Leftover Salmon
Leftover Salmon turns 20 on New Years: industry insiders share their memories
:: Leftover Salmon ::
:: Eldo (Crested Butte) :: December 28 ::
:: Boulder Theater :: December 30 & 31 ::
:: Ogden Theatre :: Jan 2 ::
By Timothy Dwenger and Brian F. Johnson
This New Year’s Eve in Colorado, when the hands on the clock hit midnight, there will be more than just the flip of a calendar to 2010. As the chimes on the clock ring in the new year, they will also be signaling the 20th birthday of one of Colorado’s most eclectic, talented and unlikely heroes — Leftover Salmon.
It was in 1989 that Left Hand String Band members Mark Vann and Drew Emmitt merged their musical paths with a western Pennsylvania refugee named Vince Herman of the band The Salmonheads, and Leftover Salmon was born. The group hosted its first gig ever on New Year’s Eve at the Eldo in Crested Butte, Colo., coming up with their name on the drive to the gig from Boulder.
Blending raw talent with an unparalleled stage presence and a no-holds barred approach to any style of music, Leftover Salmon turned bluegrass and the ideas of what roots music was on their heads, and did so with enough infectious energy to win over even the staunchest traditionalists.
Together, the band has shared tremendous successes, fought relentless battles, even lost dear members of the family along the way. They have inspired, entertained, given selflessly, and they have provided the soundtrack to countless Colorado days and nights.
The very first issue of The Marquee featured Leftover Salmon on the cover, and since that issue the band has been featured on more covers of The Marquee than any other act. So, to celebrate their birthday, we wanted to get away from the typical interview and story that we normally do. Instead, to celebrate this monumental event, what we’ve done is asked musicians, industry insiders, friends and family to give us insight into how this group of mullet-loving misfits with hearts as big as their talent has shaped the Colorado music scene over the last two decades.
During their 20 year run, the band’s quirky name has come to mean so much to music fans and industry folks. Our contributors told us the first thing that popped into their minds when they heard the words “Leftover Salmon.”
Mark Bliesener (The Band Guru, co-managed Leftover with Chuck Morris at Morris, Bliesener and Assoc): The originators (along with Hot Rize) of ALL that was to follow.
Bela Fleck (Bela Fleck and the Flecktones): A great party atmosphere, and great energy and enthusiasm.
John Cowan (Newgrass Revival): Drew, Vince, & Mark Vann come to my mind very clearly: the Holy Trinity, as it were.
Billy Nershi (String Cheese Incident): My wild life in Telluride, Colorado. Skiing all day, going straight to the Floradora Saloon, cooking ‘till 10 p.m. and going to the One World Cafe to boogie all night to Leftover Salmon.
Anders Beck (Greensky Bluegrass): One word: FUN! It is humanly impossible to be within earshot of that band and not be having the time of your life. It’s infectious!
Col. Bruce Hampton (Aquarium Rescue Unit): Some weird biologically engineered fish experiment in central Oregon … the dry part.
Scramble Campbell (Painter): Smiles and Mayor McCheese.
Kirk Peterson (Boulder Theater): Beards, mullets and marijuana.
Leftover Salmon’s unique blend of bluegrass, rock, country, blues, jazz and Cajun/zydeco music may rub some bluegrass purists the wrong way, but they have bridged a gap between these genres. Though they are probably most closely associated with bluegrass, they have served as ambassadors to music lovers everywhere by welcoming them into the fold without pretense. They opened doors most people didn’t know existed and our contributors were able to put into words what Leftover Salmon has meant to the bluegrass community over the years.
Mark Bliesener: To the zealots — little. To those who truly know — rebirth.
Candace Horgan (The Denver Post): Even if they are only peripherally bluegrass, Leftover Salmon has certainly helped popularize bluegrass in Colorado by introducing the music to people who might not have heard it before. The band also paved the way for acts like String Cheese Incident and Yonder Mountain String Band.
Eric Dyce (City of Denver/Red Rocks): Leftover Salmon redefined bluegrass and added two new generations to the genre.
Bela Fleck: They gave the community a different option and brought a new, young audience.
Pete Wernick a.k.a. “Dr. Banjo” (Hot Rize): They are the zany “explorers” out on the edge in rock-land, but still looking back over their shoulder at the bluegrass friendlies, and visiting us sometimes.
