The Green One's H.O.R.D.E. info

Get it while it's hot! 1997 H.O.R.D.E. info here! Some of this information can
be heard on the H.O.R.D.E. hotline (212-582-0228), but you won't find info this
complete anywhere else! Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Oh, and stop by my Blues Traveler page while you're here! (Okay, so it's a 
shameless plug, but hey - my page, my plugs. ;) ). My name is Dave, by the 
way - I've gotten a bundle of emails saying 'Dear Green One'. Heh. :)

A few quick notes:

	* I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT TEXAS. This may seem standoffish to some of
	  you, but the lion's share of my email now is about Texas dates.
	  Once again, I will post info when I have it - what is posted
	  here is ALL I know. Emailing me about Texas won't make it
	  happen. :)
	* The entire tour will be taper-friendly. Bring those decks and
	  mics! (and let me know if you're taping Traveler's dates. :) )
	* Neil Young is STILL on the tour. He sliced his finger but has
	  not canceled H.O.R.D.E. in any way, shape or form.
	* The info below is ALL that I know; I've had people ask me if
	  so-and-so will be on the tour...if it's not here, I haven't
	  heard anything.
	* Additions and inside tips are ALWAYS welcome. Keep 'em coming!

Known dates:

07-11-97       *Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA
07-13-97       *Portland Meadows, Portland, OR
07-15-97       *Wolf Mountain, Park City, UT
07-17-97       *Irvine Meadows, Irvine, CA
07-18-97       *Desert Sky Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
07-20-97       *Fiddler's Green, Englewood, CO
07-23-97       *Sandstone Amphitheater, Bonner Springs, KS
07-24-97       *Riverport Amphitheater, Maryland Heights, MO
07-25-97       *Deer Creek Amphitheater, Nobleville, IN
07-27-97       *Pine Knob Amphitheater, Clarkston, MI
07-29-97       *Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
07-30-97       *Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, OH
08-01-97       *Apple River Amphitheater, Somerset, WI
08-02-97       *Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI 
08-03-97       *World Music Theater, Tinley Park, IL
08-05-97       *Vernon Downs, Vernon, NY
08-06-97       *Meadows Music Center, Hartford, CT
08-08-97       *Great Woods Amphitheater, Mansfield, MA
08-09-97       *Great Woods Amphitheater, Mansfield, MA
08-10-97       *Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
08-12-97       *Jones Beach Amphitheater, Wantagh, NY
08-13-97       *Virginia Beach Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, VA
08-15-97       *Blockbuster Pavilion, Charlotte, NC
08-16-97       *Nissan Pavilion, Stoneridge, VA
08-17-97       *Sony Music Center, Camden, NJ
08-19-97       *PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
08-20-97       *Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA
08-21-97       *Star Lake Amphitheater, Pittsburgh, PA
08-23-97       *Suwannee Park, Live Oak, FL
08-24-97       *Coral Sky Amphitheater, West Palm Beach, FL

Shows may also occur at South Park Meadows in Austin and Texas Speedway in
Dallas, but no dates have been announced as of yet. Once again, I will
post this info when I have it. I'm not happy about H.O.R.D.E. skipping my
region either, but please, take pity on me - I've mailed two dozen
responses saying "I know nothing about Texas dates yet". :)

