G. Love & Special Sauce, Donavon Frankenreiter, Moon Taxi, and G. Love

The band formed in January 1993 when Garrett Dutton was performing at Boston bar, The Tam O’Shanter, which was where he met drummer, Jeffrey Clemens. They began working together as a duo, and were joined a few months later by bassist Jim Prescott. In 1994 they released their self-titled debut album on Okeh Records. Due to their song “Cold beverage” being played on MTV, the album almost went Gold.

On September 19th 1995, they released their follow-up album “Coast to Coast Motel”, which didn’t sell as much as the first album but it received much better critical acclaim. The band like so many other experienced a little bit of turmoil with each other, causing the band to go on an indefinite hiatus, but returned on October 28th 1997, with “Yeah, It’s That Easy”. It was this album that featured the single, “Stepping Stones”, which made it to number 30 on the U.S. Modern Rock chart. The album showcased a prominent soul influence.

Following the release of this album, the band embarked on a world tour but returned to Philadelphia in 1999 for the release of their fourth studio album “Philadelphonic” which was followed again by “Electric Mile” in 2001, which introduced hip-hop, funk, psychedelica, blues and soul. They performed as the house band for Comedy Central’s show Turn Ben Stein On, which ran from 1999-2001. In the summer of 2005, the band featured in an advertisement for the launch of Coca-Cola Zero, which featured the group’s own unique version of the noted Coca-Cola advertising song “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”.

Born on December 10th 1972, Frankenreiter, was looking for a new direction for his music in the early 2000s, he left the band Sunchild, which was his own project that he founded himself and signed with Brushfire Records and released his eponymous solo album, which was recorded with co-producers, Jack Johnson and Mario Caldato Jr. Johnson features on the album as does G.Love. His first album was released in 2004 in Australia and reached the top forty of the ARIA albums chart. It was a month later that the album was released in the US on May 11th 2004.

For a change of pace, Frankenreiter left Brushfire Records and signed with Lost Highway Records, which is the refuge of Ryan Adams and Willie Nelson. Under this label’s direction, he released “Move by Yourself” on June 6th 2006. His song “Lovely Day” earned a spot on the soundtrack of Snakes on a Plane and Georgia Rule. He also performed a set at the prestigious Abbey road Studios in London, UK, which was later released in early 2006. On the same label he released “Pass It Around” on August 19th 2008, which was followed a couple of years later by the album “Glow” which was released on October 5th 2010, but this time, under his own label, Liquid Tambourine Records. The album’s title track, “Glow” was written by Matt Nathanson.

Initially influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan and John Hammond Jr., Garrett Dutton began writing his own songs in ninth grade using a guitar and harmonica. During his time at the private school Germantown Friends School, the singer would play on the streets of Philadelphia, before moving to Boston, Massachusetts to work as a charity fundraiser. Whilst in Boston, Dutton met drummer Jeffrey “The Houseman” Clemens and bassist Jim “Jimi Jazz” Prescott, who together comprise G. Love & Special Sauce. The band subsequently garnered generous local support by earning residency at The Plough and Stars in Cambridge, MA.

The band’s debut release, the full-length “Back in the Day” arrived in 1993, followed by their self-titled studio album in 1994. The full-length “G. Love & Special Sauce” was led by the single “Cold Beverage”, which generated national attention for its MTV promoted music video, and led to supporting shows on the H.O.R.D.E tour. In 1995 marked by its more mature and considered approach, the band release their third studio album, “Coast to Coast Motel”. Despite being a far superior album to its predecessor the album failed to sell well, and following disputes on tour regarding their finances, the band almost broke up.

Following a hiatus in which Dutton worked with the likes of All Fellas Band, Philly Cartel, and King’s Court, G. Love & Special Sauce returned in October 1997 to issued the full-length “Yeah, It’s That Easy”. Following an extensive world tour with Special Sauce, Dutton released his debut solo album “Oh Yeah” in 1998.

Confirming themselves as fun-loving, soul-oriented musicians, G. Love & Special Sauce continued to release music regularly starting with “Philadelphonic” in 1999, the eclectic and genre-defying “Electric Mile” in 2001, and the compilation, “Best Of”, in 2002. A significant hiatus followed the compilation release, during which time G. Love released a pair of solo albums on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records entitled, “The Hustle” in 2004 and “Lemonade” in 2006. In 2008, back with Special Sauce, G. Love released the full-length “Superhero Brother”, followed by “Long Way Down” in 2009, and “Sugar” in 2014.