Widespread Panic - Everyday
Listen to a condensed audio version of this review by Greg
Formed in the mid 1980s in Athens, Georgia, there was a band with Latin and southern rock roots that was starting to create a buzz. Coming up in the MTV era, the band became complete in 1987. Their style and the bands they were influenced by were not built for MTV. So instead of using MTV to market their music, these guys did it the OLD-FASHIONED WAY. They built their following through tapes!! They grew their name by taking advantage of tape distribution.
Lead Singer John Bell met Michael Houser in the mid 1980s. They quickly brought in bass player Dave Schoolsbut struggled with keeping a regular drummer. By the time they were on their seventh drummer, they landed on Todd Nance, a junior high school friend of guitarist Michael Houser. And in 1987, Widespread Panic was born!
Similar to the way the Grateful Dead and Phish grew their fan base, Widespread Panic was open to the idea of sharing their music. They may not own as many yachts as Kiss or Metallica, bands who were very, very particular when it came to marketing their music, but the boys in Panic realized the tape sharing formula could work. And it did, for sure.
With the addition to Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz in 1988 on percussion, the band now had a real carved out bottom end and a fierce rhythm section ready to destroy! Sunny saw the band at a local Atlanta bar the Uptown Lounge. Sunny’s friend coerced the band to let Sunny join in that one night, and the rest was history.
The band’s keyboard player joined in a similar fashion. John “JoJo” Herman literally approached the band at a pool hall one night asking if they needed keyboard help. The band agreed to let Herman sit in on some practices. Although Herman did not become Panic’s initial keyboard player, fate would have it a few years later when the band’s standing keyboard player, Terry “T” Lavitz left. Herman got the call and became an official member.
The lineup was set, and the band entered Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, AL in November of 1992 to start recording their third album and my personal favorite, Everyday.
What I did not know until I dug deep into my research is that the Album Cover for Everyday, which shows a young woman standing in the desert holding what looks like a white dove, is someone we know. Her hair is blowing in the wind, covering a part of her face while the dove in her hands is covering much of the rest. But those eyes. The cover art is also colored mostly in dark red, symbolizing mystery as you look at this beautiful woman holding the dove. If you just look into her eyes, you may be able to guess. Well, forget that. I never did. The secret woman on the cover happens to be famed actor Angelina Jolie who was 16 when the picture was taken. The band noted in a later interview that, “No, they didn’t let us meet her”…
At the time I’m doing this review, it was not clear whether the picture was taken for the cover or if it had been previously shot. The connection likely came from actor Billy Bob Thornton. Thornton who at one point was married to Jolie, traded his time between acting and hanging out at Muscle Shoals and the headquarters of Panic’s record company, Capricorn in Macon, GA. He did not marry Angelina until May of 2000, so there may be some holes in this theory. Unless Thornton was dating her before she was legally….well….
Thornton had another connection to the band. He shot and directed his own film on Widespread Panic, titled “Live At The Georgia Theatre” which was filmed in Athens and released in 1992.
Drummers used to say to JB, Mikey and Dave – “you guys change tempos too much”. This isn’t stuff that appeals to the masses. Example song would be Pleas – one of the best tempo changes in a song I’ve ever heard (with exception to Rush).
Also, Dave Schools’ bass playing is impressive on virtually every song. He’s mostly a pick bass player. But his 6 string Modulus Quantum 6 bass enables him to get a wide range of sounds out of it. He also uses an envelope filter and octave pedal. Schools’ bass definitely holds down the low end while he also solos like crazy mid song.
The band came up with the title Everyday on Christmas Eve 1992 when, after nearly 8 weeks in the studio, drummer Todd Nance said, "If we give up this Christmas to finish this record maybe EVERY DAY will be Christmas."
Lead singer JB (John Bell’s) voice is supreme on this record. I don’t know many people who sound like him. It’s country, mixed with rock. He has a gritty, grunty melody to his voice that legitimately gives Widespread Panic their own sound and sincerely like no other.
Produced and mixed by Johnny Sandlin and engineered by Jim Bickerstaff, the album reached a peak position of #184 on the Billboard 200 chart and #10 on the Heatseekers chart. Nothing incredibly impressive, but like many bands that came out of Athens and this genre, there remained a LOYAL following even to this day here in the year 2021.
OK, so changing directions a little here….The setting was 1995, I was looking out onto the beach in Old Orchard, ME. I’d been invited to a beach house, but the host was running late and told me to help myself to anything in the fridge AND in the CD rack. I grabbed a beer, Busch Light, probably which was my bag back then baby. Yeah, my tastes hadn’t matured yet! As I shuffled through his music collection, I found various albums,…..Counting Crowes? Nah. Not in the mood right now. Too depressing. Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East? Love it, but I just listened to that on my drive up from Boston. Then I found this red colored CD case with a picture of a female holding a dove. Widespread Panic? I’d never heard of them, but figured I’d give it a whirl…
Well, the opening track, Pleas, starts off with a nice drum beat and medium paced groove. The guitar is void of any real heavy distortion. Then lead singer John Bell or “JB” begins to sing. Ooooh, what a voice. I’m twelve seconds in and I already like this.
