Ominous Seapods
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The Ominous Seapods were a band from Plattsburgh, New York.
Meeting in the late 1980s while attending college in Plattsburgh, New York, the members of the neo-jam band Ominous Seapods soon found themselves at the head of a grass roots following fueled by their more than 200 live appearances each year. Just as Vermont's Phish took their cue from the Grateful Dead's endless touring and grass roots mailing list, the Ominous Seapods are at the forefront of a movement of newer jam-inspired, guitar dance bands (others include God Street Wine, Juggling Suns and the Disco Biscuits).
After dropping out of college the members of Ominous Seapods, Max Verna (guitar, vocals), Dana Monteith (guitar, vocals), Tom Pirozzi (bass guitar), Brian Mangini (keyboards) and Ted Marotta (drums), relocated to Albany and thrust themselves into the local scene by constant live appearances and the release of a live album, Econobrain, on Ripe & Ready Records. More live appearances followed and the group branched out playing the east coast, southeast and, eventually, the west coast before releasing their first studio album, Guide To Roadside Ecology. They followed ...Roadside Ecology with Jet Smooth Ride, produced by their friend Lo Faber from God Street Wine, an album that furthered their sound to include folk and funk.
In 1995 the group reached a pinnacle of popularity with articles in Spin, the Village Voice and the New York Times lauding the new movement of jam bands that included moe and Rusted Root. By building a grass roots following through tape trading and a 10,000+ mailing list, the band was able to stretch their influence beyond upstate New York, playing sold out shows in Toronto, Chicago and Montana. Combining the offbeat humor of Frank Zappa with the guitar-driven sound of the Allman Brothers, the Ominous Seapods have remained a cut above the countless jam bands that have sprung up in since the early 1990s. Although the melody lines and lyrics of the group's three previous releases may show room for improvement, their musicianship is without question and the guitar interplay between Verna and Monteith is second to none. Recently the group signed to the Megaforce subsidiary Hydrophonic and released 1998's live offering Matinee Idols. Superman Curse followed in two years later. ~ Steve Kurutz
[edit] Additional Facts
Guitarist Max Verna left the group in 1998 and was replaced by Todd Pasternack.
The group disbanded in 2001, but has played special "Reunion" concerts featuring all three guitarists (Verna, Pastenack & Monteith)
The group had informal legal representation from Jay Flemma. He received some support from Mike Monsney. The band was formally represented by NYC entertainment lawyer Jay Flemma, who signed the band to both Ryko and Megaforce deals.
Their distributor Ripe and Ready Records was run by industry legend Mike DiUrso.
The group often held "Belly-Bucking" competitions at their shows, and often "killed" fans and resurrected them in the form of Chicken wings. See:[Image:http://www.atticfox.net/cursed/images/valentines/val12.jpg]
