Widespread Panic 177272 226032947 2008-07-16T15:04:43Z Madchester 166784 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/71.125.173.20|71.125.173.20]] ([[User talk:71.125.173.20|talk]]) to last version by 96.32.178.226 {{Refimprove|date=May 2008}} {{Infobox musical artist | Name = Widespread Panic | Img = WidespreadPanic.jpg | Img_capt = Widespread Panic at the [[Vegoose]] Music Festival. | Img_size = | Landscape = | Background = group_or_band | Origin = [[Athens, Georgia]], [[United States of America|USA]] | Genre = [[Jam band]], [[blues]], [[southern rock]] | Years_active = 1986&ndash;2003<br>2005&ndash;present | Label = Widespread Records | Associated_acts = | URL = [http://www.widespreadpanic.com www.widespreadpanic.com] | Current_members = [[John Bell (musician)|John Bell]]<br />[[John Hermann|John "JoJo" Hermann]]<br />Todd Nance<br />Domingo S. Ortiz<br />[[Dave Schools]]</br>[[Jimmy Herring]]<br/> | Past_members = [[Michael Houser]] <small>(d. 2002)</small></br>[[George McConnell]]</br>[[T Lavitz]] }} '''Widespread Panic''' is a southern rock band from [[Athens, Georgia]]. The current lineup includes [[guitarist]]/[[singer]] [[John Bell (musician)|John Bell]], [[bassist]] [[Dave Schools]], drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, [[keyboardist]] [[John Hermann|John "JoJo" Hermann]], and guitarist [[Jimmy Herring]]. [[Michael Houser]] and [[George McConnell]] have also played lead guitar for the band. The band has played as many as 250 shows a year, and have ranked among the top 50 grossing touring acts for eight years running{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, doing so without substantial radio airplay, television exposure, or promotion. The band holds sellout records{{Fact|date=October 2007}} at: *[[Red Rocks Amphitheatre]] near [[Denver]], CO (32 shows), *[[Oak Mountain Amphitheatre]] near [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]], AL (17 shows), *[[Philips Arena]] in [[Atlanta]], GA (17 straight sold-out [[New Year's Eve]]/December 30th shows), and *[[UNO Lakefront Arena]] in [[New Orleans]], LA (18 shows). ==Band history== ===Formation of band=== Michael Houser (nicknamed 'Panic') and John Bell ('JB') met at the [[University of Georgia]] at [[Athens, Georgia|Athens]] between 1982 and 1984{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, and began playing music together around town as a duet. JB played solo shows as well. The band's first performance as Widespread Panic took place on February 24, 1985 at the A-Frame house on Weymanda Court in Athens.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Houser, JB, & Schools performed around Athens as a trio, occasionally utilizing local drummers. While their shows consisted primarily of cover tunes (by such bands as the [[Grateful Dead]], [[Van Morrison]], [[Bob Marley]], and [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]], among others), their repertoire did include a handful of original songs.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} ''Sleepy Monkey'' was the band's first original composition.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Other early compositions include ''Conrad'', ''Chilly Water'', ''Space Wrangler'', and ''Coconut'' (although the latter was written by JB before joining the band).{{Fact|date=October 2007}} On February 6, 1986, Houser recruited high school friend/bandmate Todd Nance for a WSP gig (an Aid For Africa benefit) at the Mad Hatter Ballroom in Athens, opening for Strawberry Flats (featuring [[John Keane (record producer)|John Keane]]). This was the first official Widespread Panic show and Nance accepted an offer to join the band.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} On February 9, 1986, Houser, Schools, and JB, with Joel Morris on drums and Kelly Jo Davis on backing vocals, recorded Monkey Image (Sleepy Monkey) and Coconut Image (Coconut) at Panoramic Recording Studio in Arnoldsville GA, to be released as their first single. The 45rpm vinyl was released (in a pressing of only 500) shortly thereafter on the band's Space Baby label.