Who\'s nostalgic?

[Wolfman]

As I look over the list of band casualties that we have compiled here, it really brings out the fact that the B\'Fam is what kept The Breakfast afloat long past these other bands. Think about it: I would bet the house that The Breakfast has more fans over 25 shows, over 50 shows, over 100 shows, over 200 shows, and better show archiving than any of these bands ever had.  All of these bands were doing their thing at about the same time and places as PB/TB, and The Breakfast outlasted all of them in large part because of the best fan dedication...

Percy Hill
Miracle Orchestra
God Street Wine
Jiggle the Handle
Addison Groove Project
Mori Stylez
Schleigho
Uncle Sammy
Ulu
Topaz
Deep Banana Blackout
The New Deal
Particle

R.I.P.

[bdfreetuna]

The New Deal still plays and still sucks at music and has more fans than The Breakfast (they easily packed Pearl Street ballroom a few months ago)

Deep Banana Blackout also has more fans (probably).. or at least they manage to get better venues and better festival slots when they do play

But yeah, without Breakfast fans all over the northeast who are willing to drive for hours for just about any Breakfast show possible I\'m sure Breakfast would have taken a "break" years ago

They are also lucky that all these fans will be back in action whenever they decide to start playing shows again.

It\'s really hard to say how many Breakfast fans there really are. How many people were at BreakFEST 2? Obviously those were 100% Breakfast fans.. none of the other bands brought any fans... and a lot of people from CT didn\'t go and other people couldn\'t make it. I think if they started touring the Northeast again and playing a variety of venues we could see the amount of familiar fans double, especially if they released an album and were patient and persistant for a year

I know some people will disagree but at least in my area and NH and possibly CT as well the fanbase has been growing for the last 1-2 years. It just hasn\'t really been obvious because they\'ve had limited shows at almost always 21+ venues

[Vassillios]

As I look over the list of band casualties that we have compiled here, it really brings out the fact that the B\'Fam is what kept The Breakfast afloat long past these other bands. Think about it: I would bet the house that The Breakfast has more fans over 25 shows, over 50 shows, over 100 shows, over 200 shows, and better show archiving than any of these bands ever had.  All of these bands were doing their thing at about the same time and places as PB/TB, and The Breakfast outlasted all of them in large part because of the best fan dedication...

Percy Hill
Miracle Orchestra
God Street Wine
Jiggle the Handle
Addison Groove Project
Mori Stylez
Schleigho
Uncle Sammy
Ulu
Topaz
Deep Banana Blackout
The New Deal
Particle

R.I.P.

RAQ
Seth Yacovone

[leith]

All these bands mentioned failed to keep up a heavy touring schedule outside of the NE region thus the failure. The Breakfast suffered the exact same fate once they also retired from National touring but no one here realizes it because you all still had shows close to home.

[Igziabeher]

All these bands mentioned failed to keep up a heavy touring schedule outside of the NE region thus the failure. The Breakfast suffered the exact same fate once they also retired from National touring but no one here realizes it because you all still had shows close to home.

yes, but they lost money every time they toured nationally, so it wasn\'t a viable option.

[leith]

All these bands mentioned failed to keep up a heavy touring schedule outside of the NE region thus the failure. The Breakfast suffered the exact same fate once they also retired from National touring but no one here realizes it because you all still had shows close to home.

yes, but they lost money every time they toured nationally, so it wasn\'t a viable option.

How is it not a viable option? Tea Leaf Green a band that has been around just as long but never stopped touring is just as broke but more dedicated to their lives as a band. They are determined to make it and see it as their only option. They lost a member and kept touring. When Scotty broke his ankle they persevered kept touring and the guy they got to supplement the drumming while Scotty healed BEHIND his kit was luckily an awesome addition and they were willing to see that and decide to ask him aboard even though it meant another division in any paycheck. They all have side projects and tour those projects. They spread their visibility by playing with other bands or members of popular bands in certain regions ie. The Breakfast, PGroove etc. They only play music and don\'t bother with day jobs even if it meant easing their financial burdens.
This dedication is what keeps them afloat and their fanbase happy since they know they can count on the band to continue touring and make the fan reciprocation worth it.
It\'s a lesson all those bands and The Breakfast can learn from.

[Wolfman]

All these bands mentioned failed to keep up a heavy touring schedule outside of the NE region thus the failure. The Breakfast suffered the exact same fate once they also retired from National touring but no one here realizes it because you all still had shows close to home.

       

[bdfreetuna]

I wouldn\'t exactly recommend The Breakfast start playing shows in parts of the country they are guaranteed a serious doozie.

When they could play Red Square, Higher Ground / Nectar\'s, Middle East, Tammany, Toads, Electric Company more often.

