Never Gonna Touch the Ground

Album Review

The terms "hippie" and "flower child" are mainly identified with the baby boomer counterculture of the '60s and early '70s, but in fact, the hippie/flower child aesthetic has been alive and well in the alternative rock era thanks to Phish and a long list of other Grateful Dead-influenced jam bands that were formed in the '80s, '90s, or 2000s (Phish's original lineup was formed in 1983, although it was in the '90s that they became so influential). While baby boomers wrote the book on flower power, Gen-X and Gen-Y have been the ones doing the most to keep it alive in the 21st century. Sean Rawls' San Francisco-based jam band/collective Still Flyin', for example, wasn't formed until 2004, although the hippie/flower child perspective is impossible to miss on Never Gonna Touch the Ground. The thing that separates this 2007 recording from other jam band efforts, however, is the fact that Still Flyin' bring so much irony to the table. Never Gonna Touch the Ground is not only humorous — it's downright silly at times, which is a big part of the fun. Tunes like "Aerosmith, Take Me...," "Good Thing It's a Ghost Town Around Here," and "The Hottchord Is Struck" don't take themselves too seriously, but that isn't to say that Rawls and his friends aren't creative. Still Flyin' take their share of chances, combining an appreciation of the Grateful Dead and Phish with elements of everything from punk and new wave to ska and reggae. Still Flyin' can be overly self-indulgent at times; these Bay Area residents certainly have their excesses. But even though Never Gonna Touch the Ground is slightly uneven, it is still an intriguing, lively, and unapologetically fun listen — excesses and all.