It seems like that is a trend on Broadway these days—between American Idiot, Fela! and Spider-Man, which features members of the jammy rock band Carney. Rock music seems to have arrived on Broadway.
Well, it’s always good to be cutting edge, and I think more and more popular music is being infused into Broadway shows. But I never came from that world [Broadway].
In terms of the two original songs you got to play, as you said, you had control over that aspect of the show. How did you choose the songs you played each night?
A lot of it was what single was being released at the time to the radio—we were pushing singles. And a lot of it was just sometimes me and a guitar, which is nice because it allowed me to show off my abilities as a guitarist. The strange thing about Idol for me was that while I was a musician, I wasn’t allowed to play any instruments. So I had to be a personality. I couldn’t be a musician— because if I was allowed to be a musician I was disqualified from catching my break. So therefore, I had to create a personality for myself, which in a way was good. But it’s also bad in a way because people didn’t know about that part of personality—even on Jam Cruise people never ask me to sit in on guitar. But I’m here talking to you guys so I guess whatever I did worked [laughter]. I mean, with Idol I had to be a personality—I had to be a character. They told me if I played harmonica that I would get fired.
And that was one of your signature instruments.
They told me that if I played guitar I would get disqualified. So the whole musician aspect of my being was stripped and basically it was like, “OK, you have a TV show and you have songs to choose from and you can write the last ending of your music and you can be a personality.” It was very character driven. In a way it hurt, but in a way it allowed me the opportunity—in only six months—to be viewed by 200 million people. That’s kind of dancing with the devil. It’s the modern day deal with the devil [laughter].
That is an interesting dilemma, especially for someone who comes from the Relix/Jambands.com world where musicianship is valued more than personality. How were you able to showcase your skills as a musician through your voice and personality?
One of the ways was by choosing some of the songs from our world, so to speak—I did the Ray Lamontagne song “Trouble.” It was nice to see their faces—the judge’s faces and just the Hollywood look that you got when I introduced Ray Lamontagne’s “Trouble” into the mainstream. That is the enjoyment that I got out of that show. It was like, “You know what? Here’s great music.” I basically said to them, “You don’t have any clue what great music is, I hate to say it. In my mind anyway. But I’m gonna play this game anyway. You’re so involved in Top 40 or whatever’s hip, but here’s Ray Lamontagne’s ‘Trouble’ so deal with it.” You know?
After winning American Idol you have consciously tried to reclaim your roots as a musician in the jamband scene. In fact, when you were on the American Idol tour, you’d play club shows with you band after playing arenas with the Idol cast. Do you feel you’ve been able to show the world you are more than a personality?
You know, it’s been tough. One of the toughest things that I’ve had to deal with is that when you do come from a world of musicians and artistry—and have that break and opportunity put in front of you—you gotta take it. I talked to a lot of artists and a lot of musicians and they kind of say, “Man, I don’t blame you.” But it’s been tough to reinvent myself—and by reinvent I mean go back to who I truly was. It is kind of an interesting thing. I come from the live music world, and I just go about it one fan at a time, and I’m very fortunate to have people that know I come from the world of live music—like you all. I am lucky to have the opportunity to get the word out there that I’m kind of back in the swing of things.
Exactly. And your fame has opened up all of these stage to you. I know you recently did a late night jam session at Denver’s Cervantes with Karl Denson and a slew of well-respected musicians.
After Widespread Panic played at Red Rocks we just decided to all get together and play at Cervantes. I was always going to late-night shows, and I was always hanging around at the House of Blues on Halloween for all the Karl Denson shows. So I’m into late-night jam sessions, man. I did that for years. You know, three in the morning doesn’t bother me [laughter]. I’m very blessed to be in the presence of a lot of these musicians because they keep me grounded They’re phenomenal and talented and I still learn from them—I could keep learning from them. Ivan [Neville] and Tony [Hall] and Karl and a lot of the folks, we all got together and decided to do a big jam.
Finally, of all the musicians from the Relix/Jambands.com scene you have been able to collaborate with since American Idol, which has been the most meaningful?
You know, there’s so many facets to this kind of music. I would say, all across the board, I’ve had amazing experiences, and I’m really blessed to just sit in with some musicians. But [if I had to choose one], I got to play with Willie Nelson at Red Rocks, and we played “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. That was one of those moments—where after playin’ clubs for as many years as I had and being on the road since I was 17—where I just felt honored. Willie also gave me the idea that it’s ok to wear New Balances on stage. With as much moving around as I do on stage, I need to be comfortable—and Bruce Hornsby does that too. His attire is very tennis-shoe oriented which I kind of dig cause boots makes your fuckin’ feet sore when you are dancing.
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