God Street Wine - $1.99 Romances 1993

God Street Wine, a New York-based jam band in the tradition of the Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler, blend funk, reggae, folk-rock, post-punk, pop/rock, and blues-rock into a cohesive whole that is unique and original. God Street Wine formed in New York City in the late '80s and lived there until they moved to Westchester County, NY, in 1991. Comprised of Lo Faber on guitar and lead vocals, Aaron Maxwellon guitar and lead vocals, Dan Pifer on bass guitar and vocals, Jon Bevo on piano, organ, and vocals, and Tomo (or John Thomas Osander) on drums, God Street Wine played their first show on December 13, 1988, at the Nightingale Bar in New York City.

They became legendary for putting on shows in excess of three hours, and with their two guitarists and reliance on improvisation, began to draw comparisons to another great twin-guitar band, the Allman Brothers. Even though God Street Wine's sound was considerably less bluesy, the band wasn't afraid to take chances in front of a live audience, not unlike the Spin Doctors or Blues Traveler. They maintained a large mailing list, in excess of 15,000 names, and continued developing a dedicated fan base often referred to as "Winos." It was this grassroots following that attracted the attention of record executives, not unlike the way Phish took off up in that band's home state of Vermont.

God Street Wine's first album, Bag, a self-produced affair, was released in 1992. They followed it up with a live compilation, Who's Driving?, in October 1993 on the Ripe and Ready label. After attracting the attention of Geffen Records executives and a management company, McGhee Entertainment, they signed with Geffen in January 1994 and released $1.99 Romances in September on a label co-venture between Geffen and McGhee. Since no one at Geffen knew the band, there was little promotion or advertising of the record. They signed with Mercury Records in 1995 after an executive there caught them at the Beacon Theater in New York. The partnership produced Red the following year and the eponymous God Street Wine in 1997. The group continued to tour until 1999 and disbanded the following year. They released Good to the Last Drop, a collection of highlights from their farewell tour, in July of 2000. AMG.

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God Street Wine - Bag 1992

The first studio offering from one of the early New York City jam bands, Bag presents God Street Wine's Steely Dan-influenced sound in first flower. Like many young jam bands, GSW has a bit of a hard time making its music work effectively in the studio. But, as one of the first of their generation of rock-based improvisers to try, how were they to know that at the time? Much of the repertoire introduced on Bag would be refined on their next two releases, the liveWho's Driving? and $1.99 Romances, their major-label debut. A lot of the music on Bag sounds sluggish. That in itself is kind of odd. Most young bands have the tendency to play material too fast; GSW doesn't have that problem. Instead, they patiently highlight their complex, clean compositions (which, unfortunately, border on lite jazz at times). When Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell's guitar lines dance and intersect, the music is interesting. For a band of men in their early twenties, though, the music is awfully tame. AMG.

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