Continuing this week's series:

#3: Brad, Andrew, Marc

I debated this as a reason, actually. Personally, it's rare that I invest time in a band unless I feel some level of connection with the members. That's normal for me, but I do realize it's largely because I'm a jamband baby. In that scene - born out of the communal Acid Test experiences - it's as much about the audience as the artists. It's not even unusual to have actual interaction with the band. It's still a small scene (relatively speaking - in a world where The Killers are selling out two dates at Wembley, selling out the Fillmore becomes smaller beans) and there are a gazillion ways to meet artists: catching their pre-show golf cart ramble through the lots, sitting in a little bar in Marin, front row at a late gig, or at the bar after the same. I know there are bands out there making great music who are complete twats, but I'm not listening to a lot of them.

That's not what this is about anyway. And it's not about the fact that M has known these guys since they were 13. It's about the individual musical elements that each member brings to the band and the fact that they are - as I've said before - so much greater than the sum of their (very, VERY talented) parts. There ARE only three of them, after all. No extra fat here; no one to cover if someone's caught out. Don't forget my #1 reason is their big BIG sound...this is why that happens.

Brad is quite possibly the most underrated guitar player I've ever seen. He is completely egoless - perhaps to a fault in a scene dominated by Guitarmageddon stunts and laddish showdowns. His counterparts (Gutwillig, Schneier, Clark, Cinninger, Bayliss) seem to get the glory, but Brad consistently delivers the goods. He's consistently creative in a fashion that classes him with some of the greatest ever. I listen to Brad the way I listen to Trey: always expecting something great and constantly delighted by the fact that what I hear is nothing like my expectations while in every way exceeding them.

Marc is equally nimble, able to switch from deep grooves to melodic lines to an almost rhythm guitar-like layering. He's a structural master - responsible for a lot of the orchestration and in control of a wide range of effects. It's rare to hear a bass player supporting the architecture of the song while simultaneously making a beautiful individual contribution to a jam. He's also almost always mixed really well, so you can really hear him play and hear how he thinks about the songs. Again, totally underrated.

And Andrew is mad - in that great British "borderline genius, but just a bit touched" kind of way - as all good drummers are, I suppose. He's Jazz, African, Indie, and Funk all together, all at once, in one dynamic package. And his sweatband rocks.

For a good example of the three of them at their very, VERY best, take a listen to the jam in "For the Paper Boy" from High Sierra this summer. Technically, this is a Surprise Me Mr. Davis song, but from about 3:50, Nathan's off doing his magic tricks and this is pure Slip. At 4:17, Brad establishes the jam, riffing a bit off of a piece of an idea from the night before (we think). At 4:38, Marc takes over the melody, and they toss it back and forth for a while, Marc switching between super-groovy and super-pretty. Andrew adds texture while Brad drives it to the first peak at 5:35, and then they all execute a perfect stop/start-type jam at about 6:35. I must have listened to this song at least twice a week since July and I'm still amazed at how good it is.

Humble is as humble does...these guys deserve to be rock stars.