AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Widespread Panic

Artist:Widespread Panic

Song:Blue Indian

Album:Live in the Classic City

Widespread Panic is a jam band similar to The Grateful Dead. There are plenty of jam bands around these days. I guess they're good for the music business because they are always touring and they have a rabid fanbase. So Widespread Panic moves a lot of product for a non commercial band. The problem is a lot of these bands sound the same. So I dunno how we're supposed to know which bands are really good. Maybe none of them are. Widespread Panic was formed in Athens, GA. in 1981. John Bell and Michael Houser started jamming in their dorm room at the University of Georgia. They performed as Severe Driving Problems. They started writing songs. Bassist Dave Schools joined them in 1985. And drummer Todd Nance joined for a charity event. He was a childhood friend of Houser's. That's when they started calling themselves Widespread Panic named after Houser's once frequent panic attacks. Widespread panic played in local clubs and released the 1988 album Space Wrangles on the indie label Landslide Records. They were starting to get local press attention and they toured nationally. This led them to a deal with the much larger Capricorn Records. Owner Phil Walden revived the 70s label and signed Widespread Panic in 1991. Capricorn was distributed by Warner Bros. Widespread Panic recorded five albums for Capricorn. Blue Indian is from the 1999 album 'Til the Medicine Takes. This was their final album for Capricorn. It was produced by John Keane who is a recording engineer who has worked with R.E.M. among others. The songs are credited to the band as a whole meaning Bell and Houser split the royalties evenly. That's probably a good idea for a band that tours a lot. Special guests included gospel singer Dottie Peoples and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Since then Widespread Panic started their own label. Sadly, Michael Houser was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died on Aug. 10, 2002. He was replaced by former Beanland guitarist George McConnell. Jimmy Herring replaced McConnell in 2006. It was at this point that Widespread Panic started releasing live albums from their archive. This is probably the best way to listen to them. Live in the Classic City was recorded over three nights in Apr. 2000 and released in 2002. It has 3 CDs and is available as a digital download. Todd Nance was forced to leave the band in 2014 due to failing health. Duane Trucks replaced him. Nance died in 2020. Widespread Panic released a new album in 2024. But they continue a heavy tour schedule to keep their fans fappy. Here's Widespread Panic performing Blue Indian in Austin, TX. from a DVD.