John Cowan: I, like Salmon, have lived forever on the periphery of bluegrass. The bluegrass community as a whole usually tries to ignore or pretend these artists don’t exist unless in some way it benefits them (i.e. records, magazine sales, airplay etc.), which is a shame because the reality is that all of these peripheral or New Grass artists bring fans to people like Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, and Del McCoury etc.
Billy Nershi: Leftover Salmon showed people how to take bluegrass music add that X factor and get everybody dancing their ass off.
Anders Beck: They were the first ones that I saw who changed the rules. With them, the stuffy confines of traditional bluegrass were tossed out the window — in flames.
Kirk Peterson: Serious music can be seriously fun.
Though Salmon has been an integral part of the bluegrass music-loving community over the years, it is important to also realize the impact they have made on the lives of individual people. Without the band there would be no fans, but just as critically, without the fans, there would be no band. It is the magical entanglement of band, fan and music that has kept the whole thing going for 20 years and our contributors shared some of their favorite memories of the band.
Mark Bliesener (The Band Guru): FESTIVAL!!!
Candace Horgan: Salmonfest 2000 at Planet Bluegrass with a variety of acts, from Pete Wernick to The Derek Trucks Band and John Bell of Widespread Panic. Salmon led a wild parade through the grounds after dark, complete with Mardi Gras style costumes, before taking the stage for a three hour set. Guests like Bell sat in during the course of the night.
John Cowan: Most of them involve the band with Mark Vann still alive. Mark was a sweet, smart, introspective guy with his own sense of humor and he was a hell of a banjo player. Drew is one of my best friends, and I’m just flat out crazy about Vince and his P.T. Barnum take on music.
Col. Bruce Hampton: They helped me find the treasures of the Galapagos Islands.
Billy Nershi: I sat in with them one night long before String Cheese. They sang that song “Zombie Jamboree.” Vince sang “back to back, belly to belly. I don’t give a damn, ’cause I’m really Billy Nershi.” He has a way of making everyone feel special.
Bela Fleck: When bassist Tye North had his head shaved on stage.
Anders Beck: Seeing them play the Rico Theatre in 1999. They led the entire crowd out of the venue in a conga-line to continue the party in the streets.
Scramble Campbell: Planet Salmonfest 2000. Col. Bruce, John Bell, Baby Gramps, YMSB, LoS all in one day … yummy!
Kirk Peterson: Seeing what looked like Ken Kesey’s deranged farmhands playing Old and In the Way-meets-Metallica for the first time at North Western University’s spring festival on Lake Michigan, circa 1993-94.
Those memories, combined with hundreds and thousands more, went on to influence the lives of everyone who came in contact with their contagious energy over the years. The final question that our contributors responded to was concerning how their lives have been impacted by Vince, Drew, Mark and the other members who have made up Leftover Salmon over the years.
Candace Horgan: Because of Leftover, I discovered things like the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and RockyGrass. I’d also say that because of my experiences at those festivals, I ended up learning to play the fiddle.
Eric Dyce: I am a much mellower dude having known Leftover Salmon.
Pete Wernick: They’ve altered the geography of the progressive end of the bluegrass spectrum, thereby enlarging the big umbrella I’ve been operating under for years. On the negative side, more people are more confused than ever about what the word “bluegrass” means. On the positive, they have spread joy far and wide, and associated it with the kind of music I love.
Col. Bruce Hampton: They inspired me to spell Galapagos correctly.
John Cowan: It has made me a better musician, a better human, and mostly a better entertainer by recognizing through Salmon and their very real example, that the audience isn’t just a part of creation, they are the creation, and the soul reason to do it.
Anders Beck: LoS is a constant reminder of how much fun I should be having as a touring bluegrass musician. WWVinceDo?
Bela Fleck: I appreciate that they were strongly influenced by my generation, so that was a gift to us. Also, Mark’s passing so young. Remember to smell the roses and enjoy the great moments when you are lucky enough to be part of a band of brothers. It doesn’t always last forever.
