WEBVTT 00:00:20.499 --> 00:00:24.600 Hey, hey, hey. Welcome back to Shecky's Jam Bands. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:27.359 I'm your host Shecky, and if you're joining us 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.820 for the first time, this is the show where we 00:00:29.820 --> 00:00:32.960 go all the way in on bands that make the live 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.920 music world turn. No fluff, no rankings, just 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:40.579 the music and the stories behind it. Today, I 00:00:40.579 --> 00:00:43.600 want to tell you a story. It starts in a suburb 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:46.259 of Atlanta that most people have never heard 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:50.700 of. It winds through Mayan cosmology, a battle 00:00:50.700 --> 00:00:54.219 against the music industry, a sold -out Red Rocks 00:00:54.219 --> 00:00:57.899 show in a rainstorm, and an unexpected moment 00:00:57.899 --> 00:01:01.520 on a September night in Colorado where five musicians 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:04.640 were inducted into the Hall of Fame they didn't 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:07.420 even know they were being considered for. The 00:01:07.420 --> 00:01:12.299 band STS9, Sound Tribe Sector 9, and if you don't 00:01:12.299 --> 00:01:15.420 know them buckle in because by the time we're 00:01:15.420 --> 00:01:18.219 done today you're going to want to find a show, 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:21.359 buy a ticket, and show up ready to dance until 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:24.680 your legs fall off. Let me paint you a picture. 00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:30.079 It's 1997. You're in Snellville, Georgia, a suburb 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:32.439 just outside of Atlanta. This is not a music 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:35.120 industry hub. This is not a city where record 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:37.500 executives are wandering around looking for the 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:41.239 next big thing. Snellville is a regular place. 00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:45.480 Quiet roads, strip malls, Friday night football, 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:48.920 not exactly where you'd expect a genre -bending, 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:51.659 festival -headlining, hall -of -fame -worthy 00:01:51.659 --> 00:01:55.400 band to spark into an existence. But that's exactly 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:59.180 where it happened. Guitarist Hunter Brown, bassist 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:03.379 David Murphy, and drummer Zach Velmer had been 00:02:03.379 --> 00:02:05.739 knocking around together, experimenting with 00:02:05.739 --> 00:02:08.840 fusing live rock instrumentation with the electric 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:12.259 music they were obsessed with. They weren't trying 00:02:12.259 --> 00:02:15.180 to be a jam band. They weren't really trying 00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:18.560 to be anything defined. They were just chasing 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:22.840 a sound. Keyboardist David Phillips joined soon 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:25.780 after and the four of them played their inaugural 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:31.879 show on October 3rd, 1997. October 3rd, 1997 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:36.219 is a date that STS -9 fans treat almost like 00:02:36.219 --> 00:02:39.219 a birthday. In fact, nine years later to the 00:02:39.219 --> 00:02:43.150 day the band marked the anniversary, with a celebratory 00:02:43.150 --> 00:02:46.629 show at the historic Georgia Theater in Athens. 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:49.710 That's how much the first show means to them. 00:02:50.129 --> 00:02:54.110 Now, at this early point, they actually were 00:02:54.110 --> 00:02:58.150 called Sector 9. Just Sector 9. The expanded 00:02:58.150 --> 00:03:01.370 name came a little later, and then not long after 00:03:01.370 --> 00:03:04.990 the debut, percussionist Jeffrey Lerner joined 00:03:04.990 --> 00:03:08.349 the group. With Lerner on board, adding layers 00:03:08.349 --> 00:03:12.949 of rhythmic complexity, Conga's auxiliary percussion, 00:03:13.530 --> 00:03:15.710 and the stuff that makes you feel music in your 00:03:15.710 --> 00:03:19.129 chest, the five -person core of this band were 00:03:19.129 --> 00:03:22.270 complete. Self -described as post -rock dance 00:03:22.270 --> 00:03:27.270 music, STS -9 from the very beginning was adamant 00:03:27.270 --> 00:03:31.689 about one thing, no solos, no one musician showing 00:03:31.689 --> 00:03:34.969 off at the expense of the group. Everything was 00:03:34.969 --> 00:03:38.590 in service of the collective sound. Group rhythm, 00:03:39.169 --> 00:03:42.840 texture, movement, and that philosophy, born 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:47.539 in a suburb outside of Atlanta in 1997, has never 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:51.340 left them. Okay, let's talk about the name, because 00:03:51.340 --> 00:03:54.360 the name is fascinating and I don't think enough 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:57.979 people know the full story behind it. Sound Tribe 00:03:57.979 --> 00:04:01.280 Sector 9, when they graduated from just being 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:04.939 Sector 9, the full name came in two pieces. Each 00:04:04.939 --> 00:04:08.129 piece means something specific. Sound Tribe, 00:04:08.229 --> 00:04:11.229 that refers to the band's nomadic followers, 00:04:11.449 --> 00:04:14.469 their fans, the people who travel from city to 00:04:14.469 --> 00:04:18.129 city, festival to festival, who make this music 00:04:18.129 --> 00:04:22.750 their lifestyle. There is a tribal quality to 00:04:22.750 --> 00:04:28.430 a STS9 crowd. A sense of belonging, of shared 00:04:28.430 --> 00:04:31.470 language, of being part of a community. The word 00:04:31.470 --> 00:04:35.129 tribe wasn't chosen casually. It was chosen to 00:04:35.129 --> 00:04:37.709 honor the people who make the whole thing possible. 00:04:38.329 --> 00:04:41.730 Now, Sector 9. This is where it really gets interesting. 00:04:42.290 --> 00:04:45.269 Sector 9 is derived from a specific period in 00:04:45.269 --> 00:04:48.829 the Mayan calendar. A period associated with 00:04:48.829 --> 00:04:52.170 what the Mayans described as boundless creativity. 00:04:52.550 --> 00:04:55.550 Infinite creative potential, no ceilings, no 00:04:55.550 --> 00:04:58.949 limits, just pure generative power. Think about 00:04:58.949 --> 00:05:01.389 it for a second. These guys from Snellville, 00:05:01.389 --> 00:05:05.120 Georgia in 1997 are naming their band after a 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:09.100 concept from an ancient Mesoamerican civilization 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:12.220 because it represents the exact philosophical 00:05:12.220 --> 00:05:15.300 space they want to inhabit. That's not an accident. 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:18.560 That's a mission statement. Hunter Brown, STS 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.399 -9's guitarist and one of the band's primary 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:24.699 creative visionaries has said that that story 00:05:24.699 --> 00:05:27.439 will always be their founding story. It never 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:31.180 was just a cool sounding name. It was, as Brown 00:05:31.180 --> 00:05:34.829 put it, always this inspiration for us, an anchor, 00:05:35.329 --> 00:05:38.949 a compass, a reminder of what the music is supposed 00:05:38.949 --> 00:05:41.870 to reach for. And here's the thing about STS 00:05:41.870 --> 00:05:46.649 -9, they live up to it every single night. STS 00:05:46.649 --> 00:05:50.089 -9 built their reputation the way all great ones 00:05:50.089 --> 00:05:53.529 do, by touring constantly, by taking care of 00:05:53.529 --> 00:05:57.069 their fans, and by being absolutely undeniable 00:05:57.069 --> 00:06:00.149 on stage. They released their debut recording 00:06:00.149 --> 00:06:03.689 called The Brown Album, a live improv document 00:06:03.689 --> 00:06:08.209 in 1999. That same year came their first real 00:06:08.209 --> 00:06:11.990 album, Interplanetary Escape Vehicle. The name 00:06:11.990 --> 00:06:14.810 alone tells you what kind of band you're dealing 00:06:14.810 --> 00:06:17.649 with. They began playing small clubs in Atlanta, 00:06:18.509 --> 00:06:21.170 they expanded into the southeast, then the whole 00:06:21.170 --> 00:06:24.329 country. It wasn't overnight, it was relentless. 00:06:24.949 --> 00:06:28.660 And the reputation for live shows grew. and the 00:06:28.660 --> 00:06:31.500 word spread about this instrumental electronic 00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:35.620 band that made a room full of people move like 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:38.579 one organism. Bigger and bigger things started 00:06:38.579 --> 00:06:42.399 happening. In 2003, they got one of those validation 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:45.120 moments that young bands dreamed about. They 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:48.420 were tapped to open for the String Cheese Incident, 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:51.800 a band we covered on a previous episode of Shecky's 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:55.339 Jam Bands at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:59.040 Red Rocks one of the most beautiful, most storied 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:02.879 outdoor venues on the planet. And get this, the 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:06.079 night before that Red Rocks show, they played 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:09.339 the Fox Theater in Boulder. And tickets sold 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:14.180 out in under 15 minutes. 15 minutes. These tickets 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:17.660 gone. For a band that still didn't have a major 00:07:17.660 --> 00:07:21.899 label deal, that was a seismic moment. By 2004, 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:25.819 they were back at the Red Rocks. this time as 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:29.259 headliners, and they didn't stop going back. 