<ref name="timeline">[http://everydaycompanion.com/asp/timeline.asp Everyday Companion Timeline]</ref> During the rest of 1986, WSP played mainly in Athens, though they did branch out to venues in Macon, GA and South Carolina. Early on, they began playing Monday nights at the Uptown Lounge in Athens, a tradition that would last well into 1988, alternating shows with [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] jam band [[The Grapes (band)|The Grapes]]. {{Fact|date=October 2007}} Along the way, they developed a solid batch of original tunes (in addition to the four originals that they played in 1985), including Stop-Go, C. Brown, Tie Your Shoes, Porch Song, Driving Song, Conrad, Vacation, Postcard, the instrumental Machine, and another instrumental jam that JB later adds lyrics to, titled Cardboard Box. On October 6, 1986, Texan percussionist Domingo S. Ortiz ("Sunny"), sat in with the band at the Uptown Lounge for the first time.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Sunny continued to perform with the band on numerous occasions in Athens, Macon, and Atlanta, and eventually (late 1988 or early 1989) accepted the band's request for him to join as a full-time member.<ref name="timeline" /> During 1987, WSP continued to play primarily in Georgia, while steadily spreading out to South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and as far north as Richmond, Virginia (Dave Schools' hometown). They developed a few more originals along the way, including Barstools & Dreamers, Contentment Blues, I'm Not Alone, and instrumentals L.a. (aka "Liza's Apartment"), and The Take Out. JB added lyrics to Cardboard Box, and to another instrumental titled "Puppet Song", subsequently renamed Pigeons. Cardboard Box was only played a handful of times before being dropped from the repertoire. In the Fall, the band signed with [[Landslide Records]] and recorded their first album, ''Space Wrangler'', at [[John Keane (record producer)|John Keane]]'s Studio in Athens. Guests on the album included Sunny on percussion, David Blackmon on fiddle, Tim White on keyboards, and Alberto Salazarte (of Athens band White Buffalo) on percussion. [[Phish]] keyboardist, [[Page McConnell]], also played on the studio version of Holden Oversoul.<ref name="timeline" /> In June 1988, producer [[John Keane (record producer)|John Keane]] appeared for the first time on stage with the band. Usually playing pedal steel, Keane became another regular guest at special Panic shows.<ref name="timeline" /> Their debut LP, ''[[Space Wrangler]]'', established a small fan base and inaugurated several years of constant touring. ===Rise to national prominence=== The band signed to [[Capricorn Records]] and released their major label debut, ''[[Widespread Panic (album)|Widespread Panic]]'' in 1991. John Hermann ("JoJo") joined the band as a keyboardist in 1992. <!--Everybody has friends so why is the following significant: He brought the friendship of local guitar store owner [[George McConnell]], his former bandmate from [[Beanland]]. --> In 1998, to celebrate the release of their first live album, [[Light Fuse, Get Away]], Widespread Panic offered a free "CD release party" concert in Athens Georgia. An estimated 80,000-100,000 fans descended on the town, transforming it into one of the largest CD release parties in history. Their popularity expanded greatly in the late 1990s/early 2000s, drawing large audiences in the Southeastern United States. 2001 ended with WSP one of the top twenty concert draws in the country.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} In 2002, the band received gold certification for their concert DVD Live at Oak Mountain. It also headlined two nights of the first annual [[Bonnaroo Music Festival]] which drew a crowd upwards of 70,000 people. ===Death of Houser=== In early 2002, guitarist Michael Houser was diagnosed with [[pancreatic cancer]]. Houser continued to perform with the band into the summer of that year, but following a performance on July 2, 2002 in [[Cedar Rapids]], [[Iowa]] he left the tour due to his declining health. Guitarist [[George McConnell]], a former bandmate of JoJo Hermann's in [[Beanland]], took over as the lead guitarist for the remainder of the band's scheduled dates. Michael Houser died on August 10, 2002.