2010 Flagpole Award for Best Athens Jam Band

Thursday, June 24, 2010 was a big night for the Incredible Sandwich; it was the night of the 2010 Flagpole Awards. They were in the top three contenders for Best Jam Band in Athens, up against Mama’s Love and Perpetual Groove.

After weeks of voting, both through mail-in and online ballots, musicians and fans alike gathered together at the Historic Morton Theater in downtown Athens, Georgia for the awards show.

There was much speculation as to who would take home the trophy, but in the end, the Incredible Sandwich came out victorious. Not only were they named the Best Jam Band in Athens, but they were given the title by, you guys, the fans, hundreds of people all coming together and agreeing that they like the Incredible Sandwich better than any other jam band in Athens, and for that the band would like to say THANK YOU!!

This literally could not have happened without y’all!

The Incredible Sandwich has been nominated for Best Jam Band in Athens. We are thrilled to be considered for this award. Your votes are needed. The voting process is extremely SIMPLE:

1. Click HERE to vote
2. Scroll down to the Jam category and click on the TIS button
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click submit
4. Check your email for a confirmation
5. Open the email and click the link in it
6. Click the “submit” button when the new page opens

We always appreciate your help. Keep in touch and look for upcoming dates in the future. Thanks!

Hello Friends,

Now’s the time we need your help. As you might know, The Incredible Sandwich won the Athens Waka Winter Classic, which means we are playing at Wakarusa this summer. However, 19 other bands won from across the country.

2 out of the 20 bands will be asked to play main stage at Wakarusa, and we need your help to be 1 of the 2.

Click HERE to go vote!

Once there, you must create an account and simply vote for The Incredible Sandwich. Every vote counts!!!

Please pass this along to any friends you have. Your help will be much appreciated. Let’s represent the Southeast well.

Thanks guys!!!

The Incredeible Sandwich

Mule Train Records is proud to announce that The Incredible Sandwich has been selected to appear on the AthFest 2010 CD!

“Where You Are” was recorded this winter by Nathan Sheppard at Green Room Studios in Athens, GA.  This is the debut appearance of both Green Room Studios and The Incredible Sandwich on this annual compilation.

The AthFest CD features a sampling of local music from Athens, GA, and is released every spring in anticipation of the festival the following June.

An official announcement was made in the February 17, 2010 issue of Athens’ own Flagpole Magazine and stated that out of 143 submissions, only 16 artists were selected.  Other artists slated to appear on the CD are The Whigs, Five Eight, Modern Skirts, William Tonks, and Ken Will Morton, among others.  Find a full listing of this year’s lineup here.

This 13^th annual AthFest CD, produced by Ghostmeat Records, will be released on May 11, 2010.  A CD release party (that is free of charge!) will take place around that date. The event feature three bands that appearing on the CD.

According to the AthFest web site, “Proceeds from CD sales and the electronic distribution of the album benefit AthFest, Inc.- the local non-profit that produces the annual Athens Music & Arts Festival and supports year-round efforts in music and arts education.”

The Niner Online

Jam Bands produce a style of music that is simple and relaxing, music that anyone can just chill out to when they listen. Jam Bands were popularized by such artist as the Grateful Dead or the Allman Brothers during the late 1960’s.

They are known for their improvisation to their music as well as the liberal cultural scene that is typically associated with them. Artists today like The String Cheese Incident, Disco Biscuits and Widespread Panic are currently some of the most notarized Jam Bands. The Incredible Sandwich is one of those bands that continue to bring that free spirited sound to a new generation of listeners.

Formed in the fall of 2007, The Incredible Sandwich is a Jam Band based out of Athens, G.A. “It’s a psychedelic, spacey, progressive rock jam sound,” said Matt McKinney, lead guitarist and a vocalist for the group.

The incredible Sandwich also consists of Kevin Juneau on bass guitar, Damian Kapcala on the keyboard, and Rackley Davis on drums as well as vocals.  Each of the members began playing music in their young teens, and Kapcala is even a classically trained on the piano.

The band has a wide range of influences ranging from Radiohead, The Grateful Dead and even European progressive rock.

“The fact that we share the same influences helps a lot with how we feed off each other. I think a lot of that goes into improvisation. We have a fine-tuned ear for each other’s instrument and style,” said Davis on the Band’s Myspace Account.

On April 25, 2009, their debut self titled EP was released. The five song EP even reached number 11 on Relix/JamBands.com. The Incredible Sandwich are currently in the process of recording their new full length album. “(Were) a few weeks away from finishing . . . (currently) figuring out the art work,” said McKinney. “Recording the stuff is almost over.”

Being based out of Athen’s G.A. has helped them greatly to the road of success. The band was even the winners of the “Upstart of the Year” award at the Athens Flagpole awards. The University of Georgia based out of Athens helps creates a town full of creative, artistic individuals.

The artistic community of Athens gives the opportunity for  local musicians as well as any type artist a supportive environment to showcase their talent. Acts such as R.E.M., Widespread Panic and Of Montréal are also based out Athens, G.A.  Their small independent record label, Mule Train Records, is based out of Athens as well.

