Vida Blue (band)

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Vida Blue album cover.jpg

Vida Blue was a music trio formed in 2001 with Page McConnell, Oteil Burbridge, and Russell Batiste. The band is named for the former Birmingham A's and Major League All-Star pitcher, Vida Blue.

McConnell, who played piano for the jam-band Phish, invited Birmingham bassist Burbridge (Allman Brothers Band, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Oteil and the Peacemakers) and New Orleans drummer Batiste (The Meters) to join him in an electronic jam project. At the same time, McConnell formed Team Vida Blue, a stock car racing and demolition derby team. McConnell found out that an Iowa City band was already performing as "The Vidablue", so he contacted them and negotiated an agreement resulting in that group changing its name to "Ten Grand".

Vida Blue recorded instrumentals for their debut at New Orleans' Piety Street studios. Page added vocal tracks and overdubs at his home studio in Vermont. The resulting album was released as Vida Blue on Elektra Records on June 25, 2002. They followed that up with The Illustrated Band, a collaboration with Miami's Spam Allstars, an Afro-Cuban sextet. It was released by Sanctuary Records on October 14, 2003.

A June 5, 2004 concert with the Spam Allstars at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium was filmed and released on DVD. The concert features footage from Team Vida Blue's racing and demolition endeavors and a special appearance by the band's namesake.

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