PART II: TEA LEAF GREEN’S JOSH CLARK
Photo by Brad Kuntz
In a previous conversation Rob mentioned that you discussed possible cover selections on a conference call. When did you first discuss the possibility of collaborating?
About a mouth ago, Rob gave us a call and asked us if we were interested in doing this contest. We’ve toured with them and played with them a few times, but we’ve never done a planned sit-in on a tour before.
Rob also mentioned that the covers were chosen by the band members themselves. Do you remember which songs Tea Leaf Green specifically brought to the table?
David Bowie’s “Starman” and the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” were the big songs we brought to the table. We all love David Bowie, and [keyboardist Trevor Garrod] has a huge Ziggy Stardust obsession. That was actually the theme of our Halloween show. So we decided to indulge him by selecting that cover. I don’t want to sway the vote, but I hope the Jackson 5 song wins [laughter].
You mentioned that Tea Leaf Green has played with Galactic a number of times. Do you remember the first time you saw Galactic live?
The first time I saw Galactic was about 5 or 6 years ago. Tea Leaf Green was touring, and we drove down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. We had this RV at the time and parked it a few blocks from Tipitina’s and camped out for a few days. Thankfully no one called the cops [laughter]. We were just all hanging out, and I cruised over to Tipitina’s and walked in. Galactic was playing its annual Mardi Gras show—which went to 5 or 6 in the morning.
The first time we played together was during this little tour of Florida we did a few years ago. We played in St. Petersburg and at the Revolution in Ft. Lauderdale, as well as a few other places. One night they asked me to sit in during set break. All my gear was already in our truck, so I went and grabbed it. Somehow my setting got knocked up to 10 on my amp, which is painfully loud. So when I plugged in and started playing you heard this huge noise. I looked over at [Galactic drummer Stanton Moore} and he was loving it [laughter].
How much time do you plan to spend rehearing these cover choices before your gigs in New York and Philadelphia?
We will learn them all while we are on the road—backstage or during soundcheck. Working on covers is actually pretty fun when you are on the road and keeps you energized. It is a nice project.
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