Oteil came to Almost Dead on heels of two extended tours with Dead & Co. Did you notice any specific variances in his approach to the songs that you feel were informed by his experience playing with that band?
At first, I think he may have felt like he had to play some parts, but it didn’t take long for him to get comfortable with the “play whatever the hell you want” ethos we live by. It made me so happy to look over and see him with his eyes closed, dancing like a maniac. It was full-on kid in a candy store, for sure.
Stuart, who is known for his work with Antibalas, Superhuman Happiness and Arcade Fire, was another unexpected guest during last week’s Bowl run. You have a long, deep history playing music with Stuart. How did you first connect, and how familiar was he with the Dead’s music when you first brought him into the Almost Dead fold last year?
Not only is Stuart one of the most amazing musicians I’ve ever met, but he’s one of the most fascinating and wonderful people I’ve met. I’m not even quite sure when he and I officially connected. He’s one of those guys it just feels like I’ve known and have been playing with my entire life. Much like the rest of us in this band, he wasn’t very versed in the ways of the Dead. The first few times he joined us, he was part of a full horn section [consisting of other members of the Antibalas and Daptone families]. He would write horn arrangements for these songs that never had horns on them previously, and it was just so exciting. Our goal is always to find as many different ways of playing these songs as possible, and having Stuart and the rest of the horns with us certainly scratches that itch. We also had Stuart hop in with us when we played in Connecticut last year, as he was living there at the time. I just said, “Hop in anytime you hear something you like.” I’m sure at least 85% of the songs we played that night, he had never heard. But that’s the point. You don’t have to “know” everything to be able to play and communicate. As I was writing lists for the six Bowl nights, I realized none of the sets jumped out to me as especially horn-section friendly, so I just asked Stuart to come out and, essentially, do what he did with us in Connecticut. It’s always so great to hear new information on this stuff. It makes us play differently. It makes us listen differently too, so it was really cool to have Stuart and Oteil that first night. I think it lent itself to a great “gettin’ to know ya” feeling with Oteil and provided a lot of inspiring moments for us as a band.
When you announced JRAD’s 100th show, the tagline was “99 More Shows than we thought.” Was there a specific show or moment when you realized this band should be a long term project?
I think maybe the second time we played at the Capitol Theatre [in 2014]. It was sold out, and there just seemed to be this sparkling of energy throughout the room that made it feel like the people out there were really enjoying what we were doing. I will say, it was a weird and funny feeling for all of us to sit down to reflect and verbalize the idea of us going out and playing shows as a Grateful Dead cover band, though. As I’ve said a thousand times before, this was not any of our goals. We have played in so many different settings, together and apart, in every possible mathematic combination five guys could have. I think that’s why this is what it is. We weren’t looking to do this. We just happened to seemingly touch a nerve in this community and in ourselves—“No need fighting it. We’re having a blast.” We still all make so much different music that fulfills us in every other way, outside of this band, but in JRAD, we get to play in a way that we can’t anywhere else. It’s an absolute gift.
You’ve worked a few Duo, Wolf! and Ween songs into the Almost Dead songbook during the past few years. What is the party line on which songs from the individual member’s solo projects feel right for a JRAD show?
Aside from Ween’s “So Long Jerry,” every other [American] Babies, Duo, Wolf! and other [solo project] song has been just improvisation that led us there. If you were to look at our setlists, then you can pretty much see that anything not on there just happened when it happened.
The Duo recently reunited for three shows. What were your highlights from that reunion, and did the experience of revisiting those songs make you realize anything new about your musical shorthand with Marco?
Marco and I shared a lot of life together in that band. We experienced so many things and began to grow over those years into the men and musicians we are today. There was definitely a loving feeling playing that stuff again. I know I teared up a couple of times during the shows. It’s overwhelming when you have that much history and you touch upon these moments again. It’s more than music; it’s a severe reminder of who you are and who you were back then. We’ve both changed so much since then. We’re both now fathers and husbands living lives of different responsibilities and comforts. It was really great to feel like we were living in our old shoes again. I hope one day we get to apply all of the life lived since the Duo days into new material. I think we both had a really great time playing the shows that we did, but I’d be surprised if we play very often without new material.
Speaking of upcoming projects, you play with Craig Finn on his new album and will back him during his upcoming City Winery release party. How did you and Craig first connect, and do you see your mutual appreciation for the Dead’s music as a connector while playing his original music?
Craig and I met a few years back when we were working on this Dylan in the 80s compilation. Scott, Dave and I backed him up on “Sweetheart Like You.” It wasn’t until maybe a couple years later when I got a call from my friend Josh Kaufman, who was producing Craig’s next solo album, Faith In The Future, to come up to Woodstock to start getting some songs together. [Kaufman was a member of Yellowbirds, produced Weir’s Blue Mountain and was a key part of Day of the Dead .] I feel so lucky to have been a part of these two records. Craig has become one of my favorite lyricists ever, and I’m always so psyched when I get to perform or record with him. As I’m writing this, I’m actually listening to the songs we will be performing Monday night on Late Night with Seth Meyers. It’s been so great to experience things like that with Craig. I love playing the way I get to play with that band. Much like my comments about how I get to play with JRAD, it’s a totally different and immensely fulfilling beast. That’s my goal in life: Play as many different parts of my musical identity with as many people as possible. I don’t think there’s one gig out there that satisfies all of it. It’s a sum of its parts that makes me feel complete.
MMW and JRAD will share a bill at Red Rocks this spring. The show will be something of a full circle moment, since you and Marco first reconnected outside a Medeski show years ago. Can you recount how that original re-connection took place?
If I remember correctly, I was playing an improv show at a place called Lanky Lounge, and Marco was across the street going to see Club d’Elf with John Medeski at Tonic. I think the story goes, he was waiting in line and went across the street to use the bathroom and ran into a bunch of guys he had gone to Berklee with and then, he realized his old pal Joe was playing drums. I can still picture it, actually. You can say it was a moment that changed our lives.
When we were offered to play at Red Rocks with JRAD, I said I really didn’t want to do it unless we were going to bring something special that night. I didn’t want some random band to be on the bill with us or some kind of standard-jamband festival pairing. The only band I could truly think of that made me feel like we were doing this right was MMW. I’m still shocked they said yes! We couldn’t be more honored to have them with us. They are some of the most humble and inspiring musicians I know—complete effortless interplay. They were meant to play music together, and I’m greatly looking forward to feeling that inspiration when we take the stage that night.
No Comments comments associated with this post