Silly name, really. But it hasn’t kept fans from turning on to the jams this Boulder-based band has been playing for the past decade. With virtually no radio play, The String Cheese Incident has built a massive following on the strength of its exhausting live shows. They do it all themselves: put out their own records, handle their own promotion, book their own shows and sell their own tickets through their ticketing company.
That is, they used to sell a lot of their own tickets (up to 50 percent of a venue) until Ticketmaster began enforcing exclusive contracts with hundreds of large venues around the country, essentially putting an end to the band’s profitability. So they did what a few Davids have attempted before: sueing Goliath Ticketmaster. The suit is in legal purgatory right now, but it’s another example of how why this plucky five-piece has become such a success.
With a new album out this fall (“Untying The Not”) and a three-night stand at the Auditorium Theatre (including a New Year’s Eve show), bassist/vocalist Keith Moseley says The String Cheese Incident is back in the flow.
Why would the band want to take on a behemoth like Ticketmaster?
We were left with no alternative. Our own ticket company was doing well, serving our fans with better customer service and better prices than Ticketmaster. We were sort of forced to either roll over and let the ticketing company go out of business or try to fight them. We think we have a real good anti-trust case against them.
The String Cheese Incident has been lumped in with a slew of “jam bands.” Does that tag bother you?
We’re kind of all over the map musically–bluegrass, acid jazz, world beat stuff, classic rock. We can play a great four-minute pop song nicely arranged. On the new album, there’s not a lot of noodling, not even a lot of soloing. So the “jam band” tag sometimes feels a little limiting.
On the new album, you guys worked with the producer
Youth, who has recorded Killing Joke, Alien Sex Fiend and Orb in the past. Seems like an odd choice.
Youth was kind of the wild card on the project. He’s very British, and he’s known for his psych-trance music. He brought a lot of passion and creativity to the project. He really kind of functioned as a sixth member. He was both a lot of fun and very challenging to work with. He really pushed the band. We had moments of great ecstasy and moments of intense anger with each other.
Why pick Chicago to ring in the New Year?
Chicago has been a great town for us for a while now. We’ve played the Vic, The Aragon, and the last few times we’ve played UIC. We wanted to scale it down a bit and do an intimate show–give the Chicago fans a real taste of what we do on New Year’s. It’s a real extravaganza. Kind of a carnival, circus atmosphere.
OK. So what was the string cheese “incident”?
Every time we hit the stage, it’s a different “incident.” Different set list, different improv–a completely different show.
I bet it went down in Wisconsin.
Could be. We’ve made a career out of not saying.
String Cheese Incident
7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Sold out. Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy.
Tickets are still available for Elastic Mystic, featuring SCI’s mandolin player Michael Kang at 11:45 p.m. Monday. Hard Rock Cafe, 63 W. Ontario St. 312-559-1212.
