In May 2008,
JamBands.com published an article (written by V.J. Cuneo, photography by Mandy Carmo) about
Some Kind Of Jam 3. Click on the link or read below:
JamBands.com ArticleOn a beautiful Friday afternoon, a bunch of us headed to the little town of Kempton, PA, for
a "Some Kind of Jam" weekend full of great music and a good look at
some of the new bands on the rise. This weekend included two full days
of music with 23 bands, a hassle-free scene, good people, and good
vibes for only $30.
FRIDAY APRIL 25
Most people arrived Friday evening at the new two-staged venue of "Some Kind
of Jam 3" a little later than planned due to traffic. Thankfully there
were sound difficulties, so there was no music missed. While taking a
walk, I checked out the vendors and the camping scene while trying to
recruit people to come to the indoor stage to check out the Harrisburg
grown band herbie.
herbie 7:00-8:15pm:
After discovering this band at a local brewery, I've been a huge fan ever
since. herbie blends rock, jazz, funk, harmonizing vocals, and hints of
electronic to create their own unique sound. The band consists of Jay
Baab (guitar), Ben Eberts (bass), Ffej Herb (drums), and their newest
member Andy Mowatt (guitar/ keys). Opening their set with a cymbal roll
from Ffej, the electrifying synthesizer of Andy, and the spacey guitar
tones from Jay, "the herb" grooved right into the driving beat of their
soulful song "High Above." Ben's bass was funkifying me and the
listeners the whole set. I figured that's why he was the only guitarist
in the band wearing shoes. Later in the set the group got the crowd
dancing with its "Disco" jam and segued straight into the latin groove
of "Samba." They brought the end of the set home with the beautiful
harmonies of "Bring it Home."
Indobox 8:30-10pm:
While catching up with herbie outside, I could hear the electronic sounds of
the four-piece Indobox. This techno-talented group consists of Joe
Zarick (guitar), Mike Carter (guitar), Steve Learson (bass), and Quinn
Ferree (drums). The band's upbeat feel during their set got the crowd
into dance mode and started the evening off right while the sun set.
Quinn Ferree uses a combination of acoustic and electronic drums which
gave this band a distinctive electronica sound.
The Natural Breakdown 10:30-12am:
The Natural Breakdown also known as the "Peaceful Revolution" closed out
the outdoor sets for the night. Eric WaldMan (keys), Dan Farella
(guitar), Gene Lantigua (bass), and Vinnie Smith (drums) brought a set
full of rock/funk based with a dose of psychedelia. This band wasn't
one of my favorite groups because of the numerous speeches about
"togetherness" in between every song in the set. They were a good crowd
pleaser, so no one can complain about that.
The New Familiars 12:30-2:30am:
So after everyone was corralled to the inside stage, the late night
started off with the bluegrass roots and classic-rock heavy songs of
The New Familiars. The big-bearded team consisted of Justin Fedor
(mandolin), Eric-Scott Guthrie (banjo), Josh Daniel (guitar), Pat
Maholland (upright bass), and a mystery drummer holding down the beat.
The set started off with unbelievable energy going from one song to the
other without a breath in-between. They toured all over the famous
classic-rock covers which lead to a sing/dance along feel to the entire
set. I needed a break so I stepped outside for a smoke and ended up
talking to the next band in line, Uncle Otter. They were patiently
waiting their turn to step on stage for their late night set. Their set
was supposed to start at 2am which definitely did not happen. After
hearing the screaming teenage wasteland vocals of "Baba O'Riley," I was
ready for a new band.
Uncle Otter 3-4:20am:
I've never seen these Pennsylvania natives, but they gave everyone exactly
what they were looking for. Uncle Otter blended their distinct
knowledge of jazz and funk into an experimental fun atmosphere for
listening. Brendan Patti (bass), Tom Patti (guitar), Adam Nicodemus
(drums), and Mike Pappas (keys). Adam opened the set with a
head-bobbing groove on the drums. Then Brendan brought in the funky low
end on the bass, followed by Tom's face-melting licks up and down the
neck of his guitar. Mike P added beautiful tone to the mix with his
jazzy work on the keys. Any fan of funk or jazz would be crazy not to
love this band conversing through their instruments. It was a shame
most people fell asleep before the start of this mind-boggling high
energy late night set. The few late nighters did not regret going
without sleep that night. You can guarantee that.
