Houser and 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.
February 6, 1986, Mike recruited high school friend/band mate Todd Nance for a WP gig (an Aid For Africa benefit) at the Mad Hatter Ballroom in Athens, opening for Strawberry Flats (featuring John Keane). This is considered the first "official" Widespread Panic show. Todd evidently had a good time, and accepted their offer to join the band. On February 9, 1985, Mike, Dave, and JB, with Joel Morris on drums and Kelly Jo Davis on backing vocals, recorded Monkey Image (Sleepy Monkey) and Coconut Image (Coconut) at Panoramic Recording Studio in Arnoldsville GA, to be released as their first single. The 45rpm vinyl was released (in a pressing of only 500) shortly thereafter on the band's Space Baby label.
During the rest of 1986, WP played mainly in Athens, though they did branch out to venues in Macon, GA and South Carolina. Early on, they began playing every Monday night at the Uptown Lounge in Athens, a tradition that would last well into 1988. Along the way, they developed a solid batch of original tunes (in addition to the four originals that they played in 1985), including Stop-Go, C. Brown, Tie Your Shoes, Porch Song, Driving Song, Conrad, Vacation, Postcard, the instrumental Machine, and another instrumental jam that JB later adds lyrics to, titled Cardboard Box. On October 6, 1986, Texan percussionist Domingo S. Ortiz ("Sunny"), sat in with the band at the Uptown Lounge for the first time. Sunny continued to perform with the band on numerous occasions in Athens, Macon, and Atlanta, and eventually (late 1988 or early 1989) accepted the band's request for him to join as a full-time member.
During 1987, WP continued to play primarily in Georgia, while steadily spreading out to SC, NC, AL, TN, and as far north as Richmond, VA (Dave Schools' hometown). They developed a few more originals along the way, including Barstools & Dreamers, Contentment Blues, I'm Not Alone, and instrumentals L.a. (aka "Liza's Apartment"), and The Take Out. JB added lyrics to Cardboard Box, and to another instrumental titled "Puppet Song", subsequently renamed Pigeons. Cardboard Box was only played a handful of times before being dropped from the repertoire. In the Fall, the band signed with Landslide Records and recorded their first album, Space Wrangler, at John Keane's Studio in Athens. Guests on the album included Sunny on percussion, David Blackmon on fiddle, Tim White on keyboards, and Alberto Salazarte (of Athens band White Buffalo) on percussion.
In June of 1988, the first known guest appearance of producer John Keane on stage with the band occurred. Usually playing pedal steel, Keane became another regular guest at special Panic shows.
Their debut LP, Space Wrangler, established a small fan base and inaugurated several years of constant touring before the band signed to Capricorn Records and released their major label debut, Widespread Panic in 1991. After appearing with the H.O.R.D.E. tours for a few years, the band became one of the most popular new jam bands that arose in the mid-1990s. Their popularity peaked in the late 1990s/early 2000s, as their concert draw benefited from Phish's temporary hiatus. They still have a large draw in the South, where they are most popular.
Playing as many as 250 shows a year, Panic built a large fan base. True road warriors, Widespread Panic ranked among the top 50 grossing touring acts for eight years running, even without substantial radio airplay, television exposure, or promotion at retail stores. The band holds sellout records at Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver (23 shows), Oak Mountain Amphitheatre near Birmingham, Ala. (17 shows), Philips Arena in Atlanta (11 shows), and UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans (18 shows). Not to mention 20 sellouts at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre, seven sellouts across the Bay at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, nine sellouts at Mud Island in Memphis, seven at Memphis' Mid-South Coliseum, and in October 2003 for the popular Halloween shows sold out two concerts at New York's famed Madison Square Garden. To celebrate the release of their first live album, Light Fuse, Get Away, Widespread Panic offered a free "CD release party" concert in the streets of hometown Athens. An estimated 100,000 fans descended on the town, transforming it into the largest CD release party in history.
In August 2002, founding guitarist Michael Houser lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. George McConnell, a long time friend of the band and former Beanland,a Mississippi roots band, member joined in Houser's wake. After Hermann had joined Panic in 1992, McConnell often sat in whenever Panic played in the south. Friends for the past 15 years, Panic and McConnell had often played on the same bill for nearly as long. That longstanding relationship made him the natural choice to continue on with Panic after Michael Houser's death from pancreatic cancer in August of that year. "It's all about chemistry," Schools said. "We've been friends for 15 years." At the end of the summer tour, Panic went back to the studio to record Ball, a testament that, as Houser wished, they would continue as a band.
On August 2, 2006, the band announced that George McConnell would no longer be playing with the band. John Keane, friend and co-producer of many of the bands albums, provided guitar support for the remainder of the tour, along with Sam Holt. Both had been featured contributors in Widespread Panic concerts since the beginning of the Summer 2006 tour. The following day, the band announced that guitarist Jimmy Herring, who had previously been a member of the 1990s band the Aquarium Rescue Unit and had toured with The Allman Brothers Band and members of The Grateful Dead, would join the band, beginning with the first show of the Fall 2006 tour at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York.
The band has sold over 3 million albums, and released a total of 15 CDs and five DVDs (including Live at Oak Mountain, which is certified Gold).
In June 2006, their 9th and most recent studio album, Earth to America, was released. Earth to America was recorded with Terry Manning in Nassau, Bahamas at the beautiful Compass Point Studios.
