another album that dazzles from start to finish, Osborne is focused on keeping her current wave of momentum alive. Her perspective on the world has changed. That’s natural. Everyone’s does as they get older. What hasn’t changed is Osborne’s steadfast focus on her lyrics and vocals. According to Osborne, it never will. “I’m always trying to make the lyrics as good as possible. As a singer that’s one of the main things I have to work with. I need to connect with those lyrics. Even if they’re fun, party lyrics. I need to feel them while I’m singing. I put a lot of time and energy into the lyrics. Wanting them to be something I can authentically perform and connect with.”
“I’m so lucky to have work that I still want to do. Hopefully, I can keep doing it for a little while longer. I’m excited by being able to write songs like these at this point in my career. I feel like there’s another chapter to dig into about what can happen next. Ben and I had such a great time working on the record. Hopefully we’ll get together and write some songs soon. I’m still in that high of being in that zone of creating stuff. I don’t want to step out of it yet.”
Bassist Karina Rykman already has a resume most young musicians would sacrifice an appendage or two for. She’s toured the United States with high profile gigs at Bonnaroo, Sweetwater 420, and Red Rocks. She’s rocked Iceland. She played with her favorite band Phish for some magical moments during a soundcheck at Madison Square Garden. She’s sat in on multiple occasions with the house band for “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Another long shot bucket list item she never expected to cross off so quickly. Especially given her musical output has been six spread out single releases.
For “six singles Rykman” as she jokingly calls herself, that’s no longer the case. Her supremely overdue debut album Joyride is a showcase of Rykman’s musical growth since her first single Plants was released in 2019. The album, written and recorded with longtime friend Gabe Monro is bursting with diverse flavors. A buffet of the multiple musical styles Rykman has already tasted.
Rykman happily used the services of longtime pal and Phish frontman Trey Anastasio who let her use his Barn Studio to record the album. If that wasn’t enough, Anastasio also plays on five of the nine songs on the album. And if that wasn’t enough, Anastasio suggested Rykman work with his famed engineer/album mixer Bryce Goggin at The Barn. Which she did.
The results speak for themselves. You get plenty of Trey in Joyride and All ThatYou Want. Beacon is filled with the vibe she’s picked up as the bassist in Marco Benevento’s band. All of that is surrounded by “core” Rykman. There is Plants. A reworked version of Elevator. A newrocker Run of the Mill and trippy Fever Dream.
Rykman, who has gone well out of her way multiple times giving SlideandBanjo.com inside access to her pre-debut endeavors, sat down for a thorough interview with Marty Halpern to finally discuss the release of her first album.
Photo- Brantley Gutierre
S&B- Hey Karina! Wow. This has been a long time coming. Your debut album is here. I’m sure you’ve dreamed about the process of releasing your first album for years. Has it been everything you imagined?
Karina- It’s a super surreal moment in my life. I gotta say. It feels like a long time coming mixed with the new. I don’t know what to think about all of it. It’s so cool to have a completed larger body of work gracing the masses. It’s fantastic. I’m happy as a clam. I’m super delighted with how it turned out. It’s surreal to think how long it’s been while also being so short. I’m happy to have it finally come out.
S&B- Despite not having that “official debut album” you’ve been releasing and performing your original music for years. Your music caught the eye of Trey Anastasio many years ago and he was so giving to help you with the album. To have someone of his stature help out a rookie must be hard to process?
Karina- I’m humbled to be mentored by someone I love and respect so deeply. It started at Peach Fest in 2021. Trey and I hadn’t seen each other since the pandemic. Trey ran up to me. I didn’t know he had been keeping tabs on my music. He named all my songs and how much he loved them. I was like Whoa! I didn’t realize he paid such close attention. He took a profound interest in helping with the creation of my first record. He offered me The Barn to record the album. It’s his studio since the late 90’s where he’s written and recorded many of Phish’s albums. That was a surreal moment for sure. Bryce Goggin, his engineer and producer mixed it. Trey wanted to coproduce it. It was an amazing time. Every second you spend talking to the guy you learn something. It’s special to get insight from someone who has been at it for so long with so much success. With a heart and mind as open as his. He’s an incredible human and I’m so thrilled to get to work and learn from him.
S&B- The thing that threw me when I saw the track list for the album is most of the songs you’ve released aren’t on it. I thought City Kids, No Occasion, and all the others would be there. With the exception of Plants and Elevator it’s all new stuff. Why did you make the decision to leave out most of the songs you’ve already released?
Karina- It was difficult to even keep Plants and Elevator. Elevator even got a facelift. Plants is exactly the same. It’s the Elevator we all know and love with a more bombastic outro and live drums. It was stuff I wish I could have done to Elevator when I wrote it. It’s a fan favorite and staple closer to my set. I think we finally got it to a place I’m really happy with. Plants, I wanted on my first record. It was my first song ever. It represents a formative special place in my heart in that regard. I felt it deserved a slot on my first record. I shied away big time from keeping my prior singles. The last thing I want is for people to listen to the album and be like, I’ve already heard these songs. I wanted a fresh slate with new music. The songs that made the record are the ones I thought sounded best together. Using the old songs is the easy way out. We don’t do the easy way out.
S&B- Even with all the new songs on the album, there are some that didn’t make the cut. “Atom Dance” which I think is one of your best, isn’t on there. How did you pick what made the final cut?
Karina- The goal is to have a huge repertoire. Our band is in its infancy. There’s been a lot of new tunes we’ve been working on. We’ve debuted a few to see what happens. God willing, Karina’s second album won’t come out too long after this one. I’m constantly writing and permutating. Trying to be prolific and figure out what makes sense.
S&B- How much of the album did you have started when you met up with Trey in 2021? Was this fresh stuff you hadn’t done before because you were working on City Kids, No Occasion, etc.? Or was it freshened up and changed after you met him?
Karina- Most was already written. All That You Wanted, Run of the Mill, Skylark/Slowlark, and Trampoline. Joyride was not. It was written a few months later. Beacon is another that was written. I had been kicking these around for a long time. The ones I was proud of. The cream, I feel, rose to the top. What made sense revealed itself to me. Trey came in and for a lot of those tunes, like Joyride. He came in and reharmonized the chorus for the outro and added his guitar. The same for Trampoline. The song was essentially written, but he had a concept about what to do at the end. He added the end solo to Run of the Mill. He reharmonized the chorus for Fever Dreams and did an outro that was super interesting. It was cool to work with him and see his understanding of choral harmony. That’s way advanced and he was able to add embellishments I would have never thought of. It was a push and pull. Very symbiotic. He was always saying anything I do, or play don’t be afraid to throw it in the garbage can. I really appreciated that. In the end I took all his advice, and it sounds like a Karina record. We didn’t overdo it. I’m thrilled these songs are going to finally see the light of day. I’m ready to let them go and let them have life.”