<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/widespreadpanic/articles/story/5934417/widespreads_houser_dead_at_forty Widespread's Houser Dead at Forty]</ref> ===McConnell Era=== Following the death of Michael Houser, the band announced that [[George McConnell]] had been officially named as the new lead guitarist in Widespread Panic. In 2003, the band released ''[[Ball_(Widespread_Panic_album)|Ball]]'', the first studio album with McConnell as the guitarist. The album was unique among the band's offerings in that none of the songs included had been performed live by the band prior to the recording. All of the material included was written specifically for the album with the exception of "Time Waits," a song which John Bell had performed in solo appearances, and "Don't Wanna Lose You," a song John Herman had written for his wife and performed at least on one occasion with Smiling Assasins, which included members of the North Mississippi Allstars, in Aspen, Co, sometime during the winter of 2003. Late in 2003, the band announced that they would be taking a hiatus from both recording and performing in 2004. However, 2004 did see the release of three live albums: ''[[Night of Joy]]'' and ''[[Uber Cobra|Über Cobra]]''--both of which were recorded during an August 2003 three-night run of shows at the [[House of Blues]] in [[Myrtle Beach, SC]]--as well as ''[[Jackassolantern]]'', a compilation of cover songs performed during the band's Halloween shows. A third live album taken from the Myrtle Beach shows, ''[[Live at Myrtle Beach]]'' was released in early 2005. In March 2005 the band returned to the stage in full force with a three-night sell-out of [[Fox Theatre (Atlanta)|Atlanta’s Fox Theatre]].{{Fact|date=October 2007}} They again headlined the Bonnaroo music festival, drawing an estimated 90,000 fans for a two night set. They toured through the rest of the summer and fall, and ended the year with their first annual Tunes for Tots benefit. Held at the Roxy Theatre in Atlanta, it raised over $100,000 to help finance the purchase of musical instruments for children in school. This was followed by the New Year's run in Atlanta.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} In January 2006, the band recorded their 9th studio album, ''[[Earth to America (album)|Earth to America]]'', with [[Terry Manning]] in Nassau, Bahamas, at [[Compass Point Studios]]. It was released June 13, 2006. Their May 9th show at Atlanta's Fox Theatre was simulcast in LIVE HD, via [[satellite]], in select [[movie theatre]]s nationwide.<ref>[http://www.jambase.com/headsup.asp?storyID=8082 May 9, 2006, simulcast in theaters].</ref> Over 60,000 fans across the country watched it live in the theatres. This show was also released in DVD format on November 14th, 2006, entitled '[[Earth To Atlanta]]'.<ref>[http://widespreadpanic.com/recordnews.php?id=240 November 14, 2006, DVD release].</ref> On August 2, 2006, the band announced that George McConnell had left the band.<ref>[http://widespreadpanic.com/news_story.php?id=235&archive=true George McConnell, lead guitarist with the rock band Widespread Panic, has moved on to further adventures]</ref> Producer [[John Keane]] and former Houser guitar technician Sam Holt filled in on guitar for the rest of the tour. ===2006-Present=== In the fall of 2006, Fayetteville, NC native [[Jimmy Herring]] took over the reins of the lead guitarist in the band kicking off their fall tour with three nights at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in [[New York City, New York]].