Although Zen did not become rock stars even within our zip code, I continued to be a local music enthusiast. By the mid-90's I overcame the disappointment of failing to rock a million faces and began haunting music bars again. In doing so I stumbled upon the Atlanta jam band scene, which was nearing it's boiling point. I had already published a few copies of a local music `zine called FEEDBACK. When I encountered jam bands I saw something that shot my big toe up in my boot and that seemed largely ignored, so I jumped aboard.

Driving home from delivering my papers one evening I heard the Dunhams radio show spin a cover of "Welcome to the Jungle" by a band called Iratowns. The harmonies on this reworked version were unbelievable. I presumed this was a big band everyone knew about and made a note to go see their taping for a Dunhams broadcast at the Somber Reptile (a real turdhole of a club) that evening.

It turned out they were little known outside their home of Auburn, Alabama but when they began a song called "Green Man" (Real Audio), I was floored. They had just moved from Alabama to Atlanta and after their set the crowd circled them and told them they were probably gonna do very well here. I wrote an article right away called "Holy Shit! It's IRATOWNS!" Indeed they packed every place they played.

The band's style has been described as the bastard child of Rush, Phish and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Dan Campbell was a classically-trained violinist who wrote most of their songs (sometimes literally on paper) and dazzled with his psychedelic fiddle. Brian Lewis was the keyboardist, booking agent, poster artist, chauffer and general organizer. Steven Senn was the singer recruited from Demopolis, Alabama after the original singer left. John Dent on bass and Sid Crigler on drums were the ultra-tight rhythm section.

The tightness of their live shows and the complex, cinematic quality of their lengthy compositions won audiences over instantly, but they were relying on bar shows to get the word out. After I got laid off at Worldcom I went to the Brandy House that evening and proposed to bassist John Dent that what they needed was a publicist, and that would be me.

To my own quiet amazement I got them a glowing write up in the Tampa Tribune after opening for NRBQ. There were also nice mentions in newspapers in Sarasota, Charleston and Fayetteville, Arkansas. There were another couple of interviews set up for radio stations in Auburn and Huntsville that unfortunately didn't happen but, hey, I set `em up. Another Dunhams show and a spot on Good Day, Atlanta were also in the air but, again, didn't happen before the band folded (see the following paragraphs).

Despite being popular with crowds, the jam band intelligentsia gave them the cold shoulder. No festival promoter seemed to want to know them, and you had to be seen at festivals in that scene to be considered legit. Some of the hippie crowd seemed to have a problem with them, maybe because they cited Frank Zappa as a bigger influence than Jerry Garcia -- blasphemy!

By the mid 2000's they unofficially disbanded, but more recently Dan Campbell is playing with country star Buddy Jewell. Jewell is a guy with a real record contract who plays Vegas and the Grand Ole Opry, so I guess the jam band intelligentsia can bite Dan's ass.

I was just uploading one of their best shows to the torrent site Dime a Dozen.org last night, and along the way I thoughtfully made these MP3's for your enjoyment. You can hear the rendition of "Welcome to the Jungle" that first caught my ear, and also what I consider their best tune, the 10-minute long "Analogy."

Welcome to the Jungle (MP3)

Analogy (MP3)

Enjoy.