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Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic at the Vegoose Music Festival.
Background information
Origin	Athens, Georgia, USA
Genre(s)	Southern rock Jam band Blues
Years active	1986–2003, 2005–present
Label(s)	Sanctuary
Website	www.widespreadpanic.com
Members
John Bell John "JoJo" Hermann Todd Nance Domingo S. Ortiz Dave Schools Jimmy Herring
Former members
Michael Houser-Deceased George McConnell T Lavitz

Widespread Panic is a southern rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring. Michael Houser and George McConnell have also played lead guitar for the band.

The band typically plays as many as 250 shows a year, and have ranked among the top 50 grossing touring acts for eight years running^{[citation needed]}, doing so without substantial radio airplay, television exposure, or promotion. The band holds sellout records^{[citation needed]} at:

• Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver (23 shows),
• Oak Mountain Amphitheatre near Birmingham, Ala. (17 shows),
• Philips Arena in Atlanta (15 straight sold-out New Year's Eve shows), and
• UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans (18 shows).

Contents 1 Band history 1.1 Formation of band 1.2 Rise to national prominence 1.3 Death of Houser 1.4 2003 to present 2 Live show 3 Discography 3.1 Studio Albums 3.2 Live Albums 3.3 Other albums 3.4 Benefit CDs 4 Videography 5 References 6 External links

Michael Houser (deceased) and John Bell ('JB') met at the University of Georgia at Athens between 1982 and 1984^{[citation needed]}, and began playing music together around town as a duet. JB played solo shows as well.

The band's first performance as Widespread Panic took place on February 24, 1985 at the A-Frame house on Weymanda Court in Athens.^{[citation needed]} Houser, JB, & Schools performed around Athens as a trio, occasionally utilizing local drummers. While their shows consisted primarily of cover tunes (by such bands as the Grateful Dead, Van Morrison, Bob Marley, and Traffic, among others), their repertoire did include a handful of original songs.^{[citation needed]} Sleepy Monkey was the band's first original composition.^{[citation needed]} Other early compositions include Chilly Water, Space Wrangler, and Coconut (although the latter was written by JB before joining the band).^{[citation needed]}

On February 6, 1986, Houser recruited high school friend/bandmate Todd Nance for a WSP gig (an Aid For Africa benefit) at the Mad Hatter Ballroom in Athens, opening for Strawberry Flats (featuring John Keane). This was the first official Widespread Panic show and Nance accepted an offer to join the band.^{[citation needed]} On February 9, 1986, Houser, Schools, and JB, with Joel Morris on drums and Kelly Jo Davis on backing vocals, recorded Monkey Image (Sleepy Monkey) and Coconut Image (Coconut) at Panoramic Recording Studio in Arnoldsville GA, to be released as their first single. The 45rpm vinyl was released (in a pressing of only 500) shortly thereafter on the band's Space Baby label.^[1]

During the rest of 1986, WSP played mainly in Athens, though they did branch out to venues in Macon, GA and South Carolina. Early on, they began playing every Monday night at the Uptown Lounge in Athens, a tradition that would last well into 1988.^{[citation needed]} Along the way, they developed a solid batch of original tunes (in addition to the four originals that they played in 1985), including Stop-Go, C. Brown, Tie Your Shoes, Porch Song, Driving Song, Conrad, Vacation, Postcard, the instrumental Machine, and another instrumental jam that JB later adds lyrics to, titled Cardboard Box.

On October 6, 1986, Texan percussionist Domingo S. Ortiz ("Sunny"), sat in with the band at the Uptown Lounge for the first time.^{[citation needed]} Sunny continued to perform with the band on numerous occasions in Athens, Macon, and Atlanta, and eventually (late 1988 or early 1989) accepted the band's request for him to join as a full-time member.^[1]

During 1987, WSP continued to play primarily in Georgia, while steadily spreading out to SC, NC, AL, TN, and as far north as Richmond, VA (Dave Schools' hometown). They developed a few more originals along the way, including Barstools & Dreamers, Contentment Blues, I'm Not Alone, and instrumentals L.a. (aka "Liza's Apartment"), and The Take Out. JB added lyrics to Cardboard Box, and to another instrumental titled "Puppet Song", subsequently renamed Pigeons. Cardboard Box was only played a handful of times before being dropped from the repertoire.

In the Fall, the band signed with Landslide Records and recorded their first album, Space Wrangler, at John Keane (record producer)|John Keane]]'s Studio in Athens. Guests on the album included Sunny on percussion, David Blackmon on fiddle, Tim White on keyboards, and Alberto Salazarte (of Athens band White Buffalo) on percussion. Phish keyboardist, Page McConnell, also played on the studio version of Holden Oversoul.^[1]

In June 1988, producer John Keane appeared for the first time on stage with the band. Usually playing pedal steel, Keane became another regular guest at special Panic shows.^[1]

Their debut LP, Space Wrangler, established a small fanbase and inaugurated several years of constant touring.

