Floodwood to Wash Over Burlington Audiences

Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico are Buffalo-born musicians who, for over two decades, have been playing with one of the premier American jam bands, moe. — a group that sounds a bit like the Grateful Dead if they played a few sessions with Les Claypool. When these two powerful musicians joined forces with the bluegrass talents of Jason Barady, Nick Piccininni and Zachary Fleitz, a bluegrass band with a strong, alt-rock flavor was born. And that band is Floodwood.

“We formed two years ago at Moedown,” Amico — Floodwood’s drummer — said, “when Al had a great idea to start a bluegrass band in the northeast because he felt that there wasn’t enough coming out of the region.”
Floodwood’s music is undeniably bluegrass but they’ve added a unique spin that frames them as a promising leader in the genre. Amico’s drums really bring a harder rock feel to the music and Amico and Schnier’s history playing in jam bands really shows through in the songs.

“I could name so many different groups who have influenced my playing,” Amico said. “There’s a lot of jazz behind what I do, I could name 20 or 30 bands and it wouldn’t be enough. Probably the biggest influence for all of us would be the Grateful Dead.”

While the group has been touring for just over two years (their anniversary was this past Labor Day), they will be releasing their first studio album sometime this fall. Both the album and their current tour were largely funded by a Kickstarter campaign by the band. The website Kickstarter can be a priceless resource for smaller bands looking to bring their music to the public without taking the more traditional label-sponsored route.

“It’s tough to make CDs in the traditional format when we have to be the ones putting money up for it,” Amico said. “Through Kickstarter, people are paying in advanced for the music that they want to hear.”

Amico emphasized the band’s dedication to their fans, and their website is littered with fan messages and an often updated news-stream that feels more like a shout out to friends than a white-washed news report written by the band’s publicist. The group recognizes that without fan support — both financially and emotionally — they wouldn’t be where they are today. Many of the perks offered through Floodwood’s Kickstarter reflect the connection they are hoping to garner with fans. Fans who donate to the band’s cause can win a variety of interesting perks including a guitar used by the members of the band, the chance to have a song written about you by the band and even an appearance by Floodwood at a private party — a throwback to the earlier days of Schnier and Amico’s career.

“We love the relationship with our fans and we love when fans become good friends,” Amico said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and Al and I played a lot of house parties and made a lot of friends all over the place before we graduated to playing bars and theaters.”

One of the Kickstarter perks may be of particular interest to any of the many Middlebury College student musicians. On Wed, Sept 18, Floodwood will be coming to the Burlington music venue, Higher Ground, to play a concert alongside jam band, Leftover Salmon. Anyone who donates at least 10 dollars to the band’s Kickstarter will automatically be entered into a drawing to win a chance to play on stage with Floodwood at Higher Ground. On the band’s Kickstarter, Emily Ginsberg, the band’s publicist, said, “You don’t have to be a pro to take advantage of this opportunity!  Whether it’s whistling, hand clapping, shredding on the guitar, we want you to join us! So donate now for this opportunity of a lifetime.”

This intimate relationship with their fans has really worked to their advantage, as the band’s Kickstarter is going well and they’ve already raised enough money to continue their tour. In a message on their website dated Sept. 5, the band said, “Thank you for your amazing support on this campaign…We’ve got our new (old, work) van and named it ‘Van Halen’ (Eddie, for short)…Thanks to your contribution, there’ll be enough lunch money to make it through our Fall Tour.”

Floodwood will be playing at Higher Ground on Wednesday, Sept 18. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are currently on sale for $20. When asked what fans, old and new alike, should expect for Floodwood’s performance, Amico promised a unique, bluegrass-inspired experience.
“You have to come loving bluegrass, but we do drive it a lot harder with some heavy rock influence. There’ll be a lot of energy brought over from our time playing in moe. so if you know that, you’ll know what to expect.” And if you’ve never seen or heard moe. or Floodwood before, you’re in for quite a treat.