Participating bands (confirmed on the H.O.R.D.E. hotline):
Beck                                    (August 1st  -  August 12th)
Ben Folds Five                          (July 11th   -  August 13th)
Big Head Todd and the Monsters          (July 11th   -  July 24th)
Blues Traveler                          (August 15th -  August 17th)
Cake Like                               (July 24th   -  August 12th)
Chrysalids                              (August 16th -  August 21st)
Devotees                                TBA
The Fool                                (August 21st -  August 24th)
Kula Shaker                             (August 1st  -  August 12th)
Leftover Salmon                         (Whole tour)
Medeski, Martin and Wood                (July 23rd   -  August 6th; not
                                                        August 2nd)
The Michael Parrish Band                (August 13th -  August 15th)
Mighty Mighty Bosstones                 (August 19th -  August 24th)
Morphine                                (July 11th   -  August 6th) 
Neil Young and Crazy Horse              (Headlining entire tour)
Ozo Matli                               (July 17th)
Primus                                  (July 11th   -  August 17th)
Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies              (July 24, 25, 27, 30, Aug. 5)
Soul Coughing                           (August 8th  -  August 24th)
Spiritualized                           (August 13th -  August 21st)
Squirrel Nut Zippers                    (July 11 - 25, August 19 - 24)
Taj Mahal & Phantom Blues               (August 13th -  August 24th)
Toad the Wet Sprocket                   (Whole tour)
To the Moon Alice                       (August 23rd, 24th)
Ween                                    (August 8th  -  August 19th)

Battle of the Bands winners:
Several regional competitions were held among four or five local bands who
played a set each. Spectators voted for whomever they liked best, and the
winner gets to appear on the local H.O.R.D.E. date

The Big Wu        (Milwaukee winner)    (August 1, 2, 5)
Breedlove         (Texas winner)        (July 30, August 23, 24)
Chief Broom                             (July 20, 24, 29)
Day by the River  (Atlanta winner)      (August 13, 15, 16)
Domestic Problems                       (July 18, 30, August 20)
Haale             (California winner)   (July 11, 13, 23)
The Mudhens       (Boston winner)       (August 6, 8, 9)
New Brown Hat     (NYC winner)          (August 10, 12, 17)
Push Down & Turn  (Chicago winner)      (July 25, 29, August 3, 19)
Sky Cries Mary    (Colorado winner)     (July 11   -  July 23)
Zoo People                              (July 15, 17, 18)

Other news:

07-06-97: I have *majorly* updated the tour dates for many bands, added a
good half-dozen of them and split the touring bands from the Battle of the
Bands winners to give a better impression of the diversity we have this
year. The following bands have been added to the bill: Chrysalids, Push
Down & Turn, Mudhens, Zoo People, Domestic Problems, The Big Wu, Chief
Broom, The Michael Parrish Band, To the Moon Alice and The Wheelies. While
I personally am not familiar with the majority of these bands, Spin
Doctors and Authority fans may want to check out the Chrysalids, as they
feature the talents of Eric Schenkman, formerly of the Spins, and Rene
Lopez, front man for The Authority.

07-02-97: Only a week and a half to go before H.O.R.D.E. kicks off! Gina and
the rest of the H.O.R.D.E. office crew has gotten the hotline back up and
running at (212) 582-0228; give 'em a ring for a listing of confirmed
shows, venues, contact numbers et al. But keep it here for all the
latest-breaking H.O.R.D.E. news! This week's tidbits - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
has officially been confirmed on a few spots - dates still to be announced
- on this year's tour. And a new band is breaking into the ranks -
Devotees. This band is sure to be a hit with H.O.R.D.E. folks, as the lineup
consists of several H.O.R.D.E. veterans. The band's first release, "Gimmie
Gimmie" features H.O.R.D.E. co-founder John Popper on harmonica, Living
Colour's Vernon Reid on guitar, Parliament Funkadelic's Bernie Worrell on
keys, and King Crimson's Trey Gunn, in addition to singer/songwriter
Solomon Deniro. It is not known whether Popper will appear with the
Devotees or not, as he is officially a "guest" on the album (despite
appearing on seven tracks) and as Blues Traveler has their own tour going
on at the same time as H.O.R.D.E..

06-24-97: Great Woods seems to not want H.O.R.D.E. to come to Maine, as they've
got it definitively booked for another date, the aforementioned August
9th. This makes it the first repeat venue of the tour so far, with only
Pine Knob in Clarkston, MI even rumored to match that feat. Medeski,
Martin and Wood are apparently not playing the August 2nd date at Alpine
Valley; don't know the reason. Finally, the New York-based quartet known
as The Fool has been confirmed for a few dates at the end of the tour,
moving up in the world from a one-date spot in last year's H.O.R.D.E.