S&B- Looking at the individual songs on the album, a lot have lyrics. You still have some that are instrumental. Do you think you’re leaning 80/20 on songs with lyrics or do you think you’ll convert to all songs with lyrics? Or is it just how things worked out for this album?
Karina- Let’s call it 80/20. I love instrumental music as well. I’m not afraid to have both. Sometimes I write a song and really feel it needs lyrics. Then it turns into an instrumental that works on its own. That’s what happened with Plants and Skylark/ Slowlark. It’s a happy medium. Ilive to defy convention. I’m not scared of any of this. Whatever comes out is cool. We have Atom Dance and several others that are instrumental that are great in the live set. I look forward to recording those and seeing where they fit in my recorded music catalogue. I don’t stand on ceremony on any of this stuff. What comes out, comes out.
S&B- I’ve told you many times, I think you’re the most underrated act out there. You have this bubbly, always happy persona, but people don’t realize you’ve been slaying it on the road for a while. What’s it like to go back and create recorded versions of these songs you’ve been crushing on the road night after night?
Karina- It’s great with the first two singles out. I’m seeing people in the crowd sing the lyrics. It is a rewarding and fantastic feeling. To give them the context of the studio versions of these songs is exciting. To me it amplifies everything. I’m so excited to have people know the tunes before they come to the show. I was just six singles Rykman for a long time. Now there’s so much more.
S&B- Let’s talk about your band, Adam November and Chris Corsico. You met Adam at a party, started playing music together and haven’t stopped since. Chris has broken through a new level musically. Can you talk about the synergy between the three of you and how it’s shaping your vision on what you want to put out creatively?
Karina- It’s shocking to remember my two NYU buddies where we used to jam in Adam’s bedroom. Now to playing all these crazy venues to ravenous audiences with my two dearest friends. It cannot be overstated how much I adore those two. What a joy it is to travel the world with both men. They’re so dedicated and diligent and always down for trying things out. Experimentation. Going in any direction. It’s an exciting thing. We’ve had an amazing year. I love them so much on and off the stage. We hang out all the time. We travel together. Eat dinner together. Go on vacation together. We’re super bonded. They’re spectacular players and even more spectacular gentlemen.
S&B- The three of you are going to hit the road in support of the album. There’s one big change this time. You are going to be the headliner each night. Moving another step up the musical ladder. You must be bursting at the seams to get out and share this music with your fans.
Karina- I can’t wait to play these shows. The fact my New York show sold out 3 months in advance is so incredible. I would have never dreamed about all that. It’s going to be a delight to play these songs, old songs, and even newer songs for the people out there. It’s a dream come true. My vision is to have the most fun possible. Play the songs I’m so damn proud of with my best friends. Enjoy every second of it. Soak it up like a sponge. I hope my stoked attitude permeates into the audience. The audience barrier breaks down and we all have an experience greater than the sum of our parts. I literally live to do this and the only thing I want is to be able to keep doing this as long as possible. I’m like a degenerate gambler who can’t leave the blackjack table.
S&B- Another bonus for you making this album was working with your super close pal Gabe Monro. You have a long history and to be able to bring so many years of collaboration into the world must be special.
Karina- He’s one of my best friends and a spectacular collaborator. We wrote just about all these songs together. To work with Gabe, Trey and Bryce was such a great moment. An amazing meeting of the minds. The most creative, humble industrious people that are so excited and immeasurably good at their craft. Gabe is one of the most special people I have the pleasure of knowing. All we do is write songs. It’s such a pleasure to have somebody like that to sit with and work through ideas. There’s no ego. Never feeling like I can’t come to him with an idea and be my most vulnerable self.
S&B- Let’s discuss a couple of more songs on the album. Starting with “Beacon.” To me that has a distinct Marco Benevento sound. If Marco was on vocals it could be one of his songs.
Karina- You think so. Which Marco song?
S&B- It’s not a specific song as much as it is the flavor of the song. The vocals and drumbeat. Obviously, this is the first time you’ve heard that comparison.
Karina- I’m attached to that song. I have a great love for it. It literally feels like you’re floating in water when the chorus hits with the big bass chords. It’s such a vibe. I’ve been in love with that song for so long.
Photo- Brantley Gutierre
S&B- What was the process for releasing Joyride and Beacon as the first two singles from the album? Was anything else in the running?
Karina-Joyride, with it being the title track, has a lot of Trey on it. We thought it was a good way to announce everything. Announce the album. Everyone who worked on the album. It’s up tempo, dancy, and likeable. We wanted to put our best foot forward with that. It was the first music I’ve released since Arbitrary in 2021. The song All That You Wanted could have been the second single. That’s the focus track when the record comes out. Basically, the third single without having a third single. I thought Beacon was a darker, moody, vibey that had zero Trey involvement. I didn’t want the second single being another song Trey had a big hand in. Only because I want to show different sides of myself. This is a cool juxtaposition into a different part of my brain. That’s why I used it.
S&B- There’s definitely no confusing a Trey-less Beacon with All That You Wanted?
Karina– I’m a huge fan of All That You Wanted. It’s one of the favorite songs I’ve written. The end was all Trey. He was like, Karina this hook is so good, you can’t just sing it twice. Let’s bring it back but in a different way. He has all these concepts. It was the same with the outro for Joyride. That was conceived by Trey. All That You Wanted is a special tune. It has a soaring guitar outro while feeling super bouncing and floating.
S&B- My favorite song on the album is Run of the Mill. It’s a straightforward mainstream rocker to me and a different sound than anything you’ve released. Especially vocally.
Karina- Everyone loves that one. It’s one I’ve been sheepish about performing live because it has some of the most exposed vocals. It’s scary when you’re exposed like that as a bass player trying to sing (not a singer trying to play bass) if you know what I mean. I’m getting more comfortable vocally in a big way. We played it every night on the spring Guster tour. It has a stone cold vibe and an ethereal and driving quality to it. That’s why it made the record. The whole record has this gooey, jubilant, yet surreal quality to it. The Trey solo at the end is one of my favorites.
