<P> Many of today's jam bands have brought widely varied genres into the scene . A jam band festival may include bands with electronic, folk rock, blues rock, jazz fusion, psychedelic rock, Southern rock, progressive rock, acid jazz, hip hop, hard rock, and bluegrass sounds . The electronic trend has been led by such bands as The Disco Biscuits, Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9), Lotus, EOTO, The New Deal, and Dopapod . Bands like moe., Umphrey's McGee, Assembly of Dust, The Heavy Pets and The Breakfast have carried on the classic rock sound mixed with exploratory jams . Members of the Grateful Dead have continued touring in many different configurations as The Dead, Bob Weir & Ratdog, Phil Lesh and Friends, 7 Walkers, Furthur and Dead & Company . The contemporary jam scene has grown to encompass bands from a great diversity of musical genres . </P> <P> While the seminal group the Grateful Dead are categorized as psychedelic rock, by the 1990s the term "jam band" was being used for groups playing a variety of rock - related genres, including blues, country music, folk music, and funk . Today the term even includes some groups completely outside rock, such as those playing world music, electronic music, progressive bluegrass, and jazz fusion . By the late 1990s, the types of jam bands had so grown that the term became quite broad . Although today the term may be used to describe nearly any cross-genre band, festival band, or improvisational band, the term retains an affinity to the fan culture inspired by the Grateful Dead and carried on by the likes of Phish . Some artists such as The Derek Trucks Band are known for resisting the jam band label . </P> <P> A feature of the jam band scene is fan taping or digital recording of live concerts . While many other styles of music term fan taping as "illegal bootlegging", jam bands often allow their fans to make tapes or recordings of their live shows . Fans trade recordings and collect recordings of different live shows because improvisational jam bands play their songs differently at each performance . By the 2000s, as internet downloading of MP3 music files became common, downloading of jam band songs became an extension of the cassette taping trend . Bands are also distributing their shows online, sometimes within days or hours . </P> <P> In the 1980s, the Grateful Dead's fan base included a large core group which followed their tours from show to show . These fans (who were known as "Deadheads") developed a sense of community and loyalty . In the 1990s, the band Phish began to attract this fan base . The term "jam band" was first used regarding Grateful Dead and Phish culture in the 1990s . Phish has become one of the most widely listened to jam bands of all time . Phish has fans from all over the world coming from many different age groups . In 1998 Dean Budnick wrote the first book devoted to the subject, entitled Jam Bands . He founded Jambands.com later that year and he is often credited with coining the term . However, in his second book on the subject, 2004's Jambands: A Complete Guide to the Players, Music & Scene, he explains that he only popularized it . </P>

Which jam band was considered an east coast version of the grateful dead