In late 2006, Fayetteville, NC native Jimmy Herring took over the reins of the lead guitarist in the band, kicking off their fall tour with three nights at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York.
Panic’s 7th annual New Year’s shows on December 30 and 31 of 2007, marked their 15th and 16th sellout performance at Philips Arena.
The band released their 10th album, Free Somehow, on February 12, 2008. It, too, was recorded with producer Terry Manning at Compass Point Studios.
Following the release of the new studio album, Widespread Panic began to release vintage concert performances from the Widespread Panic Archives. Carbondale 2000 was released on June 10, 2008, followed by Valdosta 1989 released on February 24, 2009, and Huntsville 1996 released on June 23, 2009. The band will continue to dig into their show archives, which encompasses the past 25 years, and release these shows as multi-track recordings.
June 27, 2008, marked the band's 32nd sold-out show at Red Rocks Amphitheater. This was more than any other band in the venue's history. Mayor John Hickenlooper proclaimed Friday, June 27 "Widespread Panic Day" in the City and County of Denver. The same year, Widespread Panic was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame on September 20.
The band continued to tour throughout the rest of 2008 and the spring of 2009. In the summer of 2009, Widespread Panic teamed up with fellow southern rockers, The Allman Brothers to do a summer and fall co-headlining tour.
In March 2010, it was announced that Widespread Panic would be releasing a new album entitled Dirty Side Down on May 25, 2010. The band is also releasing Live in the Classic City II, containing music from its 2000 shows.
On September 29, 2010, Widespread keyboardist Jojo Herman announced that the band would be going on hiatus in 2012. In an interview with the Vanderbilt Hustler, Herman explained, "Next year will be our 25th anniversary. After that, we're probably going to call it (quits) for awhile. So we're looking forward to next year and going out on a high note."
Glory
Widespread Panic Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All our stories lead on to fortune and fame
Rack 'em up and shoot
But the cue ball is missing
By tomorrow though, we'll all play different games
Anytime we dance takes us closer to glory
Now that kitty-cat's finally purring out smiles
Only cry for so long 'til you're just watering stones
Go full circles crawling all those last miles
Anytime we dance takes us closer to glory
Anytime we love brings us closer
Our lips just moved closer than ever
To naming the feelings we've been made of for all these years
Cliches are frayed teeth trying to feed a hungry old soul
Words of love, though, will bite back all of those tears
Anytime we dance takes us closer to glory
Anyway we make love
Anyway we love
Take us closer to glory
Anytime we dance
The lyrics to Widespread Panic's song Glory convey a sense of hope and optimism about the future. The song talks about how every word spoken tonight will be easy, and how every story leads to fortune and fame. It encourages the listener to rack up and shoot, even though the cue ball may be missing. Tomorrow, we may all play different games, but tonight we can dance and come closer to glory.
The song also discusses overcoming obstacles and moving forward. The blue jay flew too low, and the kitty-cat is finally purring out smiles. We can cry for a while, but eventually, we must move on, even if it means crawling all the last miles. The lyrics suggest that dancing and loving can take us closer to glory, and that the act of loving someone is what truly matters.
The final verse of the song focuses on the power of words of love. Cliches are like frayed teeth, but words of love can bite back all those tears. The song encourages the listener to dance and make love, as these actions take us closer to glory.
Overall, the song is about hope, optimism, and the power of love and connection. The lyrics suggest that even though life can be challenging, we can find moments of beauty and joy through dancing and loving.
Line by Line Meaning
Tonight every word will be spoken easy
Tonight, there will be no barriers holding us back from speaking our minds freely and authentically.
All our stories lead on to fortune and fame
The stories we tell and experiences we share will all ultimately lead us to success and recognition.
Rack 'em up and shoot
Get ready and prepared for whatever is coming our way.
But the cue ball is missing
Even when we have our plan set, something may go missing or not go according to plan.
By tomorrow though, we'll all play different games
The next day or future may bring different circumstances for each of us, causing us to have to change our approach or move in a different direction.
Anytime we dance takes us closer to glory
Whenever we experience the joy and freedom of dancing, we are brought closer to achieving greatness and success.
The blue jay flew a little to low down today
An unfortunate and unexpected occurrence happened recently for us.
Now that kitty-cat's finally purring out smiles
Now we can finally relax and see some positivity and happiness in our lives.
Only cry for so long 'til you're just watering stones
Crying or being upset for too long will only lead to feelings of emptiness or futility.
Go full circles crawling all those last miles
We must persevere and keep going, even when it feels like we are going in circles and making slow progress.
Our lips just moved closer than ever
We have recently become more intimate or vulnerable with someone else.
To naming the feelings we've been made of for all these years
We are finally able to put in words the emotions that we have been feeling for a long time.
Cliches are frayed teeth trying to feed a hungry old soul
Common sayings or phrases are overused and unhelpful in trying to satisfy an inner need or longing.
Words of love, though, will bite back all of those tears
Expressing love through heartfelt words can conquer sadness or negativity.
Anyway we make love
No matter how we express our love or affection towards one another.
Anyway we love
Regardless of what form love may take or who it is directed towards.
Take us closer to glory
Bringing us closer to a state of achievements, fulfilment and success.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAVID A. SCHOOLS, DOMINGO ORTIZ, JOHN F. BELL, JOHN R. HERMAN, MICHAEL N. HOUSER, TODD A. NANCE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind