Artist description This is the Schmangg Jam: Throw a party, invite many musicians and other dubious characters, setup the gear, let the beer/etc. flow. An all-day all-nite jam party ensues. Plan nothing. Improvise everything. Allow the songs to decide for themselves what they are and where they begin and end. The results are mixed down from DAT to CD. What you get is pure Schmangg: the inspirational, good, and sometimes the ugly truth of sound. We have done this more than once. Each time we tend to lean toward a different vibe. Some Schmanggs have been rock/punk/dub/reggae oriented, some have been purely acoustic, others haverepresented hiphop, still others have been about Detroit electronica. Play one, play them all, each is completely different from the next. And it doesn't matter. Because it's all schmangg. Think about it too much and you miss the point entirely.

Music Style All Styles - Groove, Freeform Blues, Rock, Reggae, Electronica, Dub, Hip-Hop, and Experimental.

Musical Influences The influences come from those who have influenced whoever happens to be jamming on any particular album; very diverse.

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Artist History We owe the name "Schmangg" to an old Kalamazoo band known as the Schmangg Lords. They used to practice in a basement where there was this green stuff growing on the walls. They called it the Schmangg. The way their band worked was very similar to the way the parties work; the members were changing all the time, every gig was different. The name has been passed down to these parties because the concept has been preserved. We began these parties because, like most musicians, when I would go to a party and see a live performance, I had a great desire to play and perform as well. At a Schmangg Jam, that is the point - everyone's invited to play, no matter how good or bad, and the point is to have a good time and try to summon forth the musical power hidden just beyond our reach. The first Schmangg Jam was at 216 Packard in Ann Arbor on January 17th, 1999 - it was a blast, as you can hear on the first album, we invited musician friends and told them to bring their friends. We invited street musicians. The result was a electric/acoustic rock reggae feat of magic. We had the second one in Detroit, May 1999 and was an incredible experiment in electronic music, at least 30 electronic and electric musicians created a wall of sound that is lavishly thick. The third one was back at 216 Packard in Ann Arbor in August 1999 and was as equally fun as the first one. There will be more, oh yes, there will be more. -Dave Cole

Group Members The members of a Schmangg Jam are many. The rule is that there are no set members - one party there may be 7 guitar players, 2 keyboard players, 5 drummers, a sax player and a flute player. The next time around it may be two violin players and several random musicians. The openness of the experience is the most fundamental part of the Schmangg concept.

Instruments Everything! Guitars, Bass, Drums, Conga, Flute, Violins, 303, 808, Fender Rhodes, Nord Lead, Zen Drum, Mandolin, Saxophone, Slide Guitar, Accordion, and more.

Albums Schmangg Jam I, Schmangg Jam II, Schmang Jam III

Location Detroit, MI - USA

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