Song Origins
Chilly Water
Widespread Panic New Frontiers www.americansongwriter.com/2006/07/widespread-panic-new-frontiers/
Over the course of seven studio albums, thousands of concerts around the world and nearly 20 years, Bell and Houser served as the chief songwriting voices in Widespread Panic. Despite the seamlessness of early collaborations like ‘Driving Song,’ the tandem’s individual writing styles represented two distinct perspectives that brought a sense of balance to the band’s sound.
“J.B. took more of a third-person approach where he would embody a character to tell a story,” Schools says. “I don’t think in J.B.’s mind it’s a rule to avoid the first person. I remember when he wrote the song ‘Chilly Water,’ he had a backbreaking job at a nursery moving trees. He’d come home and literally pass out in the chair with his cowboy boots on and a whiskey bottle in his hands…and Mikey would find him when he got from Domino’s at 3 a.m. So I think J.B. would only use the first person if it were a direct experience."
“With Mikey, everything was first person, but it had an Everyman spirit to it. It’s like Mikey would put himself in the role of the Every man a lot of times. People could relate to it very easily. They were two very different styles of songwriting that complemented one another really well.”
# of times played: 1021
First time played: 06/22/85
Frequency: 1 in every 2.58 Shows
Longest drought: 23 shows (04/23/87 > 07/02/87)
Most common lead in: Entering A Black Hole Backwards (43 times)
Most common lead out: Drums (61 times)
Most common set position: Set 2, song 2 (67 times)
Notes: Appears on 'Space Wrangler', ‘Panic In The Streets (Bonus CD and Video)’, 'Don't Tell The Band (Bonus CD)', 'Live In The Classic City', 'Panic In The Streets', 'Live at Myrtle Beach'
Burnthday's Picks:
06/22/85 Uptown Lounge, Athens, GA (FTP?, Entire show with Cliff on drums, Jeff Phillips on keyboards)
04/28/02 Oak Mountain Amphitheater, Pelham, AL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFGMPixRs7w