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Here’s the plan: I’d like to define exactly what makes a band a “Jam” band.
Before I start, let me make something perfectly clear: I absolutely hate Jam bands. Hate ‘em. Just hearing the name Trey Anastasio makes my stomach naucious and blood starts seeping from my ears… and somewhere a fairy dies.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, I’d put “Jam” band’s at about a 1.35. For reference sake, that’s right below Nü Metal and Modern Country and just above any type of dance or electronica that could be considered “Rave” music.
As I’m sure you can already tell, I have a very narrow and downward looking view of the Jam band scene and won’t be throwing many compliments in their direction. So, if you really, really like Jam bands, you might want to refrain from reading on…
Ok. Everything clear? Good. Let’s go.
Actually, one more thing before I get started: In addition to defining what constitutes a Jam band, I need to fill you in on one more thing: I have an ulterior motive. In addition to defining Jam bands, I want to prove that Wilco is NOT a Jam band. I need to settle a small dispute with my super hot, special lady friend. She’s of the opinion that Wilco is, hands down, a Jam band. I disagree, wholeheartedly.
Ok. Now that I’ve put everything on the table, let’s go…
Wikipedia defines Jam bands as “musical groups whose albums and live performances relate to a fan culture which originated with the 1960s group Grateful Dead and continued in the 1990s with Phish and similar bands. The performances of these bands often feature extended musical improvisation (”jams”) over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns and long sets of music that cross genre boundaries.”
Ok. So, according to this definition, Jam bands consists of mainly “Hippy” culture and extended, improvised jams.
Let’s examine the later part of that definition; extended, improvised jams. Now, using this definition alone, almost any group of any genre of music could be classified as a Jam band. Everything from jazz to blues to metal to rock and beyond, so long as they tend to, well, Jam more often than not.
From time to time, you’ll hear those defending the Jam bands say that the bands have a “collective penchant for improvisation, a commitment to songcraft and a propensity to cross genre boundaries” or something similiar and far less eloquent. Essentially, they’re saying the musical stylings of most Jam bands are quite eclectic. Well, maybe they borrow from various different styles of music, but from my experience, most jam bands have a very specific feel to their music, regardless of whether or not they blend different types of music in with their own. In my opinion, you can spot a jam band tune from a mile away.
Now, back to the jam band definition. When you throw in the part about hippy culture, you get to the essence of what really defines the Jam band scene. It’s hippies, man. That’s the main ingredient. Yes, you have to Jam in order to be a Jam band, but if you’re not part of that hippy culture, playing your “eclectic” weirdo hippy music, then you’re something else. A rock band that shreds it for a while or a Jazz band that does some improvisation does not a Jam band make.
Another big part of the jam band scene is “an emphasis on creative improvisation and live performance as opposed to structured, arranged live performances and planned studio recordings.” In other words, the live “feel” is a critical part of the Jam band scene. Playing live, improvised shows are much more important than crafting an album in the studio. That’s cool. I don’t have a problem with that. I do, though, enjoy a well produced and thoughtfully crafted album. Nirvana Unplugged aside, I’m not a big fan of live album’s.
So, for me, here are the “ingredients” that define a jam band:
- Hippy culture
- Both band members and fans subscribe to the culture
- The majority of the songs are improvised and looooooooong
- Sounds “Jammy”
- Place much more importance in playing live than recording
Obviously, there are other ingredients, such as following bands on tour, a love of playing festivals, being required to be high while at the show, etc. I won’t go into them here, but those are also part of the Jam band formula.
Now, let’s take a look at Wilco and see how well they fit the definition.
- Hippy culture
- Does Wilco have fans with hippy tendencies?
- Undoubtedly.
- Are the majority of the fans hippies?
- That’s a resounding no.
- Are the band members more hippy than not?
- Certainly not. From what I can tell, they’re pretty laid back rock dudes, but rock dudes nonetheless.
- Long, Improvised songs
- When they play live, they will occasionally “Jam.” There’s no arguing that. But, they don’t Jam nearly as much or as long as bands like Phish and I guarantee you there is much more structure to their jamming than actual Jam bands.
- Sounds “Jammy”
- At times, they do sound a bit “Jammy.” But on the whole, I’d say no.
- More importance on playing live than recording
- Most certainly not. From what I can tell, they are both equally important to the band. Playing live is huge, but creating a masterful, layered, rich sounding record is of the utmost importance to the group. If you’ve seen “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,” you know what I’m talking about.
