Photo by Tarver Shelton
Widespread Panic’s last act before taking a much-deserved break for much of 2012 was a run of all-acoustic shows this past February, spread over 11 stops in 4 cities (DC, Atlanta, Denver, and Aspen). The totally-unplugged setting presented challenges for the band, but they rose to them like true jam veterans – and the results are documented on their new release Wood. The 2-CD/20-track album finds the band in top-notch form, taking advantage of the unique setting to explore new territory in some familiar tunes (along with a number of choice covers). Don’t mistake “acoustic” for “peaceful” – Wood is powerful and pure. It’s Panic at their best.
Widespread’s John Bell shared some of his time with us recently to talk about playing in an acoustic setting, personal rediscovery, formation flying, and the building of Wood.
BR: I don’t know what most folks’ vision of a Widespread Panic hiatus is, but it’s not like a lot of golf games. It seems like you have all been pretty busy individually this past year.
JB: (laughs) Yeah – the other guys have been playing music with different bands. Plus, we have families and stuff, too … it’s just a healthy thing for everybody.
Personally, I like getting away and doing something totally different creatively – whether it’s gardening or painting or something like that – and try and find myself again.
Speaking of your painting, where can we find some examples of it?
Well, I don’t do it that much. Usually, it’s a once-in-a-while thing and if I do one, I’ll put it up for auction at my charity event in Orlando. But I don’t push myself – I do it when I do it and it’s a lot of fun. I listen to somebody else’s music (laughter), have a glass of wine, and start slapping some paint on. It’s not like I have any training, so there are no rules – it comes out the way it comes out.
Just like the music.
That’s right – I don’t have any musical training, either, so it just comes out the way it comes out. (laughter)
I wish I could remember who it was – one of the old blues guys – who was asked if they had any musical training and they answered, “Not enough to bother my playing.”
(laughs) I like it.
I don’t know if folks are aware of how much charity work you’re involved in, John. In fact, you have a project going on right now, don’t you?
Yeah, I’m actually here in a little artistic community just outside of Clarksville, GA called Sautee-Nacoochee and we have two food drives going on: a November session and then another one in December [12/3-12/15]. Widespread Panic’s lighting guy Paul Hoffman came in and helped me design a labyrinth on the community center’s gym floor using 14 spotlights. The labyrinth covers the whole floor and takes about six minutes to walk.
Oh, man …
Yeah – it’s really something. People bring food in and place it on the edges of the pathway. By the end of two weeks of donations, you’ve got a ton of food – canned goods, flour, sugar, and stuff – lining the labyrinth. It’s really a community art project.
It sounds beautiful, John. And people are actually creating the art themselves with their donations.
That’s right – and they get to come in during the rush of the holidays, slow down … and contemplate whatever they want. It’s another way to give without just rushing through the giving process. The bottom line is, it’s a tough time for a lot of folks to just keep food on the table, especially with the cold weather and heating bills are going up. The food banks are working hard and they’re getting stretched.
Oh, that’s great John. We’ll post a link for folks who want to send monetary donations.
That would be great, man. It’s on the Panic website, as well.
[More details can be found at the Cedar Heights Center webpage or on the “Sidestage” page of the Widespread Panic website. ]
I know that bands get to a point where they need to take time for themselves, but there’s also an obligation to the organization, as well. Then it’s the cycle of if you don’t take a break, you burn out; but if you don’t tour, there’s an income crunch … I’m imagining that was one big thing that the band had to take into consideration when the idea of a hiatus first came up.
Oh yeah – that was an interesting meeting. (laughs) One of the main reasons for taking the time was to step back from the Widespread Panic-ness and rediscover ourselves individually. When you come back, you rediscover each other and there’s a freshness to it.
But we do have a full-time staff at our offices and the merchandising warehouse, and we need to keep all those salaries and health benefits and stuff cooking at the same time – that’s their livelihood and most people don’t have the luxury of taking a year off. So we talked about it and we tried to work the math and crossed our fingers.
Two of the things that really helped make it happen were the all-acoustic Wood Tour last January and February and the ensuing CD and DVD from that.
I wondered about that: I know you probably roll tape more often than not, but were you specifically going into those Wood Tour shows with the goal of getting an album out if it?
That was the best-case scenario … we actually weren’t even sure we were going to be able to pull it off musically, you know? (laughs)
Really?