<ref>[http://widespreadpanic.com/news_story.php?id=236&archive=true Widespread Panic is happy to announce that Jimmy Herring will be joining the band as lead guitarist]</ref> The band released their 10th album, ''Free Somehow'', on February 12th, 2008. It too was recorded with legendary producer [[Terry Manning]] at [[Compass Point Studios]]. On September 20, 2008, Widespread Panic will be inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. == Live show == Known for never playing the same show twice, the band has a show-to-show ritual of choosing the night’s setlist. At the beginning of each tour Garrie Vereen, a member of the band’s road crew, makes a master list of all the songs the band performs and laminates it. Each night before the show he marks the last 3 nights' set lists in different colors. The band can see what has been played recently and then decide what songs to play during the first set. They return back to the list during setbreak to pick songs for the second set, and likewise, return after the second set for any additional sets if playing more than two, or the encore. This process is explained by Vereen in the DVD ''[[The Earth Will Swallow You]]''. ==Discography== The band has sold more than three million albums{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, and released a total of 15 CDs and five DVDs. ===[[Studio album|Studio Albums]]=== # ''[[Space Wrangler]]'' - 1988 # ''[[Widespread Panic (album)|Widespread Panic]]'' - 1991 # ''[[Everyday (Widespread Panic album)|Everyday]]'' - 1993 # ''[[Ain't Life Grand (Widespread Panic album)|Ain't Life Grand]]'' - 1994 # ''[[Bombs & Butterflies]]'' - 1997 # ''[['Til The Medicine Takes]]'' - 1999 # ''[[Don't Tell the Band]]'' - 2001 # ''[[Ball (Widespread Panic album)|Ball]]'' - 2003 # ''[[Earth to America (album)|Earth to America]]'' - 2006 # ''[[Free Somehow]]'' - 2008 ===[[Live album|Live Albums]]=== # ''[[Light Fuse, Get Away]]'' - 1998 # ''[[Another Joyous Occasion]]'' - 2000 # ''[[Live in the Classic City]]'' - 2002 # ''[[Night of Joy]]'' - 2004 # ''[[Über Cobra]]'' - 2004 # ''[[Jackassolantern]]'' - 2004 # ''[[Live at Myrtle Beach]]'' - 2005 ===Other albums=== The band recorded two albums with guitarist [[Vic Chesnutt]] as [[brute.]], in 1996 and 2002. ===Benefit CDs=== * Contributed a cover version of [[Van Morrison]]'s ''[[And It Stoned Me]]'' to the Capricorn compilation album ''[[Hempilation]]'' a benefit CD for [[NORML]] (National Organization for the Reform of [[cannabis (drug)|Marijuana]] Laws), 1995. * Contributed a live performance version of ''Blue Indian'' to ''[[Live in the X Lounge|Live in the X Lounge II]]'', an album benefiting United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham, a [[Birmingham, Alabama]] charity, 1999. * Contributed a live June 2000 performance version of ''Give'' to ''[[Carved in Stone, Vol.1]]'', an album benefiting the Preserve the Rocks Fund, a donation-driven reserve dedicated to the rehabilitation and preservation of the historic [[Red Rocks Amphitheatre]], 2003. * Recorded a cover of the [[NRBQ]] song ''Ain't No Horse'' for the CD "The Q People - A Tribute to NRBQ", 2004 * Contributed covers of [[The Doors]]' ''[[Peace Frog]]'' > ''Blue Sunday'' to the album ''Too Many Years'' to benefit [[Clear Path International]]'s work with [[landmine]] survivors, 2005. * Recorded a cover of [[The Band]]'s song ''[[Chest Fever]]'' for the CD "Endless Highway - Tribute to The Band", 2006. * Recorded a cover of [[John Lennon]]'s ''[[Crippled Inside]]'' as a bonus track for the compilation album [[Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur]], 2007. ==Videography== *''[[Live at Oak Mountain]]'' (2001) *''[[Panic in the Streets (album)|Panic in the Streets]]'' (2002) *''[[The Earth Will Swallow You]]'' (2002) *''[[Live From The Backyard]]'' (2003) *''[[Earth to Atlanta]]'' (2006) ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == *[http://telluride.plumtv.com/stories/john_jojo_hermann_concert Plum TV Video of John "JoJo" Hermann in Concert in Telluride] * [http://www.widespreadpanic.com/ Widespread Panic: The Official Site] <!-- Don't remove the link to this MySpace page, because it is "an official page of the article subject" (see [[Wikipedia:External_links#Links_normally_to_be_avoided]]). --> * [http://www.myspace.com/widespreadpanic Widespread Panic on MySpace] * [http://www.youtube.com/widespreadpanicmusic Widespread Panic on YouTube] * [http://www.everydaycompanion.com/asp/default.asp Everyday Companion Online] * [http://www.livewidespreadpanic.com/ Live Widespread Panic] * [http://www.panicstream.com/ PanicStream] [[Category:American rock music groups]] [[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) musical groups]] [[Category:Jam bands]] [[de:Widespread Panic]]