First solo album in 20 years by Guy Schwartz, with songwriting partner/bassist Roger Tausz and the musicians who were soon to become Texas' Premiere Blues Rock Hippie Jam Band. (2000)

13 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Americana, BLUES: Texas Style



Details:
Before The New Jack Hippies began retooling for the road in 2001, a New Jack Hippies' performance could be almost anything, with 4 - 20 various musicians showing up on any given night. Many were members of an evolving core band. Many others would be Texas blues and rock musicians showing up for the first time, to become new recruits and claim their Hippies roster number (http://www.newjackhippies.com/numbers.html)!

On some nights, the band would go all night without breaks in the music, with Guy orchestrating musicians onto and off of the stages, as the band reconfigured again and again to play various songs and styles. Studio recordings were sold on the web and at the performances, but live recordings of The New Jack Hippies band with its various guests became fan favorites.

By 2001, Guy had decided to take the music on the road in order to expose their songs to a wider audience, and to recruit new Hippies around the world. Hoping for the same type of spontaneous participation from local musicians in each community they would visit, the big revolving band had to be streamlined for the road.


Press Reviews

"Calling this outfit a jam band may be accurate, but it's not complete. The multi-faceted Hippies take their cues from the compact disciplined stylings of bands like The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Little Feat and War, in addition to the likes of Phish and The Dead. If anything, call The New Jack Hippies a well-rehearsed jam band! And, as good as this band sounds on disc, it's usually more effective in a live setting - preferably under the sun with a cold beer in hand."
- Bob Ruggiero, New Times Newspapers

"Pulling from the great genre pool, The New Jack Hippies are a unique spin on bluesy, jam-style rock. Eclectic from the very sense of the word, the often large conglomeration of musicians is remarkably creative and cohesive."
-PJ Cooper, Houston Headline

"The New Jack Hippies have busted out of southeast Texas with their blues, rock, funk and tripped-out jams in tow..." -Colorado Springs In dependant

"....we have a very eclectic evening of music, and that eclecticism is personified by (The New Jack Hippies). The main core of this band up here, are two of my oldest and dearest friends from Houston, Texas. We grew up playing music together... and the thing about Texas that's great is that you get to play country, you get to play rock & roll, you get to play the blues, and you get to do just about anything you want. These guys play all kinds of music, and now they have morphed into one of Texas most popular blues rock hippie jam bands!" - Billy Block (Western Beat/CMT - Nashville)

Hailing from the Houston area, Bluesguy Schwartz and the New Jack Hippies soundly continue the (Texas) tradition with a CD full of good rocking and low-down blues plus inspired R&B.
-Bruce Coen, Blues Bytes (reviewing 'blue jack hippies' CD)

"Schwartz has been an uncontested guitar wielding presence on the Houston scene for decades...Given the mountain of songs he's written over the years... this Best Songwriter nomination is a belated payment for a long overdue I.O.U." -Houston Press