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Zenbu Media is a media company located in New York City. It was founded by Steve Bernstein [1] and is focused on the music industry. Its slogan is "We live for music."
Zenbu Media formerly published Relix magazine, Global Rhythm magazine, Metal Edge magazine, and Metal Maniacs magazine.
Relix Magazine was founded in 1974 by Les Kippel as a newsletter focusing on The Grateful Dead. Originally, the publication was called Dead Relix and was less than twenty pages thick with a hand-drawn black and white cover. By 1978, Dead Relix had dropped the word "Dead" from its title and expanded to include articles about the entire Bay Area psychedelic scene. From here, Relix expanded to encompass musical genres such as reggae and heavy metal.
After the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995, Relix began to report on jam bands and other genres of music not considered as mainstream. In 2000, the magazine was purchased by Steve Bernstein and in 2007, it entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Today, Relix covers jam bands, indie rockers, singer-songwriters, and the live music scene in general. Each issue comes with a free CD sampling various up and coming bands. Bernstein sold Relix to Relix Media Group in 2009. [2] [3]
Metal Edge was the longest-running metal magazine in America. It was first published by Sterling Publishing in 1985 and was closed in 2009 after being purchased by Zenbu Media in February of 2007. [4] Its founding editor was Gerri Miller, [5] and Paul Gargano assumed the role in 2022 [6] when the magazine nameplate was resurrected as a website. [6]
Metal Maniacs covered heavy metal music and was founded in 1989 by Mike Greenhaus and Kathrine Ludwig. [7] The magazine covered the underground metal scene with an emphasis on the black and death metal genres. It was published by Sterling until Zenbu Media purchased it. Metal Maniacs was published ten times annually and was closed in 2009.
Zenbu Media is in charge of two major events: The Jammys and the Green Apple Music & Arts Festival.
The Jammys is an award show geared towards jam bands but also includes other live improvisational genres of music. [8]
The Green Apple Music & Arts Festival (GAMAF) is an Earth Day celebration. [9] Founded by music producer and former Wetlands Preserve club owner Peter Shapiro and Relix Magazine, the annual event features musical performances in venues and rock clubs, as well as large-scale free public outdoor concerts. [9] The festival combines live musical performances from various genres with educational outreach and cultural events, and is held around Earth Day, April 22. [9]
Relix Records was a boutique record label. Some of its artists include Jonah Smith, [10] the John Popper Project featuring DJ Logic and Phil Lesh & Friends.
Additionally, Relix Classics, an imprint of Relix Records, digitally release the works of artists including Jorma Kaukonen, [11] Hot Tuna, [11] Flying Burrito Brothers [11] and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. [11]
As the owner of these recordings, Zenbu filed lawsuits in January 2015 against streaming and music companies such as Apple's Beats, Sony, Google, Rdio, Songza, and Slacker for streaming pre-1972 recordings without having licensed them. All of the lawsuits were quickly dismissed, except for the lawsuit against Sony. [12] [13]
Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the lead vocalist. The band is known for their musical improvisation and jams during their concert performances and for their devoted fan following.
Moe is an American jam rock band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are Rob Derhak, Al Schnier, Chuck Garvey, Vinnie Amico (drums), Jim Loughlin (percussion) and Nate Wilson (keyboard).
The Disco Biscuits are an American jam band from Philadelphia. The band consists of Allen Aucoin (drums), Marc "Brownie" Brownstein, Jon "The Barber" Gutwillig, and Aron Magner. The band incorporates elements from a variety of musical genres with a base of electronic and rock. Their style has been described as trance fusion.
Metal Maniacs was an American magazine that was based around heavy metal music.
Relix, originally and occasionally later Dead Relix, is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concerts. It rapidly expanded into a music magazine covering a wide number of artists. It is the second-longest continuously published music magazine in the United States after Rolling Stone. The magazine is published eight times a year and as of 2009, had a circulation of 102,000. Peter Shapiro currently serves as the magazine's publisher and Dean Budnick and Mike Greenhaus currently serve as Editor-in-Chief.
The Jammy Award is an awards show for bands - referred to as jam bands - and other artists associated with live, improvisational music, created by Dean Budnick and Peter Shapiro. The Jammys are sponsored by Relix magazine, Jambands.com, and Shapiro. The Jammy Awards returned in 2008 to the WAMU Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City after taking a one-year break.
The Green Apple Festival was a music and arts festival, advertised as America's largest Earth Day Celebration.
Max Creek is an American rock band formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1971. A significant presence in the New England music scene, Max Creek is known as a pioneering "jam band." For over fifty years they have regularly performed at various iconic venues and music festivals, showcasing their live performances. Members of Max Creek have collaborated with and opened for notable artists and members of prominent acts, including: Leon Russell, Bruce Hornsby, Phish, The Band, Talking Heads, Jefferson Airplane, The Allman Brothers Band, and Grateful Dead.
Lotus is an instrumental electronic jam band formed in Goshen, Indiana in 1998 now based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Denver, Colorado.
Metal Edge was a magazine covering heavy metal music published by Zenbu Media. The magazine was founded in the summer of 1985, during the height of glam metal's success. While its sister publication, Metal Maniacs focused more on extreme subgenres of heavy metal such as thrash metal and death metal, Metal Edge focused more on glam metal and traditional heavy metal. The magazine was originally edited by Gerri Miller, and later by Paul Gargano.
Moon Taxi is an American indie-alternative rock band based in Nashville, Tennessee. The band was founded in 2006 by Trevor Terndrup, Tommy Putnam (bass), Spencer Thomson, Tyler Ritter (drums), and Wes Bailey (keys) while attending Belmont University.
Dawes is an American folk rock band from Los Angeles, California, composed of brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith (drums). The band has been described as being influenced by the Laurel Canyon sound, found in such artists as Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band is an American blues and blues rock group based in Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 2010, the band is led by married couple Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Their debut album, Revelator (2011), won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Blues Album. The band has released five studio and three live albums.
A jam band is a musical group whose concerts and live albums substantially feature improvisational "jamming". Typically, jam bands will play variations of pre-existing songs, extending them to improvise over chord patterns or rhythmic grooves. Jam bands are known for having a very fluid structure, playing long sets of music which often cross genre boundaries, varying their nightly setlists, and segueing from one song into another without a break.
Dean Budnick is an American writer, filmmaker, college professor, podcast creator and radio host who focuses on music, film and popular culture. Budnick, who is editor-in-chief of Relix, grew up in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
Peter Shapiro is an American club owner, concert promoter, filmmaker, magazine publisher, author and entrepreneur from New York City. He is widely known as the promoter for Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead, the Grateful Dead's 50th anniversary "final shows". Shapiro first gained renown through two films that screened at the Sundance Film Festival: Tie-Died: Rock 'n Roll's Most Deadicated Fans (1995) and American Road (1997). He has gone on to produce numerous other projects including U2 3D (2007) and All Access: Front Row. Backstage. Live! (2001). The Producers Guild of America identified him as one of "The Digital 25: Visionaries, Innovators and Producers of 2009". On June 8, 2016, Shapiro was honored at the annual gala of the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival.
Dead & Company is an American rock band that formed in 2015 with a lineup of former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart (drums), and Bill Kreutzmann (drums), along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, and Jeff Chimenti (keyboards). Jay Lane replaced Kreutzmann on drums in 2023.
Spafford is a U.S.-based jam band that blends multiple genres of music including rock, funk, jazz, reggae, ska, and electro-pop. The group self-releases its recordings, including studio albums, improvisational sessions, and soundboard releases of their live shows.
Dopapod is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. The current lineup includes keyboardist/vocalist Eli Winderman, guitarist/vocalist Rob Compa, bassist Chuck Jones, drummer Neal “Fro” Evans, and former lighting director Luke Stratton. Although classified as a jam band, Dopapod incorporates bits of funk, heavy metal, jazz fusion, progressive rock, and country. They have self-released seven studio albums, and spend most of their time touring.
Ghost Light is a five-piece American jam band formed in 2017 by Tom Hamilton, Raina Mullen, Holly Bowling, Scotty Zwang, and Steve Lyons. Ghost Light's debut album, Best Kept Secrets, was named one of Glide's top 20 albums of 2019. Ghost Light has performed on major festival stages and in historic venues including Lockn' Festival, Jam Cruise, Electric Forest Festival, Mission Ballroom, Brooklyn Bowl, The Peach Music Festival and Terrapin Crossroads. Ghost Light toured as an opening act for Greensky Bluegrass in the winter of 2020.
