Yonder Mountain String Band compilation - First Decade (or so)
various dates
various venues

Hi everyone. I'm really excited to be able to bring you this freakin' amazing Yonder Mountain String Band compilation. I never realized how much time and energy it takes to upload a torrent until I started to do it. Ha! That's nothing compared to making this compilation. You can read the story of the comp below in the "Some background…" portion of this intro. One more comment from me, then on to more pressing issues. Just look at that song-list. Bluegrass standards and originals, blues, funk, polka, ska, rock, honky-tonk, and jokes too!! There's something for everybody here!

In the meantime, a little housekeeping.

Everything I received with this compilation (in terms of an information text file) is included in this introduction.The ffp files were included. I created the MD5s using xACT 1.71. For those unfamiliar with the date convention used in this compilation, it is month/day/year. It's a common convention in the United States.

This is the first of what will be five, count them, five uploads in this YMSB series. Each post will include three discs. I will post one a week for five weeks, always on a Thursday around 6pm Left Coast Time. Please note, however, I will NOT be posting one December 30 since I will be traveling on that day. That Thursday my wife and I will be on our way home from Austin, Texas. She's going to visit her mom and brother (and his family). I will, of course, see them too, however, I'm going to eat barbecue! We'll hit Black's in Lockhart at least twice, along with some other bbq joints. Black's is, IMO, the finest barbecue anywere. Absolutely melt-in-your-mouth brisket. But I digress…

For those of you who have snatched any of my posts, you know I always characterize myself as "only the messenger." If I knew how I would make that statement even stronger (All caps is the only way I've come up with, however, I don't really want to appear to be shouting!). nuclearrabbit has very generously allowed me post this for all Dimers to enjoy. But wait, there's more! He has a friend (who shall remain un-named (if we told you who he is then we'd have to kill you)) who was integrally involved in building this amazing compilation. I want to thank them, nuclearrabbit and friend, for so graciously allowing me to post this. THANK YOU!!! That I'm willing to shout!

From nuclearrabbit:

"Some background on this compilation:

"A few years ago, an old friend turned me on to Yonder. He had seen their 2003 Belly Up show (several tracks from that gig appear in this comp) and had been downloading Yonder shows ever since. He showed me a couple boxes full of discs, which he let me borrow to take home and rip whatever I liked. I augmented his collection with some of the top rated Yonder shows on archive.org ñ and then this monster of a project began.

"I went thru each of the shows and ripped any song that caught my attention. In the beginning, I listened to each cut all of the way thru. But after 50 or so shows, I had already picked out several outstanding versions of many songs. At that point, I began only listening to the first minute of a song if I knew I already had a better version.

"After abandoning the project a couple of times due to burn out (hey, I love Yonder - but I likes me some variety too, ya know?), I finally had reviewed all of the shows. Then I began going thru each of the ripped tracks and selected my favorite version of each song. That was the fun part - listening to great cuts, while watching this beast take shape.

"Songs had to have at least fairly good sound quality to be considered. But I would always favor a great performance with fair sound over an average performance with excellent sound. I also tried to give preference to the versions that were more 'fun' than other cuts. Yonder is a really fun band and I wanted to feature that.

"The result is what you have here: five volumes, each designed to fill a 3-disc jewel case - with a total of 260 tracks from over 130 different shows. Over a hundred other shows were reviewed that failed to contain any tracks making the cut.

"All tracks were originally downloaded from archive.org or dime. The only alteration to the sound of the tracks is that they have been normalized. Even so, they still seem to vary a bit in volume between shows. The files that were downloaded as .shn files have been converted to .wav using 'Shortend for Windows' and then to .flac using 'Flac Frontend', as that's how I store my files.

"The tracks appear in chronological order in an attempt to loosely document the first decade of Yonder's life. However, I expanded that decade a bit in order to fill the 15 discs. That explains the 'Or So' in the artwork.

"Part of that expansion includes the 1st eight tracks on the 1st disc, which feature Jeff and Dave in a pre-Yonder band called the 'Bluegrass Holes'. All of the remaining tracks are Yonder, including many with guest artists.

