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The name says it all:
THE GATHERING OF THE VIBES

This festival, in it's eleventh year as a Northeast mainstay, was inspired by the Grateful Dead, and it envokes the reincarnation of the 1960’s. Vibes boasts two stages with a nearly constant stream of music from local, regional, and national bands.

For the weeks leading up to the show, I will be writing a series about artists performing at this year’s Gathering. This first article is about the second stage headliner, a band making waves across the country – Tea Leaf Green.

This west coast quartet has recently taken the country by storm. In New York, Tea Leaf Green has pulled hundreds of fans out to venues like the Knitting Factory, Coda, CBGB’s, and the ever popular summer concert cruise series. They have also shared the stage with Trey Anastasio, Bob Weir, Gov’t Mule, Umphrey’s McGee, and many more. Tea Leaf Green was the winner of this year’s Jammy Award for “Song of the Year” with Taught To Be Proud, the title track off their latest album.

My bias in the realm of “jam music” is generally toward the more energetic, aggressive, and progressive bands like Umphrey’s McGee and Phish. Tea Leaf Green’s album “Taught To Be Proud” really portrays them as a more laid back jam band with a discernable folk influence. Their sound is reminiscent of the Grateful Dead with elements of country, bluegrass, and blues. However, from the handful of live TLG shows I’ve seen, I can say they definitely rock harder live than they do on their album.

Their music does have a progressive element, but the album focuses more on lyrical songwriting than anything else. Trevor Garrod (keyboards/vocals) wrote all the music on the album and a majority of the lyrics (one song’s lyrics were taken from Edward Fitzball, a British writer who died in 1873), though in their live show, Josh Clarke (guitars/vocals) can still carry much of the front-man energy. He is also one of the more incredible guitar players I’ve had the pleasure of watching in my life.

Tea Leaf Green is undoubtedly a band worth seeing, especially if you have an affinity toward the Grateful Dead. They’ve been featured at festivals all over the country because they put on a superb show. I was a little surprised that their song Taught To Be Proud won a Jammy considering their competition included Ryan Adams, The North Mississippi Allstars, Benevento Russo Duo, My Morning Jacket, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. To me, this shows how much the fans love this band and how much you’ll love this band.

Tea Leaf Green will be playing at Randall’s Island with Dave Matthews in a few weeks, and of course they’ll be at the Gathering of the Vibes, so get your tickets, tents, and campers. Rock on.

-Corey J. Feldman

Show Some Love...
G. Love & Special Sauce

What would the Gathering of the Vibes be with out a little Love? To be more specific, G. Love… and Special Sauce. For those who have not had the pleasure of experiencing G. Love and Special Sauce, this trio combines the power of hip-hop with impeccably catchy songwriting.

The influences of this band are obvious, but their sound is still slick and original. They sound like a mix between the Beastie Boys and Jack Johnson. And though these influences are plain to see, G. Love and Special Sauce are entirely different from any songwriter or hip-hop artist. Their songs often slip into upbeat grooves with rap lyrics that flow swiftly and smoothly. The two different styles really mesh well to create something catchy and cool.

G. Love and Special Sauce is a reason to go to the vibes, and there will definitely be people there specifically for this acclaimed group. They’ve been around since the early 1990’s and they’ve even had some commercial publishing. According to Wikipedia, G. Love did a unique version of “I’d Like To Teach the World To Sing,” used in the Coca-Cola Zero advertising campaign.

With over a dozen releases as well as plenty of live and unreleased material, their fans became attached to songs like “Rodeo Clowns” and “Baby Got Sauce.” My particular favorite is an unreleased song called “Milk and Cereal,” all about Lucky Charms, Grapenuts, Wheaties, and breakfast related rhymes and repetitions.

The new G. Love album is expected out on the first of August, so keep your ears open and your minds fluid. The group's seventh studio album, Lemonade, features collaborative artists including Marc Broussard, Jack Johnson, Tristan Prettyman, Donavon Frankenreiter, Blackalicious, Ben Harper, and others. The first single is called, "Hot Cooking," and we can hope to get some of their love at this year’s Gathering of the Vibes.

