My son asked me to rank the all time best rock bands.
My first choice was the Beatles.
My second, Spirit. Spirit was so far ahead of their time, most regular human beings missed their magnificence.
First, I would like to say thank you for continuing to put out a great
magazine. I have been a member of the "jam band" scene for about twelve
years and Relix has been there every step of the way. When I was introduced
to this scene it was no where near as vibrant as it is today. But the thing
that fascinated me the most and kept me digging deeper and deeper into the
scene was the music. It seemed as though a door was opened and on the other
side of that door was a pleathera of music that I never new existed. This
music was genre free; but at the same time included all genres. Some of it I
enjoy more than others, but does that make any of it less relavent ? Does
Dave Matthews Band suck? Maybe they are not going to lay down a 30 minute
improv jam, but they do write excellent songs and the music is an ecletic
blend that keeps you interested. Is Robert Randolph to repititive? Maybe
so, but who can deny that he rips the hell out of a pedal steel. It's
statements such as these that are starting to bother me. This "scene" was
created becase there is a demand for good honest music. This music can come
in many forms from the Allmans to Zappa. I was recently reading a review of
an Other Ones show. It wasn't the article that caught my attention. It was a
quote from an unidentified man sitting next to the author at the show. He
said " if Jerry was here he would really like this". That's when I realized
something. The people who are creating this music would not be as trite as
the people listening to the music. That is why this "scene" exist, because
these musicians are open minded enough to enjoy playing all kinds of music
with all kinds of people.I guess what I'am trying to say is lets keep the
negative vibes to ourselves. This scene is big enough for all music lovers.
So if you don't like something, keep your mouth shut and go find something
you do like!
UM, UM, UM... I don't know what to say, UM! I saw Umph for the first time back in '98 in the good ol' midwest at Indiana University, or was it '99, it's all a haze, no '98. Regardless, we've seen a happy go lucky jam band who revered acts like Moe., Denson and Galactic turn into and in some respects surpass the bands that influenced their music. In just 5 short years Umph is now a national act and people still say "who?" Well, I'll be the first to say that Umph is bound for stardom and there is no band that has as much energy and feel at such a young age. All my friends and I knew back in the day that this band was destined to succeed and I don't see any stopping now. Everyone who appreciates good music should give them a listen... you may never stop once you start.
An open letter to Relix from subthunk.
We are writing in regard to the review of our latest release Just a few notes before you go.
While we totally disagree with your opinions of the music, we do respect them (after all everyone has their own taste). However, we do take issue with the criticism of our musicianship. Comments such as "the musicianship is so lacking" and "there are some interesting ideas, but not enough technical ability to complete the execution" are laughable.
Many of the other reviews of Just a few notes before you go make a point of mentioning the high standard of musicianship in this band. For example "...works deep funk with Alan Holdsworth-worthy guitar." - Remix,
"groovy, funk-laden electro-jazz " - San Francisco Examiner, "the palette of sounds, vibes and technical ability is very high" - jambase.com.
This leads us to one of two possible conclusions, either Mr Waful didn't actually spend much time listening to this release or he is completely clueless.
So here is our request, if you believe in Mr Waful's ability as a journalist then print this letter and let readers decide for themselves whether or not we are inept musicians. Readers can check out tracks at our site (subthunk.com, or at mp3.com/subthunk). If people can't download music online then they should feel free to email us (
) and we will send out a two track promo CD. If you don't print this letter, we can only presume that you don't have faith in Mr Waful's journalistic integrity and don't want your readers to come to the same conclusion.
Sincerely,
