Oh man, I so wanted to love this.

Seeing the Grateful Dead in Boston back in the 90's when I was just a teen introduced me into the hippie culture world and touring.

I fell in love with the scene.

Then came Phish - my first show in '96 and I'm still following these dudes around the country to this day.

This book is hodgepodge of random info. The timeline is all over the place. Stories are mentioned but never discussed in detail. A lot of the bands they focused on were never big players in my touring scene. A lot of Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler - neither of which I was a big fan of.

Jam bands have been derided in the world of music snobbery for decades, but many of these bands have put out a lot of great music over the years and many of the criticisms are unfounded. From the Grateful Dead to Widespread Panic and Phish, there are several bands who were and are amazing musicians and talented songwriters. The complaints against these bands are usually that the songs are too long, don’t have enough “hooks” or that they’re just “endless noodling”. However, I challenge you to go to one of these shows, find a sweet sativa and NOT have fun. You’d have to be a special kind of grumpy, in my opinion. Panic, Phish, moe., String Cheese, DMB, Galactic, MMW, Gov’t Mule and Blues Traveler are all amazing live and I’m sure I’m forgetting some. However, there are those bands on the other side of the spectrum.

Unfortunately, a LOT of this book is dedicated to the latter. I’ve never been a huge fan of the “oral history” format, if I’m being honest. I much prefer a narrative format, but occasionally an oral history will interest me enough that I will give it a chance. Sharing in the Groove isn’t a bad book and it is a fun read with a lot of insight into the bands and jam band scene of the late 80’s and 90’s. The problem is that there is way too much whining from also-rans like Spin Doctors. I get that they were an integral part of the beginnings of the scene but listening to Chris Barron complain that they would have been bigger if Epic had promoted Spin Doctors as much as Pearl Jam is laughable. Spin Doctors were never going to be as big as Pearl Jam, because they just weren’t as good. Now, admittedly, I’ve never seen the Spin Doctors live, and maybe that’s my problem but the songs just were not good. Sure, they had a few pretty big hits off of that one record, but I don’t care how good they were live, they were not going to surpass most of these other bands. God Street Wine had some pretty good tunes, but they also weren’t going to have the same kind of careers as others in the genre. Panic, Phish, Blues Traveler...they were all just way better bands. I’m not saying these bands shouldn’t have been included, because they absolutely should be. But a large portion of the book is taken up by their musings, most of which are uninteresting and come across annoyingly whiny.

I’m honestly not sure why so much of Sharing in the Groove is taken up by Spin Doctors, but I suspect it’s because they were willing to do more interviews and not because they were integral to jam bands becoming popular. Maybe the author is a hug fan. I’ll admit to owning a copy of Pocketful of Kryptonite, but I was 12 years old, so what do you want from me? Widespread Panic and Blues Traveler are pretty fairly represented, as are later jam bands like moe. and String Cheese. However, there was surprisingly little discussion with Phish and Dave Matthews given that they were probably the biggest bands to come out of the scene.

Overall, there’s a lot of fun to be found in Sharing in the Groove, despite my complaining about the Spin Doctors (why are they here so much??!!). There are stories from the road and the book really does give you a good idea of how the scene developed. If you’re a fan of 90’s jam and were/are in that scene, you will probably find a lot to love here. If you’re only into Phish/DMB/and or Panic, you may find yourself bored during certain sections. The author clearly spent a lot of time researching and interviewing the people who were there, but I still would have preferred a narrative as opposed to an oral history. But, in the end, that’s my preference and I’m sure that a lot of fans are going to really enjoy this. I liked it, and give Sharing in the Groove 3/5 stars, but ultimately, there just wasn’t enough here to go any higher. A sincere thank you to Mike Ayers, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fine, but it is certainly geared towards hardcore jamband fans. I, personally, wanted to read this for the nostalgia as someone who was really into jambands in the late 90s. I still love Phish! I go see them for New Years Eve at the Garden every year. But this isn't a nostalgia book, or a book for casual fans. It seems as though the author put a ton of work into researching and pulling old interviews to compile them in a way that feels like an oral history, and I acknowledge what an effort that is. I also think really serious fans would love this, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not leaving written external reviews just because I don't want to deter those fans who will really love this one.

My thanks to both NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this oral history look at a unique scene that was about music, motion, mood elevation, and merry hijinks, a scene that came together in different areas, but united a lot of people in many ways.

I worked in a music store from throughout the nineties, from the rise of CD's to the destruction wrought by Napster. Hip-hop, hair metal, grunge, even the beginnings of Britney. Oh and can't forget the Macarena. Most of these had label backing, articles in the trade magazines, but there was a lot of bands people asked for, and loved to talk about that seemed to exist in a strange world. A world with sold out concerts, tapes being passed, small label releases, and passionate fans. These were what is called jam bands, we called them noodle music. Known for extended jams, or musical exploration there were plenty of bands that fit this name, with various skill levels. Some liked the atmosphere, some liked the community. I was not one of those. I liked the music, and wasn't happy with the hippies that seemed drawn to the scene, rather than the tunes. Reading this book was like reading about a person from one hundred years ago. So many bands, so many shows, I can't imagine how I new all these bands. And how I remembered the music. And why I let myself forget. Sharing in the Groove:The Untold Story of the '90s Jam Band Explosion and the Scene That Followed by Mike Ayers is an oral history tracing the rise of jam bands from small parties to arenas, and how they changed music, and how music changed them.

The book is an oral history featuring many members of Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, Phish, moe., my favorite, and others. Also included are scenesters, backstage people, music professionals, and crew members. The book begins with many of these members meeting each other, and forming friendships based on a love of common music, of because another had access to drugs. The book traces many of the bands starting at small parties, finding out that jamming out was something they enjoyed, and finding others, such as Deadheads and the like who also enjoyed the music. Taping is discussed, something that broke many of these bands, something I can attest to, as I think I heard most of the bands I liked on tapes before they ever came to the area. A scene and a movement began, which was organic in many ways as this was before the Internet, with venues slowly coming on board, selling out shows to bands that record labels had no idea existed. Ayers looks at what happened when labels got involved, looking for radio hits, and not understanding what made jam bands work. Also how in many ways success ruined the scene in many ways.

A very good look at one of the last big things in music. I know from experience that we sold a lot of albums for what was considered jam bands, shirts, and many of their tour magazines. And bootlegs, I won't avoid that. This was a scene that was doing better for us then grunge in many ways. The problem was dealing with the smaller labels to get items, but even that was manageable. Ayers really looks at all this and more. The interviews cover quite a bit about the scene, the drugs, the shows. the music. However Ayers also gets in to the nitty gritty, what it was like to tour, the rates bands could charge, making albums, and how dealing with labels was more of a problem than it was worth. There is a lot of information, though the book never gets old or dull. I loved seeing the names of bands I have not listened to in years, and many a CD has been dug out, including a visit back home for my old tapes with shows. Ayers does a very good job of capturing what it was like to play, what is was like to listen, and what the music meant to so many.

A really great book for a particular kind of fan. I really enjoyed it, loved to look back the bands and of course the music. I know quite a few people who will feel the same. Get back on the bus, listen to some tasty tunes, and read this book. It's a wonderful trip, to look back on.

As someone who is interested in the world of jam bands, this was a fun and delightful read. It was great to travel back to the birth of this music and scene and hear directly from the creators involved. The interview, almost documentary style, took some time to get used to but once you did it became second nature and easy to follow. Jam on!