-Corey J. Feldman

Ryan Montbleau...
Gathering The Grass

At last year’s Gathering of the Vibes, someone gave me a Ryan Montbleau (pronounced Mahnt-blue) live disc from a show played at the Living Room in New York City. The recording featured Ryan’s unique voice, and his acoustic songwriter persona, while also dabbling in the blues, bluegrass, and funk. It was tight and impressive for a live recording.

A year later, Ryan Montbleau packed the Half Moon Rocks Off Concert Cruise with over a hundred people. Ryan Montbleau is undoubtedly one of the best performers you’ve probably never heard of.

His style mixes jive and funk with the blues, folk, and bluegrass. He definitely fits into the John Mayer - Jack Johnson enclave, but yet still keeps an incredibly upbeat and original tone. As a guitarist, he’s precise, articulate, and tasty. His solos and rhythm are impeccably tight with his equally tight band.

Ryan’s lyrics are often meant to flow like rap, but more often his vocal timbre and agility are the focus of his songs. The rhythm of his words always feels smooth, and this fits with the sort of pumping bass lines and funky rhythm set up by the rest of his band.

He has four bandmates – Matt Giannaros (upright and bass guitar), Jason Cohen sporting only a moog and a nord electro (keyboards), James P. Cohen (drums) and Laurence Scudder (viola). This is a unique setup for a band, which really helps Ryan stand out. Not to mention he knows how to keep a boat full of people dancing.

All of the musicians in this band are impressive, but I took a particular liking to both the keyboardist and bassist. For blues, folk, and bluegrass, the keys are funky, and the bass can really make you move.

Seeing Ryan Montbleau on a boat around New York City is amazing, but the best part was surely Luke (Patchen) Montgomery (Strangefolk) jamming on guitar as a special guest. Patch’s fretboard skills are simultaneously melodic and shredding. Ryan literally took a back seat to Patch’s meandering jam toward the end of the cruise. It was quite a boat ride.

Next week I’ll be taking on Strangefolk and Assembly of Dust – then the festival.

-Corey J. Feldman

A Strange Assembly...
When One Becomes Two

When Reid Genauer left Strangefolk in September 2000, fans were skeptical as to what would follow. Reid was the lead singer and heart of Strangefolk, a smooth but unhindered jam rock quartet from Burlington, VT. Reid’s decision to leave also torched much of the band’s momentum, which led the three remaining band members to choose a new direction.

With Reid up front, Strangefolk may have been a little edgier, but the remaining members decided to fill out their music with more musicians. They had come far enough with Reid to keep playing shows as Strangefolk. The intrepid three (lead guitarist Jon Trafton, bassist Erik Glockler, and drummer Luke Smith) held open auditions in New York and Boston. They soon took a liking to Luke “Patchen” Montgomery, a soulful New York songwriter with ruthless guitar shredding skills. They also discovered a keyboardist from Oklahoma City, Scott Shdeed, who allegedly lugged his Hammond B-3 up a high-rise stairway in downtown New York to audition for the band.

Several years later, Strangefolk continued touring around the country, but not nearly as powerfully as Reid Genauer. Once Reid left the band, he got married and enrolled in Cornell Business School. This eventually led him to work for emusic.com and create a new band: Assembly of Dust.

Reid unequivocally kept the momentum of his songwriting and singing with AOD at venues like Bowery Ballroom and Carnegie Hall, as well as festivals like Bonnaroo and Wakarusa. His fan base never stopped growing, and the sound of his new band is more forward moving than ever. AOD is energetic, funky, and powerful. Whereas Strangefolk sticks more to the acoustic and folk music, Assembly of Dust is more of a catchy, funky rock band fronted and led by Reid. He gets more out of Assembly of Dust than he ever could have out of Strangefolk.
There is much to be said about the new incarnation of Strangefolk however. This is now a band of five stellar musicians who collaborate well, and their sound is easily palatable. With lush harmonies, the soft acoustic aura, and laid back jams, it’s really hard to go wrong. They put on an excellent show, and all five of their musicians are featured. Their first show back at NYC's CODA was certainly one to remember.

Breaking up with your band is bound to be painful (like any break-up), and perhaps there were some negative feelings in the Strangefolk community five years ago. But now, Assembly of Dust and Strangefolk are both playing the Gathering of the Vibes, and they often cross paths on their tour schedules and at festivals. Should you find an opportunity to see both of these bands, please do so. You'll thank me for it later...