Like the young folks in C.S. Lewis' "Tales of Narnia," Blues Traveler has
gone through a door into a whole new world.
With all the fall out with U Music, how do you feel to still be on
Interscope?
*Chan: We'd been with A&M — pretty much the same staff — for 10 years
since 1989. To be honest, we kind of felt like we were taken for granted over
there. We weren't being pushed by them to do anything different. They just
had a set way that they did things. So when they got bought out and
Interscope took over, as scary as it was, it also was kind of fun for us to
get a whole bunch of new people to work with. I think it helped us approach
things in a different way, which helped us creatively. So in the end,
we were kind of into it.*
How's Dowdy Smack doing?
Tad: It’s on hold right now. The drummer’s in medical school.
I must now ask the inevitable Bobby Sheehan questions. Comment on Pretty
Angry' which is a reaction to Bobby's death.
Of course, Bobby's mom has a pivotal role in the history of the band because she
took you all in when you were in New York.
What kept you guys from breaking up after Bobby died at the same time John
had to deal with some serious health issues?
Has playing with your brother made the loss of Bobby easier?
Tad, how did it feel at first filling Bobby's shoes and how does it compare to how it feels
now?
_But the hardest thing was learning how to approach the old songs and the
new songs. Now the new songs have a real comfortable feel because I was a
part of the writing. Right now, the playing's great. Every time we go on
tour, I feel more comfortable because I'm starting to feel where I fit in
more and more. Having started with the album was great because now we're
playing songs that we wrote together, live. You can definitely feel that
onstage. I know that fans are saying, 'Those songs are really tight.'_
Tad's playing seems a bit flashier than Bobby's, whose role was always fairly
understated. Or is it just that the songs are constructed in a way that
forces him to play in that manner?
Let's talk about the new album. Often when bands add new personnel, the results
have to grow on people. With 'Bridge' You seem to have done a fine job of redefining your
sound yet remaining true to what your fans enjoy.
Given the size and strength of your live audience, do you have to worry about
hit singles?
You guys — or maybe it's just Popper — have really been into a nautical
thing between the last record, 'Straight on Till Morning,' and even more so
on this one with 'All Hands' and 'Decision of the Skies' and even the title
'Bridge' could be construed that way although I'm sure that's more about a
bridge of time. But did Popper trade in his guns for a boat?
Playing live always has been Blues Traveler's forte, but when you played the
Supper Club, the new songs were presented rather straightforwardly. The
percussive 'All Hands' sounds like it could be taken out live, same with the
Pink Floyd-meets-P-Funk pop of 'Decisions of the Skies.' Are you improvising
more on the new tunes now?
What are your tour plans? You just seem to be playing Red Rocks on the Fourth
and occasional festivals.
Do you think the HORDE ever will be resurrected?
HORDEHORDEThere might be Phish phans and Panic fans but there wouldn't be a jam scene
without Blues Traveler because the HORDE really helped to solidify and
centralize the scene. What do you think of the exploding jam scene and at
this point, is Blues Traveler still a jam band?
How much weight did Popper lose?
Did he have his stomach stapled?
Is he still losing weight?
But he's still smoking?
How has the weight loss made his playing and singing better?
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Bob Makin has been writing about Blues Traveler and the jam band scene since
1988. Jam bands can contact him at makinclan@aol.com.