S&B- Thanks Karina. I wanted to take a second to thank you for all the time you’ve given the website over the years. I know I’m speaking for a lot of people who are super excited about this milestone and wish you nothing but the best.
When you hear the name Mikaela Davis, the first image that will most likely pop into your mind is a harp. It makes sense. There aren’t a lot of harpists fronting rock bands. For Davis, her ability to play the harp, which she has done since age eight, is the tip of the iceberg of her musical abilities.
Davis’s latest album “And Southern Star,” a nod to her backing band is a shining example of the growth she’s made over the five years since her debut “Delivery.” The album is bursting with flavor. It bounces from country to rock to pop with Davis’s outstanding vocals leading the way. Pristinely produced, the album is also filled with instrumental voyages inspired by Davis’s collaborations in the jam band scene the last five years.
Technically, this is Davis’s sophomore release. But she’s been grinding it out in the music world for over a decade. Out of print and practically impossible to find, there are Davis self-releases as far back as 2012. Older than that is the musical relationship and friendship she’s had with drummer Alex Cote. That goes back to their school days. In the middle of high school is when Shane McCarthy (bass/vocals), younger brother of Cian McCarthy (guitar/vocals) joined the band. He graduated early to make sure he was available to tour. Steel guitarist Kurt Johnson rounds out Southern Star.
Davis gained an instant, loyal following after performing with Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir just after “Delivery” was released. Since then, her visibility has grown exponentially. She’s performed with Phil Lesh, Grateful Shred, Circles Around the Sun, and numerous others. “And Southern Star” is loaded with instrumental sections Davis says are a direct result of playing alongside some of the world’s best improvisers.
Despite numerous sets of extra eyes and ears on her music thanks to Weir and Lesh, Davis had a difficult time getting this album released. She parted ways with Rounder records who released her debut “Delivery” in 2018. Davis decided to self-fund the album, betting on herself and her loyal backing band.
Davis begins by discussing the momentum created from that magical meeting with Bob Weir. “Right after Delivery came out is when I got the call to sit in with Bob Weir. That whole world evolved pretty quickly. I was focusing on touring to support Delivery in 2018 and ‘19. My band had the songs on this album ready to go when Delivery came out. In 2020, I reached out to my label and asked if we could put out the next album. Then the whole world fell apart for a couple of years. We put everything on hold.”
Davis states, “When Covid ended, Rounder said it would be some time until they could put out a new album. I didn’t want to wait around. People don’t realize I’ve been doing this for over 10 years. I had to wait to put out Delivery and didn’t want to do that again. So, we amicably parted ways. It was nice of them to let me go.”
Label-less with an album’s worth of material, Davis searched for the best avenue to bring her music to life. She was not going to be denied. “I decided this album is getting made one way or the other. We made it ourselves. I’ve done session work with my friend Kenny Siegel at his Old Soul Studios in the Catskills over the last 10 years. He really wanted us to make the record at his studio. We talked about it, and I told him we don’t have a label behind us. We worked it out where we were able to record a lot of the album there. Cian, my guitar player, tracked my vocals, keys, guitars and all the extras in my apartment. He essentially produced the album with me and the band. The whole process took about a year.”
After taking the album to Mike Fridmann and Tarbox Road Studios to polish everything up, Davis and Southern Star were ready to find an outlet to get this music to the public. Enter Kill Rock Stars music label. Davis had recorded a song with Mary Lou Lord for an Elliot Smith tribute album the label released. She also worked with Chris Funk to record another song featured in a Dungeons and Dragons release on the Kill Rock Stars label.
From there, Davis muses, things lined up perfectly, “After that, I thought it only seemed natural they might want to put out an album with me. I asked Chris and Mary Lou to put in a good word. After reaching out and having a great conversation with Slim Moon, they agreed put out my record. It’s been such a cool experience working with Kill Rock Stars. They care about the artist and trust your vision. When we were picking out what singles to add, they had their thoughts and I had mine. They trusted me enough to let me pick. I’m so excited about that. I’m so grateful that I aligned myself with a label so willing to work with the artist.”
The country soaked openers “Cinderella” and “Home in the Country” are perfect examples of Davis and Southern Star working as a team to maximize the creative output of each song on the album. “Cinderella is one Alex wrote. It was different before I took it.” Davis remembers. “I heard him playing it at a campfire at his family’s cottage. I thought it was so gorgeous. I asked him if I could please have the song. He said, ‘Sure, I don’t know about the chorus. Do what you want.’ I wrote a new chorus and rearranged the song to make it what you hear today.”
For Davis, transitioning from sole song writer to co-writing with others took some time, but has paid off significantly. “I was so against co-writing when I was younger. I thought I should be writing all the songs myself because that’s what a true songwriter would do. Finally, I realized how wrong I was and how I love co-writing. When you get stuck, bringing the song to someone you trust makes all the difference.”
She continues, “This band, we’re all songwriters and we all contributed songs to this album. There’s tremendous diversity in the makeup of the band. I’m classically trained on the harp. Cian and Alex are multi instrumentalists who studied jazz. Kurt studied Indian classic music in college. Shane is a multi instrumentalist with a deep knowledge of music. When you look at all our diversity, it only makes sense that the music we make will be equally diverse. We all have different inspirations and put that in the album.”
As Davis explains, “The rest of the album is full of contributions from everyone involved. Cian is a prolific songwriter. He has hundreds of songs. Not many have been released. I heard him play “Saturday Morning” and “Home in the Country” before and loved them so much. I asked if I could record them for the album. Cian and Shane wrote “Far From You” a long time ago. I added the melody and outro at the end. “Don’t Stop Now,” Cian wrote the words, and I wrote the music. Our manager asked us to write this song for a documentary. It wasn’t picked. I don’t care because we got to record it for the album. It has a great feel and certain tone the rest of the album doesn’t touch on”
Where “And Southern Star” stands out the most is the familiarity and tightness each of these “new” songs have. Davis and crew have been playing them on the road for a while. She notes how that familiarity entering the recording studio made the final output so much sweeter. “The main difference is we’ve been playing these songs for years. We knew how we wanted them to sound before we went in the studio. With Delivery, we had about half the songs arranged and ready to go. The other half we hadn’t played live yet and didn’t know how we want them to sound. I did this on purpose because I was curious to see where John Congleton would help us take the songs. Alex, Shane and I went in blind with Delivery, which was cool, I’m not against that method. I like how the album turned out and it’s now this moment forever captured in time. We play these songs completely different these days, the live versions have grown with us.”
