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Live Series: GPGDS – Burkina Faso—>Foundation—>On the Moon

Burkina Faso—>Foundation—>On the Moon

Another artist recently asked me how PANDA! writes a setlist. I think a PANDA! setlist needs to satisfy a certain balance of surprise and order. “Hits” must be performed, but risk is required. Structure is necessary, but only to lay down a foundation for new discoveries. There needs to be an overwhelming awareness that this is happening RIGHT now. It is a special energy that thrives on the moment.

Listening back is always a different experience. A show experience and a show recording cannot be treated exactly the same.

PANDA! is on an ever and ongoing quest to develop those certain jump off points in a set where anything can happen. An ice breaker. A psychedelic search throughout the rhythm of a tune, churning and cycling into derivatives of what could and what could never be. We also try to develop exit strategies for such explorations. Sonic cues, that communicate to each that the wormhole into the next event is fast approaching.

Burkina Faso—>Foundation—>Moon, is an example of such happenings. These three songs that have been in our repertoire for years,  provide grounds for healthy experimentation and movement, guided by mixture of James Brown and Grateful Dead pedagogy. The ability to provide a show to the audience, but also to ourselves. Some experiments hit harder than others, but it is the freedom to search that keeps us feeling fresh.

On our most recent tour to Colorado, we had agreed to play two days in a row, outside, in the center of a town called Avon, in February. We were ready to battle the elements. To our pleasant surprise, we encountered two days of sunshine and sixty degree weather. The show was free. The town was excited. These are our most favorable conditions to jam in. Thanks again to the town of Avon, for having us.

Recorded live February 8, 2015 at Alpine World Ski Championships in Avon, CO, during Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad’s Colorado Tour.
Recorded by Joel Scanlon.

Cover Photo Credit: Zach Mahone

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad: http://livepanda.com/

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Bass player and songwriter for Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, James feels, plays and lives the music. Lucky for us he also has the knack for remembering what happened and writing it down in his own voice.

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9 years ago

Yo Semaj! This is killer. Love the bass breakdown.

TDubbs
9 years ago

Good to hear J Scans back on the controls, big ups GPGDS and Rootfire

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