Back in high school, Shell Stamps would ditch class to go see the Grateful Dead. He saw six-string savant Jerry Garcia perform about a hundred times, before Garcia died in 1995.
“I guess you could say I've had my share of the psychedelic realm,” Stamps says via e-mail. These days Stamps is part of the improvisation continuum, blasting solos for Albany, Ga., jammers Ancient Harmony. Live recordings on AH’s MySpace include “Rainbow’s Cadillac,” ripe with ribbon-like guitar, leviathan bass and chicken-dance beats. “Morning Sun” is hippie R&B, complete with a wiggly Clavinet solo. On “Lay It Down”—don’t worry, it’s not a cover of the Ratt tune—Stamps spins fret webs, while “Bump” is 10 minutes of unapologetic, gooey prog. “It’s very telepathic at times,” Stamps says. “We take a lot of risks as far as going into uncharted territory so that can be challenging and dangerous.”
Dave Matthews Band member Jeff Coffin lends peppery horn to the 8-track worthy “Groovin’.” “Jeff is just such a cool cat, and very approachable,” Stamps says. “We met him at Bear Creek and he was the artist at large, sitting in with whomever he may choose, and luckily he chose us.”
Ancient Harmony is based in Georgia. Why do you think the South has produced some of the most successful jam bands, like Widespread Panic, The Allman Brothers, etc.? Maybe it's in the water, or the cornbread. There's a lot of great talent in the South, and it seems that Southern jam bands are a little more soulful for some reason. More song oriented, rather than jam oriented, which all comes from musical influences that you are exposed to as a kid. I guess Southerners are just more laid back. Probably because it’s so hot.
For you as a guitarist, what do you seek to accomplish in your solos? All of my solos are improvised on the spot for the most part, so it has a lot to do with the vibe I'm getting on stage, from the band and the audience. Every jam we do in any given song is always different, so I just tune in to the band and feed off what they are doing. Then when I have a spontaneous idea, they will feed off of me.
Who do you think are some of the jam scene’s most underrated guitar players? I think the “jam scene” in general is way underrated. There are so many great bands out there playing their asses off, on the third and fourth tier level that will never reach the ears of the general public for one reason or another. I wish the majority of kids today could be exposed to live music rather than just DJs in the club, which is cool too, but there is so much good music out there that deserves to be heard. As far as guitarist, I have my favorites, and a lot of them are friends.
Ancient Harmony has played some pretty cool covers, like Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” and Eric Clapton’s “Got To Get Better In A Little While.” What do you look for in selecting covers to slip into the set? What’s a cover you’d like to try next? We try to pick obscure covers. Mainly to turn people on to stuff they may have never heard before. Also some covers are just so fun and challenging to play, that we just can’t resist. Everyone brings in a song or two that they want to do, then, we vote on it. It’s hard though, because a lot of stuff that we love, some folks in the crowd may hate. We’ve had that problem in the past. I would love to play some Zappa or more Genesis and Rush. But that's not everyone’s cup of tea, now is it?
What do you find most interesting about Jeff Coffin’s playing and why do you think he’s a good fit for DMB? That guy can play anything. He just rips it up in any given situation, and obviously Dave realizes that. Great choice for his band. Probably not a bad paycheck either.
When and how and where did the band members first meet each other? That's a long story. Steve (Patton, bassist) and I go way back. This band used to be a lot different. Starting in the late-90s as a classic rock cover band with a few originals thrown in, composed of friends, complete with lead singer and hair band drum set. We’ve had a lot of member changes since then. Chad (Jackson), whom we met in Atlanta, took over on drums in ’02 during a long Midwest tour. We met our now part time keyboard player, Tony G, a couple of years back, in Tallahassee.
Any plans for an Ancient Harmony studio album? A lot of bands known for live playing have never really captured that in a great studio record, Phish comes to find. Of course we want to get into the studio soon. We’ve had to slow down considerably because of the economy. With all of us having full-time jobs and Steve has a wife and kids, makes it hard to get out on the road like we used to. So we’ve cut back to only playing a couple gigs a month in selected markets. It makes things more fun for us when we don’t have to squeeze in a bus and drive a thousand miles to play. It’s a lot easier to get along with each other that way. It is hard to get that live sound in a studio setting, but we are planning on doing that as soon as possible.
What was Ancient Harmony’s first rehearsal like? What feeling did you get after the band played its first song? I remember the first time I played with a drummer and bass player, friends from the neighborhood, in my parents shed in back of the house. I think we did some Black Sabbath and it really freaked me out that it actually sounded like a band. We played in that shed for a year or so. That's where it all started. Poor Mom and neighbors had to put up with that crap!
There’s some psychedelic stuff going on in some of the Ancient Harmony tunes, like “Bump.” What was your best psychedelic experience ever? Yeah, we really get out there sometimes. I was turned on to the Grateful Dead in high school. We all know what goes on at those shows so I won’t even go there. We actually coined our sound as "Southadelic" in the past. Stay off drugs, kids.
Ancient Harmony plays Gottrocks at 10 p.m. Aug. 14. Cover is $7.
For more information, check out www.myspace.com/ancientharmony.
