The Disco Biscuits have been a prominent headliner in the jam- band scene for almost a decade. With mind-altering live shows and a new album that is taking the band in new directions, the musicians have stayed true to their roots while growing as artists. Marc Brownstein, Allen Aucoin, Jon Gutwillig and Aron Magner met at the University of Pennsylvania in, as Brownstein says, the "mid- to late-'90s." Instead of leaving their mark as a "fraternity band" and pursuing careers related to their academic interests in Anthropology, Electrical Engineering, etc., they evolved into an electronic, improvisational rock band unlike any other. During a phone interview with Brownstein, the band's bassist, he explains that the Biscuits' music is "less rock than electronic," yet it would be a disservice to the history of their music to eradicate rock altogether. In fact, rock is integral to their sound; as Brownstein puts it, "Nothing rocks harder than rock." Fans of the Biscuits, or "Bisco," (as some call them) are completely enthralled by the music at live shows. Brownstein says the main goal at shows is to leave fans with the feeling of "What just happened to me?" Many fans dress up in costumes, most notably a banana suit. Why? Audience members enter a new realm, and as Brownstein puts it, "It is a way to escape reality."

This other-worldly voyage becomes something more than memorable. Thus, fans of the Biscuits follow them on tour, from venue to venue, not to recreate the experience but to find a whole new one. Every Biscuits show is one-of-a-kind, but still takes fans to an unmatched destination as the music enters their souls.

Even the famed Phil Lesh, bass player of the Grateful Dead, knows that what the Biscuits are doing is quite magical. Essentially, he told Brownstein, bass player to bass player, that there are a lot of bands out there, but the majority of them can't give fans the experience of a Grateful Dead show. However, he told Brownstein that the Biscuits are doing just that.

Brownstein recognizes that Lesh's comments are totally valid because, while it might sound cliché, Brownstein and the other members always "stand at the edge of the cliff" with their music. The Biscuits understand that if they did not take risks with their music, they would never be standing where they are today and reaping the rewards of a huge fan base and the recognition and respect of other very talented musicians.

The Biscuits host Camp Bisco, to which fans and major headliners have been flocking for almost a decade. They started out with a crowd of 900 fans in 1999 and, from July 15 to 17 in Mariaville, N.Y., the Biscuits hosted the ninth edition of Camp Bisco and had 15,000 fans show up to their biggest event of the year. Brownstein recognizes the festival as "radio of the 2010s." Instead of getting fans' attention for three minutes on the radio, the fans are coming to the band and getting three full days of music.

Many major headliners came to the 2010 Camp Bisco: LCD Soundsystem, Thievery Corporation, Ween, Girl Talk and Bassnectar, just to name a few. In previous years, they've had Snoop Dogg, Nas, Damien Marley and more.

Brownstein and the other band members cater to their fans, especially in times of recession. During the current tour of their latest album, Planet Anthem, they put $10 tickets on sale and sold 1,500 in one day for their upcoming performance at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston Sept. 11.

This inimitable album was challenging for the Biscuits to get used to because they wouldn't describe themselves as "an album band." (Most of their successes have been from live performances.) Additionally, this album has crossed the Biscuits over to mainstream and even pop but still remains prominent in the electronic world. Therefore, not only did the band have to adjust, but so did the fans. Luckily, the album has received good reception and commercial achievements. Their music video for "On Time" was No. 1 on MTV and No. 5 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

The ability to cross over from live shows to commercial success is something not many bands can do while still keeping a strong following.

Not only have the Biscuits done that, but they have generated an even larger fan base. Brownstein has been asked, "How did you become so successful?" and he concludes that there really isn't a secret. He believes that an aspiring musician must practice as much as he can, but a lot of talent is born. Therefore, he surrounds himself with incredibly talented individuals like Gutwillig, the band's guitarist. Brownstein destructs and reconstructs Gutwillig's gifted songwriting and learns from him.

The technical term for the Biscuits' music is "type 2 jamming," meaning the ability to jam and push the music in a place that does not relate to the song.

The successful mastery of this technique has only been accomplished by three bands: The Grateful Dead, Phish and The Disco Biscuits. As a recent addition to the "type 2" scene, The Disco Biscuits have a lot to be proud of.

The Disco Biscuits are performing at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston on Saturday.