06-22-97: Okay, so it ain't much, but since it's in my state, it had to go
up here. Rumor has it that H.O.R.D.E. will be coming to Maine after all - the
latest has it at Oxford Speedway on August 9th, the day after Great Woods.
My source saw an ad for it in the local paper, and I'll check with the
venue and call local DJ's to confirm. As always, stay tuned!

06-21-97: The H.O.R.D.E. hotline is officially broken and it is unknown when it
will be back up. I spoke with Gina-Z at the Blues Traveler office and she
said they had hoped to have it back up this week, but the person
responsible for acquiring a new machine hasn't gotten back to them yet. 
I'll post here as soon as the new hotline message is available, but for
now I'll report that a few dates seem to have shifted - Virginia Beach is
now on the 13th, and Star Lake in Pittsburgh has moved to the 21st...the
Atlanta show may not happen after all, either...stay tuned. 

06-20-97: A few new additions as far as bands go - a few people have
emailed me to inquire about Ween, and I am pleased to announce that they
have indeed been confirmed to join the tour. Dates are yet to be
determined, but look for the off-the-wall Pennsylvanians at an
amphitheater near you. Also added to undetermined dates are Boston
favorites the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, as well as Spiritualized.

06-19-97: Still not much to report, folks - a few shows have been
confirmed such as Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA on the 20th. Added at
this show is bluesman extraordinaire Taj Mahal; this is the only date he's
been confirmed for but as a H.O.R.D.E. veteran I would expect him to show up at
more. Ozo Matli will be playing the July 17th date, and Sky Cries Mary is
now on two dates, July 18th and 20th. Finally, the July 12th Gorge show is
now officially cancelled. Hopefully I'll get more info straight from the
source tomorrow as for more dates, artists, venues, etc.  Texans, sit
tight - your plight is at the top of my list to ask about.  I'll get to
the bottom of this! 

06-13-97: Happy birthday to your page maintainer. Did you remember a card? 
:) The H.O.R.D.E. hotline has been crippled by phone problems, and will be
unreachable until June 23rd, so information will only be trickling in
until that medium is restored. In the meantime, a few corrections and
switches have been made on the page - more specifically, the Pennsylvania
dates have been shifted to an earlier slot (which makes more sense
geographically) and I've tentatively penciled Lakewood Amphitheater in
Atlanta in for the 22nd. No guarantees, but that's where it'd best fit. 
Also, an unsubstantiated rumor is going around that Pearl Jam may be
appearing at the July 13th show in Portland, OR. I have contacted the
source of this information and am hoping to get it confirmed or denied
shortly - stay tuned to this page. 

06-10-97: A few dates may have been canceled - namely, July 12th at the
Gorge and August 16th in Highgate, VT. These have been marked as such. The
mid-coast states' dates may have been changed around (Virginia, North
Carolina, etc) so stay tuned for those - I've given my best guess based on
location, scheduling and on-sale confirmations. Sky Cries Mary came out on
top of the Colorado Battle of the Bands and will be playing Fiddler's
Green on the 20th. And the biggest realization of the day - H.O.R.D.E. kicks
off a month from tomorrow! 

06-04-97: Pollstar has confirmed several of the above dates, which are now
marked with an asterisk. As of now, it is unclear whether or not this is
the entire tour; I hope it's not because apparently Texas and the
non-coastal eastern states are as of now H.O.R.D.E.-less! A few more Battle of
the Band winners have been announced - Day By the River won the Atlanta
competition and will play a few southeast dates to be announced, and
Breedlove out of Austin, TX also emerged victorious in another contest and
will be on five dates, also not known yet.