Yeah – our first thought was basically a one-day-at-a-time thing; we knew we could do it in a room together – to create the dynamics – but we didn’t know how that would come across in a theater setting. We had no amplification outside of the PA to push the sound, so all the dynamics were created without using big volume. You’re dropping down into quiet places; changing the groove; and then bringing the energy up a little. But it wasn’t that we had a game plan or anything – we were just finding out how to do it while we did it. (laughter)
Another thing we got really lucky with was when we went down to Cancun in January. That was an all-inclusive package where folks could buy tickets to stay at a resort where we played for four nights in a row. It sold out pretty quickly – and the next thing we knew the hotel said they had a sister hotel down the way that they could open up and provide transportation to the venue where we’d be playing. That made it so we were able to sell twice as many tickets without it being crowded for people. It worked out well.
So all of those things helped us to take the time off and still be able to work the money thing. There was some math involved there, including the band taking a substantial hit in our own salaries.
Let’s talk some more about the Wood album and the acoustic shows it documents. How do you approach an acoustic setlist? Are there any obvious tunes that you just simply would not try in that setting?
Oh, yeah … like, we wouldn’t try to blow out “Chilly Water” – what we did end up doing was changing the tempo and the feel of it so that we could use it. And the same thing for “Imitation Leather Shoes”: we turned that into a two-step and changed the arrangement around a little.
We looked at our list of songs and earmarked which ones we basically wouldn’t even try to attempt. And then during last year’s fall tour we had an earlier bus call and an hour before each show that was dedicated to rehearsing different acoustic arrangements and stuff. That turned out to be really hip, because after sitting down for an hour before every show, we were loose and focused for the real gig out in the hall. Instead of being warmed by the fifth song, we were warmed up by the first song. And our heads were in the game.
But then we realized that we would be finishing on Halloween last year and wouldn’t be seeing each other again until New Year’s, so a lot of that work and the strength in our hands from playing the acoustics was lost. We had to kind of regroup again and spend a few days in rehearsals to try to create the kind of situation we were about to go into. It ended up working out okay.
Yeah, I’d say. (laughter) You should be tickled with this thing, John – the playing’s great and it was recorded beautifully, as well. I love hearing a knuckle on the face of a guitar, or finger squeaks on a string – that’s part of the warmth of an acoustic performance.
Yeah – you can hear a wedding ring or two rattling off the frets. (laughs)
That’s the good stuff, man – that’s the flavor. So, getting back to song selection – how about some of the cover tunes? The album opener, “The Ballad Of John & Yoko”, for instance.
Let me see … I’m guessing that one might’ve been Jimmy’s suggestion. A lot of times what happens is somebody’s just sitting around with their guitar before we get together and they’re playing a lick. I think John & Yoko was one of the first new covers we brought into that situation. We didn’t expect the recognizability with the crowd on that one, as it’s a younger crowd overall. But you could tell from the bleed through the audience microphones that they at least knew the choruses. (laughter)
Well, yeah – everybody likes a sing-along where you can curse a little. (laughter) “Mercy” and “Imitation Leather Shoes” are both on Wood and Uber Cobra, the live acoustic album you released back in 2004. It was interesting to compare the versions of both songs and the band’s different approach to the same songs.
For one thing, “Imitation Leather Shoes” is in E and what happened on Uber Cobra was, the song right before it was in a relative key –
That’s right: you were coming out of something else and jammed your way into “Imitation Leather Shoes.
Yeah, I think we were coming out of a song in the key of B. Usually if I kind of remind myself that’s going to happen, I’m okay. But you can sing a B over an E and basically get yourself into trouble. (laughs) It’s a valid harmony, but you’re used to singing the whole thing a fifth up. I think it happened both nights at the House of Blues when we recorded Uber Cobra and one night came out a little better.
On Wood, I think the performance was nailed a little bit better. It had a new arrangement in it , so it had a freshness to it. I thought I sang it better.
It’s a different approach – more than just the difference between George McConnell on the earlier version and Jimmy on Wood … it’s interesting.
Another element is that Wood is true acoustic – there’s no electricity on stage. Not even JoJo’s organ – he’s using a foot pump organ.
Panic is a good-sized band with a big sound but you’ve always managed to keep it under control. So how is it for you in an acoustic setting? Other than what’s coming out under your arm, you have no amps … you’re relying totally on the monitors, right?
Right – and we were using in-ear monitors. We couldn’t use regular wedges – they would just feed back – but Jimmy had never used in-ear monitors before. It was all a big “what if,” you know? “Are we going to be able to communicate properly?”
I thought the volume level made for a lot of room for nuance and different embellishments. And I loved that they were all one take – man, I’d love to do a studio album where you just did one take without overdubs.
One of my faves was the instrumental “St. Louis” – that’s a natural for that setting. Were there any favorites for you? Any tracks on Wood that surprised you after the fact?
Let’s see … a couple of the covers … “Sell Sell.” And “Many Rivers to Cross” was another one that surprised me. I mean, it felt really good when we were playing them, but to be first-time songs and to hear the audience react positively to the songs like they had heard us do them before was kind of rewarding.
