Buzz Magazine
Champaign-Urbana, IL
February 11, 1999

Swimming Upstream
by Jon Pletsch

Leftover Salmon's jamming at the Canopy last Tuesday night was even
powerful enough to take my mind off of the claustrophobic dance floor
conditions and the suffocating hippie-stench that permeated throughout the
crowd.  And that's saying quite a bit!

Every now and then a band comes along that refuses to conform to any
established musical genre.  Such artists extend their sound in a direction
where no others have ventured, creating a category of music into which
only they fit.  The Canopy was lucky enough to host one of these pioneer
bands on Tuesday, February 2nd.  The band was Leftover Salmon. Their music
is called "Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass," and the sound is all their own.

        Lead singer Vince Herman's opening cry of "Are you ready to
boogie?" got the packed-house hippie crowd in gear for what was about to
come - three hours of balls-to-the-wall bluegrass and a blitzkrieg of
string-provoked twangs ripping through the Canopy Club at seriously high
velocities.

        The five-man-band presented the crowd of "Salmonytes" with a
wicked combination of instrumental noise.  Vince Herman's wild, animated
vocals backed his acoustic guitar and washboard.  Drew Emmitt's smooth,
bluegrass singing gorgeously complimented his insane electric guitar,
mandolin and fiddle jams.  Mark Vann showed off his phenomenal mastery of
the banjo.  With Tye North on bass and Jeff Sipe on drums, a powerful,
steady rhythm completed the unique, complex sound.

        Ask a Salmonyte what kind of music Leftover Salmon plays, and
they'll probably stutter a few times trying to come up with the right
description.  Vince is the one who coined the term "Polyethnic Cajun
Slamgrass."

        "I thought the phrase summed up our sound pretty well," Vince said
after the show.  "But we've changed gradually in the last few years.
We're moving more towards rock'n'roll bluegrass."

        Whatever anyone calls it, the music is highly energetic and
emotional.  Whether it's the calypso rhythm of "L.E. Minet," or the laid
back bluegrass groove of "I Think It Was The Wine," or the straight-up
schizophrenic insanity of "Funky Mountain Fogdown," the music shoots like
a drug through your veins, electrifies your soul and makes you crave more.

        While almost all of their songs were originals, Leftover Salmon
had fun with some covers.  Drew's crazy mandolin jam in Hendrix's "Hey
Joe" would have made Jimi himself raise an eyebrow and crack a smile, and
the slamgrass version of "Surfin' USA" would probably have given at least
two of the Beach Boys massive heart failure.  And even though their
version of "Sweet Home Alabama" only lasted about 14 seconds, the crowd
got a big kick out of it.

        Leftover Salmon was formed about 10 years ago when a progressive
bluegrass band and a Cajun-zydeco band merged together.  The result was
such a bizarre combination of musicians that they blended perfectly.  The
quintet, who have since made Colorado their home, have found rising
success and notoriety in the last few years, thanks in no small part to
their latest album "Euphoria."

        They traveled on the 1997 H.O.R.D.E. tour and have jammed with the
likes of John Popper (Blues Traveler), Bela Fleck, John Medeski (MMW) and
Mike Gordon (Phish).  Over a dozen prominent and talented musicians are
tentatively scheduled to accompany Leftover Salmon on their next album,
which they started recording February 8.

        "What's happened with this band is amazing," remarked Vince with a
look of total contentment and happiness.  "I feel like I'm floating on a
cloud."

        In addition to Leftover Salmon's impressive musical talent, there
is another reason for their growing popularity.  They're fun.  Damn fun.
The exuberance of the band members as they mosey around on stage with
smiling faces is contagious.  Vince's boisterous vocals and funny quirks
between songs make the audience a significant part of the show.

        On this Groundhog Day performance, the C-U Salmonytes responded
like it was New Year's Eve.  The encore epitomized Leftover Salmon's style
- Vince leading hundreds of fans in the chant "We're gonna rise up, gonna
wake'n'bake!" while balancing "The Mayor," a three-foot-wide plastic
cheeseburger, on his head.

        "I love playing for crowds like this," Vince said as he scribbled
his autograph on a fan's ticket stub after the show.  "They were great
tonight.  I'd love to come back here."

        Hopefully they will.  Now that our town has had a taste of Salmon,
it would be a bummer not to be offered seconds.