New Monsoon
Encyclopedia
New Monsoon is at its core a rock jam band
that is based in the San Francisco, CA area that was founded in 1998 by Penn State
classmates Bo Carper and Jeff Miller.
. They have toured with many other bands including in 2005 as part of Big Summer Classic, with The String Cheese Incident as well as Umphrey's McGee
, Yonder Mountain String Band
, and Keller Williams
. They have shared the stage with a range of bands including Hot Buttered Rum String Band
, ALO
, moe.
, and Tea Leaf Green
, and are incredibly talented at mixing and blending with many musical styles. They have had many special guests at their shows over the years, including Martin Fierro (saxaphonist), violinist Tim Carbone from Railroad Earth
, various members of The String Cheese Incident, Mark Karan
, Steve Kimock
, Mike Stern
, and many others. They have recently released their fourth studio album, entitled New Monsoon V, which is a showcase of their diverse talents and was engineered by John Cutler, best known for his work with the Grateful Dead
. As of April 2009 the band also released a live 2 disc set entitled New Monsoon LIVE which was recorded over a three night run in Dallas, Austin and Houston Texas.
The musical compositions that the band creates are influenced by everything from jazz, to Latin themes, to Indian music. Strong vocals and harmonies, electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, bass and keyboards, unify the musical styles of New Monsoon's influences, which are as diverse as rock gods The Allman Brothers Band
, Jimi Hendrix
, Eric Clapton
, Led Zeppelin
, Pink Floyd
, Neil Young
, and Carlos Santana
, bluesmen Mississippi John Hurt
and Blind Willie McTell
, American icons Tom Waits
, J. J. Cale, and Jerry Garcia
, jazz legends Elvin Jones
, Thelonious Monk
, and Horace Silver
, and fusion pioneers Jeff Beck
, Airto Moreira
, and Weather Report
. In their live shows, the band tries to provide a "synthesis of genres, everything from bluegrass to reggae, funk, and rock 'n' roll." In 2004, Jambase.com presented the band with an award for Emerging Artist of the Year for 2003. The band has gone on to play at numerous festivals, including Bonnaroo, the Austin City Limits
Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival
, Old Settler's Music Festival
, Wakarusa
, Summerfest
, High Sierra
, Saturday in the Park
, Langerado, 10000 Lakes Festival, and participated in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 Jamcruise trips.
Past Members:
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
that is based in the San Francisco, CA area that was founded in 1998 by Penn State
PSU
The initialism PSU often refers to a Power supply unit, or specifically a computer's Power supply unit .The PSU powers all the computer's main components. There are many different PSUs that can come with anywhere up to 1500 watts for a standard desktop computer. The PSU is also sometimes referred...
classmates Bo Carper and Jeff Miller.
History
During the recording of the band's first album Hydrophonic, Carper and Miller tapped long-time east coast friend Phil "The Pianimal" Ferlino for keyboards. Blown away by the project, Ferlino immediately moved to San Francisco and joined the band on-stage at the 2001 High Sierra Music FestivalHigh Sierra Music Festival
High Sierra Music Festival is a multi-day music festival held in Quincy, California, a mountainous area about 80 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada.The festival is held each year the weekend of July 4...
. They have toured with many other bands including in 2005 as part of Big Summer Classic, with The String Cheese Incident as well as Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee
Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock jam band based in Chicago whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation", or "improg" ....
, Yonder Mountain String Band
Yonder Mountain String Band
The Yonder Mountain String Band is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Jeff Austin, Ben Kaufmann, and Adam Aijala, the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings to date.- History :The band's history stretches back to...
, and Keller Williams
Keller Williams
Keller Williams is an American musician from Fredericksburg, Virginia, who began performing in the early 1990s. He is also known by the names K-Dub or just Keller, when performing. Williams' music combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, and...
. They have shared the stage with a range of bands including Hot Buttered Rum String Band
Hot Buttered Rum String Band
Hot Buttered Rum is an American five-piece progressive bluegrass act based in the San Francisco Bay Area....
, ALO
Animal Liberation Orchestra
Animal Liberation Orchestra is an American musical group, currently signed on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label. They have released three full length albums...
, moe.
Moe.
moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....
, and Tea Leaf Green
Tea Leaf Green
Tea Leaf Green is a five-piece jam band from San Francisco Bay Area, comprising Josh Clark , Trevor Garrod , Reed Mathis , Scott Rager , and Cochrane McMillan .-History:Tea Leaf Green began in the fall of 1996, when Scott Rager met Ben Chambers on the...
