Vishuddha http://virb.com/vishuddhaband Muddy Waters, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Primus, Temple Of The Dog, Tool, Blind Melon, Sublime, Marvin Gaye, Beastie Boys, and Cypress Hill, Vishuddha is a literal "melting pot" of musical styles and creative energy. Billee Dodson, Vishuddha's guitarist, says "Those influences are certainly at the heart of our sound." Billee also states that "All of those musicians were pretty big influences for some of us, so it would make sense that those sounds shape our own sounds. I tend to think of our music as a giant octopus, whose arms work sort of independently of one another reaching out to explore different things, but whose ultimate goal is to 'feed the head' of the creature or, in our case, the music itself." Whatever you wish to call it, the band's sound is both classic and unique. Cover tunes range from Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall" and the Grateful Dead's "Deal" right on through to the bluesy fury of Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride N' Joy." The original material includes essences of Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Funk, Blues, Psychedelic, Metal, Hip Hop, and Soul with excursions into improvisational and experimental music. "All of us have such diverse tastes when it comes to music that we would get bored sticking to any one thing for too long," says Billee. "We all pretty much grew up on classic rock like ABB, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors, but we also like the heavy stuff like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Metallica, and Pantera. I am a huge fan of the Grateful Dead and other improvisational rock music from the likes of Frank Zappa, moe., Widepread Panic, Galactic, and Gov't Mule and I have started turning the guys on to the music from these bands. We also really dig the music of cats like Otis Redding, James Brown, and Curtis Mayfield. We also like really good 'cerebral' hip hop like De La Soul, Digable Planets, and Saul Williams. I also cannot leave out those funk/soul/jazz/fusion players we like such as Earth, Wind, & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, and Miles Davis." If this sounds like the "party shuffle" playlist on most folks iPods these days you wouldn't be too far off. The band simply wants to play music that moves. Billee goes on to add that "We all add our own little bits and with all those influences simmering in the Vishuddha soup pot we are bound to create something tasty! Kind of like a really good, spicy gumbo of songs and sounds; food for the soul that you ingest through your ears."]]> Virb 2.0 (@vishuddhaband) en World Won't Stop http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229390 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:38:15 -0800 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229390 Luv Hi http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229386 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:27:20 -0800 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229386 Patches of Sand http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229378 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:18:52 -0800 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229378 Some Things http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229353 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:08:03 -0800 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229353 Same Mistake http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229337 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:50:52 -0800 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/229337 Patches of Sand http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/112560 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 15:53:23 -0700 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/112560 Fear http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/112228 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 04:16:48 -0700 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/112228 Luv Hi http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/112226 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 03:59:38 -0700 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/audio/112226 Live from Vertigo Tattoo in Manns Harbor http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/photos/1345000

Live photo of the band playing a charity fund raiser at Vertigo Tattoo in Manns Harbor, NC to benefit a motorcycle accident victim.

]]> Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:20:17 -0700 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/photos/1345000 Billee Dodson http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/photos/1324712

Lead Guitar and Vocals

]]> Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:25:26 -0700 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/photos/1324712 Travis Ladd http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/photos/1324711

Bass Guitar

]]> Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:25:14 -0700 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/photos/1324711 Vishuddha Seeks New Drummer http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/posts/text/789830 http://www.vishuddhaband.com/news/vishuddha-seeks-new-drummer Please feel free to contact us if this looks interesting to you. We have shows lined-up for next year including some larger festivals around the east coast. Thanks and stay tuned!, Vishuddha]]> Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:32:57 -0700 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/posts/text/789830 Where are we? http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/posts/text/767585 MySpace page for a new original single entitled "Funk 98" and a live version of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" recorded at the Treehuggers Ball in April. Enjoy! We just returned from the 23rd. Annual Jerry Garcia Birthday Bash in Terra Alta, WV. We played the late night slot on Thursday and had an awesome time. We got to catch some great sets by Culture, ekoostik hookah, and ZEN; all of whom were all simply tearing things up onstage. We were also asked to play the Highland Jam next year by Marc and Bonnie from ZEN, so we are really looking forward to a new opportunity and new friends. Oh, and we are also really looking forward to playing Jerry Bash again next year. Thanks for listening and we promise to try and keep this page more current. When in doubt you can always just check our home page for up-to-date information. We even Twitter too!]]> Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:03:16 -0700 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/posts/text/767585 2008 is the year of the Octopus http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/posts/text/403740 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:28:39 -0800 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/posts/text/403740 Glad you could stop by! http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/posts/text/101752 http://www.outerbanks.org/ Our music is indicative of our surroundings and influences. We have our own little hiding place in the Currituck County woods over on the mainland where we create and hone our sound. If you dig bands like Rush, Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead, Sublime, Metallica, and Santana as well as elements of Funk, Jazz, Soul, Blues, and Reggae you may like what we do. We are products of our influences and our sound stretches across genres and generations to create something both classic and completely unique. If you have made it this far down the page then we thank you. We look forward to meeting new friends on the road and we hope to see you all out there some day. Take care!]]> Sat, 23 Jun 2007 16:47:22 -0700 http://virb.com/vishuddhaband/posts/text/101752