Photo by Dean BudnickweirdJJ: What kind of changes do you notice in Ratdog from tour to tour?JJ: How much have the personnel changes affected the form of the band musically?JJ: Do you plan to do anything different before you go out on a new tour or does it just sort of evolve?JJ: How is a Ratdog rehearsal structured?JJ: How do you decide what old stuff needs working on?
JJ: You’ve been playing these songs for quite a while now. What do you learn about a song like Playin’ In The Band after playing it for a long a period as you have? What new things come out of it?JJ: What kind of historical sense do you have while playing? Are you acutely conscious of those places?JJ: When does that moment begin when you step outside your normal bounds?JJ: Do you differentiate critically between spaces in that zone? Or is it completely unconscious once you’re there?JJ: This obviously speaks a lot towards improvisation. How does it work towards a song? The singing of a specific lyric? Is it a similar kind of mental space?JJ: How do you relate to the content of a lyric while you’re singing it?JJ: You do tunes by a number of different lyricists, Barlow and Hunter and a fair amount of Dylan; do you differentiate between lyric styles while you’re singing, or does it just matter what song you’re singing at that particular moment?
JJ: Do you have a similar historical sense with the lyrics as you do with the music where you’re entering the same kind of space?JJ: How often do you find a lyric relating to your everyday routine?JJ: Really?JJ: Huh. Do you consider yourself an actor, then, from time to time?JJ: Different songs call for different kinds of treatments, in terms of improvisation and delivery. Some songs get short treatments, some get big open-ended things appended to them. How do you determine what gets what?JJ: Still waiting for the 25-minute Mexicali Blues. (Both laugh.) You’ve integrated a number of Garcia/Hunter tunes into your catalogue over the past few years. How did you choose those specific tunes?JJ: Are there different qualities that make you want to do a Garcia/Hunter tune rather than a tune by another artist? Or is a good song just a good song?JJ: How much planning do you do before a show?
JJ: Do you plan out segues?JJ: Does the nature of having a setlist tend to squash creative tendencies?JJ: In that case, what goes into calling a song?JJ: How would you describe your style as a band leader?JJ: What do you find needs dictating? How much structure do you have to put in?JJ: What dictates the one set structure of the show, as opposed to the having the two set thing, which you did with the Dead for as long as you did?JJ: How conscious are you of pacing the show in terms of song choices?
JJ: Towards the last 10 or 15 years, Dead shows definitely had their own language in terms of the way the sets were structured. Do you find the same thing happening to Ratdog?JJ: Or just the second half of the show…JJ: Are you looking for that structure? Do you feel there is a perfect structure for a show?JJ: Your role as guitarist in the Dead evolved very organically over the years, just as a product of you being there, but Ratdog seems to be moreless sculpted around your playing. How has that effected your playing?JJ: How has your guitar playing changed in recent years? Do you perceive it changing?JJ: Continuing the metaphor of architecture, how do you envision this overall building as something different from the Dead?JJ: Do you tap into any degree of that comfort level when you play with the Other Ones?JJ: Are there any plans for the Other Ones, for that project?
JJ: A random question before tying up: how you do you feel about Dead cover bands, Dead tribute bands? Every town seems to have one now.JJ: Where do you see the form going?
