Leftover Salmon – Boulder, Colorado
LIV(e) – A Tribute to Mark Vann
By Pat Ferris

“Few musicians combine country, bluegrass, Cajun and rock in such rowdy, infectious, cure-all fashion as Leftover Salmon.” – San Francisco Chronicle

Thirteen years ago, Leftover Salmon was created as the result of a merger between guitarist Vince Herman’s band, The Salmonheads and The Left Hand String Band, featuring Drew Emmitt on mandolin and Mark Vann on banjo. Since the group’s inception, they have been pushing the boundaries of bluegrass, creating their own blend of electrified bluegrass rock.

I ‘discovered’ Leftover Salmon as a main chapter in their story ends and a new chapter begins. ‘Salmon shows are legendary, drawing audiences in upwards of 20,000 and a huge following across North America…all without a major label backing them!

Leftover Salmon’s most recent release is titled Live (pronounced ‘Liv’). The album title is a tribute to LOS founding member, Mark Vann, who lost his battle with cancer on March 4th 2002. Their official homepage has dozens of mp3s and streams of entire live performances, giving a new listener a sense of the chemistry and energy of a live show. In my own critical opinion, each of the musicians in LOS are masters of their respective instruments, only to be outdone by themselves as they’re each raised to a higher level of musicianship by their band mates.

Leftover Salmon is:

Vince Herman - Lead Vocals, Guitar

Drew Emmitt - Lead Vocals, Mandolin, Fiddle, Electric Guitar

Mark Vann (Deceased) - Vocals, Banjo

Noam Pikelny - Banjo

Greg Garrison - Bass

Bill McKay - Keyboard

Jose Martinez - Drums

The passing of Mark Vann is a tragic loss the music world. He was a world-class player, respected and loved by musicians and fans worldwide. I missed an era, but am happy to hear that Leftover Salmon has added 21 year old, Noam Pikelny, on banjo and will continue to make their mark in the world of bluegrass and original Americana rock.

I interviewed Noam, which gives a different perspective of Leftover Salmon…both from the position of being a fan (which is where he got his start with them), and as Leftover Salmon’s new banjo player.

<HotBands> Hi Noam! It’s a pleasure to speak with you today! As the ‘new banjo player’, and newest member to the band, give your perspective on the band and if you have some history of the band you know prior to you joining, please share that.

<Leftover Salmon> Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt were both fixtures in the Colorado acoustic music scene, playing bluegrass and all kinds of folk music. Drew, the mandolin player, had a band called The Left Hand String Band in the Boulder area. He met Mark Vann, the banjo player, at a festival in Virginia and convinced Mark to come out and join The Left Hand String Band. Vince came from Pennsylvania, moved to Boulder and formed a band in 1989 called The Salmon Heads. There were times when different band members from each band couldn’t make gigs, and band members from both bands covered each other. Eventually, the two bands combined to form Leftover Salmon.

<HotBands> What happened to Mark?

<Leftover Salmon> He passed away March of this year. He was diagnosed with cancer last October and went pretty fast. He was only 40, left a widow, but didn’t have any children.

<HotBands> I’m sorry to hear that. You’ve had a big pair of shoes to fill.

<Leftover Salmon> Yeah…Mark was awesome…one of the best. I’m not looking at it as a replacement for Mark…I’m just a banjo player. There will never be another Mark Vann. I just hope to continue the tradition that he started, which is incredible musicianship and being a wonderful person.

<HotBands> Leftover Salmon is becoming more of a known name on the mainstream circuit because of your huge following in the bluegrass circuit. What do you think was the thing that made LOS take off?

<Leftover Salmon> Well, I’m not the best person to be answering that question. I came into the band last year, but was a fan first. The thing I liked about them before I was in and even more now is that the band is so versatile. There aren’t many bands out there that can go from playing authentic bluegrass to a calypso tune, to straight rock and roll. Going to a Leftover Salmon concert is a real unique experience…covering all of those genres. There’s a lot of chemistry onstage between the band members. Vince is one of the world’s greatest stage personalities I’ve ever seen. As far as what made them take off in the beginning…I wasn’t there for that. All I can tell you is why I liked the band before I joined.

<HotBands> How would you describe Leftover Salmon to readers that haven’t yet heard your music?

<Leftover Salmon> We self coined the term ‘Poly-ethnic Cajun Slamgrass’. What does that really mean? It’s almost self-explanatory. The band covers every genre…Leftover Salmon is not a bluegrass band, and I wouldn’t say it’s a total rock band. We’ve been called a jam-band, and there are times that we have jams, but we’re not really a jam band either. There’s always a new combination of sounds depending on what the song is.

<HotBands> As far as your CDs go, are you on your own label?

<Leftover Salmon> We’re on Bert records, which is LOS record label, which is linked with Compass Records out Nashville.

<HotBands> As an Internet business, I’m interested in finding out your perspective on how the Internet has affected the music industry, where you stand on file sharing, etc. I know you have your shows recorded and available on your website. Can you share your thoughts on that?

<Leftover Salmon> I think it’s a great thing. The band has always been supportive of live recordings. It gives people the chance to hear the music they wouldn’t have heard before and it gives curious fans the chance to hear shows they couldn’t have possibly made it to. I think it’s a two-pronged thing…one to introduce the music to new people and second, to keep the loyal fan base by keeping fans that want to hear any of the shows from the last tour. It’s not that much commitment to give them the streams…if they like it, they’ll keep downloading and coming to our shows…if they don’t, we didn’t really lose anything. As far as trading online goes, file-sharing doesn’t replace going and buying the music at the store…even the live cuts at the store, however, sales…especially in the bluegrass genre, are doing really well because of the trading scene.

