John Popper, Oteil Burbridge and Trey Anastasio backstage at H.O.R.D.E. Photo by Steve EichnerThe current issue of Relix looks back 20 years to the very inaugural H.O.R.D.E tour, which debuted in July 1992 following a meeting between members of Blues Traveler, Phish, Widespread Panic, Spin Doctors, and Col. Bruce Hampton and Aquarium Rescue Unit (Bela Fleck & The Flecktones swapped in for Phish on the final four dates). Here, ARU bassist Oteil Burbridge shares his memories of the tour. To view all of our special H.O.R.D.E. content, which we will post over the coming weeks, visit www.relix.com/HORDE .

To read our cover story in its entirety, pick up a copy of the issue from newsstands or purchase one online directly from us. You can also purchase a digital copy of the issue or download the issue on your iPhone and iPad via our new iTunes app.
Can you recall your thoughts when you were told that ARU had been invited to be part of this new tour?

Not really unfortunately. That whole time was so surreal because the ARU was the first time that we purposefully started a band with no hope, and therefore no intention of doing anything but scaring normal people away. We certainly never expected in our wildest dreams to get a record deal or be invited to be on a big tour! I had never played on stages that big so I couldn’t even conceive of what it would be like. To me it was like some kind of dream that couldn’t really be happening. Honestly I wish I was older, or at least a lot more mature as a person because I would have savored it and appreciated it a great deal more than I did.

You guys were friendly with Widespread Panic. How familiar were you with the other bands (Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, Phish, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones)?

I was more familiar with the Flecktones because I knew Vic and Roy since I was nineteen. I knew the guys from Phish and Blues Traveler some but not nearly as well as after that tour. Everyone was so great to work with. It’s funny ‘cause I remember predicting at the time that the Spin Doctors would be the first of that group to actually get on the radio.

What was it like moving from clubs into amphitheatres? What were the challenges?

I still hate it honestly. The sound sucks if there’s any kind of shed or tent top. At least from the stage. My favorite (of outdoor places) are the state fairs or any other places like Sarasota Bluesfest that have no tops. The sound gets eaten up immediately by the air instead of reverberating around endlessly and feeding back. Of course if it’s really windy the wind can carry the sound off which isn’t so great for the soundman, or the audience I would imagine. My favorite place is like a 1,000 seat theater. Actually the Fox Theater in Boulder is still my favorite. But people are not just coming for music, they’re coming for lights, a big crowd…….. an EVENT. I get it. So we all sacrifice for the bigger picture. But I would much rather see Herbie Hancock at the Fox than at Lakewood Amphitheater!

Photo by Steve Eichner

On most of those shows you opened and then segued into Widespread Panic. Can you describe the experience?

That was so cool I thought. I still have a photograph of one of those actual moments at PNC. I think Popper was sitting in with us at the time too so we really had THREE bands onstage. It’s always fun to mix things together like a gumbo. And we’re all huge fans of EVERYTHING New Orleans. That was the spirit of that whole tour, the mindset. In retrospect it was so cool to be able to make your own rules, let your imagination go a little more. That is something that I think Jambands have excelled at. Just being open.

Can you share any memorable interactions with any of the other musicians over the tour (on or off stage)?

The tour was only 8 gigs and we didn’t have a tour bus so we were just trying keep up. We didn’t get to hang that much as I remember it. But my memory is not really that good either. I was partying A LOT back then. Out of control. It’s all a blur really. I remember being really happy though. The people in those bands were so kind to us. If it wasn’t for Widespread, Phil Walden, Johnny Sandlin, Phish and Blues Traveler, the ARU would never have had a career at all I don’t think. They were our saviors. They flew our flag far and wide and took us under their wings. We tried our best to be their champions. For them to believe in the absolute madness that we staked our entire lives on moves me in a way that I can’t really put into words. You have to remember this was REALLY early on in the life of the band. Theirs too. Hell it took ALL those bands to fill an amphitheater back then!!!

If you close your eyes and think back to any one moment on that first HORDE tour what comes to mind?

Looking out into one of those huge places and thinking, “How the fuck did we get here???” Sorry for my language but that’s exactly what I remember. Disbelief. The second we quit giving a shit about what any record company or fan thought, things started to go our way. Much the same as it is today. Almost everyday I wonder the same thing. When I think of what I expected my career path to take and look at where I ended up, it still boggles my mind. There is absolutely no way I could have predicted it. It’s so left of anything I envisioned for myself. Hell I barely knew what Bluegrass was before I met Col. Bruce. Now I’m spending hours everyday learning Earl Scruggs and I have three banjos of my own! Five, counting the two that Rev. Mosier lent me!

You know I used to hate the fact that they labeled us Southern Rock. But you know, honestly, they were right. It was loud as shit so it’s rock. And we were playing blues, jazz, funk and bluegrass, so it was definitely southern. Hindsight man, hindsight.

What (if anything) do you feel is the legacy of HORDE?

Sorry for all the cliches but they got that way for good reason.

NO RULES. (Musically that is….)
FOLLOW YOUR HEART AND BE YOURSELF.
ALLOW THINGS TO TURN OUT DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU EXPECT.
DREAMS DO COME TRUE.
GO FOR IT! You’ll always wonder if you don’t!

We didn’t think we were making history. I didn’t anyway. Jeez if that group of folks went on tour together right now it would be historic!