a href=”https://www.dailyegyptian.com/contactus.html”bDE Staff Reporter/b/abrspan class=”realsmall”bDaily Egyptian/b/span

Break out the hula hoops

The String Cheese Incident to jam at Shryock

Factoid:The String Cheese Incident will play at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23 at Shryock Auditorium. Tickets are $25 in advance and $27 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at the SIU Arena Ticket Office, the Student Center Central Ticket Office or at www.sciticketing.com. For more information call 453-5341.

Jam band The String Cheese Incident will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23 at Shryock Auditorium. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are $25 in advance and $27 at the door. Still cameras and video recorders are not permitted, but hula-hoops and audio recorders are allowed, as the band encourages its fans to tape and share live shows.

The String Cheese Incident consists of:Michael Kang on electric mandolin, acoustic mandolin and violin; Michael Travis on drums, congas, djembe, talking drum and percussion; Bill Nershi, six string acoustic guitar; Kyle Hollingsworth on piano, organ and Rhodes accordion; and Keith Moseley on five string electric bass and four string acoustic bass.

The String Cheese Incident formed in Crested Butte, Colo., in 1993. After moving to Boulder to get serious, the band found Kyle, its “missing piece,” and set up roots. Performances at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and non-stop touring helped the band secure a fan base.

The String Cheese Incident weaves together elements of bluegrass, Latin melodies and Calypso grooves along with American rock to create an entirely new sound. The group has been received by fans of reggae, bluegrass and jambands due to its creative music and fun, relaxed shows.

The group now averages more than 160 shows a year and has more than 1,000 times.

The band also takes on one “International Incident” a year, having performed in Jamaica, Mexico and Costa Rica. When they come to Carbondale, they will just be returning from a tour in Japan.

They have released five albums, including 1996’s “Born on the Wrong Planet,” 1997’s “A String Cheese Incident (live),” 1998’s “Round the Wheel,” 1999’s “Carnival ’99 (live)” and 2001’s “Outside Inside.” The group also released a series of live “On the Road” albums, recorded during their spring and summer 2002 tours.

Having refused to sign with a major label, The String Cheese Incident maintains 100 percent of the creative control of their music. The band instead chose to launch a full-scale label, Sci Fidelity Records. The group continues to grow with its website, www.stringcheeseincident.com, that attracts one million hits a month, an in-house ticketing service and a travel agency designed to cater to its fans.

On its website, the band has a list of “gouda causes,” or charitable activities organized by the SCI community aimed at giving back to the cities the band visits on tour, which include food and school supply drives.

In June, The String Cheese Incident returns to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival as a headlining act, where it stole the show as the opening act in 1993, just six months after its official formation. This summer, the band will headline both the High Sierra Music Festival and the Oregon Country Fair.

The band continues to make an effort to give back to the fans to whom they refer as the SCI Community.

According to its website, “The String Cheese Incident is a band that strives to inspire creativity and freedom in their audience, while their own musical expression is influenced by their fans’ positive spirit and emphatic contributions to The String Cheese Community. The String Cheese Incident will always consider new ways to enhance the overall experience of being a fan.”