How would you say that the new material fits in terms of the evolution of God Street Wine’s sound?

AM: I think when we first got together, we just threw everything in the kitchen sink. As we’ve matured, we’ve tried to say what we wanted to say in the simplest way possible. I think these tunes sound mature. They sound well-crafted and honest to the song. A lot of times in the past, songs would be written as vehicles for live shows and then they would take a life of their own live. It’s sometimes hard to capture that energy on our recordings, but as we’ve gotten older I feel that we have a better sense of who we are individually, and I think that comes out on these songs. It will be interesting to see where they go. We’re not trying to do them for any other reason than to just be creative for ourselves. There’s a certain honesty to that.

Were there certain touchstones that you felt you needed to hit upon while writing to make it a God Street song, or do you just write to write and let it become a God Street song once the guys put their thumbprint on it?

LF: There wasn’t much conscious planning behind it, honestly. I play a lot of solo acoustic down here in New Orleans because I don’t really have time or inclination to deal with the band at this point. I play a lot of solo acoustic stuff, so most of my recent writing has been geared towards me playing the acoustic guitar. But that’s actually great for the band because it leaves a lot of room for people to add their own thing as we flesh it out and make it into a band track.

Lo, how has the experience of living in New Orleans influenced you as a musician and a songwriter? How do you feel about the current musical culture of New Orleans?

LF: It’s hugely inspiring. Just a couple of months ago, Allen Toussaint passed away, and he was just such an amazing figure in the musical history of this city. He was so many things—a songwriter, producer, piano player, singer, performer and record company guy. He was typical of New Orleans music in that he was known around the world, but his level of fame was manageable. New Orleans artists tend to stay in New Orleans. They’ll achieve some success, but not so much that it becomes that pop-celebrity culture. That’s sometimes a drag financially, but I think it also keeps it all very real, which is a wonderful thing. It’s the opposite of New York, where the presence of the business and money and the pop infrastructure and the media is always there. New Orleans is in its own sheltered island away from the mainstream.

The other thing is that it’s not just New Orleans—it’s also my job and my students. I work with students who are aspiring musicians or interested in getting into the music business. They’ve inspired me so much. They’re so incredibly talented and excited kids to be working with down here.

In addition to God Street Wine’s reunion shows, you two have performed as a duo on several occasions since 2010. Some of these gigs have even blossomed into acoustic GSW shows featuring the rest of the band with the exception of Tom. Joe Russo even joined in at Gathering of the Vibes. Can you walk us through your evolution as a guitar duo?

AM: Before the band even started, Lo and I went to Manhattan School of Music together with Dan. Lo and I were playing a lot of duo stuff with jazz guitar. One summer we lived together in Cape Cod and we called each other Dos Heteros, because we were in Provincetown and we thought it had an interesting ring to it.

We always had a certain telepathy together just by playing guitar together, so the idea of doing these acoustic shows was sort of an extension of that. It was a way for us to have fun communicating with our music and use that telepathy that he and I have from the years that we’ve been playing together.
Any time he asks me if I want to play, the answer is usually yes. Between the band, we have something like twelve kids. We’re all pretty busy, but it’s always a pleasure to play with any of the guys. It wasn’t much of a question in my mind. If I have the opportunity, I’ll always do it.

Do you have plans to play with Jon and Dan in the New York area anytime soon?

AM: That usually comes after we do these kinds of shows. I have a feeling we’ll do something. We played in Croton, NY, where Jon and Dan live, and did a show there in the park, which was fun. I’d like to do something like that again with them.

I’m pretty busy up here. I live up in Woodstock and I have a band that plays gypsy jazz like Django Reinhardt’s style of music. I’ve been working on that and playing with that group. We’re called Metropolitan Hot Club. I want to bring that band down to the city.

Could you talk a little bit about Jason Crosby’s current involvement in the group and how his role has evolved since the band’s reunion?

LF: He’s really part of the family. He was part of the last incarnation of the band [in the ‘90s and then started playing with us again when we went West for those shows with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh in 2011.] When Jason gets up with us he knows every song and he fits in really well. We have two guitar players, so it doesn’t feel like a big deal if we have two keyboardists. They work together really nicely.

Jason is one of the most amazing musicians that I know. He’s not only perfect for God Street, he’s also done a great job as a sideman working for people like Robert Randolph, Anders Osborne, Phil Lesh and all of the different people that he’s played with. It’s always special when we have him playing with us, which has been the case for about half of our post-reunion performances.

Aaron, you have played with Marco Benevento on occasion during the past two years. You both represent different eras of the Wetlands jamband scene, but your connection actually is much closer to home. How did you first come in contact?

AM: I teach at Woodstock Day School and teach both of his daughters. Marco was impressed by the fact that I was teaching them Fats Waller songs during music class. We just connected. It turns out that we both grew up in the same area—he grew up a town away from me. He’s a bit younger than I am, but we’re both Jersey boys so we get each other.

We’ve been talking about doing something, too. We always really enjoy playing with each other, so that’s something that I think will happen. We just have to book the show and then that will get us to actually work on what we need to get the show together. I like the spontaneity of that—just like, “All right, let’s do it. What are we going to do?” and then it comes out when we play. Marco is such a brilliant musician that I don’t worry about it; it’s just going to come together.

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