The improvisation on the road and instrumental sections on the album are a direct result of Davis wandering into the Grateful Dead and jam band world. “I’ve always been a fan of the Grateful Dead’s music. I hadn’t learned it before I started playing with Bob. Learning that music opened a whole new door for me. As a classical harpist, that’s something I didn’t learn in school. Playing with Bob in 2018 was the first time I’ve ever improvised a solo. I was so nervous. Bob, Don Was and Jay Lane were so positive and encouraging. It made me realize the endless opportunities for the harp.”
w. Phil Lesh and Friends Stern Grove 2022
Davis adds, “That community has been amazing. They took in my band immediately. It’s great to have an outlet for fans to find my original music. People will say I saw you playing with Bob, or the Relix session. From that, I discovered your original music and was blown away. The other great thing about that community is they are fans for life. They are super dedicated and will come out to every show. We’ve been improvising and stretching out songs. Trying to make each show as different as possible so people will get a unique show each night. Because of my band’s background and love of jazz and the Grateful Dead, it was an easy transition to more improvisation. I have Bob and so many others to thank for that.”
Davis wraps up by weighing in on the unplanned trail she and her band took to make this album and her one simple goal for everyone’s efforts. “I wanted this album to have the spirit of a live record. I wanted it to feel like a band. Not a studio record full of different session musicians. I wanted it to be cohesive even though the songs are different. Producing on our own was a decision we made. We wanted to make it sound how we wanted it to sound. It was also out of necessity. I’m so happy with the outcome and so proud of us for doing it ourselves. I’d love to get us out of my mini van, we’ve been touring in that van for 10 years. We don’t have a crew, a sound engineer, or any of those things. My goal is to get our music out to as many people as possible and hopefully those people will connect with it.”
The formation of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead to kick of 2013 would be a life and career changing event for Tom Hamilton. The one “miracle” out he gave himself for playing in a band that wasn’t his own music came to life. While JRAD would ultimately provide enough financial freedom to fully pursue his personal music ventures, it wasn’t until 2015 when the band fully committed to touring.
Hamilton’s focus in 2013 was on his latest American Babies release “Knives and Teeth.” He and Peter Tramo quenched their thirst to bring their slanted visions to the world. As JRAD was getting things rolling, Hamilton’s ability to play the Grateful Dead catalogue was catching the eye of several important musicians. The first was former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann in 2014. One of rock and roll’s greatest drummers added Hamilton and longtime friend Aron Magner as founding members of his new Billy and the Kids band.
Kreutzmann wasn’t the only Grateful Dead member Hamilton would share the stage with in 2014. Things came full circle for Hamilton when JRAD announced Phil Lesh would be joining their three night New Year’s Run. The same Phil Lesh who recruited Russo from Hamilton’s American Babies in 2008 effectively ending that version of the band was going to be sitting in with Hamilton’s band.
Finally, the road forward was clearing. Hamilton was tasting some of the rewards for barreling through the many obstacles in his past. The forces that had conspired against him changed course. It took almost two decades, but Hamilton finally landed in the perfect spot. JRAD exploded in 2015 giving Hamilton more and more visibility. Most importantly, it provided the resources Hamilton needed to focus on his music. American Babies and then Ghost Light in 2017.
Hamilton reflects on how everything finally started to fall in place, “The point of JRAD was how do we want to do this thing. It’s a weird thing to play covers but we get to do it our way. And it affords us the opportunity to make our original music. That’s why JRAD is so good. We don’t take it too seriously. We don’t suck the fun out of it. When it’s time to go, we’re all going. We’re all pushing the boulder in the same direction. Since I was fortunate to have the JRAD thing happen, I’ve put out two American Babies records, two Ghost Light records so far, two MORE! albums with a third on the way. A Lacuna album. I feel like I’ve held up my end of making my music while in JRAD. It’s validating and it feels good. I’ve been doing the work.”
Kreutzmann would bring Hamilton along to headline at the Los Muertos festival in Mexico in 2017 where he’d share the stage with another Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir. The jam band spotlight was finally shining directly on Hamilton. The increased exposure allowed the world to see Hamilton’s guitar playing wasn’t limited to covering the Grateful Dead.
He and Tramo constructed a new studio by hand in 2019. Neither knowing “The Ballroom” would be a spark to ignite an impossible band reunion in the not too distant future. Hamilton was super proud of his new digs. “We actually built it. It was so rewarding. When it’s you that swings the hammer, runs the electric, and puts in the drywall. We did the whole thing. I think the studio is awesome!”
And then it happened. Nick Desiderio, the original drummer for Brothers Past a quarter century earlier reached out to Hamilton wanting to check out his new studio. He brought along a box of tapes he wanted Tom to digitalize. A magical box of tapes full of music from the original Brothers Past. Hamilton picks it up from there. “We hung out and I had all those tapes. I kept listening. When Covid hit, I really started listening to this shit. I was like, I love these songs. Utopiary Window, Corduroy Joe. I love this band. I thought about how could I play these tunes again. I knew I could play them with anyone, but it wouldn’t be same without the original band.”
Next up for Hamilton, “I floated the idea to Tom McKee of reaching out to the band. Everything was locked down at this point, but people were just starting to socialize. Scotty Zwang was living with me. I was like do you guys want to get together and play. Nick didn’t play drums anymore. I said I’ve got a great drummer living with me. He’s not doing anything. He was down and learned five tunes.”
Tom McKee also remembers how he reconnected with his former bandmates. “Tom had built a studio. Covid happened, and the world shut down. I think we went on a walk. The only time I had seen him in four months. Jim did a July 4th cookout. I went with Tom, and we had a great time. He wanted to get a band in to see what his studio sounded like. He asked Jim and I to come down. We were playing these songs without Joe. He had been out of the loop for a while. There was something missing. It was obvious from the get go. Instead of playing half assed versions of the songs, we said let’s get Joe in here.”
