Another band the NYC-Freaks helped discover is the Benevento-Russo Duo. Obviously Joe Russo had been a staple on the New York club circuit for a while, but do you remember a time in which the Duo’s name started popping up on the list with regularity?

A: By the time Joe and Marco started playing together at the (old) Knitting Factory Tap Bar on Thursday nights, I believe it was spring 2002, there were enough people on the list with enough NYC-live-music savvy that things like this didn’t stay off the radar for too long. When I first started going to see them on a regular basis, there were usually 5-10 people in the room, half of them NYC-Freaks. Of course, we did our best to build some buzz and that number increased pretty quickly.

That was the one band I had to have play the next Freaks Ball. Through a set of circumstances, it ended up that Randolph would play for us at the Bowery Ballroom which seems kind of crazy to think about now. Robert was big enough that the thing kind of took care of itself and I had very little to do with the Ball that year, but my stipulation was that I would pick any bands I wanted in support. They were the Duo and RANA — certainly the first time either played the Bowery.

JR: Definitely during their Thursday night residency in the Tap Room. It was like a weekly private party for the freaks, perfectly capped off with a post-show get together at the nearby Dakota Roadhouse

Likewise, the NYC-Freaks has championed RANA and guitarist Scott Metzger’s various projects. Did you first discover RANA from its days playing weekly shows at Wetlands?

A: That is definitely when I personally discovered them, but for some reason during that stretch I wasn’t really a fan. There were lots of folks on the list crazy into RANA but somehow they’d rubbed me the wrong way at some point when I’d poked my head in on them in the old Wetlands lounge. I do regret that, because a couple years later after the Wetlands had closed I fell passionately in love with them. Scott Metzger is the all-time NYC-Freaks champ and will be making his 8th straight appearance at the Freaks Ball on Saturday, which is kind of insane. I wouldn’t have it any other way — it wouldn’t be the Freaks Ball without Metzger. Don’t be late!

JR: I first really heard them at the Wetlands and remember emailing the Freaks list the next day asking, “Why didn’t anyone tell me that RANA was the best band ever!” It was one of those Wetlands nights where everyone seemed to have the same experience. I think that they played “Backstage Pass” three times that night.

Metzger is an all-time NYC-Freaks champ. I think that many of us feel like we’ve been seeing Metzger from the start and would like nothing more than for his success to match his talent.

Like the jamband scene in general, the NYC-Freaks list has expanded to include news and information about a number of indie rock bands. Can you pinpoint a general time period in which indie rock groups started popping up on the list with regularity?

A: It would be tough for me to peg it down to a specific time for the list. There had always been a bit of a leak into bands like Wilco and Ryan Adams early on, so I think the progression was gradual and still continues on. Personally, I think I became more open to music outside the jam realm right around the same time that the Wetlands closed — not sure if that’s irony, coincidence or just natural.

JR: There have always been people on the list who have diverse music tastes. I think that’s part of what has allowed the list to endure for so long. Certainly the indie band discussion opened up more during the McPanic and Phish hiatus years when many people were forced to look beyond the jam scene.

The NYC-Freaks list is now far more than a Widespread Panic fan group. What band would you say currently sparks on the most discussion on the list?

A: Could there be any other? It’s got to be Phish. It’s kind of sad actually.

JR: Phish, for sure. Then again, it’s been a pretty exciting comeback year for them and a lot of fans are invested in that for a myriad of reasons. Now that Phish is back for the long haul and a relatively known quantity, much of the speculative talk has died down. I think I personally lost a little bit of that checking-setlists-on-twitter-interest once we hit the NYE shows and it was obvious that they weren’t going to crash and burn.

What are some of the challengers in keeping the list focused and engaged? Have there been times when you have worried that the list was moving away from either its original focus of bands or music discussion in general?

A: We kind of set the tone early that almost anything goes on the list in terms of what’s discussed and how it’s discussed. I wouldn’t say it’s “self-regulating” but for whatever reason, there’s enough reason out there to guide us through those low moments. For those of us who have been on the list for 10 years now, it can be tedious having the bi-monthly “Phish is so much better than Panic” conversation, but for the most part I couldn’t be happier with the way it’s gone on for such a long time.

Like I said—the original focus was for people to have a community for getting together and seeing live music and it’s served that purpose and more. Everything else has been bonus.

JR: It can be a little bit tricky to head up a list like this. In many ways it’s completely uncontrollable (in the best way possible) yet somehow self-regulating in a way that something like PT is not. I attribute that to the fact that most of the folks on the list know each other in the real world. We do have quiet periods, though, and I try to keep the conversation going by asking people for weekend reviews, posing questions, or posting polls. People generally want to talk, but don’t always want to start the conversation. It’s like being at a show where there’s a 5 foot gap between the front of the stage and the crowd. Once one person heads in, the gap fills up fairly quickly. That’s kind of how I see my role on a list like this. I’ve never been worried about it moving away from any kind of focus. Pretty much any conversation is good conversation— and people are pretty vocal when they don’t like the conversation.

How many people are currently active on the Freaks List?

JR: As of right now, we have 444 members. There’s a core group of posters and a ton of lurkers. I’m always surprised how many chime in when I ask a question, though.

Is there a particular month or time period in which the list peaked in terms of posts-per-month?

A: Probably the whole year of 2001 was the “glory” period for the list—averaged over 2000 posts a month, which I think works out to almost 700 posts a day, including weekends!

JR: Like anything, though, you have to put those numbers in context. The number of posts in 2001 was staggering but a lot of it was back and forth jokey banter—not in-depth reviews of shows. Also, at that point many of the people on the list were either on team unemployed or otherwise at a place in their lives where they had the time to chat online all day. Then again, though those posts may not have had much substance, they largely set the tone for the list.

Finally, if there was one band you could realistically book for a future Freaks Ball who would it be?

A: The next great undiscovered band… whatever and wherever they might be.

JR: Phish! Just kidding. Every year is different and it’s hard to predict who the right band or person is. Case in point is Anders. We’ve tossed his name around for the past few years, but everything aligned and this was his year. Other than that, I totally agree with Aaron: I’d love to book some amazing, face-melting band that I don’t even know about yet.

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