Widespead Panic recorded Free Somehow with producer Terry Manning (Led Zepplin, Lenny Kravitz, ZZ Top, Al Green) at his renouned Compass Point Studios. Dave Schools hears a bit of Zep in what the band has laid down, commenting, “Some of the songs really strike me as something you might have heard on Physical Graffiti. They’re complex, beautiful, deep and it rocks. And it’s got some melancholy and a lot of color.”
There’s also something much bigger going on in the world of Widespread Panic, and his name is Jimmy Herring. Having toured with The Allman Brothers Band, The Dead and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Herring is the perfect lead guitarist for Panic. Herring brings a fresh dynamic to the band and everyone is feeling it. Herring’s magic is clear to anyone who’s seen Panic play since he took over lead guitar duties on September 14, 2006. Magic is never easy to find, not even for the people making it. “I’ve been a fan of theirs for a long time and a friend since about 1989,” says Herring. “I grew up wanting to be in a band [like Widespread Panic]. This is what I’ve been hoping for my whole life. It just came to me pretty late.”