Jim Hamilton looks back on the reunion with his old friends. “Tom had the tapes and said, ‘I was listening to some of that shit when we were kids and holy fuck, they’re good songs.’ I was like I can’t remember the last time I listened to that. He’s naming songs. I was like I remember that one. Not that one. Tommy was going to reach out to D’Amico to see if he was down with getting together. He wanted to get in the studio and play some of the old songs. Joe is another super creative guy. He can play any instrument. He thinks in weird ways. He’s like McKee. He’s a weird mother fucker too. Joe was down to play. Tom sent out the tunes to familiarize ourselves.”
Almost two decades after going their separate ways, Tom and Jim Hamilton, Joe D’Amico, and Tom McKee were all in the same studio ready to reminisce on days and Brothers Past. Jim recalls the first session, “Before we played, we just hung. I can’t remember what we did first. I think we just picked a key. It felt like, if we stopped playing on April 20th, then today was April 21st. Nothing had passed. It was weird and strange. We were all surprised. We were laughing and like ok that just happened. I don’t think anyone anticipated it being that natural. We thought it would be a bunch of “used to be’s” getting together. We just kept playing. We’d stop and listen to a song. Then we’d be like do you remember that song? Can you play it? We were like that was fun. Let’s do this again.”
For Tom Hamilton, the reunion was a testament to his career long dedication to putting the music first. “After we stopped until we started playing again was basically a 20-year lesson in me learning how naïve I can be about what music is. Since I finished playing with those guys, I’ve tried to model everything I did like that band. All the way up to Ghost Light. The idea of everyone putting what’s best for the band first.” He adds, “Ego isn’t allowed in the room. It’s not about your idea over mine. It’s about what’s best for the song. That’s a discipline I’ve learned. You have to be open to it and practice patience and trust. Your motives have to be right. It’s not about getting a writing credit or anything to do with yourself. It’s about what’s the best thing for the art you’re trying to create. Is the goal to be famous or create good art? That disconnect has led to the downfall of all the bands I’ve been in since.”
Like everyone else, Joe D’Amico was stunned at the results of the initial hang. “It was like hold on a second. This is good. This isn’t nostalgic. This is a new thing. As 19 year olds, we couldn’t play like that. We realized this is good and we have this familiar chemistry that came right back. That was the moment we thought, maybe we can do something. This is pretty darn good. The nostalgia was short lived. It was more like, what are we going to do with this.”
After twenty years traveling roads that seemed impossible to ever merge, another impossibility happened. MORE! was born. MORE! was chosen as the name to avoid confusion between this original lineup of Brothers Past and the one that released albums. Somehow, every long, twisted, constantly shifting road life had sent the group on finally reconverged. With Scotty Zwang taking over for Nick Desiderio on drums, a livestream from The Ballroom was scheduled.
Also recognizing the viability of MORE!, Tom Hamilton had a plan to get the band moving. “The next step was to do a stream. It’s not, let’s put our foot on the gas. Let’s get to a landmark and then move on from there. We had more songs, so we did the OohZaZoos in 2021. We made an album out of that as well. That turned into we’re having fun, let’s start writing material. Then, do we want to play where people can actually come. Covid was making sure we kept working in small steps. We couldn’t step on the gas because of how the world was shut down.”
As the world opened back up MORE! was able to finally play in front of its first live audience. Hamilton continues, “With control of the safety measures we were able to do a small School of Rock show. Around 100 people. By 2022, we were still writing and ready to play another live show. We booked the Ardmore show for February 2023. Our goal was to just play a handful of shows in 2023. Then Playing in the Sand came along.”
That’s right. With zero studio albums, two covid livestreams, and a couple of concerts before a combined crowd of about 250, MORE! was invited to play as part of Dead and Company’s final Playing in the Sand Festival in Mexico. A year earlier, the organizers of PITS rushed Hamilton to a private plane as a last second replacement for John Mayer, who had gotten Covid. Ultimately, 2022’s PITS was cancelled. Still, Hamilton racked up some serious goodwill with the organizers for his efforts.
When Hamilton locked down MORE! for PITS, his first goal was to have the complete opposite experience from when he and Jim were at 2017’s Los Muertos. “Last time, I was in a bad place mentally and personally. I was dealing with a lot of shit and wasn’t happy with a lot of things. My manager at the time, a great guy, John was like we’re in a tropical paradise, you’re in a band with the Grateful Dead, your brother is here and you’re miserable. You need to figure out what the fuck you want out of life because if this isn’t making you happy, what will?”
As the calendar rolled into January 2023, almost a decade to the day after that fateful night when Joe Russo’s Almost Dead was born, and a quarter century after Tom Hamilton, Jim Hamilton, and Joe D’Amico bumped into Tom McKee after the Cabrini College Spring Fling, MORE! hit the stage at Dead and Company’s Playing in the Sand. The first of two performances that weekend.
Somehow, defying incalculable odds, a group of green 90’s Philly kids had found their way back together and were better than ever. Hamilton’s weekend went just as he hoped. “To be able to give that gift to my brother and the four of us was a no brainer. I’ve always maintained these guys are the best band going. For a band in our scene, I think this band is the gold standard. The songwriting is on par as the improvising is. I’ve always said if the four of us didn’t stop playing together, we would currently be one of the biggest bands in the scene. I think it’s a fucking travesty the people who know who I am don’t know who Jim Hamilton is, who Joe D’Amico is, and who Tom McKee is. Scotty has been on my musical journey for five years. That’s why I picked him to be in Ghost Light. I believed in his playing and wanted to bring awareness to him. Having him in MORE! is a great thing.”
For McKee and D’Amico, the trip to Mexico was an unimaginable dream come true. McKee begins, “The first night, we got there 45 minutes before Dead and Company’s set. We got brought into the artist compound. We went from the shuttle bus to there’s Bob Weir, John Mayer, and Oteil. I’m not the kind of guy to walk up to someone and gush. It was in my head this is fucking cool. These guys are real and right here. I could snap a selfie with any of them if I wanted to blow my cool for the week. I told myself to act like I’d been there before. Probably the best musical experience of my life.”
D’Amico adds, “Tom mentioned it was a possibility. There was more than one pinch yourself moment there. It was amazing. I was like is this what we’re really doing. We had only played a couple of shows and went out there and crushed it. It was an amazing experience we were lucky to have.”
With PITS behind them, MORE! performed a hometown show at Philadelphia’s Ardmore in February 2023. According to Tom, the road map for more MORE! has been laid out, “The thing about this band that’s so awesome is there are four songwriters and four singers. Scott has a great voice too. We’re creative guys and have a huge backlog of tunes. Everyone is writing. Everyone is inspired. D’Amico has five songs; Jim has two or three. McKee has four. There’s all this material we’re gonna start recording and putting it out as we do it.”
