DECEMBER 2011 Epolyphony Steam Powered Aereo plane By Steve Chase I wrote several months ago


about various songs that have become the “anthems” of the Jam band genre. Songs like Blind Faith’s Can’t Find My Way Home, Pink Floyd’s Shine on You Crazy Diamond, and Elton John’s Madman Across the Water. I men- tioned in September that I had found a new anthem, this time from the “Jam Grass” genre. I have found versions across the spectrum of Bluegrass, each band putting its unique signa- ture on a simple, but heartfelt and catchy melody. John Hartford (www.john- hartford.com) was born in New York City in 1937, but spent his childhood in St. Louis along the Mississippi singing about the river and its environs. He was playing fiddle and banjo by age


13, and soon after mandolin and guitar. When he heard Earl Scruggs play banjo, he recalled, it changed his life. Hartford ended up in Nashville in 1965, and signed with RCA Victor the next year. I remember first seeing Hartford at the start of each Glen Campbell Good Time Hour, a cheesy variety show on CBS around 1970. He was the guy at the back of the stage un- der a spotlight, playing banjo, as Campbell sang Gentle on My Mind, a song Hartford wrote and recorded in 1967 and for which he subsequently won two Grammys. In 1971, Hartford released Aereo-Plane, an album that would change bluegrass and launch the “New Grass,” or pro- gressive bluegrass, movement.


When the album was released, it was overlooked. But now its importance cannot be over- stated. The album is now back in


print via iTunes, and the “al- most” title track on the album, Steam Powered Aereo Plane, is a composition that has been picked up by many “Jam Grass” bands over the last few decades—their music being the modern iterations of what Hartford started in 1971. For me, the song is nothing short of addicting. Here’s a list of albums and


concert recordings with ver- sions of this great New Grass standard: John Hartford, Aereo-Plain


(1971). This original, ground- breaking album opened the door to the progressive blue- grass movement. The great tune Steam Powered Aereo Plane is three and a half minutes of pure, quirky brilliance. You can see Hartford play the song by doing a quick YouTube search for the November 11, 2000, 30th Anniversary Concert of Hart- ford’s Aereo Plain Band. New Grass Revival, Common-


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wealth (1981). The New Grass Revival is one of the bands that took Hartford’s vision and roared forward. This al- bum includes drums and piano, but Steam Powered Aereo Plane maintains a traditional sound much like Hartford’s original, with some great vocals by John


Cowan. Leftover Salmon, Leftover


Salmon: Live (2002). This al- bum is produced by Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne, and provides a definitive set that is hippie-infused, new grass- infused, with some swing and blues. Their lively version of Steam Powered Aereo Plane in- cludes vocalist John Cowan, and has a new richness with the addition of a great piano solo. You can find many live record- ings of the band and the song. An especially good version is from the June 30, 2003 Tellu- ride Bluegrass set, with Sam Bush and John Cowan, available free at www.archive.org. Fined- more on the band at www.lefto- versalmon.com . Yonder Mountain String Steam Powered Aereo


Band.


Plane has been in the rotation for Yonder shows since 1999. Check out the incredible Octo- ber 29, 2005 version from Nash- ville’s War Memorial show. Mandolinist and vocalist Jeff Austin is joined by legend Sam Bush to hold it all together— what a classic song it has be- come. Browse through the rest of the Yonder catalog at www. yondermountain.com, and at www.archive.org, or bt.etree. org for lots more. The String Cheese Incident


(www.stringcheeseincident. com). At its April 7, 2005 Inci- dent in Spokane Wash., this legendary jam band cranks


out an up-tempo powerhouse Steam Powered Aereo Plane, with Leftover Salmon’s Drew Em- mitt joining. It is available on their On the Road: Travelogue, Spring 2005 multi disc set, or again, on www.archive.org in lossless format, for free. Infamous


Stringdusters


(thestringdusters.com). I wrote about this one in October, but it is worth the repeat. The Dusters played Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colo., on my birth- day, August 20, 2011. Steam Powered Aereo Plane performed by these guys is smokin’, with their traditional instrumen- tation, virtuoso playing, and passionate vocals keeping this Aereo-Plane tradition alive for a new generation. Listen to the whole concert. The show is also available free at www.archive. org.


Telluride Tribute to John Hartford, 2001. After John Hartford’s death his friends put on a huge musical tribute to him at the 2001 Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Members of the band were a who’s who of New Grass, including Sam Bush, John Cowan, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Peter Rowan, and Yon- der Mountain String Band. This free recording just appeared on bt.etree.com, and has amazing sound. Here’s the link: bt.etree. org/details.php?id=549887 . Thank goodness for John Hartford. Let his music, and the music of all of the bands he inspired, be a gift to you this holiday. Light a fire, pull a cork, gather friends, and listen to these great versions of Steam Powered Aereo Plane and then keep going with the balance of fantastic tunes that each of these bands offer. You’ll smile, laugh, and feel like you’d “Rath- er be sittin’ in a deck chair high up over Kansas City, on a genu- ine, old fashioned, steam pow- ered aereo plane.”


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