The JamBase Podcast Episode 8: Ross James & Mike Gantzer

The eighth episode of The JamBase Podcast is now live. Listeners can stream or download the installment through your preferred podcast provider or using the audio embedded at the bottom of this post. Episode Eight starts with “The Rundown” featuring a discussion of recent news stories, followed by a “Reelin’ In The Years” chat with guitarist Ross James and “The Art Of The Sit-In” with Mike Gantzer of Aqueous.

JamBase’s Scott Bernstein and David Onigman host “The Rundown” on this episode. Scotty and DaveO chat about a handful of news stories from the past few weeks including word of TAB keyboardist Ray Paczkowski undergoing surgery, an exciting co-headlining tour set for this summer, a look at recent festival lineup announcements and a recap of Widespread Panic’s St. Patrick’s Day visit to Washington, D.C. as well as the band confirming a tradition will continue in June. The pair end by putting out a call for submissions to the first round of The JamBase Podcast “Mailbag.” Podcast listeners are encouraged to send questions about the bands in the JamBase Universe, the music industry, the podcast or any other queries to podcast@jambase.com.

DaveO then welcomes Ross James for a “Reelin’ In The Years” segment. James takes us through his career, beginning with his time in bands called The Bathtub Gins and The Dry Creek Rounders. He then discusses how he entered Brian Lesh’s orbit and became a member of Blue Light River. Ross played an important role in the early years of Terrapin Crossroads. The guitarist talks about the various hats he wore at the venue upon Terrapin opening. Other topics covered are Ross’s role as Phil Lesh’s tour manager for such gigs as Fare Thee Well and the formation of The Terrapin Family Band and Cosmic Twang.

Episode Eight ends with the aural companion to this month’s “The Art Of The Sit-In” column featuring Aqueous guitarist Mike Gantzer. The Buffalo native talks with JamBase contributor Chad Berndtson about the hard work he puts in when a band asks him to sit-in. Gantzer also shares the story of the night in 2017 when moe. asked Aqueous to surprise a Boston area crowd by taking over the stage to start their encore.

Subscribe to The JamBase Podcast via iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play, and stream Episode Eight below: