Mel Martin—composer, arranger, bandleader, saxophonist, flutist—is one of the most versatile and inventive musicians ever to emerge from the San Francisco Bay Area. In his long career, he's played a part in many of the innovative movements that have emerged from that creative community. He worked and recorded with a number of the progressive rock and Latin bands of the late '60s and early '70s, including the Loading Zone, Cold Blood, Azteca, and Boz Scaggs.

There is a certain feeling I get before a Phish or a Trey show that is unlike any other pre-show feeling. I don't know why, but it almost feels like it's my show that I'm preparing for. Everything has to be right. I have to be on time, in my spot, with everything that I need. I probably acquired these survival skills during ten years of Phish Jedi touring.

D. Rider is a new rock band founded and fronted by guitarist/singer Todd Albert Rittmann.  Founding member of U.S. Maple, Singer (both Drag City), and Robert Johnson and the Browns, T.