The album is made of several shows, but it flows and feels and sounds like a single two-set show.
Yeah, that was another challenge: I’m looking at the recordings from the shows and saying, “Where do I even begin?” There was a lot of music to sift through. And I hate sitting around listening to our band. (laughter)
So I loaded the visors in my truck with the shows: “Denver; first night; first set; second set; encore …” and when I was making a long trip I’d pull them out and start listening. To figure out sequencing, I said, “Well, if I’m going to do it on vinyl, I know my limitations there” – about 20 minutes to a side before the sound begins to degrade – so that helped me with a starting point. The thing started to take shape and I would e-mail around and send some actual tracks to the guys and see if they liked the flow. We were working on it together. Even our agent had some input and we hardly ever let that happen. (laughs)
So yeah – it was a family affair and it was all new. I’m really proud of the way it came out. When we’re finished with a project, I’m usually done with it – I won’t listen to a track off a live album again for five years or something like that. (laughs)
How does the acoustic setting affect how you and Jimmy interact with each other?
I think it always works the same, as long as we can hear each other. If I can listen to him and complement where he’s going either rhythmically or with a single note here and there – and if he can hear me and he can play off the pushes and pulls and shapes that I’m creating, then we’ve got a kind of a conversation going.
And it’s not just us; you’ve got JoJo in the background and he’s picking up on what we’re doing or we’re picking up on what he’s doing … I think because of the decibel level on stage, hearing each other was more consistently easy than it is in an electric setting. But we’ve had some great rooms where communication was great when we were playing electric, as well.
Photo by Tarver Shelton
A little guitar talk – you’re primarily a Washburn man, aren’t you?
Yeah, those guys have always treated me well and the guitars and mandolins take a beating. It’s a good relationship: they’ve never asked me to sign anything – everything we do is mutual agreement; mutual comfort level.
I always love hearing that; some companies make great stuff, but they’re not always easy to deal with.
Yeah, I’ve been with Washburn for a long time.
Do you write primarily on acoustic?
Yeah … if it’s a case where the music’s in my head, then I’ll go and find it on the guitar. Or sometimes I’ll be goofing around on the guitar and I’ll hear something quirky that I like. Or maybe a lyrical idea will come in – either lyrics themselves or a concept – and then I’ll go to the guitar and try to match the feeling of what the images are telling me. From there, I’ll usually go to a multi-track situation and create a demo – enough to give the guys an idea of where I was going with it. Maybe a little bass, or some electric guitar or pedal organ … a little percussion – even if it’s just a shaker – just to give it a listenable sound. Not to say, “This is how the song goes and that’s the way we’re going to do it” – but just to give the idea a chance so that they have something to work with.
That’s pretty much how everybody writes: we all just come up with ideas and shoot them off each other. Nothing’s sacred and we usually inspire each other to make it a better song … a band -written song. That’s what makes it fun for me: then it’s almost like you’re playing a cover because it didn’t all come out of you; it came out of the guys you’ve been playing with for 25 years.
The live acoustic setting doesn’t come easy for a lot of people and I think they get unnerved by it.
Yeah – and it’s not just the accidental sounds you get; it’s the percussive elements, as well. And that’s very helpful when you’re writing – the acoustic guitar is more or less your drum track.
That’s always been my approach to guitar playing: it’s a six-string drum.
(laughs) There you go. And that’s basically how I approach it with Jimmy: he’s obviously got this huge musical vocabulary; a command of melody and single-note leads; all the flavors and feeling for different modes and stuff. I like to stick to shapes and movement and things like that.
You don’t have to worry about me saying, “Hey – I wanna take a lead!” (laughter)
Well, it’s a nice mix and you two always work well together. Hey – you mentioned the mandolin earlier: I want to hear some more John Bell mandolin, man.
(laughs) Yeah, who knows? Maybe I’ll work out something for New Year’s.
Cool – bring it on! So looking ahead, we have the pair of New Years shows in Charlotte, NC on the 30th and 31st …
And then we have the Dominican Republic at the end of January – the same sort of things we did in Cancun but applying what we learned to make it better for everybody. We’ve never been to the Dominican Republic before, and that’s pretty cool.
That’s part of it for me: I like being together for 26 years and still doing new things.
It’s great that it feels that way to you, man – I’m tickled to hear that. I should let you go now, John. I appreciate you taking the time to talk about the new album … it’s really something to be proud of.
Thank you. I’ve got to admit, I’m listening to it from time to time now … even with how much I listened to it putting the sequencing together. (laughter)
Thanks, take care, and be careful out there, John.
All right, man – thank you. Cheers.
