Steve Molitz and I have this relationship. It started off like most fanboy relationships do: Steve had NO idea who I was. Didn’t even know I existed.
I know, right? Unrequited love, the worst.
It started back in 2002, when I had discovered STS9 and some other jamtronica and was totally blown out. During the midst of disk-trading (we had only just evolved from cassettes), somebody (thank you, thank you, thank you) suggested I try Particle. Par-ty-what?
The shows different people sent were awesome, and finally they were scheduled to hit The Ritz in Ybor City, Tampa, on 01.03.04, a Saturday night. I felt really lousy but was determined to go.
22 and a half minutes of “Triple Threat” was enough to assure me that I had made the correct decision. I was blown out. Eric Gould was a head-bobbing madman on bass, and Darren Pujalet laid out that perfect cross between rock drumming and disco drumming (you know exactly what I mean) that is at the heart of jamtronica. Charlie Hitchcock played jaw-dropping guitar solo after jaw-dropping solo.
And then there was Steve Molitz. You could feel every note he played from his spaceship console — there were certainly enough keyboards for interplanetary flight — through his dancing body language and his joyous facial expressions. This band was smoking.
The next Particle appearance, on 03.11.05 (and yes, that would be MAR 11, just not SUN), was totally bizarre. They were stuffed in a lineup between Inner Circle (“Bad Boys”) and Toots and the Maytals. Shows at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg (now Jannus Live) typically start at 8 PM and have an absolute cutoff at midnight.
None of the crews setting up seemed to be in any sort of hurry, apparently not understanding the curfew. Inner Circle didn’t hit the stage until 9:30, and I was doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out how everything was going to fit. They actually got Particle on in short order, but they were chopped down to 45 minutes. It was a tight but totally killer set, starting with “Launchpad” and ending with “Superstition.” The boys just shrugged their shoulders later at the merch table.
Meanwhile, the crew again adopted the slow approach, and The Maytals didn’t get on stage until 11:20, and Toots didn’t appear until almost 11:40. I’m guessing there was some ugliness about 12:01. I left in time to miss it.
My son was in school in Tallahassee, so when Widespread Panic announced a show there 04.27.05, I bought tickets for us. But then there was announcement of a show at Jannus Landing with a band called Hydra. At first blush, I thought that perhaps the ’70s Southern rock band from Atlanta that recorded on Capricorn was reforming. Then I discovered it was actually a collaborative project with Particle and Mickey Hart of the Dead.
What’s a fanboy to do?
Answer: give the tickets to my son. The Hydra show was stunning beyond belief. Beginning with “Stellar Particles,” the first set continued to build and peaked with a great rendition of “I Know You Rider.” The second set? Fuggetaboutit!
Three songs and an encore, 75 minutes, head ripped off. “A Fine Open Cluster” was stunning, and then “Luminiferous Ether” went interstellar. Everybody was on fire, and Molitz really seemed to enjoy the interplay with Hart, who played keyboards and percussion. They were again at the merch table afterward; this was when they were selling recordings of the night’s show shortly after the set was done. I have fanboy autographs to prove it.
I have talked to several other people who made that same choice. And we all agree.
It took me another five years to catch up with Molitz and the by-now revised lineup. It was at the Wanee Festival 04.15.10, and if memory serves (and that’s a big IF), they had a late-night show at the Mushroom Stage, a.k.a. the Amphitheater. And crushed it.
They returned to Wanee the following year for a late afternoon show at the Mushroom Stage 04.15.11. Earlier in the afternoon, I was standing in the VIP area at the back of the Peach Stage crowd, near that treehouse. I was wearing my dark green Particle shirt from 2005. I heard this voice up in the air behind me say, “NICE SHIRT!” I turned to see Molitz, smiling on the deck. He came down, and we had a nice discussion.
There was an overlap with their set and the Robert Plant set. He pointed out that we should stay there to see him (which we did for a while), but I said, “No, we came to see you.” He smiled, and once again Particle tore it up. They also returned the next year (04.20.12).
Particle also played AURA 02.15.14, which was awesome but a bit chilly. Those who were there remember that Molitz and crew crushed their nighttime set on Uncle Charlie’s Porch Stage, and they remember the dude off to the left with no shirt breathing fire into the night sky. At the time, I scribbled:
The standard I look for is when the music is, “in the moment, as good as it gets,” when it sends me to musical nirvana. Almost every band at AURA had at least a few of these moments if not more. Particle had a sequence of tunes in the middle of the set for more than half an hour where I felt like I was just floating. It didn’t hurt that I was over near the guy on the other side of the fence breathing fire (via some alcoholic liquid)! I was surprised to see that the captain of the ship, Steve Molitz, had a new rhythm section in addition to guitarist Ben Combe, but you would never have known that; the set was seamless.
So, seven great Particle shows, but only one interaction with Steve Molitz. That would change the next year.
One of the great summer programs that was put on at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park was Reunion: Campout Concert Series, a great weekend leaning heavily toward jamtronica. One of the bands was a collective that had been touring occasionally for several months called The Stratosphere All-Stars.
I walked up to the bar, and there was Molitz, smiling and pointing to my shirt. We again said hello.
