The Terrapin Family Band does its share of hosting shows as a house band at Terrapin Crossroads. What’s that experience like for you?

I think it’s a blast. It’s definitely similar, though we go about it in different ways. We’re a little more freewheeling in both Midnight North and in the Family Band. But, yes, whenever we have guests we have to make sure they’re comfortable. That’s something we can take away (from the Stringdusters). Most of the time in the Family Band we have my dad and his institutional knowledge of playing with everybody under the sun. He takes the lead in that and everyone seems pretty willing to follow.

What’s it like playing with the Family Band when your dad is not there?

It kind of turns into a different band. It’s a whole different vibe. In theory, he’s still there because of the music to which he’s so deeply tied. But, for example, in this John Barlow tribute we’re going to be playing pretty different arrangements, even before we get to the guests, than how we normally do them. We’re excited every time we do something that’s a little unique from a normal show; trying to put our unique spin on it based on the variables we have that night.

Do you approach playing with Terrapin Family differently mentally or emotionally than you do with Midnight North, or is it just playing music for you?

Midnight North is mostly our original music, with songs we mostly wrote, either Elliot or I or the whole band. Each show is different, like whether we’re opening or headlining. The Terrapin Family Band shows are a lot longer because that’s how the Dead did it, and how my dad still wants to do it. That’s fun. But, a nice, short and sweet, couple-hours set is fun, too. It’s all different so I go day-by-day with it. I find it pretty easy to switch out of those two bands. When it comes down to it, we’re just jamming, making music, putting on a show. It’s seemed to turn out pretty well so far.

Do you make either a priority, like in your resting hours, or is it equal?

It is in some ways and not in others. We are lucky with the Terrapin Family Band and my dad’s age. That band gets all of our time when we are doing it, but we’re not touring 24/7. We have time to do other things. When it’s Midnight North time, it’s Midnight North time. In my average moment, I may be thinking of Midnight North more, but that’s likely because the Family Band is limited to a certain amount of days per year that we’re actually gigging.

Is it hard for the Family Band, or any band, to convey that free spirit of the Grateful Dead as a live band when the Dead had so many decades of honing that unique sound?

It’s hard to compare anyone the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead had years together, and within that had their micro bands: one drummer; two drummers; different keyboardists. The band was changing and had different eras. We’ve had coming up on seven years of all playing together, for the most part. Our goal is to be a core band for my dad. Before this he was playing in Phil and Friends bands that put on great shows, but were more fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. They had much less familiarity with the music. We’re trying to build something around him that is more stable, slowly but surely getting that familiarity. I’d put our knowledge of the music up there with anybody.

It appears that many musicians in the Dead-related community are touring virtually all the time. Does this endanger new music being made to provide new experiences for the audiences?

For me, and Midnight North, like the Dead, touring is the be-all-end-all. If the Grateful Dead was a band right now, they would be doing better than anybody. They wouldn’t have to worry about Spotify or record sales or whatever. Records are advertisements for shows. We’re going to keep writing and recording. Creating new music is the point. Yes, we play from the Grateful Dead catalog but we try to do it in a new way. And we’re even putting some originals into the Family Band shows. So writing is at the top of the pyramid. If it was just touring on old songs it would be much less interesting.

Do you like the current system of streaming music as the primary medium?

As a consumer, I love Spotify and all the streaming services. I love having every single possible song, just about, at the tip of my fingers. But the whole way they distribute money is completely messed up. There’s no musical middle class. So, you can’t make a living if you are just recording music, and I don’t think that’s a good thing. I enjoy touring so it’s not terrible for me. But I understand that not everyone wants to live that life. Something should change. I think the whole world is going to hell because all anyone cares about is shareholder prices. I don’t know how to fix it.

Do think there’s a medium other than streaming which could come along and reset the balance or is the artist relatively powerless at this point?

I have no idea. I’d be trying to invent it if I did. I would assume streaming is the ultimate because it’s not a physical thing. Maybe an app implanted in your brain? (Laughs.) As musicians we need to put pressure on these big companies to be fair. I don’t know if it’s unionizing or what. It’ll take a lot of work. Point me in the right direction and I’ll help.

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