You also recently sat in with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. People would be interested to hear your reflections on how they interpret that body of material.

They offer a younger and more zestful approach than us old guard guys do. It was fun working with them. I didn’t work with the full electric ensemble. We were all on acoustic guitars and upright bass so it was a different approach to the music then they generally offer. But it worked well. It was a lot of fun.

Let’s jump to Dead and Company. It sounds like there might be plans to tour some more and also to record. What can you say about that?

We’re looking at all of the above. I’m more interested in recording I think than some of the guys—I just think it’d be fun to get into the studio with that outfit [laughs] But nobody buys records anymore so we’d have to view it kind as a hobby. That said I’d love to do that. We’re also looking at some dates in the not too distant future.

I remember interviewing you after Evening Moods came out and back then you mentioned the challenges of recording and releasing an album. Has your recent experience with Blue Mountain animated you to go back into the studio?

I just enjoy the process. It’s like the difference between dashing off watercolors and doing a layered oil painting. It’s a different medium and I enjoy working it just for the fun of doing it. Getting stuff right but not too right…

Last month you performed with Phish in Nashville. In addition to some of your own songs, you sang one of their tunes. How did that come about?

It was actually suggested to me that we might want to do the tune and so I listened to it and I figured, “Well this might be fun to sing.” So I proposed that to Trey. He liked the idea so we went ahead and did that. It was a matter of I was in the same town that they were in for an evening and I was off and they were playing, so I was there with bells on.

It had been a while since you’d appeared with Phish. I’m curious if you noticed any changes in their sound?

I didn’t hear a huge change. I heard definition and refinement and stuff like that to their approach. Their basic overall sound was the same as it was 10 years ago when I sat in with them. The Grateful Dead didn’t change much in its overall thrust over the decades. We got bigger and more developed and all that kind of stuff and that’s what they’re doing.

Trey has spoken about everything that he took away from the Fare Thee Well experience, some of which he hopes to apply to Phish. I’m curious if he said anything to you about any of that after the Nashville show?

I’m sure he did. I’m not entirely sure that I heard it that way. [Laughs] We just had fun playing together he’s a great player.

Do you anticipate that down the road, the two of you might do something again together?

I’d be surprised if that doesn’t happen. But we both have to have a little time on our hands and both of us are hellaciously busy right now.

Final question: There are a number of people out there who are anxious and frustrated about the looming Trump presidency. What do you say to those folks?

We absolutely have no choice other than to accept this as a challenge and to rise to it. We’ve got to play the ball as it lies. I’m actually kind of fired up about it.

I’d say that people who might be inclined to sleep through stuff or be uncompromising in their approach to politics and might have some thinking to do because we’re in new territory now as far as I can see.

Every day things progress, every day things roll on. We’re down the road now. I don’t expect it’s ever going to be comfortable or cozy with regard to politics. I don’t think that happens. So it’s just a matter of how much of it you can indulge and endure and how much you’re willing to participate. Everyone has to have to sort that out individually and then offer what they have.

Going back to the 2000 election if every Deadhead in the state of Florida had voted it’d be a very different world today. There are enumerable parallels with other folks with regard to this election as well.

The way this government is set up if you want to be an absolutist you’re always going to be on the outside. If you want to be reasonable and you work with people you might get some progress made. It’s a personal choice that one has to make and I prefer to be involved. I have kids, I want to try to make things happen I want to try to shape things.

I’m not going to insist on having everything my way exactly or I’m going to take my ball and go home. We live in a democracy and it requires our participation, otherwise the folks who want it the most and oftentimes those are the greediest among us will be glad to step in and take it.

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