The 1990s are well-known for producing angsty grunge rockers, angry feminist singers, and angelic pop quintets—but it also produced a number of groups known as jam bands. One of those, which started in 1993, is headed to Omaha in May. The String Cheese Incident is known for their long jams, varied sound, and fun atmosphere. Omaha Magazine talked to Bill Nershi, SCI founding member and guitarist, ahead of their spring tour to learn how the group has evolved in their 30-plus year career.
“When we first started out…the instrumentation was much more acoustic,” Nershi said via telephone. “But even then, we were playing things like David Grisman quintet-type-stuff, which tends to lean toward jazz, even though it's in bluegrass instrumentation. (Drummer Michael) Travis had learned Latin conga, and he was into the Latin and African, you know, world beat stuff even back in the beginning.”
That fusion of multiple genres was heightened when they added keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth in 1996, and continued further when percussionist Jason Hann joined the group in 2004.
“Kyle’s influence started bringing in a little bit more jazz, funk, and different styles right there—that Latin piano tradition,” Nershi said. “Travis and Jason were really deep into the electronic, you know, EDM stuff.”
All that goes to say that the String Cheese Incident—which also consists of violinist/mandolinist Michael Kang and bassist Keith Moseley, both founding members—has long been willing to try different styles, and Nershi noted that has been intentional.
“I think it's important to explore that so that (attendees) can feel like they're able to express what's going on in their heads musically,” he said.
It’s a style (or freedom from style) that has worked well for the band, which—much like The Grateful Dead, Phish, and multitudes of other jam bands—have never relied on album sales to gain followers and fans.
“We tend to not have the radio hit, and so we have to figure out ways of getting the word out to as many people as we can,” Nershi said. “Part of it was just in blanketing the country with shows. There were two years in a row that we played over 200 shows a year, and even back before the internet, we had newsletters and tour postcards that we would mail out. And then, when the Internet became an option, we started utilizing that.”
These days, the group embraces social media, where band members promote String Cheese Incident and each individual’s side projects.
Their freeform way of performing has also, perhaps, been their secret sauce for remaining together for more than three decades.
"We're all very different people who met when we were a little bit older,” Nershi said. And everybody has really different tastes in music, and that can that can be something that's really great, but it also can be tough. I lean toward the acoustic guitar side of things, and Travis loves EDM stuff, and we figure out a way of bridging that gap. You know, it makes you open up your mind and accept that.”
Anyone going to the show in May would be well-advised to open their mind and accept that this incident (as their shows are called) will be unlike any concert they’ve ever been to, whether a concertgoer is a dyed-in-the wool fan who has been to more than 50 shows, or someone seeing the group for the first time.
“If (you’ve) been to music festivals where you see a lot of different bands during the course of a weekend, and lots of different styles of music, I would say we try to encapsulate that in one night in two sets,” Nershi said. “It will make you feel like you can do a weekend festival, because you'll hear a lot of…dynamic shifts from from mellow to Legion rowdy, and you'll hear everything from bluegrass to funk to rock to electronic with Latin and African beats. Just be ready roll go with the flow.”
As they have evolved, they have gone from playing mostly single-show gigs to playing more festivals, in which they stay in one place and play for three days, then fly home for a few days. The Omaha show is on the sixth night of their May tour, and Nershi also said the band should be in great form for their concert at Steelhouse.
“The thing about doing the bus tour, which is is going to be the one that comes through Omaha, is that we play night after night after night, and we really get in the groove,” Nershi said. “So by the time we get there, we're gonna be ready to rock.”
Tickets range from $59.50 to $139.50 and are available at ticketmaster.com