06-02-97: A few dozen emails later, a few sections have been added to the
beginning of this page to answer a few questions and allay a few fears.
Keep the questions and info coming - by giving me tips and suggestions,
you're helping out other H.O.R.D.E. fans by getting it posted here! Also, I've
added a list of dateless venues to rest the nerves of people who fear
they're being passed over this year. Fear not! :)

05-31-97: Wow. I'm in awe - over 3000 folks dropped by last week; I guess
word gets around pretty fast! Anyway, I've now HTML-ized the page and made
links navigable, as well as correcting a couple of venues and adding a
shameless plug for my Blues Traveler page. Oops, there I go again...
There has been some MAJOR juggling of sites in August - make sure you
check the new dates and venues out! Again, very little of this has
actually been finalized; keep in mind that until the H.O.R.D.E. office releases
the info, none of it is officially written in stone.

05-29-97: BIG news! Thanks to the official H.O.R.D.E. site now being up, we now
have confirmed dates for ALL major artists involved in the tour! The new
site - which, incidentally, does NOT include the dates you'll find here -
can be seen at the official H.O.R.D.E. site 
- it includes stuff like band info and links, travel info, venue  
statistics and on-sale dates. Some pretty cool stuff is gonna be on the 
concourse, etc., this year - go ahead and check it out! Also, a new message on 
the H.O.R.D.E. hotline confirms dates and venues for August 1st and 19th as 
listed above, as well as on-sale dates and venue information. Again, call 
(212) 582-0228 for all pertinent info. 

05-26-97: Other than the fact that this page is NOT being taken down
(apparently I get six free postgrad months), a few more items have popped
up. A couple of early August dates have been put forth by their respective
venues in flyers and whatnot - August 2nd at the World in Tinley Park,
IL, and August 3rd at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI. The flyers also
mentioned Toad the Wet Sprocket as being part of the lineup, which has
been changed on this page accordingly.

05-22-97: A few more H.O.R.D.E. dates added, changed and confirmed - check the
latest H.O.R.D.E. hotline info at (212) 582-0228 for on-sale announcements and
whatnot.

05-20-97: A California Battle of the Bands on May 18th which I wasn't
informed of yielded Halle as the winner of a Cali H.O.R.D.E. spot. Also, there
are whispers in Blues Traveler management about the acid jazz trio
powerhouse of Medeski, Martin and Wood signing on to the tour.

05-19-97: Soul Coughing dates have been tentatively nailed down. According
to sources they will be on the main stage from August 6th to August 31st -
looking like an East Coast run for these folks. Also, New Brown Hat was
the winner of the New York Band-to-Band Combat - congrats to everyone who
even got to play there at Tramps!

05-17-97: For those of you who bought tickets for the August 8th Great
Woods show with the hopes of seeing Blues Traveler, they can be refunded
at the point of refund should you wish to do so. Apparently NEXT Ticketing
has not been informed of this as of a few days ago, so keep checking back;
someone from the H.O.R.D.E. office should be alerting them to this shortly. The
July 17th H.O.R.D.E. venue has been changed to Irvine Meadows from Blockbuster
Pavilion, and tickets go on sale today, May 17th. Also, if you're in
Chicago, and you read this in time, catch the Chicago Battle of the Bands!
Dovetail Joint, Peatmoss, Dolly Varden, Push Down & Turn and the J. Davis
Trio will all be competing for a Chicago H.O.R.D.E. spot - go on down to the
Metro and 9pm and vote for your favorite band!

05-13-97: Now that Beck has been added to the tour, rumors are abounding
All that can be confirmed at this point is that Blues Traveler WILL be
playing three dates, but they will NOT be playing the previously stated
August 8th-10th dates. Keep a close eye on this page; more information
will be posted as it becomes available. 
	This JUST in - Widespread Panic has DROPPED from the H.O.R.D.E. tour.
Check out the Barter Exchange at http://www.bluestraveler.com for the 
official statement from the H.O.R.D.E. office (it's down below that bozo who
wrote 'Phish' eight billion times). This rumor has also been confirmed by
Gina-Z at the Blues Traveler office.