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:35.319 As their 20th anniversary in 2017, they had played 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:39.500 Red Rocks 23 times. 23 times in one of the greatest 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:43.040 venues in America. Every year consecutively. 00:07:43.180 --> 00:07:46.560 That is a residency in everything but the name. 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.519 Their 2005 album, Artifact, hit number 12 on 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:53.620 the Billboard's top electronic albums. They opened 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:57.860 for Jay -Z in Denver in 2010, a band that describes 00:07:57.860 --> 00:08:01.639 itself as post -rock dance music, playing for 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:05.100 Jay -Z's crowd. That's definitely a range. And 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:08.180 then there's the night of September 8th, 2017, 00:08:08.819 --> 00:08:12.040 the 20th anniversary celebration at Red Rocks. 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:14.779 Three nights, the first night they performed 00:08:14.779 --> 00:08:18.779 their beloved 2005 album, Artifact, in its entirety, 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:21.980 something they hadn't done since a release 12 00:08:21.980 --> 00:08:25.550 years earlier. The crowd was electric. Fans had 00:08:25.550 --> 00:08:28.810 flown in from all over the country just for this. 00:08:29.189 --> 00:08:32.610 During the song Artifact itself, it started to 00:08:32.610 --> 00:08:35.870 rain over Red Rocks. One reviewer wrote that 00:08:35.870 --> 00:08:39.309 it felt like a sign from the gods. Whether it 00:08:39.309 --> 00:08:43.210 was or not, it was perfect. And then, quietly, 00:08:43.669 --> 00:08:45.889 on the first night, while the audience was still 00:08:45.889 --> 00:08:48.830 buzzing, the band was inducted into the Red Rocks 00:08:48.830 --> 00:08:52.600 Hall of Fame. As a surprise. The band members 00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:56.080 didn't know it was coming. Hunter Brown, Jeffrey 00:08:56.080 --> 00:09:00.700 Lerner, David Phillips, Zach Velmer, and Ilana 00:09:00.700 --> 00:09:03.840 Rocklin, standing at Red Rocks on their 20th 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:07.860 anniversary, rain -soaked, euphoric, and then 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:10.039 someone tells them that they've been inducted 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:13.220 into the hall. Every band member was shocked. 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:17.559 Every one of them was honored. That story, that 00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:22.700 is STS9. The music first, The recognition catches 00:09:22.700 --> 00:09:26.059 up eventually. Let's talk about the music itself, 00:09:26.299 --> 00:09:30.000 because STS -9 exists in a space that is genuinely 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.960 difficult to define, which is, in my view, the 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:37.179 highest possible compliment. They call it genre 00:09:37.179 --> 00:09:40.740 live -tronica. That's a word that the community 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:44.919 created for what STS -9 and a handful of bands 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:49.639 like them do. Full live instrumentation. real 00:09:49.639 --> 00:09:53.100 drums, real bass, real guitar, blended with the 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:56.980 electronic elements, synthesis, loops, and productive 00:09:56.980 --> 00:10:00.679 techniques you'd normally associate with studio 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:04.480 work or DJ sets. The result is something that 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:07.580 feels both organic and futuristic all at the 00:10:07.580 --> 00:10:10.659 same time. Their sound draws from instrumental, 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:15.600 rock, jazz, funk, drum, and bass, psychedelia, 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:19.809 dub, and hip hop. And the key word here is instrumental. 00:10:20.970 --> 00:10:24.570 There are no lead vocals, no lyrics telling you 00:10:24.570 --> 00:10:27.730 what they feel. The music has to do all of the 00:10:27.730 --> 00:10:31.350 emotional work itself. And it does. Powerfully. 00:10:31.990 --> 00:10:34.990 Percussionist Jeffrey Lerner has described the 00:10:34.990 --> 00:10:38.470 challenge and the gift of their genre perfectly. 