People of Earth

*Appeared in the Thursday, March 16th, 2006 Showcase section of the Erie Times.
People of Earth call suburban Pittsburgh home, but that's just geography. Truth is, this extraordinary jam band has found a warm, welcome mat in Erie for its fluid blend of Dead-style jams and percolating grooves. That's why it was a no-brainer to throw the first CD-release party for "Greater Good" at Docksider on Friday.
"We really feel at home in Erie,"said bassist Kevin Kopper. "It seems as though they've enjoyed our music from the outset. It's a great place to play and a great audience to play for. Most of us live closer to Pittsburgh, but we love to go into Erie to play. We feel at home there."
People of Earth haven't played Erie since last September in order to concentrate on finishing "Greater Good." Good idea. They've recorded an exuberant disc that oozes joy -- joy of playing, joy of living, joy of knowing you're in a band with lifelong friends who see things eye to eye and, just as importantly, hear them ear to ear.
"One thing that really has a major influence on our sound is we're from the same area, about the same age group. I grew up together with Chris [Compton, the drummer] since kindergarten," Kopper said. "We played T-ball together, and we're really good friends. What makes it great for us is we're all good friends, and you'll hear a brand new maturity this Friday."
By that, he means People of Earth slipped into overdrive over winter, sharpening their jams and already near-telepathic interplay. They spend every Sunday diligently practicing, often eight hours or more.
"We have marathon practices --all day and into the evening," Kopper said. "We rent a garage, which is nice. Five space heaters in it. We've got pictures of our gigs and flyers on the wall, which creates a comfortable atmosphere."
"We're regimented, but not in a bad way," Kopper said. "We have sections to focus on vocals and sections on jams and then on nuts and bolts and key changes. Sections to just explore.
"Every time we do that, we record it and burn it. I guarantee it's in our CD players every day. We're listening to it while traveling. We set up expectations for the following week, identify strengths and weaknesses and set goals. Now we have over 70 songs we can play."
Those strengths include vocal harmonies -- they blend in soothing, soaring ways -- and strong-as-Superman arrangements. Bringing it all home, though, is their exquisite interplay.
They make their intricately constructed songs sound ridiculously easy but fun, always playfully fun, particularly on the zippy "Overtime," the funk-fueled, horn-fortified "All in Good Time,"old-timey, piano-splashed "Good Day," and rolling, Dead-like "Round." Their songs move. They're limber as gymnasts.
Longtime People of Earth fans will recognize most tracks, including "Aspasia," the one nod to their improv heritage, clocking in at 15 minutes.
"We had tested out the majority of tunes," Kopper said. "All the tunes are a snapshot of the type of music we were playing this summer and the songs that were popular. That said, we will debut a number of tunes on Friday. We practiced considerably in this time, so our jamming and our vocals have improved. Every aspect of the game has improved."
This is how dedicated People of Earth is: Though Friday is St. Patrick's Day and though Kopper is of Irish descent, the band will refrain from green beer.
"We like to provide entertainment for the party, for the venue. We don't necessarily imbibe ourselves," Kopper said. "We recognize we're there to be good for the people watching, so we'll be careful."
Staff Writer - Dave Richards
- The Erie Times

The Greater Good CD Review From The Groovelink

While there are some bands that dont like the label jam band, people of earth is definitely not one of them. There latest effort for The Greater Good is a musical masterpiece. As their music blends together superbly described as near telepathic interplay by the Erie Times. the band is based out of Pittsburgh Pa; this quartet combines creative instrumentation with genre-transcending arrangements and melodies with original and thought provoking lyrics. POE is known for separating themselves from the masses of jambands with powerful and hook driven songwriting, combining elements of funk, jazz, disco, bluegrass, and even some of that late sixties improvisation, along with a their explosive four part vocal harmonies, this band is building a faithful following, and finding success the old fashion way through hard work, dedication, determination and hours of practice theyve been known to practice 8-10 hours a day. winning over audiences everywhere they perform. In the past the band has played festivals in western NY, and Pa including the grassroots music festival, Great Blue Heron music festival, to name just a couple they have also shared the stage with some great acts like Dickey Betts, Rusted Root, Melvin seals. But with this new cd it wont be long until this band is a common name among jamband fans. Catch the people of earth in 2006 as they break out with this very exuberant disc that oozes joy, the joy of playing, living, and loving. Heres a few shows you might want to catch May 19-20th Spring Fest Connellsville, PA June 22-25th, The Gathering Pulaski, NY June 30th Docksider - Erie, PA July 7-9 The Great Blue Heron Music Festival Sherman, NY for an updated list of tour dates visit the bands at www.myspace.com/peopleofearthmusic

- The Groovelink (www.thegroovelink.com)

Writer Dave Richards

Magic in a genie lamp
On People of Earth's new CD, 'No More Shenanigans,' musical labels melt, and ideas flow.

