re: 19 Years Ago Today: Widespread Panic 4/18/1998 Downtown Athens, GA.

Pretty sure that means I win.

Is there a reason no one is using Michael Houser's name?

Not a huge WSP fan, but a lot of my buddies were/are and I made it to a few shows back in the day. I was living in CO during Panic in the Streets, but one of the aforementioned buddies interned for Capricorn at the time and when I wound up back in Athens later that Fall, it seemed like WSP were always floating around Athens. Years later I'd get introduced to JB by my mom - by then, he and his wife had moved to the mountains and the wife had started a holistic health business in Clarkesville and they had gotten to know my parents - signs and wonders or some shite.

When Houser died, another WSP fan buddy started a sticker campaign to raise money for a Houser memorial fund or some such. I always liked Houser's style, but his passing made me go back and re-listen to their music - can't be denied that Houser was a force on guitar and, yes, had quite a unique sound.

I'll echo what some have said about the scene and the make-up of the fans, but WSP's sharp climb began about four years before Jerry died - by then, WSP had a very large fanbase that had nothing really to do with the Dead.

And the Phish-Dead comparisons have always seemed silly to me. Phish is way more Zappa/Rush/Yes than Dead. The only uniting factor are the psychedelics ... I think a lot of that element that was present at most Dead shows ended up migrating to mostly Phish tour, but also a bit of the WSP tours as well. Gotta sell that shite somewhere.

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Jim Hendrix did... but he did it much better.

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No Hendrix didn't do it in the same way.

And it's not exactly harsh criticism to say that Hendrix was a better or more unique guitarist than Mikey. Pretty sure that can be said about Hendrix relative to a majority of guitarists that have ever played.

So, would you agree that WSPs core fan base are Frat/Sorority types whose top 5 bands include Allman Brothers and the Dead?

Maybe I have not been clear on that and I appreciate your candor. I agree they are original in a sense... within the Jam genre which they were on the forefront of the second wave that resurfaced in the mid 80s. To me, it was a lot of the same. Plus, and maybe you weren't around for this... but the Sorority shirt, Birkenstock head looking at the ground dance irritated the frick out of me... but that's obviously my issue.

Peter, Can you tell that story again, about the time you saw Husker Du open for The Cure at EScargot Fest in Marseille?

I love the part how the picnic planning got confused and so everyone in 'the scene' showed up with olive trays but nobody brought any Chianti. Oh heavens!

I don't care what anybody says - the Cure in their prime was a good time.

Lullaby

Yet those people are the reason they sell out everywhere they play. It's because that element latched on to them. En masse.

People get older and the music still sucks. Nothing shocking...