00:10:39.110 --> 00:10:42.350 He said, the challenge of defining STS -9 sound 00:10:42.350 --> 00:10:45.039 is ultimately the greatest compliment. because 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:48.399 they simply play the music they love. They refuse 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:52.840 to be cornered by genre. And the lights. I have 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:56.639 to mention the lights. STS -9's light shows are 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:00.200 legendary. Their longtime lighting designer Saxton 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:04.700 Waller has been pushing the creative edge for 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:07.159 live lighting technology for as long as they've 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:11.629 been touring. Seeing STS -9 in a dark venue with 00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:13.970 their full light production is an experience 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:18.230 that fans describe as transcendent. The music 00:11:18.230 --> 00:11:22.009 and the visuals work together as one. They complete 00:11:22.009 --> 00:11:25.009 sensory environment. You don't go to an STS -9 00:11:25.009 --> 00:11:27.649 show, you enter it. I told you I was going to 00:11:27.649 --> 00:11:30.289 pick one song for this episode and I've thought 00:11:30.289 --> 00:11:33.789 hard about this. Because STS -9 has a catalogue 00:11:33.789 --> 00:11:37.450 of incredible tracks. Camus, Inspire Strikes 00:11:37.450 --> 00:11:41.289 Back, Golden Gate, When the dust settles, grow, 00:11:41.750 --> 00:11:44.669 any of them could anchor an introduction to this 00:11:44.669 --> 00:11:49.409 band. But I'm going with Scheme. Scheme was released 00:11:49.409 --> 00:11:54.549 on STS9's 2011 EP, When the Dust Settles. And 00:11:54.549 --> 00:11:57.129 when it dropped, it announced itself immediately 00:11:57.129 --> 00:12:00.350 as something special. From the first few seconds, 00:12:00.889 --> 00:12:04.409 the song makes a promise. I'm about to take you 00:12:04.409 --> 00:12:07.549 somewhere. And it keeps that promise every single 00:12:07.549 --> 00:12:11.480 time. Here's what makes Scheme extraordinary 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:14.399 as a piece of music. It starts with a groove, 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:18.200 layered bass, a shimmering keyboard figure, percussion, 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:22.759 and feels like almost ritualistic in its patience. 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:26.279 It doesn't rush. It doesn't announce itself in 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:29.559 a big dramatic opening. It just builds a floor 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:32.720 under your feet, and then the melodic theme arrives. 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:36.480 And it has the quality that is very specific 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:41.379 to SDS -9. at their best. It sounds ancient and 00:12:41.379 --> 00:12:44.080 futuristic all at the same time, like it was 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:46.960 transmitted from a civilization that hasn't been 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:49.480 discovered yet. So here's where I land on STS 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.620 -9. They named themselves after a period of the 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:55.539 Mayan calendar associated with boundless creativity, 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:59.639 and then they spent the next 27 plus years trying 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:04.200 to justify that name. And mostly, overwhelmingly, 00:13:04.740 --> 00:13:08.740 they have. What separates STS -9 from the pack 00:13:08.740 --> 00:13:12.139 isn't just the music, though the music is extraordinary. 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:16.360 It's the totality of what they are and who they 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:19.120 are. They built an independent infrastructure 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:22.480 when the industry was against them. They committed 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.159 to environmental responsibility before it was 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:27.460 fashionable. They raised funds and literally 00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:30.639 constructed homes for displaced families. They 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:34.279 named their label after a frequency, built a 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:37.490 community around it, and then gave other artists 00:13:37.490 --> 00:13:40.330 a home. And every night they walk out onto the 00:13:40.330 --> 00:13:44.389 stage, no lead singer, no lyrics to hide behind, 00:13:44.870 --> 00:13:48.990 and they say the music alone is enough. Come 00:13:48.990 --> 00:13:53.250 with us, trust the groove, let the sound take 00:13:53.250 --> 00:13:56.769 you somewhere. They are, in their own words, 00:13:57.009 --> 00:13:59.649 the biggest band you've never heard of. If that's 00:13:59.649 --> 00:14:02.909 still true for you after today, go find them, 00:14:03.289 --> 00:14:06.389 go to a show, Stand in the dark under the lights, 00:14:07.190 --> 00:14:10.210 feel the bass in your chest, and let the Sector 00:14:10.210 --> 00:14:14.409 9 do what it was always meant to do. Take you 00:14:14.409 --> 00:14:16.730 somewhere you've never been. Thanks for being 00:14:16.730 --> 00:14:20.230 here for Shecky's Jam Bands. I'll see you on 00:14:20.230 --> 00:14:24.049 the next episode. Until then, stay curious, stay 00:14:24.049 --> 00:14:26.289 dancing, and keep the flowing tribe.