So, to sum it up, yes, Wilco has a few Jam band tendencies and I can understand why someone may initially call them a Jam band. They will jam when they play live and yes they have some hippy fans. But, on the whole, Wilco lacks some key ingredients that would classify them as a Jam band and put them in the same realm as Phish and the Grateful Dead.
Wilco is most certainly, definitely not a Jam band… At least in my opinion.
What do you think?
Here’s a 16 and a half minute “Jam” by Phish:
Here’s “I’m Always in Love” by Wilco:
Cowboys + Jones = True Love Forever
Apr 8th, 2008
Jam Band: (see noodling guitars) A band that practices live on stage. Also note that the degree of Jam Bandiness (yes, Jam Bandiness)is directly proportional to the smell of patchoulii eminating from said band / audience.
I’m Prof. Obvious, and I approve this thread.
Apr 8th, 2008
I agree they have “Jam Band tendencies” only because they tend to play a little long, maybe change stuff up during their live shows that’s not exactly how it is played on the album.
But the similarities stop there.
Tweedy was in Uncle Tupelo, and they were more Punkish than Hippieish. No band led by someone who once played in Uncle Tupelo could be a Jam Band IMO.
Apr 8th, 2008
If you had an option on your poll that said “Fuck you, buddy,” I’d choose that option.
Apr 8th, 2008
El Dookie - You’re right, they can play a little long. That’s one reason my lady and I had the “Are they/aren’t they” discussion in the first place.
the Steve - I don’t know what I was thinking. Next time, I’ll make sure “Fuck you, buddy” is an option. I’m such an idiot…
Apr 8th, 2008
I am not the biggest Wilco fan so I don’t say this with a whole lot of bias: With no offense to your ladyfriend, with or without defining what a jam band is, Wilco is as far from being a jam band as MC Hammer.
Apr 8th, 2008
That’s a lot of article to prove your lady friend wrong. You must feel strongly about it.
Apr 8th, 2008
Actually, it was a slow morning at work and I had to occupy my time somehow.
Apr 8th, 2008
I did not read all of your article and what i did read, i will choose to ignore the parts i did not like. i did not check any of your links to judge them for myself and i understand that you are a full time journalist and would just like to say that your opinion of hippies is unacceptable and you have no right to that opinion. And most importantly, i seriously doubt you are an expert on fairies, and to claim that one dies every time you hear our lord and saviour’s name is clearly libel.
Apr 8th, 2008
Whoa. Isn’t that weird?
Apr 8th, 2008
Strokitecture- Claiming that a fairy dies when you hear our lord and saviour’s name is not libel and therefore saying so is libel in itself. I should know. I’m Libel.
Apr 9th, 2008
Thank you Libel. Now I am clear enough to know that libel is a confusing term and hard to judge…perhaps i just libeled libel. (but not Libel)
Apr 9th, 2008
these comments are turning into a Jam.
Apr 9th, 2008
Is Pearl Jam a jam band? It says jam in their name.
Apr 9th, 2008
bass bass bass bass slap slap slap bass slap slap bass BOWWWWWWWWWWW.
Ya’ll like my solo?
Apr 9th, 2008
I love my sister but she loves jam bands. What’s a girl to do??? She and her husband are not hippies. I don’t get it. It’s the most boring, tedious, annoying music in the world (I would argue only slightly above Contemporary Christian).
Wilco is not a jam band! Built to Spill also do long “jammy” songs when they play live but they’re not a jam band either.
Jam bands also apparently switch around musicians a lot and have “special guests” when they play live….like you said, putting the “jam” above the band in terms of priorities.
Apr 9th, 2008
“deedle doodle doot, deet doot de doodle” = jam band. I love the way you guys are riffing on these comments, totally freeform, totally improvised, jammin, man. I never saw drugs referenced, or maybe Im so high I already forgot. I say without drugs there are no jam bands, and that is the major difference. If you dont take halucinagens then you probably dont like jam bands. If you do take, you do like. The band is probably high, but may not be. That is to say: jammin is fun to do high or not, but listening to it sober sucks. I think Wilco probably started listening to old grateful dead tapes a couple years back and thought they would incorporate a little of the sound, but saying they are a jam band is like saying Led Zeppelin is a blues band.
Apr 9th, 2008
Q: What did the Phish/Dead Head say when he ran out of shrooms/acid/weed?
A: What the hell is this awful music we are listening to?
