Their are a lot of jam bands out there nowadays, but who do you think is the best? I've personally always liked the Grateful Dead and Phish, and a little Widespread Panic.
the term jam band if often loosley thrown around....DAve Matthew's band, not a jam band.....but anyway, now that i have that off my chest....Phish is my favorite band, because they are "the band" of my time....but the Grateful Dead is a very close second, the only reason their not first, is i've never felt the magic of Bob, Mickey, Bill, Phil, and Jerry (i didn't list the keyboardists cause their are too many for now) in person, live....but PHISH, i was lucky enough to experience that magic live, in front of me.....for me.....but its also more than that.....PHISH has the jams that i crave....jams with loops, delay, thumping bass, driving guitar solos, riding keys, and locomotive like drums.....they get dark, which i like....but in the end its really hard to say whats my favorite, tommorow i could like the sad songs of Jerrry and the Psychedelia of phil, adn the old stories from bob.....its all about the mood....
dude!? wheres umphrey's and the disco biscuits... galactic, mogwai, barefoot manner... perpetual groove? hmm?
umphrey's doesn't deserve to be on that list....there good but not that good.....there a bar/club band.....but yes GALACTIC should be on that list....
Only jam band I know is The Grateful Dead, and I love them... But I don't feel the need to check out others.
Phish is my favorite. I don't know whos the best though. My favorite jambands that tour today are moe. Ratdog, and String Cheese Incident
you really should go check out other jam bands....there are many besides the dead....and some are very, very good.....
UMs is just not my cup of tea...i've seen them a few times and their faux-metal rock just kinda gets old.....i was very dissapointed at every show, especially since people said they had the chops to make it to the size of the Dead or Phish.....but there skill and song writing capability will bring them just about as far as they've gone.....their all talented but, their are far better jam bands out there......many in the local LA area....
We could go 'round in circles forever about best jam bands. And there are plenty of people who will post in simply to say they don't like the genre (fine...go to a thread you enjoy) No list will make everyone happy, esp since a lot of us do what the new (post Dead) scene is supposed to do: breed more bands with the vibe. How about Garaj Mahal? possibly the most exploratory band out there right now. KanNal? (tribal jam) what no Hookah? that was a top five band here a few years ago. SKB/ Steve Kimock Band Yonder Mountain How could we build the perfect list? I challange you to say WHY you love a band. I'll start with Kimock: the man is one of my top two living guitarists, with Fareed Haque of Garaj Mahal. He brings an intensity to performances and a musical knowledge that stuns me. from funk to jazz to those pieces where you swear Jerry is off stage right jacking with his effects pedals. He puts amazing people in the projects: Bobby Vega, Alan Hertz (now in GM) Pete Sears, Ray White, Terry Haggarty (Sons of Champlin), Alphonso Johnson, Rodney Holmes, Mitch Stein, Martin Fierro (Legion of Mary, played on Wake of the Flood) Gregg Anton and on... His sound is different because he knows his gear (its the only way to engage him in conversation most days) he's been using tube amps for a long time. Original tube amps. the music itself is a spiral ladder to the stars. and now... what's in your list?
i dig the disco biscuits because an art teacher i had a while back turned me on to em... and they jam quite righteously (but thats just me).