Uncle Otter and Friends 4:20am-7am:
The funk was still alive when the guest musicians came up to explore the
new music about to be heard by everyone in attendance. Andy Mowatt,
from herbie, stepped in on guitar. Nick Merena, from The Big Dirty,
added his touch with his tenor saxophone. Nick seemed to be the go-to
sax-man because he sat in with a lot of the bands over the weekend.
Everyone was dead tired but that didn't stop me or anyone from dancing.
After this cocktail of musicians slowed down, Andy moved onto the keys,
and the drummer from The New Familiars hopped on the set. A group of us
ended up going backstage to watch the remainder of the show through the
peep-hole at the side of the stage.
After the music ended, the sun was up, it was a new day, and everyone already
received their money's worth. There was still a day of music to come…
SATURDAY APRIL 26
Most people didn't get much sleep because of the never-ending music the
night before. The masses were sleeping peacefully through most of the
early acoustic day music. Some of us, however, woke up around eleven in
the morning to the first note of an acoustic guitar and a woman singing
about her "fortune cookie." Corny as it sounds, it was soothing to wake
up to. Little did we know we were going to be in for a long
day/night/morning of inspiring music, once again.
Boro Boogie Pickers 12-1:30pm:
The quintet of Eric Avey (guitar), Jason Ingels (mandolin/ dobro), Kevin
Coldsmith (bass), Rob Kollman (banjo), Katey Avey (washboard) combines
together like a Pennsylvania country omelet to form The Boro Boogie
Pickers. The bluegrass roots band started off with a bunch of original
songs to set the early-afternoon mood at the outdoor stage. Towards the
middle of their set they covered Jefferson Airplane which featured the
lovely vocal of Katey Avey. Eric Avey asked the crowd "Does anybody
know what time it is? Uh, because we'll just keep playing." After a
good laugh, they fiddled with Sublime's "What I Got?" All in all the
audience reacted warmly to their music.
South Mountain Pass 2-3:30pm:
After waking up my sleepy festival companion, we headed down to the outside
stage to catch the last few songs of the folk/rock combination of Josh
Benus (guitar), Steve Elmy (guitar), Matt Reinhardt (bass), Matt
Johnson (drums). South Mountain Pass blends their catchy harmonic
choruses and feel good lyrics to create a soothing rock sound. The
talented artist Crazyredbeard was painting a picture on stage while
getting his musical motivation from the band.
Karmic Juggernaut 4:30-6pm:
Wow! I'd never heard of this band but after an explosion of sound made its
way from the inside stage to my tent, I joined a fellow group of eager
listeners rushing in to catch the rest of this jaw-dropping set. Karmic
Juggernaut mixes its vast knowledge of progressive rock, screaming
guitar harmonies, driving bass, and ground-shaking drums. At first
glance of this group, we were questioning who all these kids were
holding instruments and asking the crowd if they like guacamole. Then
after the rocked their song "Guacamole," there wasn’t a person in
attendance who questioned this band's flavor. James McCaffrey (guitar),
Randy Preston (guitar), Marcus Morieko (bass), and Kevin Grossman
(drums) wowed the crowd with their complete focus and emotion
throughout each song. At one peak, the drummers cymbal flew off the
stand and about knocked everyone out of their seat. The skilled hoopers
were out in full force spinning their rings round them completely
engrossed by the music. Check this band out.
The Cabinet 6-7:30pm:
While walking back outside with complete satisfaction, the crowd was filled
with joy from the eclectic six piece known as the Cabinet. J.P. Biondo
(mandolin), Pappy Biondo (banjo), Mickey Coviello (acoustic guitar),
Todd Kopec (fiddle), Dylan Skursky (upright bass), Jami Novak (drums),
and a guest accordion player, Len Mooney, provided a very up-tempo
bluegrass sound. Exchanging solos down the line, this group proved that
acoustic instruments can produce a full sound that was heavy enough to
pull the rain from the clouds. "Old Farmers Mill" had the driving banjo
and drums to get all of us bobbing up and down.