The afternoon after MORE!’s blistering late night set, PITS organizers scheduled Tom Hamilton to perform an acoustic set by the pool. The odds of him not including his brother Jim were a solid zero. The Hamiltons, who thirty plus years earlier taught themselves to play the guitar by listening to the Grateful Dead, were about to perform at their festival. The perfect ending to an impossible musical journey.
Tom Hamilton Jr & Sr
Both Hamilton’s memories of their acoustic set leaves no doubt the two are brothers. Jim begins, “It was fun. It was surreal. We were literally on an island playing. That’s how it feels when we’re playing anyway. Tom said they wanted him to play an acoustic set. He asked if I wanted to do it. I said sure. What do you want to play. He was like, ‘I don’t know. Some Dead tunes. We’ll do what we do.’ At a MORE! rehearsal we practiced. I stayed at his house one night. Grabbed some acoustics and started playing. I did a song, he did one.”
Jim and Tom Hamilton PITS 2023 Acoustic Set
As the gig got closer, Jim would try and get as much info as possible from his younger brother. “When we got there, I was like have you given any thought to what we’re doing? There are going to be people there. He was like, it will be fine. After the first MORE! show, I asked again, had he thought about the acoustic set. He was like, no. After the late night set, we were dragging ass. I asked Tom if he knew what kind of guitars we were using. He was like nope. We were completely unprepared. We’d call a tune and be like do you want to do this one or that one. It was a no plan, plan. Like we were on the couch with a bunch of people watching us.”
Tom shares his thoughts on the acoustic invite. “They asked if I’d do an acoustic thing. I was like yeah sure. But if my brother is there, I’m not gonna not have him. This is what we do. It’s just who we are. When Jim and I hang out, guitars come out. We play songs and we make each other laugh. Say stupid shit and then play tunes. We’ll be like what do you want to play, and I’ll pick out a tune. Then it’s what do you want to play, and he’ll pick out a tune. It’s a fucking acoustic show, Jim and I do this all the time. Let’s enjoy playing music. Not take the fun out of it. Let’s kill it and tell dick jokes until we’re crying laughing. Why does it have to be any different because we’re at a pool with five thousand people?”
After a lifetime of having everything but the kitchen sink thrown at them, the bond between the Hamilton brothers is as strong as ever. The path to their PITS acoustic set is a unique road that will never be duplicated. A perfect example of truth is stranger than fiction. Who knows what the future holds for Tom, Jim, MORE!, Ghost Light, JRAD, etc. Given the past, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride. No matter what, Tom and Jim will always be able to look back to when a global pandemic shifted the world so the Hamilton brothers could play music together one MORE! time.
Tom concludes, “Most people in the world don’t get the opportunity to do what we do. They especially don’t get the opportunity many times. That shit aint lost on nobody. The gift covid gave me was Jim and I got to spend the bulk of 2020 together, living together again at the farm. We didn’t have significant others at that time. It was me and Jim. We got to be brothers again in a way you really only get to be brothers when you’re kids. We had no responsibility. We didn’t have to go to work. We had nothing to do, so we just got to be brothers. Like when we were kids. We’d sit around and smoke weed. We’d meet up in the afternoon, play guitar, walk the property or hit golf balls. We were like hey do you want to do this or hey do you want to do that. We got a second chance at being kids again. I don’t have the words to express how important that is to me. It’s like we’re all getting a bit of a mulligan.”
The departure of Jim Hamilton, Joe D’Amico, and Nick Desiderio just as Brothers Past was gaining legitimate momentum was a seismic shift for Tom Hamilton. It was now up to the introverted, anxiety ridden Hamilton to keep his music going. With keyboardist Tom McKee fully committed, that’s exactly what he did. Moving on without his brother for the second time was an adjustment for Hamilton, but he worked through it. Hamilton continues, “Tom and I added a rhythm section. We worked hard. Found a place called Rex’s in West Chester. It was a punk bar. Low ceilings, dark, and smelled like piss. We convinced the guy to let us play each Thursday. For the first six months, there were a handful of people each week. After a year, we sold out every weekend. We went from playing in front of five people to playing the main stage at Bonnaroo in about five years.”
To McKee, it was obvious the other Tom had something special he wanted to be a part of. “My mom thought I was crazy. I felt it when I met Tom. I was like this guy should be playing music in front of thousands of people. I was ready to be there for the ride. Do anything I could to inspire him and make his songs better. I hoped he would want the same things for me. We did that for a long time with the original MORE! and then what became Brothers Past.”
With Clay Parnell on bass and Rick Lowenberg on drums, Brothers Past self-released their debut album “Elements” in 2001. Hamilton had weathered the storms that knocked him off course and had something official to show for it. He put his head down and stayed focused on the work needed to keep his musical career moving forward. Hamilton acknowledges the vital importance music has in his life. “We didn’t grow up in the best part of Philly. Jim and I have talked a lot about the people who we grew up with. They ended up on drugs, in jail, or dead. We were like man it’s crazy, how did we get out of it? The answer is the music. We had something to lose if we fucked up too big. That was the joy. The ability to play music. That’s what kept us out of jail. It kept me from going too far. If it’s going to infringe on my ability to play gigs, I’d have to check in on myself. It was self preservation and anxiety. It was loving music so much, the fear of losing the one thing I had was too much. This made me feel whole.”
With an album under their belt, things didn’t slow down for this version of Brothers Past. They grinded it out on the road and released three more albums over the next four years. “A Wonderful Day,” “Statepolice,” and the prophetic “This Feeling’s Called Goodbye.”
While Brothers Past was gaining momentum, the original members who left the band were on different sides of the planet. Once again making their reunion over two decades later practically impossible. Jim was in the military going back and forth to Afghanistan. Music remained a part of Joe D’Amico’s life, although touring and making albums were the furthest thing from his mind. Nick Desiderio was finished with music completely, but still had the magical box of tapes from the years before Brothers Past was officially Brothers Past.
Each step forward was essential for Hamilton to continue his always expanding musical vision. Complacency is not an option. He is laser focused on creating the music that’s currently inspiring him. That’s how he measures himself. Not by the chicks, money, or number of screaming fans. The ability to keep that focus at his core would be crucial for Hamilton to carve his path forward. It was about to be put to a critical test.
