Ever since the break up of the Grateful Dead following the death of Jerry Garcia almost ten years ago, similar sounding bands have popped up all over the United States. When followers of the Dead no longer had a reason to live the gypsy/ drug-induced lifestyle, they flocked to other crowd pleasers such as Phish.

Phish uses more Jazz and Hard Rock progressions than the Psychedelic Folk music of the Dead. Now that the popularity of Phish has subsided, who will become next in line of this legacy?

Other bands have discovered this trend, or have either mimicked or completely copied the styles of the former two acts such as the San Francisco quintet “Vinyl,” which constantly fill clubs and enjoys their own local following.

Only a little over a year old the Oakland based act Ten Ton Chicken is no exception to this recent trend of “jam bands.” In their premiere release “Just Like the Old Country,” you can definitely hear the influence of Phish and the Grateful Dead, mixed with a little 70?s Funk and R&B, without anywhere near their originality or flare.

The band features some excellent playing, though there?s nothing particularly extraordinary about any of the musicians in the band. TTC is composed of five members: Gary Morell (guitar), Tom Fejes (Bass, vocals), Rich Di Benedetto (drums and percussion), and Nick Peck (keyboards and vocals) and Jamison Reed (sax, percussion, and vocals).

According to their press release, TTC is not tying to appeal to latest pop music trends; they simply consider themselves a “jam band.”

“Ten Ton Chicken has been bending ears and moving hips, performing over 115 shows along the West Coast since January 2001,” said Kevin Doyle, the band?s booking agent.

The members in the band, who have known each other since high school, admit that much of the time their music is purely free-flowing improvisation. This may be one of the reasons why crowds seem to enjoy their music. In a recent show at Sacramento?s Colonial Theatre, they had a successful concert where they opened up for local Grateful Dead cover band, The Dead Beats.

The band?s web site is www.tyedye.com.