There was much anticipation for the Stratosphere All-Stars. The moment a conglomerate of musicians are dubbed ‘all-stars,’ you begin to wonder if they will live up to the hype. That wonder was spindled, folded and mutilated within two minutes, as Molitz (keyboards), Marcus Rezak (Digital Tape machine) on guitar, David Murphy formerly STS9) on bass, and Allen Aucoin (drummer for the Disco Biscuits) amply demonstrated their all-star status.
After they melted faces with the first three long jams, things really lit up when the onstage collective busted out Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” with Ashley Nevins on vocals. Todd Stoops had been called up as well, and he and Molitz were having a blast; Rezak was ripping solos right and left, and the rhythm section was stunning. Aucoin is always a treat to watch.
I was unable to attend the Tampa show on their fall tour, so I hit the show at The Social in Orlando the next evening (10.14.15). No matter where you are in the Social, you’re close to the band, and it was brilliant. Afterward, Steve and I had the chance to talk for about ten minutes about a variety of topics, including the fact that we both lamented that the cool Particle chemical symbols t-shirt was long out of print.
That might have been the last Molitz sighting were it not for Joe Marcinek and his rotating merry band of A-listers performing all over the country. I finally got hip to the Marcinek Method in 2015 because Michael Lyn Bryant, proprietor at Dunedin Brewery, brought Marcinek back time and again. It wasn’t until last year’s Dunedin Oktobeerfest that Marcinek had Molitz in the fold.
We caught both nights they played (10.07.16 and 10.08.16), and it was magic. This happened Friday:
Joe Marcinek had once again rounded up the usual suspects. Either he must know all of their dirty little secrets or they owe him money, because he never fails to attract A-list talent for his collaborations, dozens of them a year! This batch was no exception: Steve Molitz (Particle), Freekbass and Peter Koopmans (Family Groove Ensemble) were in the house, or, rather, under the tent, and for this special show they also brought in Juanjamon (The Juanjamon Band).
Everyone was on fire, and these were long, drawn-out jams. I had just seen George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic six days earlier; this set was better. For real. “Maggot Brain” featured a badass guitar solo from Marcinek and that beautiful obstinato courtesy of Freekbass. Molitz is one of the premier keyboard wizards anywhere, having played in a variety of settings in addition to his Particle project. But it was Koopmans, whom few of us knew, who was a real revelation. He was incredible. Juanjamon then grabbed the microphone to belt “Red Hot Mama,” and it was. Koopmans kicked everybody’s ass.
There was a long, slow intro building up to the next tune, with Molitz in the lead. Juanjamon began singing “Cosmic Slop,” and cosmic was exactly accurate. This jam got even bigger, with Freekbass and Koopmans powering it and Marcinek and Molitz going wild, Juanjamon, too. And Juanjamon blew his best tenor sax solo in the midst of the closing “Flashlight.”
We arrived Saturday in time for the second set as Marcinek and crew opened with the title track from Slink (which is a spectacular album, by the way — review to follow soon). Molitz was using just two keyboards Friday (of course, those can do a lot, but with Particle he has an entire spaceship array). However, he had a third rig this night, a MOOG. Apparently, it belonged to Mike Bryant, so it was natural for Molitz to ask him up to play on “Launchpad” with him, and for us Particle fans it was heavenly.
Marcinek avec Molitz returned 01.14.17 with and again 03.25.17, all at Dun Brew. Here is part of what we wrote at the time:
But Saturday night was so incredible, so stunning, that my mind is totally blown. For this series of shows (January 11-14), he enlisted some fairly regular compatriots in Steve Molitz (Particle) on keyboards, Tony Hall (Dumpstaphunk, Tony Hall Band) on bass, Jason Hann (String Cheese Incident) on drums, and Juanjamon (The Juanjamon Band) on tenor sax. Everybody sang at one point or another.
There was one tune to go before set break. During the break, Molitz was talking about what a blast they were having these past four days here in Florida and that they had been listening to Buddy Miles in the van. It was clear that influenced what occurred next, as that one tune was ABB’s “Dreams” as interpreted by Miles. I’d guess it was about 15 minutes worth of face-melting funky blues. Hall had the Miles vocal approach down cold while Juanjamon added the horn punch.
After the break, they paid tribute to the late Dr. Bernie Worrell with the tune named in his honor on Slink; Molitz did “Bernie” proud on synths and electric piano. Molitz was showcased again as the band played the title track from the first Particle album, Launchpad. That was jamtronic deliciousness, and everybody dug deep into it. I’ve never heard Marcinek sound better on guitar than this night, and Hann was so deep in the pocket.
And again in March at Spring Beer Jam:
For this band, Marcinek (guitar and vocals), recruited some regulars and one new to us. He tapped Steve Molitz (Particle) on keyboards and vocals and Jason Hann (String Cheese Incident) on drums and vocals, and our Hometeam hero Juanjamon (The Juanjamon Band) was there, too, on tenor sax and vocals. The relative newcomer to the Marcinek universe was Al Ingram, better know as Al Al, bass player for Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band.
Steve Molitz & Joe Marcinek
Next up, they featured Molitz on a Particle tune. We’ve seen them play “Launchpad” before, but this time they tore up “Metropolis,” inviting Brewery proprietor Michael Lyn Bryant on stage to twirl some synthesizer knobs. It was grand. After the heavy jamtronica, the horns chimed in, taking the tune in a new direction, which went even further as Nook jumped up to add some hip hop lyrics to the mix.
Where’d those Hometeam horns come from?
And now a Particle show at Dunedin Brewery. Head exploding.