Brothers Past was making its way in the exploding jam band scene. They were building a dedicated following just like their peers moe., The Disco Biscuits, Lake Trout, Dave Matthews, The New Deal, and numerous others. Sadly, that success, as it has infinite times, would start to reveal some foundational cracks in the true vision of the band.
Hamilton remembers how Brother Past started to unravel. “We were doing the thing. We created a community. For a couple of records, we were really focused on doing cool shit. Making the best art we can make. Then that stopped being the thing. There was a disconnect between wanting to do what the fans want and what we want. The partying picked up and we had some ego stuff. I was like let’s not forget why the fuck were doing this. The lifestyle part of it made it where the four of us weren’t on the same page.”
Things came to a head when Hamilton’s vision for the next Brothers Past album was shot down by a member of the band, “My idea was to make the next record like Led Zeppelin III.” Hamilton recalls. “Side A is the most punishing rock and roll you can have, and side B is acoustic. I wanted to do the same thing. Make side A this really insane electronic music and then side B basically an acoustic EP. I brought some songs to the band and was told by one of the guys, “If you want to play this bull shit, you should start a different band.” So, I was like ok, fuck you. This is where the muse is taking me. My artistic direction got us as far as we are. There’s no reason to stop listening to me.”
And poof! Hamilton detached himself from the naysayers. Just as he’d done his entire life, he focused on the music. Not its fringe benefits. He kept the faith and stayed on the path that allowed him to bring his musical visions to life. It was far from the straightest path. As he would immediately see, it would be a path filled with friends and musical peers that would give him the creative fuel needed to continue to grow and blossom.
Tom Hamilton Jr and Tom Hamilton Sr. (photo Andrew Blackstein)
He continues, “Things were getting weird at the time. If I get excited about something, that’s what I want to do. I’m always trying to get better. Whether it’s guitar playing, song writing or singing. The separation of me and the Brothers Past guys came because I didn’t want to keep making the same shit. Let’s be ambitious and try new things. That’s not where those guys were. Being the leader of the band is like being a coach. If you lose the locker room, you’re no longer an effective coach or team. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is.”
Hamilton reflects on the time when Brothers Past became a thing of the past. “We tried to keep things growing. Eventually the personnel realized that Joe, Nick, and Jim were special. What the five of us had was special. Finding same minded, group oriented people was impossible. Clay and Rick were great bandmates, but they didn’t bring to the table the same amount of creativity Joe, Jim, and Nick did. The band became where McKee and I were the primary song writers and creators.”
There was a time American Babies was just JRAD without Marco
The split of Brothers Past would prove to be a positive for Hamilton’s career. He would recruit musicians who wanted to bring his creative visions to life. His latest musical venture, American Babies was born. Coach Hamilton hit the lottery with his drummer, noting “I ran into Joe Russo at a festival. I played him some demos I wanted to record. Joe was like dude I fuckin love this shit. We were friends at this point but didn’t have much contact. I eventually met Marco Benevento and Dave Dreiwitz through Joe. I kind of knew Scott Metzger through the Wetlands from his band Rana. We weren’t buds. Unless I know for sure someone cares I exist, I have too much anxiety to talk to strangers.”
Fate and timing crossed paths again allowing Hamilton to reunite with his brother Jim who joined American Babies on bass. Tom continues, “I told everyone to come to the studio at Ardmore. We were going to make an album and track the thing live. I got Aron Magner from the Disco Biscuits to play piano. One of Joe’s buddies Kevin Kendrick came in to do vibes. I wanted to make a record that had all these people I was meeting on the scene. I was very much into our scene and wanted to bring as much of it together as I can.”
The resulting 2008 self titled debut “American Babies” thrust Hamilton and his latest collection of musicians back in the jam band conversation. The first three songs on the album “Invite Your Friends,” “Baby, Don’t Cry,” and “Swimming at Night” were the same songs his former Brothers Past bandmates didn’t want to record.
American Babies Jim Hamilton & Scott Metzger
The Babies hit the road, but not before Hamilton added an integral member to help him get over being burned out playing the electric guitar. “The reason Scott Metzger was in the band is because I was so fucking tired of playing leads.” Hamilton adds. “From the time I was 12 until then. Being the guitar dude. I was like, fuck it, I’m so over it. It was a gut check, but it came back to I love doing this. I love making shit and that was enough of a reason to keep doing it. It still is.”
In 2007, American Babies was booked as the opening act for a tour with guitar great Derek Trucks. Both Hamiltons had met Trucks in the late 90’s during their time in the original Brothers Past. The contrast between the Babies travel set up compared to Trucks’s was not lost on Jim, “When we opened for Derek Trucks. He had a tour bus and a trailer. We had a Chrysler minivan. We’d pull up in the back of the huge theatres and park our rinky dink minivan next to the big buses. It was funny the juxtaposition of the two.”
Tom recalls a gracious Derek Trucks allowing him to awaken his electric guitar chops. “I was so anti guitar and played acoustic that entire tour. At the end, Derek’s manager asked if I wanted to sit in on a tune. It was nerve racking. I hadn’t played lead guitar the whole time. Derek is the nicest dude and I personally think he’s the greatest guitar player alive. It was a great time, a great hang. He took it easy on me and didn’t run circles around me.”
Again, the world was lining up in both Hamilton’s favor. Their Babies debut reaffirmed the unique musical synergy they shared. They were traveling with Joe Russo and Scott Metzger. When Jim couldn’t play due to a military obligation, the band would turn to Dave Dreiwitz to fill in. As Hamilton points out matter of factly, “There was a version of American Babies that was just JRAD without Marco.”
When the band hit the road, Russo had one rule. Jim recalls, “When we were in the car, I would always want to turn on one of my favorite Dead shows. Joe would always say, Fuck, I don’t want to listen to the Dead. Russo hated putting Dead shows on. Pretty fucking ironic. He always appreciated them and had the utmost respect for them. It just wasn’t his thing.”
Tom also remembers Russo’s in van musical preferences, “Joe used to always make fun of Jim and I for liking the Grateful Dead. We weren’t allowed to listen to the Dead in the van when we drove around. It was crazy.”
Not listening to the Dead was a small price to pay for the Hamiltons. They had made it through numerous hurdles, roadblocks, twists of fate, etc. to get to this point. With young heavyweights Joe Russo and Scott Metzger by their side, the road ahead finally appeared to be open and ready for some serious exploration.