The Incredible Sandwich are continuing to bring that easy going sound that help defined the late 1960’s to aged hippies, college kids and general music fans today.  If you wish to check out The Incredible Sandwich live, they will be coming to the Carolina’s via Charleston, playing at Halligan’s on Jan. 20.

- Devin Phillips, The Niner Online

Originally published 02/11/10

Click here to view original article

The Incredible Sandwich won a Battle of the Bands to play Wakarusa 2010 this summer. The vote was decided by all who attended the February 1 event at New Earth Music Hall. Music began at 9 p.m., and The Sandwich played at 1 a.m.

Other competing bands included Jazzchronic (funk,rock,fusion,) Mama’s Love (jam, rock, funk,) Sumilan (progressive, rock, ambient,) and The Head (rock and roll). All were chosen through a submission process.

This multi-artist gig wass part of the Waka Winter Classic, which will be touring though 20 cities this winter in a quest to locate the best musicians across the country. The winner of each talent showcase will receive an invitation to play at the Wakarusa festival. The winners will also have their music featured on the Wakarusa Web site and will compete in an online talent showcase.

The 6th Annual Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival will take place on in June 3-6, 2010 at Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, Arkansas.

Genres heard will include a cappella, acoustic, adult contemporary, alternative, Americana, avant-garde, bluegrass, blues, celtic, children’s music, classic rock, classical, comedy, contemporary christian, country, cover band, electronic, folk, funk, gospel, goth, hip-hop/rap, jam band, latin, metal, new age/ambient, non-music performer, pop, punk, reggae, rock, singer/songwriter, soul, spoken word, urban and world.

Artists already scheduled to play the mountain-top festival include STS9, The Disco Biscuits, Lotus and Tea Leaf Green.

See The Incredible Sandwich’s video promo here.

In the past few months, TIS achieved a top 15 ranking on national radio charts (see a map here and more info here) and has been touring to great success.

Here are some video versions of the band’s new songs.
(Note: Some of the song titles may change at a later date)

• “B Thing”
• “Round and Round” (this video is especially psychedelic)
• “In the Pines”

To keep updated on The Sandwich’s activity, please friend Mule Train Records on Facebook or tweet with us on Twitter.

Performer Magazine

Emerging onto the Athens music scene in 2008, the Incredible Sandwich have already met an overwhelming surge of popularity thanks to a prominent spot at Athens’ annual summer event, AthFest, and contagious word-of-mouth hype.

Much of this stems from their shows, where the quartet has already honed a tight performance with a stunning display of musical chemistry and chops.

Their highly melodic, unhurried approach to songwriting rightfully appeals to jam band fans, but unlike most neo-jam acts that seem to just meander, the Incredible Sandwich fuses bursts of funk and jazz, played with convincing dexterity and inflection, with straightforward, organic progressions and textures.

The result is jams that actually have drive – and what’s more, they show a band clearly educated in music theory.

Much of the Incredible Sandwich’s initial appeal rests upon guitarist/singer Matt McKinney, who snakes in and out of lithe, cascading solos and suave, syncopated rhythms. True, the prog/jazz-laced jam sound Phish pioneered rears its head all over the Incredible Sandwich’s EP –but, again, the band plays with such skill it’s hard not to enjoy it. The two-part “Bluebird”’s ambling, fluid arpeggios worm their way into your head with ease, even if the song doesn’t traverse much new ground. “Duck!” – while repetitive– sports a supple whiteboy-funk melody (this is a good thing) and closing ballad “Pleasant Depression” is simplistic yet undeniably touching.

But on “It’s Gone,” the album’s centerpiece, the Sandwich offers its clearest glimpse of new musical possibilities. Taking its time to open the floodgates, the 10-plus-minute epic cycles through everything from turbulent chromatic passages, to ambient drones, to heavy, gut-pummeling breakdowns to wide open, sunlit solos.

The only real weakness on display is McKinney’s vocals: his tone (think a Southern version of Umphrey’s McGee) is earnest but somehow flat, which belies the invigorating musical textures that course underneath.
—John Barrett

Originally Published:  December 2009 Issue —Southeast Edition

Click here for Performer Magazine Online

In the December issue of Performer Magazine—Southeast version—writer John Barret reviews The Incredible Sandwich.

He points out the musical skill and talent of the members, especially Matt (guitarist/singer) whom he has this to say about:

Matt [...] snakes in and out of lithe, cascading solos and suave , syncopated rhythms.

He considers the 10-minute-plus song “It’s Gone” to be the album’s centerpiece cycling, “through everything from turbulent chromatic passages, to ambient drones, to heavy, gut-pommeling breakdowns to wide, open, sunlit solos”.

He does also point out Matt’s voice as the one weakness of the Sandwich’s EP.

Despite this, in The Red & Black (UGA’s student newspaper) he awards the band the title of “Best New Local Band” for this year.

Video with shots of the recording session at John Keane Studios.

Photos taken November 11, 2009 at John Keane Studios.

See more photos in the Facebook album.

Photos by Nathan Rodriguez.