Mark Vann Benefit Concert Brings Old Friends Together

Mark Vann playing his electric banjo.

The Mark Vann Foundation will host their Sixth Annual Mark Vann Foundation Holiday Benefit Show on Saturday, December 6 at the Boulder Theatre in Boulder, Colo.

Mark Vann was the popular banjoist with Leftover Salmon, a Colorado-based bluegrass jam band currently switching in and out of hiatus. Vann died of cancer in March of 2002 at his home near Boulder.

Vann won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival banjo competition in 1989 and later that festival met Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, then of the Left Hand String Band. Vann joined the band, which later evolved into Leftover Salmon.

Both Emmitt and Herman will perform at the benefit concert in different groups. Emmitt plays mandolin with his band Emmitt Nershi Band with Bill Nershi from the String Cheese Incident.

Vince Herman, the front man of both Leftover Salmon and his current project Great American Taxi, will have a dominant presence at the event, as he so often has at many musical gatherings. He will perform with Great American Taxi, featuring fiddler Tim Carbone from Railroad Earth.

Several other bluegrass-based acts will perform in supporting slots of Great American Taxi and Emmitt Nershi Band. For a complete list of the performing bands, visit the Boulder Theatre’s Web site.

Zac Mathews Leaves Hot Buttered Rum

Zac Mathews, mandolin player and vocalist with Hot Buttered Rum, announced his decision to leave the band on November 30.

Matthews will not continue the rest of Hot Buttered Rum’s tour, including the New Years Eve show scheduled in Denver.

Speculations are that Mathews has left to make room for a much larger rhythm instrument: the drums.

“Think about it, the band has a lot more potential with a drummer and a pianist,” said Kyle McCabe, a resident of Santa Cruz, Calif. and long-time fan of Hot Buttered Rum.

McCabe’s comment was in reference to the San Francisco Bay Area-based band’s potential of success and popularity.

He also referenced the parallel between the band and the String Cheese Incident, who, as the band aged and progressed, inched farther away from bluegrass and more into experimental jam music.

McCabe expects that Hot Buttered Rum will hire a drummer and possibly a keyboardist.

Hot Buttered Rum has been together for the better half of a decade. The members of the band are long-time friends and seem to have made a group decision about Matthew’s departure.

“I hope you will share in a feeling of excitement for me and for HBR as we journey forward along separate paths. I continue to be an advocate for HBR’s success, and eagerly await the new songs that my brothers and their future collaborations will yield,” said Matthews in his message released over the band’s Web site.

McCabe emphasized his confidence that Matthews will move on to further musical endeavors, as stated in his departure letter to fans.

“I also expect this time of change to recharge my own creative reservoir for music and other endeavors. I look forward to channeling many incredible connections into fruitful collaborations.” – Zac Matthews.

Click here to read Zac Matthews’ letter on Hot Buttered Rum’s Web site.

Avogadro’s Number – Center of Fort Collins Bluegrass

Avogadro’s Number (Avo’s), located just north of Colorado State University’s campus, is the headquarters of the bluegrass community in Fort Collins, Colo.

Every week old and new faces gather at Avo’s for the bluegrass jam to musically interact with others, whether performing or not.

Avogadro's Number, located on 605 S. Mason Street, is Fort Collins' bluegrass headquarters. The bluegrass jam is every Wednesday.

Avo’s bluegrass jam began in the 1980s, according to John Stewart, a Fort Collins veteran of the bluegrass scene.

Despite the restaurant/bar/music venue’s average size, Avo’s has featured many of the big names in the bluegrass music.

The relatively small stage cornering Avo’s ballroom has held well-known artists such as Yonder Mountain String Band, String Cheese Incident and other Colorado-based bands.

Avo’s houses several bluegrass acts a month and features their house band The T Band Bluegrass Show frequently.

For a detailed list of upcoming events and concerts at Avogadro’s Number, visit their Web site.