05-12-97: A few more dates have been rumored thanks to Neil Young's
HyperRust page, and several sources have indicated that the tour will
begin a day earlier than had originally been scheduled. The new kickoff
point is July 11th, supposedly at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View,
California. Shoreline's old date, July 15th, has been taken by Utah's Wolf
Mountain Amphitheater, in Park City. Also, according to Great Woods ads
and phone lines, Blues Traveler will not be appearing on the 8th. No
further details are available (nor have they release any information on an
August 9th show there) but they will be published here as released.

05-09-97:  Those of you in the NYC area, get ready for a Battle of the
Bands! At Tramp's this coming Wednesday (May 14th) four bands are going to
duke it out for a coveted spot on the H.O.R.D.E. Go on down and groove to the
sounds of Fat Bag, Big Ass Truck, New Brown Cat and Native. The Beck camp
has reported that he will be performing on nine dates between August 1 and
August 14th.

05-08-97:  Squirrel Nut Zippers has been added to the H.O.R.D.E. lineup
according to the H.O.R.D.E. hotline, and it has been disclosed that Leftover
Salmon will be playing the entire tour. Additionally, the August 8th Great
Woods date has been officially announced on the hotline (although we knew
that already ;) ) but there is no info released on the Aug. 9th show. More
info can be found on ticket ordering for this show at
http://www.greatwoods.com

05-06-97:  Word has been handed down from the H.O.R.D.E. office that yes,
indeed, taping WILL be allowed at this year's H.O.R.D.E. A direct quote from a
recent posting on the Barter Exchange at http://www.bluestraveler.com
reads:  "Neil Young believes in keeping in H.O.R.D.E. tradtion (sic), by
ALLOWING TAPING at H.O.R.D.E. this summer. Despite the rumors there has (sic)
been no adversaries between bands. Again TAPING WILL BE ALLOWED at the
H.O.R.D.E. FESTIVAL. Enjoy!" A related article can be found at Pollstar. Also,
I have been told that another Battle of the Bands will take place for a
spot at the 7-20-97 H.O.R.D.E. gig at Fiddler's Green, Englewood, CO, bands to
be competing are unknown. 

05-03-97:  A few new dates have been added from Neil Young's HyperRust
page, and dates have been announced for Big Head Todd and the Monsters as
well as Morphine. The big news, however, is that according to the Great
Woods homepage, Beck has indeed been added to the lineup, as well as Cake
Like. 

05-01-97:  A new message on the H.O.R.D.E. hotline has confirmed another band
as being added to the lineup: Kula Shaker. Also, there will be a Battle of
the Bands for one remaining spot on the H.O.R.D.E. docket soon in New York City
- the bands to be competing include: Fat Bag, Big Ass Truck, New Brown Cat
and one other whose name escapes me at the moment. The Beck camp also
reports that the singer/songwriter is *very* close to inking an agreement
to do H.O.R.D.E. this year - keep checking back for details! 

04-27-97: This marks the first year that founders and veterans Blues
Traveler will not be headlining the well-known traveling music and culture
festival known as the H.O.R.D.E.. After five years of total involvement with
the tour, the band will be venturing into Europe for a three-week twirl
beginning in Rome...and where she stops, nobody knows. That tour will last
from July 8th to July 31st, after which the band will return to the US for
a short August tour to support its new album which will be released July
1st. The band will play three August dates on the H.O.R.D.E. Tour (including
both Great Woods dates and SPAC) and while other band members may be
making appearances at other shows, lead singer and harmonicameister John
Popper has been quoted as saying that he will try to make it to as many
shows as he can.

4-16-97: The H.O.R.D.E. Hotline is now up and running, although all information
available there is available here. It will be updated in about two weeks,
according to Gina. The number for that is (212) 582-0228.