Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic is a southern rock band from Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1985 at the University of Georgia as a weekly jam session at the Uptown Lounge in Athens, the band tours widely, drawing particularly large audiences near its origins in the southeastern United States. more...

The founding members of the group are guitarist/singer John Bell, guitarist Michael Houser and bassist Dave Schools. Drummer Todd Nance would soon join, and percusionist Sonny Ortiz and keyboardist John Hermann joined in the early 1990s.

Band history

Michael Houser and John Bell ('JB') met at the University of Georgia at Athens between 1982 and 1984, and began playing music together around town as a duet. JB played solo shows as well. In the Fall of 1984, David Schools saw JB play a solo show at Abbots in Athens. Dave and JB were introduced by a mutual friend. Shortly thereafter, JB & Mike recruited Dave to play bass with them, and from Mike's nickname ("Panic"), the band name Widespread Panic was chosen. On February 24, 1985 the band played their first performance as Widespread Panic at the A-Frame house on Weymanda Court in Athens. Mike, JB, & Dave performed around Athens as a trio, occasionally utilizing local drummers. While their shows consisted primarily of cover tunes (by the likes of The Grateful Dead, Van Morrison, Bob Marley, and Traffic, among others), their repertoire did include a handful of original songs: Sleepy Monkey (the band's first original composition), Chilly Water, Space Wrangler, and Coconut (written by JB before joining the band). During this time, the trio also met vocalist Kelly Jo Davis (who is later married to blues guitarist and friend of WP, Tinsley Ellis). Kelly Jo performed frequently with the band throughout 1985 and 1986.

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