(Another) Seasons Greetings

For some reason or another, it's a slow end to a slow week musically. I realized that in yesterday's Cannabis eve post that I included holiday music and holiday movies, but failed to include any good holiday reading. For this I apologize, and these should make up for it; some are good for a laugh, some are just plain hilarious.

The real dope on '420'

A musical 420 celebration of pot

The three little numbers behind cannabis culture - actually uses the phrase "Celebrating Without Lighting Up"

Temple 420 hold pot comedy night on international stoner holiday

City potheads plan smoke-in rally today

How do you plan on spending your holiday?

NMA: Keep on Marchin'

The North Mississippi Allstars will release their first live DVD "Keep on Marchin'," on June 26. According to LiveDaily, "the set, which was shot with six High-Definition cameras, captures the group's 10th anniversary performance at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT.

Page McConnell: Page McConnell

After two days of not making it to any store respectable enough to carry the new Page McConnell CD before it closed, I finally managed to snag a copy. My first impression was actually something to the effect of "I bought the right CD, right?" Something about Page's voice just sounded too artificial to me on "Beauty of a Broken Heart" as well as "Heavy Rotation" (with Mike Gordon on bass). Don't get me wrong; the musical arrangements on the CD are fantastic, and as I continued listening, the album slowly but surely grew on me, but I had a really hard time with the album at first.

Then I had a reality check:
First, Page's new album was not intended to be a greatest hits of my favorite Phish songs that have Page on vocals. Second, it's a studio album!

Once I realized that my main complaint with the album (other than the absence of three particular characters of note) was the vocals, and that my main complaint with the Page's vocals was that he didn't sound as good as he did live, my mood changed almost instantly. I think that the majority of the tracks on this CD lay down a great basis for some really great live performances. I'm confident that, in the same way that Phish's studio albums were eclipsed by their live performances, Page McConnell's pretty good CD will be eclipsed by amazing shows.

Here's a Jambase interview with the Chairman of the Boards, though not quite as good as Hidden Track's Page interview earlier this week.

Happy Holidaze!!!

As some of you might have heard, tomorrow, April 20, is a national holiday of "peace, happiness and paranoia." And just like every other major national holiday, tomorrow would not be complete without its own holiday music and holiday movies. Enjoy and be safe!

This post is dedicated to Sober Sister.

Bassnectar Joins Coachella

Bassnectar has been added to this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. "San Francisco's number one DJ" will appear in the "Lucent Misting Oasis" (Coachella's largest art installation, a 360 degree, big sound, interactive environment that takes up a full acre) on Saturday, April 28.

Bassnectar's next appearance is set to be at the Lightning in a Bottle Festival May 11-13 in Santa Barbara.

I got a chance to see Bassnectar support and collaborate with the String Cheese Incident at the Sea of Dreams Festival in San Francisco 12/31/06 check it out if you get a chance.

moe. Summer Tour Dates & Pre-Sale

moe. has announced the rest of its summer tour. After returning from dates in Japan, moe. will play 5 nights at the Highline Ballroom in New York from May 2-6, then it's off to Summer Camp in Chillicothe, Illinois from May 25-27. moe. will play Chattanooga, Tennessee June 10, and is not scheduled to play anywhere from June 14-17 while another little festival takes place in Tennessee.

moe. then plays Hyannis, MA July 6, Hampton Beach, NH July 7-8, and Utica, NY July 13, before the All Good Music Festival in Masontown, WV July 14. Next is Cincinnati, OH July 17, N. Kansas City, MO July 18, and Council Bluffs, IA July 19 before wrapping up at 10,000 Lakes in Detroit Lakes, MN July 20 before returning to Turin, NY for moe.down 8 August 31 - September 2.

Pre-sales for Cincinnati, N. Kansas City and Council Bluffs begin tomorrow (April 19) at noon.

Warning: Beware of Rabid spreadheads

About a month ago Darryl Smyers, a particularly stupid Dallas Observer journalist, wrote an article ripping on Widespread Panic.

I am not what you would call a "fan" of WSP, but I was as appalled by the article as the 600 or so spreadheads bombarding the Dallas Observer website with angry comments.

In addition to the angry comments, Smyers' home phone, his wife's name, and his boss' e-mail were all posted for those unsatisfied with angry commenting alone. In my opinion Smyers was asking for it.

