Widespread Panic Totally Explained

Everything about Widespread Panic totally explained

Widespread Panic is a southern jam band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist 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, doing so without substantial radio airplay, television exposure, or promotion. The band holds sellout records at:

Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver (26 shows),
Oak Mountain Amphitheatre near Birmingham, Ala. (17 shows),
Philips Arena in Atlanta (17 straight sold-out New Year's Eve/December 30th shows), and
UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans (18 shows).

Band history

Formation of band

Michael Houser (nicknamed 'Panic') and John Bell ('JB') met at the University of Georgia at Athens between 1982 and 1984, 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. 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, among others), their repertoire did include a handful of original songs. Sleepy Monkey was the band's first original composition. Other early compositions include Chilly Water, Space Wrangler, and Coconut (although the latter was written by JB before joining the band).
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). This was the first official Widespread Panic show and Nance accepted an offer to join the band. 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.
   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 jam band The Grapes. 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. 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.

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, 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. Late in 2003, the band announced that they'd 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 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 Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. 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.
In January 2006, the band recorded their 9th studio 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 theatres nationwide. 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'.
On August 2, 2006, the band announced that George McConnell had left the band. 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.
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.

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, and released a total of 15 CDs and five DVDs.

Studio Albums

Space Wrangler - 1988

Widespread Panic - 1991

Everyday - 1993

Ain't Life Grand - 1994

Bombs & Butterflies - 1997

'Til The Medicine Takes - 1999

Don't Tell the Band - 2001

Ball - 2003

Earth to America - 2006

Free Somehow - 2008

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 marijuana Laws), 1995.

Contributed a live performance version of Blue Indian to 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 a track to Too Many Years to benefit Clear Path International's work with land mine 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, 2007.

Videography

Live at Oak Mountain (2001)

Panic in the Streets (2002)

The Earth Will Swallow You (2002)

Live From The Backyard (2003)

Earth to Atlanta (2006)Further Information

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