JPG: As for the tour, was it brought up before the New Orleans or shortly after they took place and everyone saw how successful they were?
JM: No, no, no. We did it and it went well. It grew out of doing it. It was successful on a lot of levels. The chemistry of the group…you never know when you put this kind of thing together. You can have all these ideas of these great musicians and put ‘em together but there might not be a chemistry. It may not work. And the chemistry was beyond solid. It was great. The vibe of everybody worked together well. There were no monkey wrenches in the machine. So, that is what inspired, maybe, doing it some more. They put out the feelers, “Hey, is there anybody interested in this?” And there was a lot of interest. So now, we’re also gonna be doing a tour in March. We didn’t know that when the tour in January got booked.
Everything got booked very last minute relative to how things are normally done. I was not even sure it was going to happen because of that but it came together very quickly and easily.
JPG: I’m surprised that the promoters of the tour were able to get so many of the same musicians that played the New Orleans shows because everyone has such busy schedules.
JM: Yeah. That’s a testament to how much everyone enjoyed doing it. We all really enjoyed it and it was a really good vibe.
JPG: You mentioned him earlier. Tell me how Michael McDonald fits into the mix of what are a bunch of musicians within the jamband community.
JM: If you think about it, the Band was not a jamband. That’s the key. Jamey Johnson, too.
JPG: But, I see him as having a bit more of a connection to the Band due to country and roots than what’s known from McDonald’s history with changing the Doobie Brothers sound and his time with Steely Dan.
JM: I guess that’s similar thing to what you were saying about not thinking that I would be the first guy they would think of…but who would be? Who’s a great piano player who’s got an incredible voice who can pull that stuff off? Half the thing with the Band is the harmonies. Who could do that? I can’t think of a lot of people. He’s a great choice. He’s got an incredible voice, great piano player, great musician overall. He’s also very giving as a musician and a human within the framework of the group. The ball gets passed around—who sings what song and who’s doing harmonies—and to watch how everybody works together, it’s really beautiful. Everyone is very gracious and giving, and he is the same way.
The Band they were a pop band of the time in a way in that era. Also, they were a genre-bending, genre-crossing band. Since then, we started to lump these things into categories, and they fall into a certain category. At the time they were blowing things and breaking boundaries. That’s how it makes sense to have Michael in there.
Honestly, for me it’s what does the music feel like at the end of the day? He’s amazing. He really is. When we do [Ray Charles’] “Georgia” and he sings his verse, I get chills every time.
JPG: I bring up the word “jamband” because it’s the easiest shorthand term than going with artists whose music is genre-busting, etc. etc.
JM: Right. That’s in a way the true nature of why even this whole jamband thing came up was out of this inability to categorize things. When that term first came around it was about these bands that couldn’t be lumped into categories, and now it’s a category. That’s the age old story, and a dangerous thing in terms of examining music history. That’s why Michael works. It’s part of that genre bending.
JPG: Again, thinking of jamband music as boundary-less and with him I immediately think of the hits with the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan’s “Peg.” He’s talented and he’s capable…
JM: When you go back to the Doobie Brothers, there’s a Southern Rock element to their music. Now, with Steely Dan you’re starting to get into slicker, it’s starting to jazz up a little and studio-fy but the Doobie Brothers…to me that’s where the cross mix helps. There’s a Southern Rock element. To me the Doobie Brothers are link to the Band with Michael.
In fact, I never really thought about it. (laughs) It feels good. He’s got a great voice. The thing about the Band, those guys had great voices. Also, the idea of adding Jamey Johnson there is a twist. That powers the music in being given new life. This is where we’re not getting into imitating or trying to sound like what they did. We’re taking that music and giving it a new perspective and a new life that’s both respectful and at the same time pushing it.
JPG: Now, you guys are doing your tour but there was also a Last Waltz tribute show at AmericanFest NYC last August and other performances of the Last Waltz in years prior to that. Which brings up this, what is your view of why the Band’s music still resonates?
JM: Great songs. You can’t beat a great song. They’re great songs, and that’s it. And you get good people playing them, and it’s… great. Also, we’re looking back because there are not a lot of great songs coming out right now. (laughs) There are some. My 17 year old stepdaughter would definitely argue with that. We talk about that a lot. She’s really into music. There is stuff happening and there has been stuff happening but …
I sound like my grandfather, “They don’t write songs like that anymore.” (laughs) That’s what he said about Cole Porter. And, it’s true. They don’t write songs like that anymore because it’s not then. Those songs are indicative of a certain time but they’re also indicative of a timeless spirit, a timeless human thing that any music has. Beethoven has something that none of this stuff has. Although we are defined to a certain extent by the period of time we live in, time is an illusion and we’re connected to all of it as human beings because it’s part of human expression. That’s why we can enjoy different music at different times for different things. Everybody has their own personal relationship with that. And I just like that the Band is great, the songs are great, the arrangements are great.
JPG: Last thing, you’re doing this tour for what may be several months or longer, but what else do you have planned for yourself in 2017?
JM: I’m about to go in the studio with Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield and Larry Grenadier. Record this project called Hudson. It’s Jack’s 75th birthday this year and he put this band together with all of us. It’s a collective band in a way. We’re going to be touring. We’re going to be making a record this week. We all live in the Hudson Valley. The band’s called Hudson. We’re doing a lot of music from people that lived here at some point or other or played at Woodstock—Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix. We’re actually doing a Band tune, “Up on Cripple Creek.” We’re doing some DeJohnette and Sco tunes. It’s great. It’s really fun. We’ve been rehearsing a little bit and we’re about to go in the studio, rehearse and record. Great project.
Then, I have another project that I’ll be touring with a little this year called Mad Skillet, which has Terence Higgins, who is doing the Last Waltz tour, and Kirk Joseph, sousaphone player, both with Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Will Bernard on guitar; an instrumental quartet. We’ll have a record coming out this year. Gonna tour with that. Still doing some DRKWAV gigs whenever I can, whenever we can all get together. We’ve got a couple of those during this year. I’m going to Europe for some solo piano stuff. Doing a bunch of stuff with John Zorn, which I always do throughout the year when I can. My year is pretty full already.
JPG: I’ve always wondered this in regards to musicians and how they can have their lives planned out from recording, promoting and touring a year or two in advance. Is it a good thing to have things set up like that or is it a bit overwhelming?
JM: Both. It’s nice to have work and it’s nice to be at the point when you’ve worked so hard to have that security of gigs. But, it’s also daunting in planning ahead, and the true creative process can’t be planned ahead. (slight laugh) That is the endless balance of trying to figure out how to keep things planned ahead but also in tune with what might be happening creatively.
Mad Skillet’s taken a long time to get off the ground because I’m so busy with so many other things. We recorded last year. The bottom line is when there’s a chemistry with a group of musicians that get together, something happens.
I am not one of those guys, I guess because I’ve had 25 years with Medeski Martin & Wood is probably why I don’t worry about…I’m not a pop musician. So, I don’t go out there to sell my records. I’m not gonna sell any records anyway. That’s not my goal. At this point a record is just a business card to get gigs for the band and a creative outlet. Hopefully, first and foremost, it’s a creative outlet and a way to create a piece of work but in terms of what we’re talking about, it’s a way to make people aware of what the band does so that you can get gigs. Then, you get out there. I don’t worry about sounding like the record. I’m fortunate to have set my life up like that. I don’t make music that people want to hear just like the record. I want to get up there as long as the energy is there and it’s happening and it’s good, then we could have a good gig.
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