WEBVTT

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Hey, this is Tad Kinchler from Blues Traveler.

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You're listening to my weekly mixtape with Brian

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Colburn. Catch the show. It's amazing. I just

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had an unbelievable time. And Brian is probably

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the best interview I've ever had in my life.

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Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that

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takes the classic mixtape approach to building

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a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.

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When I started podcasting in 2018, one of my

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goals was to talk to the musicians who have made

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the music that is the soundtrack to my life.

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And over the years, I've slowly but surely made

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that goal a reality. And tonight, I get to check

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off a bucket list band that, for anyone who knows

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me personally, knows this group is part of my

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personal Mount Rushmore of music. So without

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further ado, I am honored to welcome Tad Kinchela,

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bassist for Blues Traveler, to my weekly mixtape.

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Tad, thank you so much for joining me tonight,

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man. Absolutely. It's a pleasure. It's good to

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hear your voice again. Obviously, we've crossed

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paths in the past, but... Maybe not in a talking

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environment. Yeah, we did the show back in 2009

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at the Bergen Pack in Englewood, New Jersey.

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It was an absolute blast, one of my highlights

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of my musical career, and now this is one of

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the highlights of my podcasting one. All right,

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well, happy to be part of both. Well, I'd like

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to start by asking the same question I ask all

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of my first -time guests, and that is, what does

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the word mixtape mean to you? Well, I feel like

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I was born in an era where that was actually

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a thing. you know back in the day when technology

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wasn't quite as readily available you would you

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know kind of have to curate your own you know

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based all of us listen to music growing up all

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my friends and based on what you're listening

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to and your favorite songs and things that kind

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of were important to you or things that you might

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want to share with someone else you would have

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to literally go And it usually involved two cassette

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players, one playing and then the other had a

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record feature. And you would actually, in real

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time, mix a tape together of songs that, you

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know, depending on how you wanted to convey the

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tape, what it was for, because there's obviously

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various levels of mixed tapes. You would kind

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of, you know, record individual songs onto a

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tape and then you would actually write in on

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the label on the cassette. If you got fancy,

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you'd have a Sharpie and you'd like do some doodling

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and then give it to someone. And when I envision

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mixtapes, that's kind of where I go with that,

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you know, standard audio cassette tapes. Awesome.

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Well, I'd like to start actually in the middle

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of Blues Traveler's story because you joined

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the band in 1999 after the sad passing of Bobby

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Sheehan. And being that Chan Kinchler, the band's

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lead guitarist, is your brother. Was there any

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trepidation or pause within the rest of the group

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when you joined? That's a good question. You

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know, my way, you know, it was just to give a

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little backstory to that. It was kind of an interesting

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time. I shouldn't say interesting. It was kind

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of an emotional time for everyone because I was

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good friends with Bobby. And obviously the band

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started and formed with Bobby and, you know,

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plowed forward and had their successes with Bob

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with four and all that. And then they tried out

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five bass players and I was one of them. I happened

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to still be playing. I kind of went a circuitous

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route. I went to Brown and played lacrosse and

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got hooked back into music because I had always

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played music. And then I was in a three piece

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that actually went and moved to New York after

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graduating and started playing. And so my chops

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were like, you know, still there because I was

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playing at the time. And so I was one of the

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five guys they asked to try out. And it was weird

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because my tryout was the first gig in New York

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after Bobby's passing. So it was kind of a cathartic

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reunion of people right after Bobby had passed.

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So it was the first time everyone had the chance

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to kind of air things out. So it was, you know,

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it was kind of, and it was a tough gig to play,

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I should say, but went over well. The guys, I

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think they waited two weeks to tell me, which

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was really classy. I think Jan told them. He

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was like, let them sweat it out. And then Dave,

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for sure, the manager, another Princeton High

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School graduate, called me up. Not even Jan.

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It was like they had their manager call me. And

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I got the gig. And I have to say, having known

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the guys for a long time. you know, I was already

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friends with them. So I, I, you know, we're all

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real sarcastic bastards and, and, you know, we,

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we all get along really well and have the same

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sense of humor and, but I never really sensed

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anything, but, you know, acceptance into the,

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the band and really the fans as well, just made

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it that transition. Cause it's a major transition.

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I don't play like Bobby, you know, and, and it's,

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you know, kind of, we moved in a different direction

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because I, I told them straight up, like, if

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you want to get. Bobby, hire a studio guy that

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can cop Bobby, because I don't play like Bobby.

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We're just different players. And with that being

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said, the band decided and kind of gelled together

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and said, let's move on. And the first thing

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we did was write an album. So initially, I jump

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in and I throw these tunes I have, and right

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away, I'm in the fold. And I never sensed any

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kind of resentment. I'm sure there were tough

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times. As far as personally, you know, just moving

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on, playing with a different player and things

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that, you know, unsaid things that bands get

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to have. So it was nothing but, you know, acceptance

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from the guys. And I never felt it. If it was

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there, I never felt it, you know. Well, the album

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that you're talking about, the first album that

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you and keyboardist Ben Wilson was on board for

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was 2001's Bridge. And that album is filled with

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classic tracks like Back in the Day, Just for

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Me, All Hands, Sadly a Fiction, all songs that

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have been in the band's live rotation since the

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album's release. I've always considered the Bridge

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album to be the beginning of the quote -unquote

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2 .0 era of the band because you and Ben... in

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the mix gave this band new avenues to explore

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musically. And I think this album really capitalizes