Most of those venues it\'s been quite a while since Breakfast played there but they\'d be guaranteed a good crowd. So why bother playing Duluth, South Dakota and Boise, Idaho when it\'s gonna cost and arm and a leg to gain maybe 5 new fans who are going to quickly forget about the band anyway?

[leith]

Lol yeah ok.

[kindm's]

All these bands mentioned failed to keep up a heavy touring schedule outside of the NE region thus the failure. The Breakfast suffered the exact same fate once they also retired from National touring but no one here realizes it because you all still had shows close to home.

yes, but they lost money every time they toured nationally, so it wasn\'t a viable option.

How is it not a viable option? Tea Leaf Green a band that has been around just as long but never stopped touring is just as broke but more dedicated to their lives as a band. They are determined to make it and see it as their only option. They lost a member and kept touring. When Scotty broke his ankle they persevered kept touring and the guy they got to supplement the drumming while Scotty healed BEHIND his kit was luckily an awesome addition and they were willing to see that and decide to ask him aboard even though it meant another division in any paycheck. They all have side projects and tour those projects. They spread their visibility by playing with other bands or members of popular bands in certain regions ie. The Breakfast, PGroove etc. They only play music and don\'t bother with day jobs even if it meant easing their financial burdens.
This dedication is what keeps them afloat and their fanbase happy since they know they can count on the band to continue touring and make the fan reciprocation worth it.
It\'s a lesson all those bands and The Breakfast can learn from.

Not a knock on TLG but all they are doing is setting themselves up to be broke. I applaud them for doing something they love but it is not a recipe for success in the music business IMHO. How many bands who have been plugging away for years strike fire and "make it big" ?

Being in a band is a lot different than being a professional musician. You can make a living as a professional musician, it is very difficult to make a living as a band.

[leith]

Well since they\'re already broke how bad can it get is their thought. The point is they are still dedicated to playing and touring. Thus they gained the interest of RLM and have great things ahead of them potentially. They continue to cultivate a bigger fanbase by touring the nation and besides they like playing their music for as many people as they can bring it too no matter what. It\'s pure dedication a fan like me can appreciate AND support.

[ds673488]

ive been pretty absent from the live music jam band scene (minus phish) for the past year, due to trying to wrap up my thesis work, no money, no time, etc.  However...some bands that have really impressed me in the past couple years, and some bands i tihnk are still going strong and would go out and see are as follows:

Otis Grove (really really good, most impressed out of all)
Kung Fu (obviously)
Lettice
Soulive
Disco Biscuits
Umphrey\'s
Consider the Source (really like them)

As many of you guys have said here, lots of other bands have bit the dust in the past couple years.  I really think Phish coming back had a lot to do with it.  I\'m a perfect example...now that phish is touring, I\'d rather save my money and go see them 5x a year rather than seeing lots of 2nd/3rd tier jam bands 20x per year.  Hey, I LOVE the breakfast, but lets do the math...I saw them 14 times in 2008; phish comes back in march 2009, I think I saw TB about 8 times that year, 2010 maybe 4, 2011 0 (ouch)!

Also, i think the music festivals are getting stale.  There are wayyy to many of them now, and I just dont have the energy or money anymore to run myself into the ground for 3 days at a place like camp creek, for example.

The Breakfast gave me some of if not the most memorable times of my life, but its a new day now.  We\'re getting older, and a lot of the bands we love aren\'t playing anymore.

[tyzack]

I agree that the jam sceene is dying quickly if not dead. I hate to say that it rose and fell with the fall and rise of phish, but that is the undeniable truth, IMO. That leaves the general pych sceene, which I don\'t really think ever fully embraced the jam sceene. I don\'t really like most jam/pysch fusion bands (bisco is fine, and i\'ll go if friends are, but never just to go), I pretty much only liked the breakfast and phish.

phish had music and sceene to support it, and when the sceene became more than the music, you could tell, and it kind of felt forced (03/04), recently, the music has been better and the sceene has died down so it\'s enjoyable again.

the breakfast, for me, was always all about the intimacy of the show. yes, they are amazing musicans and the music they make is face melting, but i\'m sure there are other bands that are similar if that is what i was into. would i want to see the breakfast play at great woods or msg? hell yes! would i rather them play at the middle east, stone church or iron horse, well, probably...

[bdfreetuna]

would i want to see the breakfast play at great woods or msg? hell yes! would i rather them play at the middle east, stone church or iron horse, well, probably...

totally agree... what\'s good for the fans might not be the best for the band in this case, but Breakfast shows have always been a really nice intimate musical experience. Obviously this is a big part of why many of their fans are die-hard and many of us know each other as well as members of the band.

Even with bands that aren\'t nearly as big as Phish but still bigger than Breakfast... like Umphreys, it\'s impossible to speak to the band and it\'s inevitable that you\'re mostly surrounded by like 1000 strangers.