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In certain ways, your new approach sounds like a reaction to Song In My Head, which sounded very cohesive but also grew out of some songwriting sessions that took place during String Cheese’s hiatus, when you were writing for a variety of solo projects. The band has always covered a wide spectrum of sounds and has continued to bring new styles into its DNA as the group has evolved. When we last spoke, shortly after you started touring full-time again in 2016, the band has started to incorporate a variety of new African and Bollywood influences. Are there any specific genres you hope to add to the String Cheese palette?

We don’t want to stagnate and also don’t want to say that something isn’t a “String Cheese song” because it doesn’t adhere to a certain sound. We are trying not to limit what the String Cheese sound is and also hopefully continuing to evolve and be interesting for us and listeners—one this is that I have been playing a little more electric guitar on these songs.

It’s something that, like I said, we’re just starting to get into, and the potential there is really great—to really hone in, but at the same time feel we can explore different ideas. We can write a ska song, or I can write a country or bluegrass song and, because of Sound Lab, we have a place where I could go, “You know what? Maybe I won’t sing this song,” or maybe I can even give it to a different band who I know can really lay into this style of music and bring in some people and create a song that is very un-String-Cheese. But it’s still a song that’s created from one or more of the String Cheese minds.

We could also create a song for String Cheese and not do it in the normal, straightforward String Cheese way. We can look at the personality of the song and let it dictate a very different direction and make it totally electronic. We are trying not to limit ourselves and to continue to put out great music. The worse thing is to say, “Oh, that sound won’t work for us—this is what our sound is and we don’t want to change it and to accommodate this song.”

You mentioned that Jerry Harrison, whose Talking Heads songbook you have covered for years, has been working with the band in the studio. This is the first time String Cheese has worked with an outside producer for two albums in a row. What about his production approach worked so well last time around?

I really liked the way that he really represented us on Song in My Head. He didn’t try to change the band’s sound and reinvent. He just did a good job at letting the best music come to the surface on that album. So we worked with him again on a lot of these tunes that are coming out of the Sound Lab. We do hope to work with different producers on different material that comes out of the Lab so that the different style can be fully fleshed-out, depending on the different types of music we create out there. I don’t know if we’ll ever find that one production partner for our careers, but we’ve been enjoying working with Jerry Harrison so far.

Shifting from songwriting and recording to the live show, let’s talk about your current summer tour that will wrap-up in Brooklyn this weekend. You’ve played with a number of guests from a number of different genres, including some big hometown shows at Red Rocks with Hot Rize and Kamasi Washington.

Red Rocks was super enjoyable this year. It just blew my mind. We’ve played Red Rocks 36 times, and I think it has really taken 36 shows to get the vibe of that place and feel good and comfortable and ready to rip there. This year had some incredible moments—Kamasi was excellent. It was good to meet him and play some music with him. He’s taking off like a rocket but was super, super nice. From the first note he played on stage with us, he got the vibe of the band and everything. We also enjoyed having the rest of his band up there, too. And we then played a few tunes with our friends Hot Rize. That’s always fun, because that’s more going back to the roots of how the band started. We used to cover a couple of their tunes back when we first became a band.

The thing that blew me away on Saturday night was that, after the show was over, the seats were still full in the amphitheater, and the lights went on and our sound man put on Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.” Nobody left—they just kept dancing to this song and singing along. It was one of the most awesome moments that I’ve ever had playing music, and I wasn’t even playing. I was just standing at the side of the stage watching these people dancing like they had the time of their lives and nobody wanted to leave. Everybody was dancing together—it brought me to tears watching all these people. I felt like the band was just a big part of the setting. The vibe and the degree to which they were enjoying the night blew my mind.

It’s been almost 10 years since String Cheese Incident went on hiatus and, during the past three years, the band has toured more than it has in a decade. Do you feel that you have all found a proper balance between your group work, solo projects and family priorities?

I feel like we’re having a resurgence in the band and the amount of time that we’re spending on String Cheese, now that we’re recording and having these musical retreats. The public sees us play our 40 shows or whatever we do a year, but what they’re not seeing is that we’re spending probably another 40 days or another few weeks every year rehearsing. We’re spending another two weeks a year going on trips and writing. We’re spending another month a year in the recording studio. So the amount of time that we’re playing music together has really ramped up during the last few years. We still have the time for family—we still have that balance there—but I’ve weighed down how many side projects I’ve been playing in, because the commitment to String Cheese is starting to ramp up again. I usually play a lot of side projects. We’re feeling it. We feel revitalized and enjoying playing music live and in the studio right now, so it’s been good for us.

This weekend you were supposed to be part of The Gregg Allman Incident at Peach Festival. Like your similar collaborations with Zac Brown, Lauryn Hill, Keller Williams and others, String Cheese were set to back Gregg on a set of his songs, as well as Allman Brothers classics. Unfortunately, that show was called off after Gregg cancelled his upcoming dates due to health reasons. Can you talk a little bit about how that collaboration initially came about and how you plan to celebrate his music at Peach?

Well, I’ve been an Allman Brothers fan since I was in high school. I love their music and was super stoked to play with Gregg, as was the rest of the band, and I’ve been working out setlists with Scott Sharrard, the guitarist from the Gregg Allman Band. It was tough to hear that he had to cancel for health reasons. We’re all hoping that he’s back on track soon. So we’ve been working on these tunes and, even though Gregg can’t play, we’re going to continue to go with an Allman Incident. Now, it’s going to be the “Allman Brothers Family Incident.” [Laughs.]

Of course, as soon as people heard that Gregg was sick and unable to play the show, everybody rallied. All these musicians playing the festival, especially Les Brers, are going to be part of Allman Brothers Family Incident. [Ed. Note: Allman Brothers Band/Les Brers members Butch Trucks, Jaimoe, Marc Quiñones and Oteil Burbridge along with Scott Sharrard and Les Brers keyboardist/longtime Allman family member Bruce Katz will join String Cheese during their Allman Brothers Incident.] So we’re staying on target right now. When I hang up with you, I’m going over to the Sound Lab and we’re going to play some Allman Brothers tunes. It’s a lot of fun. I love this music, and I’m looking forward to Peach Fest.

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