BY DAVE RICHARDS
dave.richards@timesnews.com



Published: November 22. 2007 6:00AM


People of Earth's excellent new CD gives new meaning to the phrase, "This one time at band camp ..."

The Pittsburgh-area jam band wanted to capture the magical, kinetic interplay that fuels their live shows. So, instead of recording tracks separately in a studio, they set out for a secluded, rustic camp on a lake near Mercer. There, playing together in a room, they recorded the basic tracks for "No More Shenanigans."

"We wanted this CD, more than any of our other releases, to truly reflect what we sounded like as a band," explained bassist Kevin Kopper. "So what we decided to do was turn a rustic camp in the backwoods of Pennsylvania into a studio, and then meet up there for three successive weekends and record the album live.


"So the songs you hear, minus the vocals, have few overdubs. It's a true mirror of who we are as a band, which we feel we did not capture on the first two releases."

With this one, they capture magic in a genie lamp. It's an exciting, exhilarating rhythmic ride with sparkling jams, shining harmonies, and irresistible melodies. But instead of locking themselves into one mode, they stretch out, informing their earthy, Dead-style jams with elements of bluegrass, country, even disco.

Hey, they love the Bee Gees. Is that a crime?

"We're not afraid of disco at all," says Kopper. "'Disco Revival' gets into our disco roots. We stress the fact that we're proud to be in the genre of jam band, but we're really influenced by everything.


"The type of music we listen to certainly isn't just jam band. If you look at any of our CD collections, depending on the different members, you'll come across country to bluegrass to disco. We just love music, and that's really our focus."

The Bee Gees, he said, crafted amazing songs with strong harmonies. So when People of Earth found themselves jamming on a disco-flavored tune at band camp, they didn't resist. They proceeded straight ahead, called the result "Disco Revival," and decided to lead off the CD with it.

"As soon as we started learning that song, it felt really good," Kopper said. "When you have that kind of telepathy, you sense it between musicians, and you express that through smiling with each other. And we all started smiling when we started playing it."

Though that song starts the CD, they recorded it last, which is surprising, considering its rhythmic energy.

"Imagine you're in camp, the windows and doors closed with no noise or anything. You're sitting there, sweating from staying the whole weekend, and it's Sunday afternoon, and you're missing the Steelers' game. But we pulled out 'Disco Revival.' We still had that energy."


Even with sampled horns, the band's jam-band roots lay at the heart of "Disco Revival" and the rest of the CD, whether they get a little jazzy ("Chalk Fool"), lean toward bluegrass ("Another Plan"), or boogie like it's the end of the world ("Buy Some Time").

All of it benefits from their terrific chemistry, and Robb Goetz's soaring guitar work. Most the songs begin with him.

"Robb is truly the genius behind the songwriting," Kopper said. "He brings in the skeleton of a song, and we start putting some meat and flesh on that, and then we have the whole animal there. A lot is based on improv, but I certainly give Robb the credit. He's an incredibly talented musician."

Kopper said they were able to record 12 songs in just three weekends because the band takes its music seriously. They rehearse all the time. They were ready.


"It just a matter of putting the work in," he said. We're all doing the woodshedding practically every night. Because we're professionals, the recording process was fairly easy. We knew everyone else in the band knew their parts out of respect for each other. No one had to sit and learn. It was just turn the amps on, and the magic flowed."

About half of "No More Shenanigans" will be unfamiliar to People of Earth fans. Expect the band to debut several new songs Friday at Docksider, including "Chalk Fool."

"I can't wait to play that one live," Kopper said. "It's seven minutes long and could go longer."

That one is jazzy and jammy with a sing-along pop chorus, yet seamless. With People of Earth, musical labels melt and ideas flow together. They know what they like and don't care where it comes from.

"We just love music," Kopper said. "It's a great art, that's how we always viewed it. There's no such thing as bad art and really no such thing as bad music. It may not be my taste, but that doesn't make it bad."


So his iPod has Johnny Cash, Misfits, George Strait, Bee Gees, Sex Pistols, Alan Jackson, African tribal drumming, and Indian sitar songs.

"It's just really diverse," Kopper said. "I'll be working out w - Courtesy of Erie Times and Staff