"I shortened some of the song titles and omitted the names of the non-musical tracks on the artwork that goes on the back of the 3-CD jewel cases (back_volume_one.jpg, etc.), due to limited space. I guess that's what they call artistic license. Anyway, below is the actual track list - to the best of my knowledge. Any corrections are welcome. I made up the names of the non-musical tracks (as well as 'Rare Banjo Tune' and 'New Adam Song') in an attempt to be descriptive when no titles were available.

"This comp was originally made for me and my friends, primarily as a way to save space (instead of having boxes full of discs!), but also as a way to introduce some of my friends to the band. I gave several sets out to my buddies last year for Xmas. Now, thanks to salmonella's gracious offer to post it for me, it is also here to share with my fellow dimers. I hope you enjoy it.

"But what I'm also hoping is that some of you will enlighten me in the comments section of this post. Over 250 shows were considered for this set. But there are many more shows out there in circulation. If any of you listen to my picks and know a different version of a song that you like better, please speak up. This comp is by no means definitive and your suggestion might be a good way to improve it.

"Now enjoy your ride thru Yonder's first decade (or so)."

Okay, it's sal again. I'd like to reiterate what nuclearrabbit said: "If any of you listen to my picks and know a different version of a song that you like better, please speak up." He's serious. Don't be shy.

On to the good stuff:

Volume 1, Disc 1
1) E.M.D. - 06/25/98 - Illini Inn & Studio, Champaign, IL
2) High Cross Junction - 06/25/98 - Illini Inn & Studio, Champaign, IL
3) Mary On The Mountain - 06/25/98 - Illini Inn & Studio, Champaign, IL
4) Cat Muffin - 06/25/98 - Illini Inn & Studio, Champaign, IL
5) Mental Breakdown - 06/25/98 - Illini Inn & Studio, Champaign, IL
6) Cold Rain And Snow - 06/25/98 - Illini Inn & Studio, Champaign, IL
7) Bluegrass Breakdown - 06/25/98 - Illini Inn & Studio, Champaign, IL
8) Southern Flower - 06/25/98 - Illini Inn & Studio, Champaign, IL
9) Waiting On Vassar - 11/07/98 - Penny Lane Coffee House, Boulder, CO
10) Plastic Banana - 11/07/98 - Penny Lane Coffee House, Boulder, CO
11) Pig In A Pen - 11/07/98 - Penny Lane Coffee House, Boulder, CO
12) Sleepy Cowboy - 01/16/99 - Acoustic Coffee House, Nederland, CO
13) Jesus On The Mainline - 07/17/99 - Alpinista Pizzeria, Leadville, CO
14) Nine Pound Hammer - 10/02/99 - Stafford Lake, Novato, CA
15) Anawak - 10/02/99 - Stafford Lake, Novato, CA
16) 007 (Shantytown) cut at end - 10/12/99 - Wilbertís At Diamond Back, Cleveland, OH
17) Dawgwood - 10/12/99 - Wilbert's At Diamond Back, Cleveland, OH
18) Shenandoah Valley Breakdown - 10/28/99 - Fox Theater, Boulder, CO

V1, D2
1) Loneliness And Desperation - 10/28/99 - Fox Theater, Boulder, CO
2) Whitewater - 10/28/99 - Fox Theater, Boulder, CO
3) Please Wake Up - 11/02/99 - KGLT-FM Studios, Bozeman, MT
4) Paddy On The Turnpike - 11/02/99 - KGLT-FM Studios, Bozeman, MT
5) Salt Creek - 11/04/99 - The Ritz, Mizzoula, MT
6) Bluegrass Breakdown - 11/06/99 - Segue Productions Launch Party, Portland, OR
7) Dear Old Dixie - 11/07/99 - St. John's Pub, Portland, OR
8) Blue Night - 11/07/99 - St. John's Pub, Portland, OR
9) My Walking Shoes Don't Fit Me Anymore - 11/12/99 - Connecticut Yankee, San Francisco, CA
10) Polka On The Banjo - 11/12/99 - Connecticut Yankee, San Francisco, CA
11) Salty Dog - 02/24/00 - Mike And Molly's, Champaign, IL
12) Deep Elem Blues - 04/09/00 - Rhythm And Blues, Chattanooga, TN
13) Washington At Valley Forge - 07/02/00 - High Sierra Music Festival, Quincy, CA
14) Owner Of The Hula Hoop - 07/08/00 - A Day Of Celebration Festival, Willits, CA
15) We Four Sailors - 07/08/00 - A Day Of Celebration Festival, Willits, CA
16) Deep Elem Blues > Ramblin' In The Rambler - 09/23/00 - The Canopy Club, Urbana, IL
17) Bad Moon Rising - 10/31/00 - Six Rivers Brewing Company, McKinleyville, CA
18) Easy As Pie - 01/27/01 - Mulligan's, Park City, UT