The Man 6:30-8pm:
Hearing the funk in the distance, many of us were pulled inside by the
intricate rhythms of The Man. Lead by a skilled tenor saxophone, this
Penn State born five-piece tied their knowledge of jazz into one groove
after another. Mellow keys opened up the door for their Latin tune
"Duct Tape Mamba." The dark beginning bass line of "Cachoa, Baby"
pulled everyone's focus to the stage. Their use of spontaneous pauses
portrayed the band being on the same page. This group nailed one of the
all time favorite funky-jazz tunes "The Chicken" originally done by
Jaco Pastorius. The Man is exploring the new age of funk while still
honoring their roots. Once they announced they were giving away free
CDs, they were gone in seconds.
Bohemian Sunrise 8-9:30pm:
The sun was down and the light rain was a delightful evening mist for the
last two outdoor sets of the weekend. The big band known as Bohemian
Sunrise brought out the feathers and the colorful costumes to set the
mood for their contribution to the night of music. The eight piece band
had a huge sound with two drum sets and guest Nick Merena adding his
touch with his saxophone. Their catchy choruses moved the crowd to sing
along and formed a feel-good vibe. When Adina DeFelice sang The
Beatles' "Come Together", it brought down the house with their funky
rendition. The big bass man Dustin Blackshear controlled the low end in
the call and response tune "Got to Get You". The dueling drum solo in
"Drawing Down the Sun" was the highlight of the set and left the
engrossed crowd dancing to the tribal cadence with no worries.
Juggling Suns 10-12am:
There was one more outdoor session to go and The Juggling Suns would give all
the Dead lovers exactly what they were seeking. Mark Diomede (guitar/
vocals), Gus Vigo (keyboards/ vocals), Tim Morris (guitar/ vocals),
Andrew Lenaghan (drums) and Paul Gaita (bass) pleased the fans of
trance by opening their set with their exciting song "Droplets". The
remainder of the set had a lighter tempo with reminders of the past in
the familiar melody of "Spring Water." A female vocalist sat in with
the band and created an old Dead feeling to the music. The fire dancers
came out in full force to close the night outside, and the band
announced that the fire dancers were "juggling suns."
The Big Dirty 12-1:30am:
It was that time again. The late night started off inside with the filthy
funk of The Big Dirty. This relatively new group explores the new age
of funk with their dirty grooves. Nick Merena set the tone with his
tenor sax. Using an effects pedal, he created a unique sound that
meshed perfectly with the other members. Mike Barata (drums) laid down
the beat like a bricklayer with his heavy elaborate rhythms. His
bobbing head was identical to the rest of the listeners in attendance.
Todd Troutman (guitar) added great color to the band with his funked up
rhythms and jazzy licks. Russ Nahodil (bass) could have played one bass
line for hours and no one would have been bored because of his
distinctive touch. Nick sang to us how he "is moving like a lawn mower,
but just a little bit slower" in the memorable groove of their original
tune "Lawnmower". Major props to The Big Dirty for keeping the funk
alive and fresh.
Codename 2-5am:
We were finally at the end of the music and everyone was anticipating this
band all weekend. Codename blended progressive rock, jazz, and trance
that created a sound that kept you on your toes. Once this band locked
into one groove, they were on to the next. Jon Joffe (guitar) shredded
his Fender with his complete focus in the music. Greg Halbkram's
lightning fast slap bass was jaw dropping to everyone who witnessed it.
Adam Nash (keys) was the backbone of the chord progressions and peaks
of this explosive music. Sal Galati (drums) drove the tempos up and
down which absorbed the crowd's attention throughout the set. The
original sound of this experimental four piece portrays the true
meaning of musical experience. This band should be heard by any music
appreciator. Codename touched the hearts of every listener that stood
awake that night.