Calobo

The seeds of the Portland, OR-based band Calobo were originally planted in the early '90s, when its founding members (and longtime friends), Caleb Klauder and David "Hobo" Andrews, began writing and playing music on Orcas Island in Washington State. Both members played acoustic guitar (with Klauder known to pick up a mandolin from time to time), and were soon joined by other members -- Jenny Conlee on piano, Kenneth Erlick on electric guitar, Michelle Van Kleef on vocals, Nate Query on bass, and Brian Bucolo on drums. Mixing their folk influences with long and winding passages from such renowned jam band trailblazers as the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers, Calobo immediately built a large and dedicated cult following in the Pacific Northwest. Signed to the independent Padre label in the mid-'90s, the sextet has issued five albums -- 1995's self-titled debut, 1997's Stomp, 1998's Running in the River and Ya Dum Di Dum, and 1998's Live at the Crystal Ballroom. ~ Greg Prato