WIDESPREAD PANIC

Jerry Garcia may be dead, but the principles espoused by his wildly successful Grateful Dead carry on. Take Widespread Panic, for example. This Athens, Ga.-based rock 
‘n’ roll band tours the country with relentless consistency, encourages fans to tape and bootleg their performances, and revels in marathon jam sessions that can extend one song into an hour-long instrumental. LAUNCH executive editor Dave DiMartino caught up with WP’s longtime partners Mike Houser and John Bell during a rare moment when they weren’t on stage. Houser told DiMartino he understands why critics lump his band into the category of other “jam” bands like the Dave Matthews Band, Phish, and Blues Traveler. “There is a spirit in all those bands of improvisation and putting on a different show every night,” he says, noting that he’s proud to be in their company. “For us, we even mix it up in the song itself.  Sometimes it’s intentional, other times it’s unintentional. But either way, you find yourself in that spot of being somewhere you’ve never been before and that’s what we try to do.” And with influences ranging as far flung as the Monkees and George Carlin to Joni Mitchell and the Firesign Theater, it’s likely this group–and the fans that follow them–will never find themselves in the same place twice. And FYI: Mike Houser is holding a Martin guitar in this interview.
*“Rebirtha” courtesy of Capricorn Records and Widespread Music (BMI).