The band signed to Capricorn Records and released their major label debut, Widespread Panic in 1991. John Hermann ("JoJo") joined the band as a keyboardist in 1992.

In 1998, to celebrate the release of their first live album, Light Fuse, Get Away, Widespread Panic offered a free "CD release party" concert in Athens Georgia. An estimated 80,000-100,000 fans descended on the town, transforming it into the largest CD release party in history.^{[citation needed]} As a result the band is no longer allowed to play in the streets of Athens.^{[citation needed]}

Seveal years of appearances as part of the H.O.R.D.E. tours helped the band became one of the most popular new jam bands of the time.

Their popularity expanded greatly in the late 1990s/early 2000s, drawing large audiences in the Southeastern United States. 2001 ended with WSP one of the top twenty concert draws in the country.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, the band received gold certification for their concert DVD Live at Oak Mountain. It also headlined two nights of the first annual Bonnaroo Music Festival which drew a crowd upwards of 70,000 people. Both accomplishments were overshadowed by the death of Michael Houser on August 10, 2002, due to pancreatic cancer.^{[citation needed]}

The band released Ball in 2003 with the help of their good friend George McConnell on lead guitar. They followed that with an announcement that the band would be taking a hiatus in 2004 to spend time with friends and family.

In March 2005 the band returned to the stage in full force with a three-night sell-out of Atlanta’s Fox Theatre.^{[citation needed]} They toured through the rest of the year in the spring, summer and fall, and ended the year with their first annual Tunes for Tots benefit. Held at the Roxy Theatre in Atlanta, it raised over $100,000 to help finance the purchase of musical instruments for children in school.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2006, the band recorded their 9th studio album, Earth to America, with Terry Manning in Nassau, Bahamas, at Compass Point Studios. It was released June 13, 2006. Their May 9th show at Atlanta's Fox Theatre was simulcast in LIVE HD, via satellite, in select movie theatres nationwide.^[2] Over 60,000 fans across the country watched it live in the theatres. This show was also released in DVD format on November 14th, 2006, entitled 'Earth To Atlanta'.^[3]

On August 2, 2006, the band announced that George McConnell would no longer be playing with the band.^[4] In the fall of 2006, Jimmy Herring took over the reins of the lead guitarist in the band kicking off their fall tour with two nights at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York.^[5] That December the band went on to sell-out their 15th consecutive sold out New Years show at Philips Arena in Atlanta. A banner now hangs in the rafters of the arena commemorating the milestone.^{[citation needed]}

The band has set January 29, 2008 as the release date of their 10th album, Free Somehow.

Known for never playing the same show twice, the band has a show-to-show ritual of choosing the night’s setlist. At the beginning of each tour Garrie Vereen, a member of the band’s road crew, makes a master list of all the songs the band performs and laminates it. Each night before the show he marks the last 3 nights set lists in different colors. The band can see what has been played recently and then decide what songs to play during the first set. They return back to the list during setbreak to pick songs for the second set, and likewise, return after the second set for any additional sets if playing more than two, or the encore. This process is explained by Vereen in the DVD The Earth Will Swallow You.

The band has sold more than three million albums^{[citation needed]}, and released a total of 15 CDs and five DVDs.

1. Space Wrangler - 1988
2. Widespread Panic - 1991
3. Everyday - 1993
4. Ain't Life Grand - 1994
5. Bombs & Butterflies - 1997
6. 'Til The Medicine Takes - 1999
7. Don't Tell the Band - 2001
8. Ball - 2003
9. Earth to America - 2006
10. Free Somehow - 2008

1. Light Fuse, Get Away - 1998
2. Another Joyous Occasion - 2000
3. Live in the Classic City - 2002
4. Night of Joy - 2004
5. Über Cobra - 2004
6. Jackassolantern - 2004
7. Live at Myrtle Beach - 2005

The band recorded two albums with guitarist Vic Chesnutt as brute., in 1996 and 2002.

• Contributed a cover version of Van Morrison's And It Stoned Me to the Capricorn compilation album Hempilation a benefit CD for NORML (National Organization for the Reform of marijuana Laws), 1995.
• Contributed a live performance version of Blue Indian to Live in the X Lounge II, an album benefiting United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham, a Birmingham, Alabama charity, 1999.
• Contributed a live June 2000 performance version of Give to Carved in Stone, Vol.1, an album benefiting the Preserve the Rocks Fund, a donation-driven reserve dedicated to the rehabilitation and preservation of the historic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 2003.
• Contributed a track to Too Many Years to benefit Clear Path International's work with land mine survivors, 2005.
• Recorded a cover of John Lennon's Crippled Inside as a bonus track for the compilation album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, 2007.

• Live at Oak Mountain (2001)
• Panic in the Streets (2002)
• The Earth Will Swallow You (2002)
• Live From The Backyard (2003)
• Earth to Atlanta (2006)

• Widespread Panic: The Official Site
• Widespread Panic on MySpace
• Widespread Panic on YouTube
• Everyday Companion Online
• Live Widespread Panic
• PanicStream