rolling modern jam band ephemera (non-phish, non-dead)

Hi all. Just wanted to create a rolling thread as a place to discuss contemporary jam bands that don't fall under any of the Phish or Grateful Dead threads, but maybe couldn't carry an entire thread of their own yet either.

My primary impetus for starting this thread is to talk about the band Ghost Light. I first heard of them this summer while immersing myself in Phish (thanks a lot, BRAD). I came across the work of Holly Bowling, a pianist who has stood out for doing solo piano renditions of various Phish songs. But not just the songs - specific live jammed-out versions of those songs. It's bonkers. Here she is performing a 35-minute Tweezer from July 31, 2013 at Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxBJBAFcmSY

"But you said 'non-phish'!" I'm getting there.

As of 2018, Bowling is part of the band Ghost Light, along with singer/guitarist Tom Hamilton (of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead), singer/guitarist Raina Mullen, bassist Taylor Shell, and drummer Scotty Zwang. This band apparently formed as a supergroup of people from bands I have mostly never heard of, which maybe makes them the jam band version of the New Pornographers?

Anyway, impressed by Bowling's solo work, I checked out Ghost Light. The first thing I found by them was this single from their new album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLCZsyPQKUQ

My initial reaction was that it reminded me a lot of HAIM, and I really liked it. The comparison that often gets made about Ghost Light is Fleetwood Mac, which is true to an extent, but definitely not the whole picture. Maybe "Fleetwood Mac doing HAIM doing Fleetwood Mac"? That isn't quite it either, but suffice it to say, a blend of pop rock, classic rock, and indie influences. A pop-rock jam band was exactly what I needed, and I kept this song in heavy rotation for a few weeks in late summer.

However, I was less impressed when I further explored Ghost Light's catalog. A live album that I checked out on Spotify seemed a lot more roots rock-oriented, which wasn't really my vibe at the time. It showed that they could jam, for sure, but I wasn't into their song choices and they tried to deliver a Tears for Fears cover that just left me wanting the real thing. Then I listened to their debut album from 2019. My impression was that I liked a lot of the material better than the live record, but that it could have hung together better. I need to revisit that to see if my opinion has changed though.

I forgot about the band for a couple of months and then remembered that their sophomore album came out in October. I checked it out and gotta say I like it a lot! Mostly, it's a solid album with great, captivating melodies and a tighter focus on the songs. Two other standouts for me are

Faces In the Moon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M81B2aR_Zr8

and Sweet Unlimited

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWuax3bffZA

But I have just been listening to the entire thing.

There are a couple of tracks that don't resonate with me - unfortunately, I haven't really come around to album closer Don't Say Goodnight Just Yet. And the penultimate song, Dig A Hole, kinda falls into the jam band studio album trap of "ok, this is obviously supposed to be one of their live showcase tracks that gets jammed out and they're guilty of underdoing it and overdoing it at the same time."

But in general, this is a new favorite.

Good thread. I'm digging those Ghost Light tracks; it's like if Tusk/Mirage-era Fleetwood Mac were on shrooms instead of coke.

Goose is the jam band I hear about the most these days, but I don't think I've heard anything by them except their 21-minute cover of Vampire Weekend's "2021" (which is awesome). Anyone know what's good with Goose?

There's also the "post-wook" indie jam axis (Ryley Walker, Garcia Peoples, etc) which I've been meaning to dig deeper into. Any good boots I should know about?

I gave Goose a listen over the summer. My impression was that they can jam extremely well and one of their singers did a passable Dave Matthews impression, but their songs left a lot to be desired. They are audibly influenced by Phish and DMB without bringing much of their own creativity to the mix. Here are some lyrics from the song where I hung up the phone:

"hey butter rum
my sweet island muffin
hey butter rum
my sweet island muffin
to the islands you run
and leave me with nothing
but the rum

in a foreign place
with an ice cold mojito
there she stood
my tropic hurricane
with the tide so high
I asked for her name"

I think I only listened to one live album of theirs though - Alive And Well - so I'd be happy to hear better material from them. Like I said, they can improvise really well, but based on what I've heard I don't want to go through what it takes to get there.

Feel like Chris Forsyth belongs here, saw him last week with Meg Baird (his band minus him was her backing band then he played). Doug McCombs from Tortoise is playing bass for him these days.

I'm having trouble getting into Ghost Light, though I've seen Holly Bowling solo twice and she was excellent both times.

As far as Goose, I'm still on the fence. I have begrudgingly come around to the fact that they are pretty good and Rick Mitarotonda is a fantastic guitar player, but I've found some of their fans to be really off-putting (although the same can be said about Phish fans and I like them, so this is more of a me problem). The set where Trey sat in with them at Radio City is fantastic tho.

In terms of other bands in this vein I would recommend - Garcia Peoples for sure, Jeffrey Alexander and the Heavy Lidders (or his Dire Wolves project), I'll second the Chris Forsyth rec (and the folks he plays with in their extended universes - Ryan Jewell, Hans Chew, etc), Sunwatchers, Rose City Band, One Eleven Heavy, Elkorn, Howlin' Rain... I know I'm forgetting some.

I mean, yeah, this is extremely my shit right now, the way there's been this blending of lines between flat out jam bands, the indie rock bands not afraid to jam, cosmic Americana, etc.

Color Green was another one I recommended on the Garcia Peeps thread. I'll keep thinking.

Gold Dust is another one that might appeal to some folks that aren't horrified at the very thought of this thread. His new one, The Late Great Gold Dust, just came out and it's a nice balance of psych-folk with some gnarly guitar solos and a bit of shoegaze influence (J Mascis makes an appearance!).

Okay promise my last one because I fear I'm swinging this thread a little off-track, but this is like a Bat signal for me.

Wet Tuna is great if you like your jam dragged through fucked up dub muck.

Welp, guess I've got my weekend cut out for me. Thanks, jon /via/ chi 2.0!

Sunwatchers totally slay

No problem, glad to help!