Dear Guitar Heros

Check out Guitar World's website for a pretty sweet streaming interview with moe. guitarists Al Schnier & Chuck Garvey as part of this month's "Dear Guitar Hero" column.

WeTube Wednesdays

I'm adding a new feature to the blog, WeTube Wednesdays.

Basically I'll pick a video that I think is pretty sweet and post it. Anyone with video suggestions e-mail them to partyinpeepsblog@gmail.com.

The inaugural WeTube Wednesday video is...Phish...Peaches en Regalia...1989.

Not the best version of this song I've ever heard, but awesome nonetheless.

D.U.M.B. Camp

Umphrey's Mcgee will join the Disco Biscuits for a Camp Bisco VI pre-party at McCarren Pool in Brooklyn, NY on August 15.

Rumor has it that Camp Bisco VI will take place this year from August 17-18 in Romulous, NY.

More updates to come as things become official...

Joshua Tree Shaping Up

David Murphy (Sound Tribe Sector 9) will be joining the New Deal at this year's Joshua Tree Festival in Joshua Tree, California from May 18-20.

Kynd Music adds "Camping space at the festival is filling up. To guarantee a spot in the main campground near amenities, and to save some coin, reserve your Festival Tickets and camping pass in advance. If you wait, and buy at the gate, you may end up camping in the lower lot."

Play it Leo!!!!

Page McConnell's self-titled album, Page McConnell, was officially released today. I haven't picked it up just yet, but will hopefully be doing so by the end of the day.

Hidden Track was fortunate enough to sneak in a few minutes with the Chairman of the Boards, discussing Page's upcoming nationwide tour, the new band, the new album; and of course, Phish: past, present, and future.

After reading, it seems that McConnell seems to have joined the "I'm so over Phish" club (or maybe they're all actually over Phish...that's a scary thought), nothing "Phish was just an amazing ride that we were able to take with the fans. It’s hard to imagine it happening again in that way. I’m loving what I’m doing now, but it’s a little bit different. That was such a magical journey, and so innocent too. It started off so small with such good intentions and a lot of hard work, and then a lot of luck. It was good timing that let us do all the things that we did."

When asked "Do you still see and talk to the your former bandmates?" Page replied "I do. I talk to the guys in the band. I see Mike more than I see the rest of the guys. We try to get together about once a week to play chess. We’re all talkin’ these days."

Most importantly, Page will be back on tour. In addition to his previously scheduled tour dates, Page responded that he will "be doing more shows in the summer, and there’s certainly the possibility that a festival date will be in there somewhere...There will be more." With the tour conspicuously wrapping up the day before Bonnaroo, there's probably a decent chance of Page playing the Tennessee festival.

Click here to read Hidden Track's full interview with Page McConnell.

String Cheese Biscuits! (+ STS9)

The Disco Biscuits will open the String Cheese Incident's first California farewell show at the Greek Theater in Berkeley on July 21. Sound Tribe Sector 9 will play in between the Disco Biscuits and String Cheese.

The Disco Biscuits will also be playing The Independent in San Francisco the following night, July 22.

Great. As if deciding between Cheese and 10,000 Lakes Festival wasn't hard enough already (especially considering that it could be Trey's only show for quite a while).

Waynestock

One of the brains behind Woodstock, Artie Kornfeld, has announced this year's Goodstock festival in Summersville, WV, from July 19-21. Relix reports that "Kornfeld and his production partner Larry McClurg are aiming for a line up which includes both the current incarnation of Summer of Love veterans like Jefferson Starship, Big Brother & The Holding Company, and Quicksilver Messenger Service, as well as a variety of emerging bands handpicked through a MySpace campaign."

Kornfeld attempted to distinguish Goodstock from the underwhelming Woodstock 1994 and the disastrous Woodstock 1999 by adding, "[previous] attempts to recreate Woodstock...had the acts and had the stage but they did not have the Goodstock2007 feeling of reliving of a moment when all good came together through music as one. They never got back to the Garden at these events. I consider Goodstock 2007 to be the first real attempt to have another 3 days of peace and music. I feel magic again.” I for one would like to "get back to the garden" (whatever that really means).

At minimum, the website is good for a laugh.

Spread the Funk

According to their myspace page, George Clinton and P-Funk will be hitting the road this summer. The vast majority of the shows will take place in the south, especially in April and May, with the tour winding its way through Chicago, Ottawa, and Las Vegas before finishing up in L.A.

Click here for full tour dates.