WEBVTT 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:27.160 Hey, hey Jam Family! Welcome back to Shecky's 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:30.399 Jam Bands, where we dig deep into the music, 00:00:30.859 --> 00:00:34.840 legends, and rising stars of the jam scene. Today 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:37.859 we're heading to Athens, Georgia, home of a lot 00:00:37.859 --> 00:00:40.799 of great music, to talk about a band that's been 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:44.799 laying down ethereal melodic grooves for over 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.380 two decades now. They're called Perpetual Groove, 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:52.719 and as their fans call them, P -groove. So let's 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:56.340 rewind the tape, perpetual groove formed back 00:00:56.340 --> 00:01:00.859 in 1997 at Savannah College of Art and Design. 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:04.299 The founding members, guitarist Brock Butler, 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:08.859 bassist Adam Perry, drummer Albert Subtle, and 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:12.019 keyboardist Matt McDonald, were art students 00:01:12.019 --> 00:01:15.859 by day, musicians by night. They cut their teeth 00:01:15.859 --> 00:01:19.239 on small gigs around Georgia and quickly realized 00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:21.939 that they had something different brewing. A 00:01:21.939 --> 00:01:26.400 mix of soaring guitar melodies, spacey textures, 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:30.319 and dance driven rhythms. Think ambient meets 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:33.579 southern rock meets electronic beats. Eventually 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:36.079 they moved operations up to Athens, Georgia, 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:38.980 which became their home base and springboard 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:43.280 into the larger jam circuit. The name Perpetual 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:46.659 Groove. It captures exactly what they're about, 00:01:46.819 --> 00:01:49.620 creating a groove that feels endless, something 00:01:49.620 --> 00:01:52.620 you get lost in. It's that feeling when you're 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:55.900 on the dance floor, eyes closed, hours go by, 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.140 and music just keeps flowing. P -groove carved 00:01:59.140 --> 00:02:02.180 a distinct niche in the jam band world by blending 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:06.560 rock, anthems, ambient soundscapes, and electronic 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.560 dance vibes. They're one of the early jam bands 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:14.659 to embrace what we now call Jamtronica. the marriage 00:02:14.659 --> 00:02:18.000 of improvisational rock and electric textures. 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:22.639 Where some bands lean heavily into funk or bluegrass, 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:25.719 P -groove leans toward the emotional cinematic. 00:02:26.419 --> 00:02:28.960 Their jams often feel like they're scoring a 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:32.000 film in real time. If you're new to perpetual 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:35.500 groove, here are some tracks to start with. Three 00:02:35.500 --> 00:02:38.120 Weeks, probably the most famous tune, is melodic, 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:41.650 emotional, and showcases Brock Butler's heartfelt 00:02:41.650 --> 00:02:47.449 vocals and soaring guitar, a true anthem. Tweakwood 00:02:47.449 --> 00:02:51.229 Bets, a masterpiece of improvisational and build. 00:02:51.530 --> 00:02:55.789 Clocking in long live, it's where you hear their 00:02:55.789 --> 00:03:01.509 ambient, spacey side open. Only always more recent, 00:03:01.889 --> 00:03:04.310 but a fan favorite that captures their knack 00:03:04.310 --> 00:03:09.150 for blending hooks with deep jams. Mr. Transistor. 