RR: Another musician who goes back pretty far with the band is Jimmy Herring. I got to spend some time with Jimmy last year for a site feature, and I know he has a strong grasp of his craft. This is Jimmy’s second studio album with Widespread Panic as a fully-integrated member of the band. How has he impacted the band’s sound, and how has he become part of that overall Widespread Panic fabric?
JB: You know he’s got song ideas—musical stuff that is really intricate, got a lot of time changes, which we like to visit a lot, too, to make things in 7s or 5s, as opposed to 3/4, 4/4. He’s an incredible guitarist. He’s also an incredible writer, and comes up with all these really cool pieces. He’s right there with all of us writing together, and he spends a lot of time with his guitar. He’s got a stockpile of ideas that he’s had over the years that haven’t seen the light of day because he’s been out trying to help the Grateful Dead, or the Allman Brothers, or another configuration, you know, learning their songs just to go out and work on their catalogue, and here, we’re actually in songwriting mode. He’s fittin’ right in there. He’s a nut, and as much as an individual as the rest of us. And we’ve never had anybody like Jimmy before because he is an individual, so it feels really good.
RR: Right. That makes me think of the sweet instrumental track “St. Louis.”
JB: Yeah. We’ve been playing that on stage as a little bit of a transition piece. It took on a little more solid shape in the studio. There’s a free-flowing, open, airy jam there in the middle of it. We were sitting there, thinking, and we said, “We should probably have a little bit of an intro before “Shut Up and Drive,” something a little more elaborate…Oh, let’s just stick the “St. Louis” jam in front of that, and you’ve got a long intro then.” (laughter)
RR: “Shut Up and Drive” fulfills the title’s potential as a great road tune.
JB: That’s what it was meant for.
RR: The two pieces, which segue into each other, create a symbolic end of side one of Dirty Side Down, and the beginning of side two in a really natural and fine way.
JB: Cool. Yes, it’s good to get feedback. We’ve spent enough time with it that those lines kind of blur. You’re also still in that same songwriting mode, so you’re looking at it as though “what can I add there? Oh. (laughs) The door’s closed on it. It’s finished.”
RR: Some of that work involves producer/engineer/musician John Keane, who has worked with Panic for quite some time. “Clinic Cynic” features great dual guitar work, especially in the solo passage, including beautiful pedal steel from John.
JB: I agree. Yeah, we have him come and play with us a good bit on steel. It’s a great sound, we know each other real well, and he’s a fun guy to have around.
RR: “Cotton Was King” closes out the album in rousing Panic fashion, but with a definite modern kick to it, as well.
JB: Like being true to our nature. That’s another tune like that. It’s a tribute to New Orleans—past, present, and future. Yeah, that was fun to write. There’s also…there’s a…oh, what would I say? Well, you know, people can listen to it, and figure it out.
RR: Is it also a glance back at what once was?
JB: Well, what once…I mean, so back it uses the phrase “before the beginning,” which I actually got from Firesign Theatre. (laughter) Full disclosure. It dates back to the beginning of time that a place like New Orleans was always meant to be created. It was inevitable—a geographic hot spot where things were going to happen no matter what, and New Orleans is what manifested.
RR: You brought up an interesting phrase. I’ve been revisiting some of the band’s landmark archival releases. I’ve also been listening to your current live work, and Widespread Panic is playing consistently tight shows—as it was, it still is, in a way. The band is going to make it happen no matter what when you go out on stage? “With our setlist, we’re going to do the best we can, and go through the changes, and really give a unique experience each night.”
JB: Yeah. You want to be in control, and enough where you’re present and you’re playing together, but, again, like with the songwriting, not trying to be in so much control that you choke the thing, and it comes out funny feeling. Like a sporting event, you try to be in shape and prepared, and then be able to flow with it.
RR: There also seems to be a more sane approach to the way Widespread Panic tours these days with a concentration of dates, and high profile festival gigs, too. I would think it would also be nice not to have to play 200 dates a year, right?
JB: Yeah, because we’ve got the family thing and everything. Well, you know, we cover a good bit of the country playing larger venues, and moving from place to place. Yeah, keeping a balanced life between music and home life is, I think, beneficial to the music.
RR: What motivates you as an individual artist in the band, and as the front man?
JB: The feeling of keeping it fresh. It is your responsibility to keep your head in a place where you’re excited about it. If everybody’s doing that, then it rubs off, and you can get something done. Hopefully. (laughs)
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