Few bands stick around for thirty years. Even fewer bands leave a legacy during that time that marks them as a truly special, once-in-lifetime type band. And no band has done all that and had as much fun as Leftover Salmon.
Since their earliest days as a forward thinking, progressive bluegrass band who had the guts to add drums to the mix and who was unafraid to stir in any number of highly combustible styles into their ever evolving sound, to their role as a pioneer of the modern jam band scene, to their current status as elder-statesmen of the scene who cast a huge influential shadow over every festival they play, Leftover Salmon has been a crucial link in keeping alive the traditional music of the past while at the same time pushing that sound forward with their own weirdly, unique style.
The band now features a lineup that has been together longer than any other in Salmon history and is one of the strongest the legendary band has ever assembled. Built around the core of founding members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, the band is now powered by banjo-wiz Andy Thorn and driven by the steady rhythm section of bassist Greg Garrison, drummer Alwyn Robinson, and dobro player & keyboardist Jay Starling.
The current lineup is continuing the long, storied history of Salmon which found them first emerging from the progressive bluegrass world and coming of age as one the original jam bands, before rising to become architects of what has become known as Jam grass and helping to create a landscape where bands schooled in the traditional rules of bluegrass can break free of those bonds through nontraditional instrumentation and an innate ability to push songs in new psychedelic directions live.
Salmon is a band who for more than thirty years has never stood still; they are constantly changing, evolving, and inspiring. If someone wanted to understand what Americana music is they could do no better than to go to a Leftover Salmon show, where they effortlessly glide from a bluegrass number born on the front porch, to the down-and-dirty Cajun swamps with a stop on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, to the hallowed halls of the Ryman in Nashville, before firing one up in the mountains of Colorado.
Dogs in a Pile
The sandy shores of Asbury Park, New Jersey are hallowed ground in the Northeast; the rolling waves have ushered generations of venerated musicians to worldwide acclaim. Dogs In A Pile, an eclectic quintet, has emerged as the heir apparent to the town’s rich musical legacy. Merging funk, jazz, and rock and roll with psychedelia, the band presents a completely original vibe built on kaleidoscopic soundscapes eerily reminiscent of the days of yesteryear.
The Dogs employ a unified approach to performance and songwriting, crafting aural mosaics through adept instrumentation and humble precocity. As avid storytellers, they draw inspiration from personal experiences, balancing life’s foibles with ever-present youthful sanguinity.
Dogs formed when Jersey Shore native and guitar gun-slinger Jimmy Law began playing with family friend Joe Babick (drums) at a young age. Lightning struck when they were introduced to Berklee School of Music student and bass player Sam Lucid, who immediately suggested fellow Berklee student and keyboard player Jeremy Kaplan. The addition of Berklee student Brian Murray (guitar) in 2019 made for the quintessential final piece in the Dogs’ puzzle.
A string of sold-out local shows drove the development of a massive Northeast fan base, affectionately known as the Dog Pound. As the band has traversed new territory, their astronomical rise has continued nationwide. Armed with an evolving catalog of material and cultivation of an identity unique to Dogs In A Pile, the quintet is laying down a musical and communal foundation most often associated with the scene’s most beloved acts.