00:03:09.449 --> 00:03:12.830 Their electronic edge comes through here, think 00:03:12.830 --> 00:03:16.689 driving beats and dance floor energy. And lastly, 00:03:17.629 --> 00:03:20.789 all this everything, part one and two, a signature 00:03:20.789 --> 00:03:23.949 epic starts reflective and grows into something 00:03:23.949 --> 00:03:26.909 massive. Each of these tracks shows a different 00:03:26.909 --> 00:03:30.090 dimension of the band, from their tender ballad 00:03:30.090 --> 00:03:34.509 side to their dance floor heaters. Okay, let's 00:03:34.509 --> 00:03:37.949 get to the meat of it. They're jams. Need to 00:03:37.949 --> 00:03:41.370 check out Three Weeks, which was live at Georgia 00:03:41.370 --> 00:03:45.870 Theatre in 2005. This one is legendary. They 00:03:45.870 --> 00:03:49.409 stretched into a 20 -minute journey with a patient 00:03:49.409 --> 00:03:53.270 build and peak so soaring that it had fans hugging 00:03:53.270 --> 00:03:57.650 strangers. The guitar solo here is one of Brock's 00:03:57.650 --> 00:04:01.889 all -time highs. Tweekwood Bets, there's various 00:04:01.889 --> 00:04:04.530 versions of this, often their centerpiece of 00:04:04.530 --> 00:04:07.669 their sets is a showcase of ambient layering. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:11.539 Matt McDonald's keys washing over everything 00:04:11.539 --> 00:04:14.319 while the rhythm section holds down the hypnotic 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:18.500 pulse. Some versions dissolve into spacey soundscapes 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:21.980 before they snap back into a triumphant finale. 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:24.959 Another one you should check out is Mr. Transistor. 00:04:25.459 --> 00:04:28.560 These are some of the earlier jams in early 2010. 00:04:29.620 --> 00:04:32.240 These are the jams where they leaned heaviest 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:35.579 on their electronic side. Long trance passages 00:04:35.579 --> 00:04:39.410 full of looping effects. that explode back into 00:04:39.410 --> 00:04:45.569 a rock groove. Pure Jamtronica bliss. And lastly, 00:04:45.629 --> 00:04:49.750 they have multiple festival sets at places like 00:04:49.750 --> 00:04:53.769 Bonnaroo or Jam Cruise. P -groove became known 00:04:53.769 --> 00:04:57.110 for late -night sets that pushed until sunrise. 00:04:57.670 --> 00:05:01.089 The music got spacier, the jams got more exploratory, 00:05:01.350 --> 00:05:04.910 and the vibe pure magic. Here are some unique 00:05:04.910 --> 00:05:08.670 and fun facts about P -groove. P -groove went 00:05:08.670 --> 00:05:12.970 on a hiatus back in 2013 and fans weren't sure 00:05:12.970 --> 00:05:17.569 they'd ever come back but in 2015 they reunited 00:05:17.569 --> 00:05:22.069 and in 2019 they even released a self -titled 00:05:22.069 --> 00:05:25.949 studio album that proved they still had spark 00:05:25.949 --> 00:05:31.689 Brock Butler's solo shows Brock has done acoustic 00:05:31.689 --> 00:05:35.500 solo tours where he strips down P -groove songs, 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:39.079 showing just how strong the songwriting is beneath 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:42.860 the layers. Taper friendly. Like many jam bands, 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:46.259 they've always welcomed live tapers, which means 00:05:46.259 --> 00:05:49.740 there's a huge archive of P -groove shows online. 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:53.720 Dive in, you'll never hear the same tweak -wood 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:57.180 -bets twice. Lastly, what makes them unique, 00:05:57.399 --> 00:06:00.339 they're an Athens legacy, alongside widespread 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:04.050 panic, they helped put Athens firmly on the jam 00:06:04.050 --> 00:06:08.089 band map in the 2000s. Now let's talk about why 00:06:08.089 --> 00:06:11.230 they matter. Perpetual groove may not have the 00:06:11.230 --> 00:06:14.470 same mainstream recognition as fish or widespread 00:06:14.470 --> 00:06:18.629 panic, but within the jam community they're revered 00:06:18.629 --> 00:06:21.389 for pushing the boundaries, bringing emotion, 00:06:21.649 --> 00:06:25.149 atmosphere, and electronic textures into a scene 00:06:25.149 --> 00:06:28.129 that needed it. They're the band that can make 00:06:28.129 --> 00:06:31.800 you dance one minute and cry the next. and that's 00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:34.860 a rare gift. So there you have it, Perpetual 00:06:34.860 --> 00:06:38.019 Groove, Melodic Masters, Ambient Architects, 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:40.319 and one of the most heartfelt bands in the jam 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:43.019 scene. If you've never been to a P -groove show, 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:46.800 do yourself a favor, find one, step into the 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:50.579 Perpetual Groove, and let yourself drift. That's 00:06:50.579 --> 00:06:53.879 all for this episode of Checky's Jam Bands. Until 00:06:53.879 --> 00:06:56.819 next time, keep the jams alive, support live 00:06:56.819 --> 00:07:01.259 music, and remember... The groove is indeed perpetual.