The song continues to get better.. What hooked me was…(wait, let’s pause. I was hooked on this album from the VERY FIRST SONG. Pleas.)…what hooked me was their constant changing of time signatures, but not in a Rush or Yes kind of way, where it’s all over the place and maybe a bit much for you jam band fans or prog rock haters. At 3:29, the song starts its “other” journey. Panic could have easily just made this a catchy tune with a few cool changes, but they didn’t. The remaining section of the song had me closing my eyes, then opening them, taking a sip of my Busch Light, looking at the ocean and smiling. It was going to be a great summer night! Bassist Dave Schools noted famed Muscle Shoals session drummer Roger Hawkins and session bass player David Hoodwould hang out most days during their Everyday recording sessions. Roger Hawkins heard the tempo changes at the end of Pleas and called the band, "transition magicians". Schools admitted hearing that comment from these two was a real compliment.
Seriously! This is my favorite Panic song, and it was the first one I’d ever heard.
The album continues with another jaw breaker, Hatfield. Bongos segue into an acoustic guitar and as the beat kicks in, I can feel each snare drum hit, smack me across the temple. I had to mimic the “kack” sound the snare hit made each time with my mouth. OK. This is only song two. JB’s vocals are superb and Dave Schools’ bass? It’s his best performance on any album of theirs. Schools goes berserk about 3:45. Just berserk. 1995 was before Google. I was pacing the beach house. “Who is this David Schools guy? Who is this band?” Yep.
Song three: a faster paced but groovy number titled, Wondering. Alright, this album is three for three. Oh hell, let me spoil it for you. This album goes Eleven for Eleven. And I must place it in my top 25 albums that I own, simply because there are NO duds on this. None. Every album has one or two. Hell, most albums have four. Not Everyday. Wondering is also chock full of time signature/rhythm changes and beautiful, heartful singing by John Bell (JB). Dave Schools noted that some of his buddies from Athens complemented him on his band’s release calling it a “wake and bake classic”. Strangely Panic did actually make a video for MTV for Wondering. The production company shut down a runway at LAX to film the video but according to the band, MTV never aired it. What a waste of money!
Papa’s Home and Better Off, although not placed consecutively on this record, offer a similar catchy beat that starts off slow and piques as the pace picks up
Diner. Possibly the 2nd strongest track on the album behind Pleas. “Beautiful! The girl is cookin’ in the Diner today!”. As each song spins, now at the 5th track, I am reminded why I chose to review this. Where do I begin with this song? Hell, where do I begin with this album? The track starts off kind of “Rock n’ Roll swing” as I like to call it. Then gets heavy as Michael Houser rips his guitar apart on the solo, followed by a smooth, eye closing rhythm that once again changes tempo. Widespread Panic does this all over this album. If you’re trying to play along to a click track you will have nightmares for weeks!
Better Off, contains a party groove once again with Dave Schools’ bass guitar guiding the song. This track as most of the others, also contains a rhythm change. The track then bleeds into the next song, Pickin Up The Pieces. A melodic mandolin played by guest musician Matt Mundy starts the track which mixes with Sunny Ortiz’s percussion, mostly bongos. As the rest of the band joins the track is complete as the groove forces you to open a cold beverage and find your nearest pool deck or patio to hang. This song just screams sunny day. You know when you know a song is a “driving song”? Pickin Up the Pieces is a driving song. You know? A song you drive to and just enjoy the sunshine on your face. Pickin Up the Pieces is an incredibly strong track.
Add another one to the list. Henry Parsons Died gives you a rhythm change for the ages. Once again, try and play to a click track and stay on the beat with this one. As the album starts to wrap up, the first of the final three tracks will hit you like a jet ski coming at you 60 mph at a Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson party in “Ballers”. Pilgrims is a slower, heartful song meant to give you that relaxed vibe. But Widespread Panic has a beautiful way of keeping you interested with a diversity of instruments. It is a southern rock vibe mixed with a Latin beat. Pilgrims makes you contemplate once again,…oh man…is this the best song on the album? This indecisiveness just keeps happening. Take a listen and decide for yourself.
The best part of Postcard, the album’s next track, is the verse seems like you’re standing in line, waiting to get into a really frickin awesome party. That party is the chorus of this song. It is very anthemic and you can see 20,000 Widespread Panic fans with their hands in the air. The song whisks back to the verse, only to pull back the curtain once again, as Houser’s guitar just brings you to the melody and JB’s voice gives you what you were waiting for, “Ahhhh The air here, breathin’s great!” Houser takes the song off on a jam with his guitar, reminding me of seeing Panic at several outdoor events and street parties in college. They were very good to the south and their music fans in the 1990s.
Just when you thought there was a formula to this album Everyday, the final track, Dream Song is just THAT. There is something to be said about an album that does not follow that typical producer encouraged advice and put a loud, fast, crowd-pleasing song to close out the album. Dream Song brings you to your beach chair. Just picture watching the sunset after a long day on vacation with the people you love the most, your family and friends. As the song brings you to dreamland, you just smile as you realize your cup is empty and it’s time to get another!
It has been 26 years since I first heard Everyday and it is just as good today as it was that fateful afternoon, I pulled it out of the CD rack with curiosity. When I landed in the southeast for my freshman year of college, I was amazed at how many people knew and loved Panic like I did. But as I traveled back north for holidays and summery vacation, I always felt part of a secret club when I would talk about the band with northern friends. Most of them knew nothing about the band. For it was MY job to turn them on. A challenge I was proud to take on!!
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