DEWEY BEACH, Del. — Love Seed Mama Jump has been rocking the beaches for 25 years, and this Saturday the band celebrates its 25th anniversary at its unofficial home bar, the Rusty Rudder.
For years and years, Thursdays in Dewey Beach have been synonymous with Love Seed playing on the deck of the Rusty Rudder. But the band also brought parties to life from Ocean City, Maryland, up to the Jersey Shore, as well as in the DMV, ever since a group of friends who grew up at the beach started jamming together.
“It means people used to come out and see us 25 years ago are now bringing their kids to come out and see us,” said singer and bassist Pete Wiedmann.
“It’s sad but it’s true,” chimes in lead singer Rick Arzt. “No, we love it. We’re happy we’re still around. We are definitely grateful that people still enjoy watching us play.”
But on a more serious note, Wiedmann said, “It’s longevity, which is something I don’t think anyone thought when we started 25 years ago that we would still be doing this now.”
Over the years the band has released five albums, starting with 1994’s “Drunk at the Stone Balloon”, a live album recorded at a now-shuttered bar frequented by college students in Newark, Delaware, where band members often played. Additionally, Love Seed Mama Jump has opened for acts, including the Dave Matthews Band and Matchbox 20. And while there’s been some turnover inside the band, original members include Arzt, Wiedmann, Brian Gore and Paul Voshell.
Wiedmann said he believes the band, combined with Rusty Rudder’s deck, has really “become synonymous with vacation in some people’s mind.”
“There’s a lot of people I consider my friends, and I only see them a couple times a year in the summer but I’ve been seeing them for so long, I kind of consider them my friends now,” said Arzt.
Original songs, such as “Free” and “She Likes The Dead,” still slip into the playlists, but most of the sets are filled with singalong cover songs. But every Thursday night, the outdoor deck at the Rudder is still packed with people dancing off the stress of their 9-to-5 lives with cheap beer spilling out of their cups.
“If you could see what we’ve seen,” teases Arzt. “All you D.C. people, we’ve seen you! You lobbyists! You people that put on a coat and tie every Monday morning, we see you on Thursday night in all your splendor and glory. It’s awesome, that’s the whole deal, it’s why we’re here.”
“We’re like a part of their vacation plans. They include us into that, and that’s a great thing,” said Wiedmann.
This Saturday, the Rusty Rudder hosts Love Seed Mama Jump’s official 25th Anniversary Celebration. Tickets are $10 and have been on sale for months already.
“We’re excited to celebrate,” said Arzt. “I think I can speak for all of us, we definitely were never expecting to be doing this for this long. It’s been quite a journey and we love the fact that people still want to come out and see us play. We’re hoping to make a big celebration of it.”
You also can catch Love Seed Mama Jump on Aug. 12 at Friday Night Live in Herndon, Virginia, and as the official band of the Washington Redskins, the guys also rock every home game played at FedEx Field.
