Transmissions :: Mike Ayers (The Untold Story of '90s Jam Bands)

About this episode

Mike Ayers discusses the '90s jam band scene and its cultural significance.

The '90s were a strange time. From Gregorian chants to swing bands, you never knew what would make it onto the radio. But some of the strangest groups to improbably infiltrate the mainstream came from the post-Grateful Dead jam band scene. Our guest today is Mike Ayers, author of ⁠Sharing in the Groove: The Untold Story of the '90s Jam Band Explosion and the Scene that Followed. ⁠ The book, an oral history, is really a blast. It covers all the big players of the era: Phish, Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews Band, but Ayers takes it to the next level by expanding the definition of "jam band" to include Medeski, Martin and Wood, Greyboy and the acid jazz scene, New Orleans funk band Galactic, and John Zorn and the Knitting Factory downtown NYC scene, and much more. This episode, guest host (and Transmissions audio editor) Andrew Horton, Jason P. Woodbury, and Ayers sit down to hash out the era in which even Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo embraced their jammiest free improv tendencies. What are the limits of the whole "jam band" thing really? Come along with us as we dig into Sharing in the Groove. Transmissions is created in partnership with the Talkhouse…

People in this episode

Hosts: Andrew Horton, Jason P. Woodbury, Justin Gage

Guest: Mike Ayers

Topics covered

• 1990s music
• jam bands
• oral history
• music scene
• Phish
• Blues Traveler
• cultural impact

Keywords

• jam bands
• 1990s music
• oral history
• Phish
• Blues Traveler
• Dave Matthews Band
• music scene
• Sonic Youth
• Yo La Tengo

Sponsors

Aquarium Drunkard

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Talkhouse Podcast Network, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Greyboy, Galactic, Knitting Factory

Books & works: Sharing in the Groove: The Untold Story of the '90s Jam Band Explosion and the Scene that Followed

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