Jam Bands: North America's Hottest Live Groups Plus How to Tape and Trade Their Shows

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Summary: A jam-packed overview of the scene
Review: First off, let me say that I think I have a pretty good handle on the jam/groove scene today. I live in NYC and tons of bands come through. HOWEVER, I had no idea of how much stuff is out there. After reading JAM BANDS, I do now. Dean Budnick's book does an excellenet job of explaining what's happening in the current jam rock movement. There are 170 individual essays on bands, with photos, CD reviews, interviews and more. It's a massive undertaking (and a chunky book). But that's not it because in the back of the book JAM BANDS has four more sections. The first one is all about taping and trading (as a trader but not a taper I actually learned a bit). The second section (and my favorite) is a history of the Wetlands which has interviews with the owners, the various band members who have played there (including members of Strangefolk, God Street Wine and quite a few more). The third section on magazines and stuff is cool and the game at the end is sort of weird (in a dooofy, fun way). All in all though Budnick does an amazing job of bringing all this info together, with a smooth writing style that's keeps the reader involved without being repetitive, obnoxious or otherwise lame. A fine book.

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Summary: Jam Bands a wonderful resource
Review: This book took me by surprise. The depth of research and analysis is quite impressive- 170 Jam bands from around the country with all sorts of info about them: photos, interviews, disc reviews. The sections in the back on taping was quite helpful in clearing up some questions I had. My favorite part of the book might just be "Wetlands: Ten Years of Grooves." This book is overwhelming in the best way possible. I've already discovered some new bands and traded for a handful of tapes. If you like groove music I am quite confident you will be happily overwhelmed by Jam Bands.