Apr 9th, 2008
El Dookie - I’d say Pearl Jam pushes it from time-to-tim, but despite the fact that “Jam” is in their name, I’d have to say that they are not a jam band. Of course they did release, like, 80 live cd’s, so…
Alannah - Maybe try and ease them into some non jam bands with some bands that have a few jammy tendencies: My Morning Jacket, Build to Spill, Wilco (Yes, I know), etc… Maybe you can ween them off it somehow. I doubt it, but it’s definitely worth a shot.
zh - Drugs are a must for any self-respecting jam band, undoubtedly. Without dope, there would be no such thing as Jam bands. Maybe the war on drugs isn’t such a bad thing after all. I mean, if it could rid the world of jam bands, isn’t that worth it?
Apr 9th, 2008
Ahh now Built to Spill brings up a good point. They’re probably closer to being a jam band than Wilco is. BTS can have some pretty unnecessarily long soloing/noodling parts. I think what keeps them on the non-jam band side of the fence is that the songs were written like that and they probably don’t change much from night to night. There may be some improv in there but for the most part they’re just playing long solos or instrumental parts.
Apr 9th, 2008
Because Wilco likes a good live improvisation from time to time (they once blew me away with a smokin’ version of “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” at a show in Kansas City) doesn’t make them a jam band.
In fact, I think every jam band is required to have someone who has once shared a stage with Jerry Garcia, or is a son of someone who dated Phil Lesh or Bob Weir or someone. Everything goes back to them, somehow and someway.
P.S. The world’s most accurate Web site, Wikipedia, does not list Wilco among the jam bands of the world. Case closed.
Apr 9th, 2008
thanks for ending a fun thread, double K. Nobody can argue the Gospel according to Wiki.
But I would wager there are more annoying genres than the Jam:
The afore mentioned Nu Metal, and Modern Country
I would add anything with “Christian” in the title or “Goth” in the title or .. ughh… Goth Christian or Christian Goth (please tell me this doesn’t exist anywhere)
Apr 9th, 2008
Im starting a Nu Gothic Country Christian Jazz Fusion project if anybody is interested. But, I get to be the rapper. We are mostly looking for banjo and bagpipe players.
Apr 9th, 2008
I have an accordion and would be willing to play it backwards, with a true goth non-conformism style.
Apr 9th, 2008
If the Kenny G of the pennywhistle world and I’m offering my services to you, zh. I NEED to be a part of this band.
Apr 9th, 2008
So I’m confused, JTrain. Is it the hippies or the music that you dislike? I’m assuming you don’t mind genre-crossing, improvisational music, but you say jam bands have a particular sound that you can identify. Or are you able to identify jam bands by the crowd of bare-footed, arm-wriggling, patchouli wearers in front of the stage?
Maybe it’s a little of both…
I sometimes get a jam band feel when I’m listening to/have seen on TV the Decemberists. Either a jam band or Yes, I’m not sure which…
Apr 9th, 2008
The jam band sound and the bare-footed, arm-wriggling, patchouli wearing hippies are both sure fire indicators of jam band action in progress. I’m not a fan of either.
Hmm… The Decemberists. I’m not too familiar with them outside of “Her Majesty The Decemberists” but I could see them having some jam band qualities, fo sho. I’ll need to check out some live footage to be sure.
Apr 10th, 2008
The Decemberists!?!? No F’ing way! They are nowhere close to being a jam band.
Apr 10th, 2008
I’d vote NO on the jam bandiness of both Wilco and The Decemberists.
I’m not a big jam band fan, but they do serve a purpose:
1. They provide a proper excuse for a bunch of people to get together and get high.
2. None of the musicians really have to be that talented to arrange said party.
3. You can drive to the convenience store for snacks or play 9 holes of disc golf and only miss one song.
My current favorite jam band is The Mars Volta. They neither smell of patchouli (which I actually don’t mind) nor do they have a hippie following. However, they definitely jam off on tangents. Hell, they make 80 minute albums with like 6 or 7 songs. Can we call them a jam band? Or should they stay in the ever-vague progressive rock category. I just want to make sure I am properly stereotyping my music.
Apr 10th, 2008
NO way the Decemberists are Jam Band. And as long as we’re stereotyping music … that brings ups the whole “genre” the Decemberists are oft put into known as “indie”
I do realize that ‘indie’ is short for independent and technically describes the method of producing the music -independent label -rather than characteristics off the music. But ever since the 90’s when anything that wasn’t heavy was “Alternative” we’ve gotten on this whole labeling of music thing. I guess people have to have some way to describe stuff.