V1, D3
1) Armadillo Breakdown - 01/27/01 - Mulligan's, Park City, UT
2) Telluride - 02/01/01 - Aladdin Theatre, Portland, OR
3) Gilpin Swing - 03/29/01 - Fly Me To The Moon Saloon, Telluride, CO
4) Eli Renfro - 03/29/01 - Fly Me To The Moon Saloon, Telluride, CO
5) Mossy Cow - 03/29/01 - Fly Me To The Moon Saloon, Telluride, CO
6) Hog Potato - 03/29/01 - Fly Me To The Moon Saloon, Telluride, CO
7) Snow On The Pines > - 04/07/01 - Old Settler's Festival, Dripping Springs, TX
8) Funk Jam > - 04/07/01 - Old Settler's Festival, Dripping Springs, TX
9) Snow On The Pines (Reprise) cut at end - 04/07/01 - Old Settler's Festival, Dripping Springs, TX
10) Rambling Boy - 04/18/01 - Stella Blue, Asheville, NC
11) Banjo Joke - 06/08/01 - Pickin' In The Pines, Cincinnati, OH
12) Low Rider - 07/01/01 - Dexter Lake Music Festival, Dexter, OR
13) Two Dingalings - 07/01/01 - Dexter Lake Music Festival, Dexter, OR
14) The Advantage Of Independence - 09/08/01 - KDHX Studios, St. Louis, MO
15) Phone Message - 09/08/01 - KDHX Studios, St. Louis, MO
16) Yonder's Roots - 10/15/01 - Woodsongís Old Time Radio Hour, Lexington, KY
17) A Father's Arms - 10/15/01 - Woodsong's Old Time Radio Hour, Lexington, KY
18) Describing The Instruments - 10/15/01 - Woodsong's Old Time Radio Hour, Lexington, KY
19) Wildewood Drive - 11/09/01 - Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
20) Crooked Hitch - 11/09/01 - Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
21) Keep On Goin' - 12/31/01 - Mississippi Nights, St. Louis, MO
22) Rag Mama - 12/31/01 - Mississippi Nights, St. Louis, MO
23) June Apple - 12/31/01 - Mississippi Nights, St. Louis, MO
24) The Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me - 12/31/01 - Mississippi Nights, St. Louis, MO

Some tracks are marked 'cut at end.' Yonder often runs a series of songs together. This makes for some less than smooth endings when you separate out individual tracks. Did my best.

Strummit = Northwest String Summit, Yonder's annual 3-day party with their musical friends at Horning's Hideout, outside of Portland, OR.

Flac file naming convention (keep in mind there are 5 volumes with 3 discs apiece)
Example: ymsb-v1d2t03-11-02-99-Please Wake Up.flac
artist=ymsb, volume=1, disc=2, track=03, date of performance=11-02-99, title=Please Wake Up

Yonder's lineup:
Adam Aijala - guitar,vocals
Ben Kaufmann - bass,vocals
Dave Johnston - banjo,vocals
Jeff Austin - mandolin,vocals
plus many guests

PLEASE DO NOT BUY OR SELL THIS RECORDING.
FOR FREE TRADE ONLY - SHARE THE MUSIC.
PLEASE DO NOT CUT TO EDISON CYLINDER.
PLEASE RETAIN THE ORIGINAL INFO FILE DATA WITH ANY RE-SEEDINGS.
SMOKING MARIJUANA IS MORE FUN THAN DRINKING BEER.
DO NOT CONVERT TO MP3 EXCEPT FOR PERSONAL USE, PLEASE.
SUPPORT THE MUSICIANS - BUY THEIR OFFICIAL RELEASES AND ATTEND THEIR SHOWS!

Mostly, enjoy the music!!