<HotBands> Would you say that LOS makes the majority of their income from CD sales at the store, or from live shows and CDs sold at the live performance?

<Leftover Salmon> I don’t know what the total dollar amounts are, but I’d lean toward the touring. The band records fantastic studio albums, including the last one, which was a live album, but there’s something you just can’t capture on a CD that you get at a live show. Leftover is one of the few bands that the live show is one notch better than the CD. I’m not saying we’re not musician’s that can sit down and create a great album, but there’s just something magical at the shows that make people want to come out to see them.

<HotBands> Who would you say is your primary audience? Would you say it’s the band’s magic that makes them come back, or would you say the audience creates the magic for the band to play better?

<Leftover Salmon> I’d have to say it’s a dynamic relationship. The audience is affected by the band and we’re definitely affected by the audience. I think our audience is pretty broad as far as demographics. Some started coming to hear us because they thought we were a bluegrass band, but we’re really kind of fringe bluegrass…the people that aren’t familiar with bluegrass that have seen us before come back because we put on a great show.

<HotBands> What was the biggest show that Leftover Salmon has played for?

<Leftover Salmon> Not sure exactly, but the Telluride bluegrass festival has about 20,000 people, and LOS has played there many times.

<HotBands> Are you in the studio recording anything new or planning a new tour?

<Leftover Salmon> We’re on and off tour all year, but I think it’s everybody’s goal to go into the studio and record another studio album in the near future. After Mark passed away, there were a lot of different banjo players rotating in and out of the band from all over the country to fill his spot. During this time, it was difficult to record a new CD…not that everybody didn’t want to, but that there was time needed to reflect and grieve. Now there is a little more freedom to get back into the studio.

<HotBands> How do you feel about the RIAA and the war on the Internet music?

<Leftover Salmon> I think there is too much politics in it. To get a song on the radio, there is so much more than having a good sound from your band. For example; if LOS had the desire to be on country radio, we’d have to be approved by people who are funding the radio…advertisers. The demographics that country radio is trying to target are middle-aged and younger women, with children. So you hear so many ads for soap, cosmetics and tampons. I don’t think it should be up to a soap executive to determine what is played on the air. Although this isn’t true for everywhere, but mainly the pop country radio market.

<HotBands> It seems to me that the thing that establishes the staying power of a band is the music. You’ll see a lot of bands in the news that have flash or a lot of press, but where are they 10 years later. Leftover Salmon built their entire following from the underground, and seems to still be heading toward their apex.

<Leftover Salmon> LOS started 13 years ago playing local Colorado clubs and hitting the road and fighting for it. There isn’t any real risk of this thing bottoming out and having our audience disappear…not that we take our audience for granted or expect them to show. We appreciate everybody showing up for every show, but since this was built from the bottom up, there isn’t much outside control determining if we’re going to be successful next week. We don’t have to worry about being on soap executive’s , or a major label’s good side. We have an ‘upstream team’ which are dedicated fans in each city that help us out by postering and getting the word out. Long time fans show a real connection with the band.

<HotBands> How did you get picked to play in the band?

<Leftover Salmon> In March of 2001, I saw LOS in Champaign Illinois, which is where I was going to school at the time. Mark was still in the band and in good health. I had never met the band, but we had mutual friends in Colorado. I walked to the bus before the show, holding my banjo, and the guys really welcomed me, invited me on the bus and in a couple of minutes, we were jamming. I sat in later that night, playing Mark’s 2nd banjo, sharing leads, and having a really good time. We really hit it off, and I think those guys put it in the back of their mind. When Mark started really getting sick and eventually passed away, they were looking at possible banjo players they could get, I think they remembered what a good time Mark had playing with me. There were some incredible players sitting in during the interim, some with very established solo careers. I told the guys I wanted to help out in any way. I think more than anything, the other guys knew Mark well enough to know that he would have approved of me.

<HotBands> What type of a time frame for your next CD?

<Leftover Salmon> I’m expecting we’ll be in the studio sometime in the next 6 months, so probably late next year although no guarantees.

<HotBands> You go out on tour a lot. How many weeks at a time do you go?

<Leftover Salmon> We go out on 2-5 week tours regularly.

<HotBands> Any plans for Europe?

<Leftover Salmon> I don’t know. I’d personally love to play there.

<HotBands> Do you have any words of advice you can offer our readers just getting started with a band?

<Leftover Salmon> When I started playing banjo, I never thought it would be a way to make a living, but if you love something, you owe it to yourself to put in the time to dedicate yourself to it. If you’re dedicated to something, work hard at it and push your abilities by playing with people better than yourself. Being a professional musician is a lot more gratifying than a lot of jobs, but it’s a big step for a lot of people…it’s a scary change, but if you love it, you gotta do it…and it’s worth it.

<HotBands> Is the band self-managed?

<Leftover Salmon> We have good management, and good management can make you or break you, but we also have enough of our own say to maintain artistic control over our direction. I would never consider working with a bigger band without management. It’s important you get with a company you can trust too.

<HotBands> Is there anything you’d like to ad to the interview?

<Leftover Salmon> To all the musicians…get out there and do as much as humanly possible. Play as much as possible with people better than you…abilities will grow so much faster if you can get with musicians that are more experienced. It really has to be a selfless thing by humbling yourself with better players, playing a lot of covers, etc., but if you really love it, you gotta do it.

<HotBands> What a great statement! Thank you for taking your time to do this interview, and I look forward to seeing you next time you’re through Seattle!

<Leftover Salmon> Great! Thank you!

For more information on Leftover SalmonCLICK HERE