2010 Best Jam Band in Athens

Thursday, June 24, 2010 was a big night for the Incredible Sandwich; it was the night of the 2010 Flagpole Awards. They were in the top three contenders for Best Jam Band in Athens, up against Mama’s Love and Perpetual Groove.

After weeks of voting, both through mail-in and online ballots, musicians and fans alike gathered together at the Historic Morton Theater in downtown Athens, Georgia for the awards show.

There was much speculation as to who would take home the trophy, but in the end, the Incredible Sandwich came out victorious. Not only were they named the Best Jam Band in Athens, but they were given the title by, you guys, the fans, hundreds of people all coming together and agreeing that they like the Incredible Sandwich better than any other jam band in Athens, and for that the band would like to say THANK YOU!!

This literally could not have happened without y’all!

Now’s the time we need your help. As you might know, The Incredible Sandwich won the Athens Waka Winter Classic, which means they are playing at the Wakarusa Music Festival this summer. However, 19 other bands from across the country won as well.

2 out of the 20 bands will be asked to play main stage at Wakarusa, and we need your help to make them be 1 of the 2 winning bands.

The contest winners are determined through online voting.  You can only vote once per e-mail address and voting ends Friday, April 2nd!

Click HERE to go vote!

Once there, you must create an account and simply vote for The Incredible Sandwich. Every vote counts!!!

Please pass this along to any friends you have. SPREAD THE WORD!! Your support is much appreciated. Let’s represent the Southeast well.

Thanks guys!!!

The Incredible Sandwich

Mule Train Records is proud to announce that The Incredible Sandwich has been selected to appear on the AthFest 2010 CD!

“Where You Are” was recorded this winter by Nathan Sheppard at Green Room Studios in Athens, GA.  This is the debut appearance of both Green Room Studios and The Incredible Sandwich on this annual compilation.

The AthFest CD features a sampling of local music from Athens, GA, and is released every spring in anticipation of the festival the following June.

An official announcement was made in the February 17, 2010 issue of Athens’ own Flagpole Magazine and stated that out of 143 submissions, only 16 artists were selected.  Other artists slated to appear on the CD are The Whigs, Five Eight, Modern Skirts, William Tonks, and Ken Will Morton, among others.  Find a full listing of this year’s lineup here.

This 13^th annual AthFest CD, produced by Ghostmeat Records, will be released on May 11, 2010.  A CD release party (that is free of charge!) will take place around that date. The event feature three bands that appearing on the CD.

According to the AthFest web site, “Proceeds from CD sales and the electronic distribution of the album benefit AthFest, Inc.- the local non-profit that produces the annual Athens Music & Arts Festival and supports year-round efforts in music and arts education.”

Other competing bands included Jazzchronic (funk,rock,fusion,) Mama’s Love (jam, rock, funk,) Sumilan (progressive, rock, ambient,) and The Head (rock and roll). All were chosen through a submission process.

This multi-artist gig wass part of the Waka Winter Classic, which will be touring though 20 cities this winter in a quest to locate the best musicians across the country. The winner of each talent showcase will receive an invitation to play at the Wakarusa festival. The winners will also have their music featured on the Wakarusa Web site and will compete in an online talent showcase.

The 6th Annual Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival will take place on in June 3-6, 2010 at Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, Arkansas.

Genres heard will include a cappella, acoustic, adult contemporary, alternative, Americana, avant-garde, bluegrass, blues, celtic, children’s music, classic rock, classical, comedy, contemporary christian, country, cover band, electronic, folk, funk, gospel, goth, hip-hop/rap, jam band, latin, metal, new age/ambient, non-music performer, pop, punk, reggae, rock, singer/songwriter, soul, spoken word, urban and world.

Artists already scheduled to play the mountain-top festival include Athens, GA’s own Widespread Panic, STS9, The Disco Biscuits, Lotus and Tea Leaf Green.

In the past few months, TIS achieved a top 15 ranking on national radio charts (see a map here and more info here) and has been touring to great success.

Here are some video versions of the band’s new songs.
(Note: Some of the song titles may change at a later date)

• “B Thing”
• “Round and Round” (this video is especially psychedelic)
• “In the Pines”

To keep updated on The Sandwich’s activity, please friend Mule Train Records on Facebook or tweet with us on Twitter.

Mule Train Records is one of 12 sponsors for the Mardi Gras Athens on February 12 at the Melting Point. The event will benefit the local, non-profit Family Counseling Service of Athens. A costume party, an authentic Cajun meal, a $1,000 cash prize and raffles, as well as a silent auction and door prizes are all part of the festivities.

A $25 ticket gets you New Orleans Hor d’oeuvres, a complimentary drink and door prizes. The raffle tickets are sold separately for $10 each, or 12 for $100, and are for many prizes including the $1000 cash prize. There will also be free prizes for those in costume. The silent auction will include items from several Athens area restaurants, salons, theaters and many others.

Purchase event and raffle tickets online at Family Counseling Service of Athens.

Other event sponsors include: Athens Banner-Herald, Carson Advisory, Inc., R.E.M., Dalton Carpet One, Raymond James, an Anonymous Donor, St. Mary’s Health Care of Athens, Body in Motion, Inc., Peach Mac, Merrill Lynch, Catholic Health East.

Tickets to the Half Dozen Brass Band concert after the party are available separately from Melting Point Web site.

They are $8 in advance or $12 at the door.

Want more Mardi Gras in Athens? See this 2007 slide show from Josh D. Weiss Photography.

He points out the musical skill and talent of the members, especially Matt (guitarist/singer) whom he has this to say about:

Matt [...] snakes in and out of lithe, cascading solos and suave , syncopated rhythms.

He considers the 10-minute-plus song “It’s Gone” to be the album’s centerpiece cycling, “through everything from turbulent chromatic passages, to ambient drones, to heavy, gut-pommeling breakdowns to wide, open, sunlit solos”.

He does also point out Matt’s voice as the one weakness of the Sandwich’s EP.

Despite this, in The Red & Black (UGA’s student newspaper) he awards the band the title of “Best New Local Band” for this year.

Video with shots of the recording session at John Keane Studios.

Ryan will be performing with Neal Canup (Helen, Dodge; The Burning Angels), Tom Ryan (Normaltown Flyers and just about every other band in Athens), and Rachel 0′Neal.

This is a great chance to get closer to Mule Train Records and get ready for the Auburn game at the same time.

Photos taken November 11, 2009 at John Keane Studios.

See more photos in the Facebook album.

Photos by Nathan Rodriguez.

On October 22, 2009 in The Green Room in Athens, Ga., band members performed for two hours, playing some of their old songs and some new ones including the one in this video “B Thing”.