Hey, hey Jam Family! Welcome back to Shecky's
Jam Bands, where we dig deep into the music,
legends, and rising stars of the jam scene. Today
we're heading to Athens, Georgia, home of a lot
of great music, to talk about a band that's been
laying down ethereal melodic grooves for over
two decades now. They're called Perpetual Groove,
and as their fans call them, P -groove. So let's
rewind the tape, perpetual groove formed back
in 1997 at Savannah College of Art and Design.
The founding members, guitarist Brock Butler,
bassist Adam Perry, drummer Albert Subtle, and
keyboardist Matt McDonald, were art students
by day, musicians by night. They cut their teeth
on small gigs around Georgia and quickly realized
that they had something different brewing. A
mix of soaring guitar melodies, spacey textures,
and dance driven rhythms. Think ambient meets
southern rock meets electronic beats. Eventually
they moved operations up to Athens, Georgia,
which became their home base and springboard
into the larger jam circuit. The name Perpetual
Groove. It captures exactly what they're about,
creating a groove that feels endless, something
you get lost in. It's that feeling when you're
on the dance floor, eyes closed, hours go by,
and music just keeps flowing. P -groove carved
a distinct niche in the jam band world by blending
rock, anthems, ambient soundscapes, and electronic
dance vibes. They're one of the early jam bands
to embrace what we now call Jamtronica. the marriage
of improvisational rock and electric textures.
Where some bands lean heavily into funk or bluegrass,
P -groove leans toward the emotional cinematic.
Their jams often feel like they're scoring a
film in real time. If you're new to perpetual
groove, here are some tracks to start with. Three
Weeks, probably the most famous tune, is melodic,
emotional, and showcases Brock Butler's heartfelt
vocals and soaring guitar, a true anthem. Tweakwood
Bets, a masterpiece of improvisational and build.
Clocking in long live, it's where you hear their
ambient, spacey side open. Only always more recent,
but a fan favorite that captures their knack
for blending hooks with deep jams. Mr. Transistor.
Their electronic edge comes through here, think
driving beats and dance floor energy. And lastly,
all this everything, part one and two, a signature
epic starts reflective and grows into something
massive. Each of these tracks shows a different
dimension of the band, from their tender ballad
side to their dance floor heaters. Okay, let's
get to the meat of it. They're jams. Need to
check out Three Weeks, which was live at Georgia
Theatre in 2005. This one is legendary. They
stretched into a 20 -minute journey with a patient
build and peak so soaring that it had fans hugging
strangers. The guitar solo here is one of Brock's
all -time highs. Tweekwood Bets, there's various
versions of this, often their centerpiece of
their sets is a showcase of ambient layering.
Matt McDonald's keys washing over everything
while the rhythm section holds down the hypnotic
pulse. Some versions dissolve into spacey soundscapes
before they snap back into a triumphant finale.
Another one you should check out is Mr. Transistor.
These are some of the earlier jams in early 2010.
These are the jams where they leaned heaviest
on their electronic side. Long trance passages
full of looping effects. that explode back into
a rock groove. Pure Jamtronica bliss. And lastly,
they have multiple festival sets at places like
Bonnaroo or Jam Cruise. P -groove became known
for late -night sets that pushed until sunrise.
The music got spacier, the jams got more exploratory,
and the vibe pure magic. Here are some unique
and fun facts about P -groove. P -groove went
on a hiatus back in 2013 and fans weren't sure
they'd ever come back but in 2015 they reunited
and in 2019 they even released a self -titled
studio album that proved they still had spark
Brock Butler's solo shows Brock has done acoustic
solo tours where he strips down P -groove songs,
showing just how strong the songwriting is beneath
the layers. Taper friendly. Like many jam bands,
they've always welcomed live tapers, which means
there's a huge archive of P -groove shows online.
Dive in, you'll never hear the same tweak -wood
-bets twice. Lastly, what makes them unique,
they're an Athens legacy, alongside widespread
panic, they helped put Athens firmly on the jam
band map in the 2000s. Now let's talk about why
they matter. Perpetual groove may not have the
same mainstream recognition as fish or widespread
panic, but within the jam community they're revered
for pushing the boundaries, bringing emotion,
atmosphere, and electronic textures into a scene
that needed it. They're the band that can make
you dance one minute and cry the next. and that's
a rare gift. So there you have it, Perpetual
Groove, Melodic Masters, Ambient Architects,
and one of the most heartfelt bands in the jam
scene. If you've never been to a P -groove show,
do yourself a favor, find one, step into the
Perpetual Groove, and let yourself drift. That's
all for this episode of Checky's Jam Bands. Until
next time, keep the jams alive, support live
music, and remember... The groove is indeed perpetual.