When life looks like Easy Street, there is danger at your door.
American Babies was rolling out of the gates, and it didn’t take long to book some serious gigs. They had the tour with Derek Trucks. They opened for Sheryl Crow and Blind Melon. They also landed coveted spots at Bonnaroo, SXSW, and Langarado music festivals.
Just as it had done with Future Presence and the initial Brothers Past, fate stepped in creating another major pothole for the Hamiltons. This time in the most ironic way. Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh recruited Russo to play drums for a new band he was starting with fellow GD member Bob Weir. Russo, who wouldn’t let the Hamiltons listen to the Dead in the tour van, was about to become the drummer for Furthur and immerse himself in all things Grateful Dead. The smooth open road the Hamiltons, Metzger and Russo were traveling with American Babies was headed full speed into a dead end.
With Russo heading to Furthur, the dominoes continued to fall for American Babies. Jim was called back to active duty, forcing him to leave the band. Metzger was becoming a sought after New York session musician, and just like that, Tom Hamilton was back to square one. Again.
Fortunately, Hamilton found another creative muse around this time. He reconnected with childhood friend Peter Tramo. The reunion created an instant bond and the pair have worked together ever since. Hamilton looks back at his early Philly days with Tramo. “I grew up with Peter. Overbrook in West Philly. It was split in two halves, up the hill and down the hill. Very much like ‘The Outsiders.’ Pete and I were basically the same dude except I was up the hill and he was down the hill. We were into art and music. Not the fights and turf wars of the neighborhood. We both left as soon as we could. He moved to LA and became a studio engineer. He’s also an incredible songwriter. We hadn’t seen each other in 12 years. I went into his studio, saw him and was like, Yo dude. We talked and caught up. Do the two dogs sniffing each other’s asses thing. I was like this is a cool studio we should do something.”
Despite the initial American Babies lineup moving on to other projects, the Tramo – Hamilton connection would strengthen over the next three American Babies releases. 2011’s “Flawed Logic” got things started. The album had three songs with, now Furthur’s Joe Russo. Eric Slick and Scott Metzger also contributed to the sophomore effort.
Hamilton picks up the tale for the final two American Babies albums, “Pete and I started working on “Knives and Teeth.” It was supercool. We discovered how eye to eye we were. It’s the darkest and most transitional sounding record I’ve made. At the end we both felt strongly we should continue to work together. We tore his studio down and redesigned it. We decided to write the next record together. That was “An Epic Battle Between Light and Dark, which I stand by is the best album I’ve ever made in any project. It’s a beautiful album. It’s well written and well recorded. I found I enjoyed working like that. I wasn’t a solo artist. It was me and Pete. From there Ghost Light started. Raina Mullen worked on the Epic album as a singer. We kept working together and that turned into, hey let’s try to write together. That turned into Ghost Light.”
While Hamilton’s American Babies creative output in the studio was flourishing, finding musicians to bring the music to life on the road was a challenge. “For the next few records, I’d write an album and put a band together to tour.” Hamilton remembers, “When it was time to get off the road and make a new album, I’d usually end up losing that band and starting over. I did that for three records, and it was a drag having to constantly start from scratch every couple of years.”
A decade and a half into a constantly winding musical career, Hamilton found himself at a crossroads. With “Knives and Teeth” and “An Epic Battle Between Light and Dark” he was at, by his own admission, the peak of his musical output. Staying laser focused on the quality of the music was paying off. Creatively that is.
Financially, Hamilton was still at a point where he recalls, “I wasn’t turning down any gigs.” It’s not cheap to be an independent touring musician. Hamilton kept the wheels rolling despite numerous setbacks. He was treading water which was a fair price to get his music into the world. Over the years, the offers were there to play other musicians’ music, but Hamilton just couldn’t pull the trigger. “I got offered gigs that weren’t my music, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do.” He explains. “Ironically, the only exit strategy out of that I gave myself is, I always said the only music I would play that’s not mine is the Grateful Dead. I only said that because the idea of it becoming a thing was so far from reality. Eventually the JRAD thing happened which was unbelievable.”
In 2013, one of Hamilton’s musical roads would reach the end of a long detour. He’d cross paths with his old American Babies drummer Joe Russo. Russo was crushing it in Furthur. With musical gods Bob Weir and Phil Lesh playing in front of him nightly, Russo quickly discovered the Hamilton brothers weren’t so crazy for wanting to listen to the Grateful Dead in the tour van years earlier.
Russo was putting together a band to play at the annual Freaks Ball fundraiser. Nothing serious, just a night of fun. The initial plan was to play a set of Led Zeppelin covers as Russo was doing with his side project Bustle In Your Hedgerow. But fate stepped in, and it was changed to a set of Grateful Dead tunes instead. The musicians Russo chose, Hamilton, Scott Metzger, Dave Dreiwitz and Marco Benevento had a familiar connection. The nights where Tom Hamilton’s American Babies was just JRAD without Marco was about to be “with” Marco. January 26, 2013, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead was born.
This would be a night that would cement Hamilton’s musical future. His perseverance paid off. All the crushing wrong turns and roadblocks were in the past. The one-off Freaks gig exploded and the impossibility of only playing in a band that covered Grateful Dead music was possible. Another impossibility that had to come to life in order for the young Philly MORE! kids to reform a decade later.
Hamilton wraps up part two reflecting on the ripples created from that magical night at the Freaks Ball. “When the JRAD thing happened, that was crazy. None of us wanted to do it. It wasn’t, here’s a thing let’s keep doing it. It was, that was fun now I’m going to go back to eating Raman noodles and playing my music. Marco was the same. Whatever everyone was doing, we went back to our corners and did our things. When we had the talk about do we want to do the JRAD thing, I realized we are improvising most of the show. It’s mostly us making shit up. It’s not method acting, and I don’t have to pretend to be Jerry Garcia. We still get to do our own thing and be who we are. It’s not that many shows a year. We can make a living that affords us to pursue the art we’ve been pursuing. That was the motivation. It was a good enough reason for me to do it. Because of that is why MORE! exists. Because of JRAD, I was able to build a recording studio and facilitate the sessions.”
Coming up in Part 3, while it’s not all smooth sailing moving forward for Hamilton, the roughest seas are behind him. His world finally lines up to where the musical impossibilities work for, instead of against him. An incredible tale of how a box of tapes brought the Hamilton brothers together one MORE! time.