, and are incredibly talented at mixing and blending with many musical styles. They have had many special guests at their shows over the years, including Martin Fierro (saxaphonist), violinist Tim Carbone from Railroad Earth
Railroad Earth
Railroad Earth is a roots and Americana-based newgrass band from Stillwater, New Jersey. Their name was borrowed from the Jack Kerouac short story "October in the Railroad Earth," to which the band also has a song by the same name...
, various members of The String Cheese Incident, Mark Karan
Mark Karan
Mark Karan is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his ongoing work with Bob Weir & RatDog. He also leads the band Jemimah Puddleduck.-Career:...
, Steve Kimock
Steve Kimock
-External links:** at the Internet Archive's live music archive* at the Internet Archive's live music archive* at Internet Archive's live music archive*, San Francisco, April 3, 1999*, Unofficial Fan Forum...
, Mike Stern
Mike Stern
Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing for a few years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he landed a gig with Billy Cobham and then broke through with Miles Davis' comeback band from 1981 to 1983, and again in 1985. Since then, he launched a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums...
, and many others. They have recently released their fourth studio album, entitled New Monsoon V, which is a showcase of their diverse talents and was engineered by John Cutler, best known for his work with the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
. As of April 2009 the band also released a live 2 disc set entitled New Monsoon LIVE which was recorded over a three night run in Dallas, Austin and Houston Texas.
The musical compositions that the band creates are influenced by everything from jazz, to Latin themes, to Indian music. Strong vocals and harmonies, electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, bass and keyboards, unify the musical styles of New Monsoon's influences, which are as diverse as rock gods The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, and Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, bluesmen Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
and Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
, American icons Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, J. J. Cale, and Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, jazz legends Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
, Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, and Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
, and fusion pioneers Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. Airto is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. He currently resides in Los Angeles.-Biography:...
, and Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
. In their live shows, the band tries to provide a "synthesis of genres, everything from bluegrass to reggae, funk, and rock 'n' roll." In 2004, Jambase.com presented the band with an award for Emerging Artist of the Year for 2003. The band has gone on to play at numerous festivals, including Bonnaroo, the Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride Bluegrass Festival is held annually in Telluride, Colorado by . Although traditionally the festival focuses on bluegrass music, it often features music from a variety of genres. In 1974, its first year, it attracted 1000 participants. Currently the festival's attendance is capped at 10,000...
, Old Settler's Music Festival
Old Settler's Music Festival
Old Settler's Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Driftwood, Texas at Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch. Old Settler’s Music Festival is a nationally known music festival featuring roots and Americana music...
, Wakarusa
Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival
Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival is a four-day music festival held in early June at Mulberry Mountain near Ozark, Arkansas. The festival has been held annually since 2004....
, Summerfest
Summerfest
Summerfest is a yearly music festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The festival lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands, and since the mid-1970s has run from late June through early July, usually...
, High Sierra
High Sierra Music Festival
High Sierra Music Festival is a multi-day music festival held in Quincy, California, a mountainous area about 80 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada.The festival is held each year the weekend of July 4...
, Saturday in the Park
Saturday in the Park
Saturday in the Park may refer to:*"Saturday in the Park" , a 1972 single by the band Chicago*Saturday in the Park , a music festival in Sioux City, Iowa...
, Langerado, 10000 Lakes Festival, and participated in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 Jamcruise trips.
Band members
- Bo Carper, Acoustic Guitar/Banjo/Lap Steel/Vocals
- Jeff Miller, Electric Guitar/Mandolin/Vocals
- Phil Ferlino, Keyboards/Vocals/Piano/Organ
- Marshall Harrell, Bass
- Sean Hutchinson, Drums/Tablas
Past Members:
- Heath Carlisle, Lead vocals/Bass/Guitar
- Ben Bernstein, Bass/Vocals
- Rajiv Parikh, Tabla/Vocals/Percussion
- Brian Carey, Congas/Timbales/Percussion
- Marty Ylitalo, Drums/Didgeridoo
- Ron Johnson, Bass
Discography
- Hydrophonic, 2001
- DownstreamDownstream (album)Downstream is the second studio album by the San Francisco, CA based band New Monsoon. It was recorded over a period of months from February to November in 2002 and was released in early 2003.-Track listing:# Mountai Air# Painted Moon# Downstream...
, 2003 - Live at the Telluride Bluegrass FestivalLive at the Telluride Bluegrass FestivalLive at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival is the first live album by the San Francisco, CA based band New Monsoon. It was recorded live on June 17, 2004 at the venerable Telluride Bluegrass Festival...
, 2004 - The Sound, 2005
- Live in San Francisco, 5/11/06, with Steve Kimock and Tim Carbone, 2006
- Live in San Francisco, 5/12/06, with Steve Kimock and Tim Carbone, 2006
- Live in San Francisco, 5/13/06, with Steve Kimock and Tim Carbone, 2006
- V, 2007
- New Monsoon LIVE, 2009