God Street Wednesdays | It Starts Again Tomorrow

Scotty here and we’re about 10 days into my term as JamBase’s editor. As you may have seen, we’ve brought over a few contributors and columns from my time running Hidden Track since I started last Monday and there’s lots more to come. One column we’ve run for the past four years on HT was called God Street Wednesdays. God Street Wine, one of my favorite bands, was formed in New York City in the late ’80s and went on to play hundreds of shows across the country (and in Europe) through their 1999 breakup. The band honed their chops at NYC clubs Nightingales and Wetlands Preserve as they forged an original sound that owes equally to Steely Dan and The Grateful Dead. GSW were part of a wave of improvisationally-inclined acts that also included the H.O.R.D.E. bands such as Blues Traveler and Phish. While they never reached the commercial success of their brethren, they were known for putting on impressive live shows featuring well-crafted songs.

[Photo of Recent Rehearsal via God Street Wine Facebook]

Just over four years ago, when God Street Wednesdays was launched, the band had been retired for over ten years. Our first column was titled “Bring Back God Street Wine,” as we pined for GSW’s return. Unbelievably, God Street Wine has gone on to play 17 shows at a variety of venues that include a cruise ship and venues owned by Bob Weir and Phil Lesh since our column started. GSW, which currently consists of guitarists Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell, drummer Tom “Tomo” Osander, keyboardists Jon Bevo and Jason Crosby and bassist Dan Pifer are coming back once more to play three NYC area shows this weekend. The run starts tomorrow night and Friday at Brooklyn Bowl and concludes at Port Chester, NY’s Capitol Theatre on Saturday. We look forward to seeing what they have in store.

For a taste of what you can expect, let’s watch full-show video of God Street Wine’s performance (featuring special guests Shanna Morrison and Bob Weir) at TRI Studios from last summer in which they played their major label debut, $1.99 Romances, in its entirety:

Set: Princess Henrietta, Mile By Mile, Nightingale, Thirsty, Stone House, Molly, The Ballroom, Run To You, Crazy Head, Hammer & A Spike, Wendy, Imogene, Tina’s Town, Into The Sea, Candyman*, Feel Like A Stranger*, Cassidy*, And It Stoned Me^, Epilog*

* – w/ Bob Weir
^ – w/ Bob Weir and Shanna Morrison

Tickets for all three shows are available via TicketFly.