Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit

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This article is about the band. For the album, see Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit (album).
Col. Bruce Hampton and The Aquarium Rescue Unit
October 2004
October 2004
Background information
OriginAtlanta, Georgia United States
Genresjazz fusion[1]
Years active1988–1997, 2004–2007, 2015
LabelsCapricorn, Evil Teen Records, Velvet Dwarf Records, Inio Music
Spinoffs
Spinoff of
Past members
Count M'Butu
Matt Mundy
Kofi Burbridge
"Little John" Roberts
Paul Henson
Lee Venters
WebsiteOfficial Website

Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit was a

blues, jazz, funk, and impeccable chops became a template for future bands[according to whom?
].

History

The band originated from a weekly Atlanta jam session hosted by Hampton (from the Hampton Grease Band and The Late Bronze Age) and eventually toured around the Southeastern United States with Hampton, Herring, Burbridge, Sipe, Mundy, and M'Butu. This lineup produced two albums released on Capricorn Records; Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, in 1992,[2] and Mirrors of Embarrassment, in 1993.

During the summer of 1992, the group helped start the

Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, and Widespread Panic. Members of these bands would frequently tour, perform, and record with one another. Béla Fleck and John Popper contributed on Mirrors of Embarrassment and Popper also contributed to The Benefit Concert Vol. 2. Chuck Leavell played on ARU's first two albums on Capricorn Records. Also in 1992 Billy Bob Thornton directed the movie Widespread Panic: Live from the Georgia Theatre which features a music video for "Basically Frightened" performed by Col. Bruce Hampton & The Aquarium Rescue Unit with Chuck Leavell and Count M'Butu.[citation needed
]

Break-up

In 1993 the band lost two key members when Matt Mundy retired from the band and Hampton soon followed. Oteil, Herring and Sipe continued to tour as "The Aquarium Rescue Unit." The band had a rotating outer cast of members over the years, including lead vocalist Paul Henson; Oteil's brother, Kofi Burbridge on keyboards, flute, back-up vocals; and drummer Sean O'Rourke. They recorded additional studio albums as Aquarium Rescue Unit: 1994's eeePee and In A Perfect World, and 2003's The Calling.

The remaining original members started to leave as they received offers from other larger acts.

The Grateful Dead when Phil Lesh decided he no longer wanted to tour. This project is called Dead & Company. Jimmy Herring co-founded Jazz Is Dead in 1998, then toured and recorded with supergroup Frogwings, The Allman Brothers Band, Project Z, Phil Lesh and Friends, and The Dead. In 2006 Herring was asked to join Widespread Panic
with whom he has recorded and toured extensively.

Reunion

Burbridge on bass

In 2004 Hampton, Herring, Sipe, Burbridge and M'Butu reunited for several shows as the original Col. Bruce Hampton and Aquarium Rescue Unit. They continued with eight shows in Colorado and the Southeast between January 2006 and May 2007. Bobby Lee Rodgers of The Codetalkers was asked to sit in on banjo and vocals, taking the place of Matt Mundy who has retired from performing.

By 2007 each member of the original lineup was an accomplished artist in their own right: Herring with Widespread Panic, Burbridge with two bands: The Allman Brothers Band and Oteil and The Peacemakers, Sipe with Trey Anastasio and Leftover Salmon, M'Butu with The Derek Trucks Band, and Hampton with Col. Bruce & The Quark Alliance.

Aquarium Rescue Unit reunited for the reopening of the Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia, on August 8, 2011. The lineup included Col. Bruce Hampton, Jimmy Herring, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Sipe and Matt Slocum on keyboards.[3]

On March 24, 2015, via Facebook,[4] Col. Bruce Hampton announced the band was getting back together for shows scheduled for summer 2015. The band returned to the lineup of Hampton, Oteil Burbridge, Jimmy Herring, Matt Slocum and Jeff Sipe.[5]

Discography

Aquarium Rescue Unit with Hampton

Aquarium Rescue Unit without Hampton

References

  1. ^ a b "Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit - Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Col. Bruce Hampton & The Aquarium Rescue Unit". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
  3. ^ "Georgia Theatre Event Spotlight". Georgia Theatre. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  4. ^ "Getting the band back together for the summer". Facebook. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit Announce Reunion Tour Dates". Relix.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  6. ^ "The Calling - Aquarium Rescue Unit". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 April 2012.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Col._Bruce_Hampton_and_the_Aquarium_Rescue_Unit&oldid=1199969999"