:: Leftover Salmon ::
:: Eldo (Crested Butte) :: December 28 ::
:: Boulder Theater :: December 30 & 31 ::
:: Ogden Theatre :: Jan 2 ::
Recommended if you Like:
• New Grass Revival
• Hot Rize
• Yonder Mountain String Band
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Head For The Hills
Head For The Hills gears up to roll out Emmitt-produced sophomore album
:: Head for the Hills :: :: Harvestival :: October 10 :: :: Fox Theatre :: October 23 ::
By David Stuhlemmer
At the dawn of their sixth year as a band, Head For The Hills has climbed up through the ranks to become one of the most notable success stories in the Colorado bluegrass scene.
The quartet is putting the final touches on their second album, and if their momentum continues, the band will end up having a superior view from their position on top of the bluegrass hill.
For this new album, produced by Leftover Salmon’s Drew Emmitt, the band members took a different direction than their debut release, Robber’s Roost. “We definitely made a conscious effort to get away from the Pro Tools, isolation booth and headphone model, which pretty much dominates. There is nothing wrong with that, but after that first album of being in different rooms with no sight lines, we wanted to take a new approach,” said mandolin player Mike Chappell. “ Some of the tracks were recorded completely live,” he added. Continue — Read more »
Marquee Tags: Drew Emmitt, Gus Skinas, Head for the Hills, Leftover Salmon, Matt Loewen, Mike Chappell, Sonoma, Super Audio Center2 comments
Drew Emmitt Band continues on its Long Road, with some new players along for the ‘Ride’
:: Drew Emmitt Band ::
:: Aggie Theatre :: Jan 27 ::
:: Boulder Theater :: Jan 28 ::
:: Bluebird Theater :: Jan 29 ::
By David Stuhlemmer
“It’s been probably the biggest year I have ever had, and it’s been wonderful,” Emmitt told The Marquee over the phone from Vail. After a drive through the day from Crested Butte, he was ready to take the stage with some of his oldest friends — Leftover Salmon.
Intermittent yet ever-successful reunions with Leftover Salmon, maintaining two other national touring acts, one album that came out in July and one due up in the spring, all contribute to a cumbersome calendar. “It gets a little crazy but it’s nice because it is not monotonous,” Emmitt said, seemingly more comfortable about his position now than he has been in the past.
Marquee Tags: Drew Emmitt, Leftover Salmon, Long Road, Sam BushNo comments
Vail Snow Daze
:: Vail Snow Daze ::
:: Various venues around Vail :: Dec. 8 – 14, 2008 ::
By Brian F. Johnson
Photos by Soren McCarty andSusan Etter
Just to make things clear, so that no one can claim a lack of journalistic integrity later on, I have to admit this out in front: I got styled for this festival. Now, I’m a lucky guy and get styled a lot for shows and festivals but this was almost picture perfect.
We got a late start on Friday afternoon – already having missed several days and nights of music that started the week-long festival, including a blow out by Big Head Todd and the Monsters on Thursday night. The reason we got the late start was a much-needed stop at a tire store, and while it put us behind, we were thankful for the new car-sneakers the rest of the weekend.
Snow was dumping long before we hit the Eisenhower Tunnel, and by the time we pulled into Vail it was a full-on winter storm, the perfect setting for a festival that bills itself as the “largest early season, winter resort party in North America.”
Continue — Read more »
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Nederland, Co’s Elephant Revival debuts self-titled release after two years together
:: Elephant Revival ::
:: with support from Boulder Acoustic Society and Riverbend ::
:: Boulder Theater :: November 29 ::
By Jeffrey Keith
Elephant Revival is living proof that the way high Colorado Front Range town of Nederland continues to inspire some of the finest and most creative music to be found anywhere. Following the lead, but not the footsteps, of groups like Leftover Salmon and the Yonder Mountain String Band, the five-piece Elephant Revival has created a unique and appealing modern acoustic sound simultaneously soaked in all manner of tradition.
“You can call it ‘neo-acoustic electric transcendental folk’…The folk rock connotation doesn’t quite cut it,” said multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/vocalist Dan Rose during a recent breakfast sit-down with The Marquee at Nederland’s acoustic HQ, the Shining Star Cafe; lead singer and woman-of-all-sounds-percussive, Bonnie Paine, joined the mid-morning party as well.
