Archive for Thursday, March 10, 2005

Dance to their beat

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The members of Moonshine Still have one goal for their band.

They want to get to the point where their music plays them, rather than them playing the music, drummer Will Robinson said. "It's all about surrendering to the music. It's about playing beyond ego."

The Georgia-based band has a lively, dance-to-this sound reminiscent of a mix between late Phish and the Allman Brothers.

After 10 years of playing together, this band is one of the many being looked at by the music industry to fill the market hole created by retiring jam bands Phish and Widespread Panic.

And much like those bands, Moonshine Still incorporates sounds and musical ideas from jazz, rock, reggae and bluegrass into the extended songs that have become familiar to the bare feet dancing at outdoor stadiums across the country.

"But we don't noodle," Robinson said. "We jam, but we get to the point and get out. There are songs there."

Moonshine Still started playing together in 1996 in Macon, Ga. Robinson was delivering food for restaurants around Macon and met a bartender/musician who would introduce him to his future band.

"We started talking because I was wearing a Phish T-shirt," Robinson said. "I've made a lot of connections because of Phish T-shirts."

The band has matured a lot since its members started playing together, going through the usual band member shuffles until finding the right feel and sound.

"In the beginning, we thought we sounded great, but if we had known how far we had to go, we may not have even started," Robinson said.

For those who have never seen Moonshine Still's live shows, Robinson said people could expect to be "run through the ringer," he said. "We go from progressive metal dissonance to soulful ballads and explore everything in between."

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