DB- I know it’s early in the process, but what impact do you think they will have on your sound?

JT- The addition of the keyboard makes the sound a little bigger. For me it makes it easier to lay back and not play so hard, to let the music flow a little more. He’s a lot of the glue I used to try to be.

Luke is a such a great guitar player that we push each other and have fun with it. The interplay is also inspiring and it’s exciting to share some of the responsibilities in playing the leads. Luke and I both speak the same language. It’s like we both graduated from the same guitar school. If I throw out some funny Allman Brothers lick he knows where I’m going and he’ll jump on the harmony of it and we can go right up the scale.

DB- I know that some people were surprised that Luke sang a few songs where Reid previously had been the lead vocalist. What is your philosophy there?

JT- I think we all think that if the song was co-written, if we all had a hand it, then it’s fair game. I think Luke does such a tasteful job of interpreting Reid’s lyrics, he has so much respect for them and I appreciate his delivery. So that’s pretty much what we’ll do-. Anything that was co-written that feels emotionally okay to do.

There are also songs that Reid wrote by himself that could go either way. Out of respect we could leave them alone and let them lie. Or out of respect we could play them in tribute to what good songs they are. We haven’t really addressed that though.

We haven’t come up with anything beyond that if a song was co-written then myself or Eric spent a lot of energy and I would hate to have that song thrown away because Reid doesn’t want to be touring in the band anymore. I’m sure he wouldn’t stop playing them either, and I think that’s a positive thing.

DB- In terms of bringing Luke’s songs to the band, you’ve just been walking through his catalog?

JT- We have a CD of Folkstone but at these initial gigs we had so much to learn from the Strangefolk repertoire that we focused mostly on that. But there were a few songs that Luke played that we immediately said. “We’ve got to do those, we’re definitely adding those right in.” What I really hope to do is write together because the spontaneous jam sessions that we’ve had, kind of making up lyrics as we go and singing harmonies, it’s been pretty amazing

DB- Is that how you and Reid wrote together?

JT- Not typically. A lot of times I’d write song with a compete set of music and lyrics but hand it to Reid and say, “Okay I like the music and the melody but take the words and rip them out and stick to that format if you can or see if this inspires you.” Then he’d come back with something that would turn it into a realized song. We rarely did it together though. I’d usually come with something, throw it his way and he’d run off with it and come back or he’d have a snippet and I’d have a snippet and we’d glue them together.

DB- Relative to history of the band. It was about a year and a half ago that you started playing electric guitar as your principal instrument. What inspired that?

JT- Reid and I started out playing acoustic guitars and that was fun and it was kind of a novelty because I’d play it with all of these crazy effects- distortion pedals, wah pedals and delays and it seemed unique at the time. Then as we evolved into a band we kept that set-up. Functionally it didn’t work as well for me after a while because I bought another guitar which was a Washburn solid body acoustic and that was nice for a while but the intonation on it didn’t really work for me and it would get out of tune when I played up the neck. And I had this Paul Reid Smith sitting in this case that I loved and every once in a while on a gig I’d pull it out and play it. But I never really had it set up right with my amp and I never really played electric guitar before. So it was a gradual process. Then we were playing in North Carolina and someone from Mammoth said to me, “When are you going to quit fucking around and play electric?” I said, “I think you’re right.” Basically I’m forcing this acoustic guitar to be an electric guitar, why don’t I just make it easier on myself and play an electric guitar. I did feel a little bit of pressure because that might have been our image but I just decided to pick up the electric and go for it. I’m glad, I would never go back.

DB- How would you says Erik and Luke’s performance styles have evolved over the past few years?

JT- Erik has never played the traditional finger-style bass technique. He uses a pick. He was basically a guitarist tuned bass player and he’s evolving more into a bass player all the time. His ear and his musical take are great and always developing and getting deeper.

Luke’s musical approach and perspective is deepening all the time. He’s always actively searching, picking up new ideas and translating them to drums. He really works all the time and it pays off for him, it’s amazing.

DB- Final question. As the new quintet gets out there, what expectations do you have in terms of the fans’ reception and the musical evolution of the band.

JT-I hope people like it and realize that we’re serious but at the same time that we want to carry the sprit of showing people a good time. Hopefully that’s contagious enough. And if people come check it out with an open mind I think they’ll realize that there’s a personnel change but we’re still carrying that spirit tastefully, I hope, and respectfully, for sure. That’s really my hope, that word spreads and people say, “Okay there’s been an evolution and a change and it’s definitely differently but still a good time and I’ll stay on board.”

Musically, I hope we continue to grow. It’s been fun playing with guys so I’m looking forward to getting out with this new situation and seeing where we can take it.

Pages:« Previous Page