Apr 10th, 2008
Q: What’s orange and looks better on a hippie?
A: Fire!!!
Apr 10th, 2008
I’d say The Mars Volta are Latin-progressive-pop-occultist-metal.
I’m going to see them Tuesday night (4/15) in Tulsa. It’s going to be rockin’… and proggin’, and metalin’ and jammin’ and whatever the hell else they do.
Apr 10th, 2008
Yeah, The Mars Volta are not a “Jam” band, despite the fact that they like to “jam.” As the article implies, a jam band needs to present themselves with a certain aesthetic and attract a certain kind of following to really be a jam band. The Mars Volta definitely don’t fit that description. I like George’s description… I’d say that hits on about 90% of their sound.
Apr 10th, 2008
er… I mean’t doubleK’s description… whoops
Apr 10th, 2008
“Latin-progressive-pop-occultist-metal.”
Nice.
El Dookie - I’m with you on using “Indie” to describe a band’s sound… It doesn’t really tell me anything.
Apr 10th, 2008
I’m listening to a lot of indie-prog-Christian/occult-nu-alt-country-goth-metal-jazz-fussion-bluegrass-roots-triphop-reggae now adays.
Apr 10th, 2008
Yeah, I was into indie-prog-Christian/occult-nu-alt-country-goth-metal-jazz-fussion-bluegrass-roots-triphop-reggae a few years ago… then I moved on to world-ska-funk-rasta-punk-folk-house-math-hop-blues core infused with a little nu-death pop. We all have to grow up some time, El Dookie.
Apr 10th, 2008
touche, JTrain.
Apr 10th, 2008
The first time I had a discussion about Wilco I said to those around me “aren’t they a jam band?” I am surprised they are still my friends after the looks I received. Come to think of it, it was almost pity in their eyes….
The one and only time I saw Wilco play, 2 people in front of me did the hippie-arm-twirling-loop-de-loop-circle dance during the first 20 minute song. They smelled of pungent patchouli and later made out for another “extended version” of a song.
Apr 10th, 2008
seriously, how did the Decemberists get involved? and no f’in way!
Apr 10th, 2008
Yeah, The Decemberists =\= jam band. I prefer Steven Colbert’s description of the Decemberists: “hyperliterate prog rockers.”
Apr 11th, 2008
Just because a band has long songs isn’t enough to qualify them as a jam band. The Decemberists have a couple of 10+ minute songs, but are as far from being a jam band as I am (note: I am not a band). Their long songs are more like three different songs in one rather than one long droning beat you can sway to.
Also, I didn’t realize The Mars Volta was a jam band. What about Dream Theater? Are they a jam band?
Apr 11th, 2008
Kornedog +15 points for mentioning Dream Theater in this thread. good work. And no, they’re not a jam band.
Your mom is, though. Oooooooooh!!!111111!1!1!
Apr 11th, 2008
What with all the crazy wind this morning, my hair kinda sorta looked like one of the dudes in The Mars Volta. Is Paul Wardein totally a jam band now?
Apr 11th, 2008
I heard that Paul Wardein is in fact, a jam band.
Apr 16th, 2008
After seeing them live last night… The Mars Volta totally is a jam band.
An evil, dark jam band, when compared to most, but with all their repetitive guitar work and one-whole-side-of-the-vinyl long songs, they are, in fact, a jam band.
Apr 24th, 2008
I think some bands (like Mars Volta and Comets on Fire) are jam bands (whether some of their fans are willing to admit or not), but they improvise more in the tradition of the “rip your face off and make naughty with the electric earth goddess” jamming that Hendrix and early Santana did. There’s an undeniable connection to the whole San Francisco psychedelic, cross-genre thing.
Wilco is impossible to neatly categorize except to say that they are the BEST live band on Earth.
Jul 17th, 2008
name a jam band that is not lame.
is wilco lame? nope.
Jul 17th, 2008
The Dead most certainly were not lame.
According to me.
Lameness is extremely subjective.
I don’t know if Wilco is lame or not. I’ve never even heard them. Grateful Dead and Phish got me through my early 20s jam band phase just fine. It seems like Wilco was around, “Causin it…to Drwoooooooowwwn” or somethingorother.
I guess they got big the past few years.
Jul 18th, 2008
Keller Williams is as Jambandy(?) as it gets, and most certainly not lame.