Marquee Tags: Bonnie Paine, Dan Rose, Elephant Revival, Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band2 comments
Halloween rundown:
One of the best nights of the year for music takes over Friday, the 31st
By Mike Hedrick
New Year’s Eve and Halloween are traditionally two of the best nights of the year to see music, but for the last few years Halloween has fallen mid-week, which has led the “holiday” to be stretched thin over multiple nights.
This year, however, with Halloween falling on a Friday night, promoters have stepped up huge and Friday, October 31, 2008 could end up going down as one of the best of the best.
Below is a list of (not every, but) a lot of the shows taking place on the Front Range that night: Continue — Read more »
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Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival
Lawrence, KS
June 5 – 8, 2008
Text and video by Brian F. Johnson
Courtesy of photographer James Allison www.jamesallisondesign.com
DAY I – (but, not really)
Any festival can get hit with a stroke of bad luck or bad weather. The good ones are the ones who know how to rebound, and 2008 was that kind of year for the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival.
Google Maps clocks the drive from Denver to Lawrence, Kan. as 8 hours and 15 minutes, but on a day when 30 tornadoes touched down in the state of Kansas, Google’s time allotment gets thrown out the window.
Continue — Read more »
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Inaugural Mile High Festival Goes Huge
By Tim Dwenger
July 19 – 20
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Commerce City, CO
After a well documented run-in with the management of the Denver Zoo, promoter AEG Live was forced to find a location other than Denver’s City Park to stage its inaugural festival, which is being compared to the epic Austin City Limits Festival in Texas.
After several months of work, Chuck Morris and the rest of AEG Live settled on the outer fields of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the sprawling complex that is home to the Colorado Rapids MLS team. Though the 18,000 person capacity stadium will not be used, the extensive array of soccer fields that surround the stadium will host more than 50 bands on 5 stages over the course of the weekend.
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Wakarusa Enters Its Fifth Year With 80 Bands
By Mike Hedrick
June 5-8
Lawrence, KS
Named for the river in Lawrence, Wakarusa is a Native American term for ass-deep, which seemingly encompasses not only the depth of the river but also the abundance of music, camping and activities that take place at the festival.
Marquee Tags: Ben Folds, Cake, Emmylou Harris, Keller Williams, Lawrence Kansas, Leftover Salmon, Mickey Hart, STS9, The Flaming Lips, Wakarusa, Zappa Plays ZappaNo comments
10K Lakes Grows Into One of the Mega Fests
By Molly Chappell
July 23-26
Soo Pass Ranch, Detroit Lakes, MN
The10,000 Lakes Festival (10KLF) has set the tone for what a summer festival should be— tons of great music, a tranquil backdrop, and excellent vibes. This year promises to be no different, with over sixty bands slated to perform.
Marquee Tags: 10K Lakes Festival, Leftover Salmon, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, The Flaming LipsNo comments
Leftover Salmon reunite at their spawning grounds for festival dates
:: Leftover Salmon :: with moe. :: :: Red Rocks Amphitheatre :: July 28 ::
By Brian F. Johnson
When the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31, 2004, and the calendar flipped to 2005, Leftover Salmon was at home — on stage, playing to a sold-out crowd at Boulder’s Fox Theatre. Three hours later, in the wee hours of the morning, the band played their final song (“Pasta on the Mountain,” with a medley in the middle that included “Free Bird,” “Third Stone” and “The Star Spangled Banner”) and called it a night, and with that, also called it a wrap. After 15 years as a band, to the very day (their first gig was on New Year’s Eve in 1989 at The Eldo in Crested Butte, Colo.), the machine had outgrown the band and the incessant touring needed to feed that machine had gone beyond the band members’ threshold.
Leftover Salmon never claimed they were breaking up, but the “indefinite hiatus” label was cast upon them, and with members swimming off to pursue solo projects and spend time with their families, it looked like it’d be a very long time before they’d be onstage again.
Continue — Read more »
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High Sierra awash with Colorado artists
By Monica Banks
highsierramusic.com
July 5-8
Quincy, Calif.
High Sierra began in 1991 with one stage and 20 artists. This grassroots festival has now grown to five stages with over 75 artists. This summer’s promising line-up features the much anticipated Leftover Salmon reunion, along with other hometown acts such as Yonder Mountain String Band, Zilla, Great American Taxi and Phix.
Marquee Tags: Great American Taxi, Leftover Salmon, Phix, Yonder Mountain String Band1 comment