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on that. Now, you personally wrote two songs

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for the album, the lead single Girl Inside My

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Head and the live staple You Reach Me. Can you

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talk about your first writing contributions for

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the band and how you approached writing music

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with Blues Traveler in mind? Yeah. Well, both

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of those were ideas I had been kicking around,

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one of which was in a different songwriter friend

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of mine. We had just started Girl, and I had

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gotten the lyrics down and kind of the melodies

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and stuff. So it was one of those things where

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I didn't know what my contribution was going

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to be when we went down to write. I didn't know

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any process that Blues Traveler had. I'd seen

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him in a studio, but not a writing process. And

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sure enough, we just get up and the first day

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and make kind of a schedule. And it's like a

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round robin where each day the next person contributes

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something. And we do about three or four cycles

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where each guy contributes, you know, three or

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four songs. And then we go over the songs we

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like best and then do like a rough of those and

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then have producers listen to them, not knowing

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anything about who wrote whatever. And then we

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get like the 12 best out of them. So that was

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I was like super psyched because they're like,

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hey, tomorrow's your day. And I was like, what?

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So I went home and kind of, you know, got the

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acoustic guitar and kind of made a little form

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out of girl inside my head and brought it in.

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And John was like, oh, this is great. Let's do

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this. And then, of course, he takes the lyrics

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and adds about twice as many and then and like

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kind of rewrites the thing. But that's just kind

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of the process. You know, he's the singer. He's

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entitled to his own interpretation of any of

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that. And it's always kind of been that way.

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But it was I was really struck by how democratic

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the process was, how it's like, you know, we're

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all for one, one for all. We each get a turn.

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And and then, you know, reach me was a little

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riff. I had just been I'd I had played, I guess,

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a band in college. I think we made a song out

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of it or something, but it was just a warm up

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thing that I had always done. And I did it for

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John. And he's like, oh, wait, keep doing that.

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You know, and we kind of kept it was kind of

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old bluegrass style where everyone. I just kept

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playing the thing and then everyone kind of picked

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up some parts and then I just shifted and kind

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of changed some chords. We all kind of shifted

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and it was a really organic, cool process. I

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mean, I was just super stoked to be contributing,

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but then to be actually like within the first

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three days being, you know, kind of honing in

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and doing writing and that experience with the

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guys was really, really impressive. Not only

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in that it was, you know, so organic, but how

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kind of shared a process it was. It was really

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a cool experience. Well, also in 2001 was one

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of the most transcendent concert experiences

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of my life. December 16th, just a few months

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post 9 -11, the band took the stage at the Roseland

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Ballroom along with Michael Franti and Spearhead

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and led a four -hour celebration of all things

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New York, including... John's spine -tingling

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rendition of The Star -Spangled Banner, which

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could be heard on your live album, What You and

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I Have Been Through, as well as bringing first

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responders up on stage for a rendition of The

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Path along with Radioactive from Spearhead. That

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show will forever be one of my favorite concert

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moments, and I'd like to know what it was like

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for the band to step up on stage a few months

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post -9 -11 in the heart of New York City and

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try to bring some levity to the hardest moment.

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in that city's history yeah hey that's a good

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good recollection i'm glad that you were part

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of that yeah that was that was a pretty i think

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we didn't really like realize i we had been on

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tour i that we're in new mexico when when 9 11

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happened and then we made our way back and i

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remember we're all i was all sitting we were

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all sitting up front in the bus because we'd

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all lived in new york for years and i was still

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living in brooklyn over in williamsburg And,

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you know, just to see the skyline was just so,

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you know, kind of profoundly humbling to come

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up and just realize what happened firsthand.

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And so we were all, you know, everyone is emotional

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who lived in New York, who had friends. You know,

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it was just such a kind of weird time. But to

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be able to have a gig on the books there, especially

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with Franti, it was such a great tour with them.

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But to get up in Roseland and be surrounded by

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Jersey and Connecticut and New York people was

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really special. You know, it definitely, it was

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something we really enjoyed doing. I think it

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was a couple days later where we looked back

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and I was like, wow, that was kind of like, you

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know, an interesting, kind of a deep thing to

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happen, you know, that we happened to have a

00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:15.259
gig there and, you know, in that time. So it

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was, you know, a great. place to be, especially

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Roseland with such deep roots with the band.

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It was kind of like coming home. Well, being

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I mentioned that song, The Path, that song was

00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:27.379
initially part of a concept album that the band

00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:30.320
recorded called Decisions of the Sky, that in

00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:33.580
2000, week by week, the band released as a, I'm

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going to sound really old school here, but as

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a free MP3 on the band's webpage. There were

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talks at one point of there being an official

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CD release of this album with a fifth unreleased

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song, but it never came to fruition. And on the

00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:50.019
band's 25 compilation, three of those songs,

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12 Swords, The Sun in the Storm, and Traveler's

00:11:53.179 --> 00:11:56.039
Suite, made the track listing, but the path was

00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:59.059
omitted. The liner notes acknowledged it, but

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I've always wondered why the path wasn't included.

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And in this age of digital releases, more importantly,

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Will the world ever see Decisions of the Sky

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released as it was originally intended? Oh, you

00:12:12.929 --> 00:12:15.629
know, that's a good question on why that was

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never released. It was kind of above my pay grade.

00:12:19.370 --> 00:12:23.129
You know, it was a concept album. John had been

00:12:23.129 --> 00:12:24.870
kicking around and we actually, you know, we

00:12:24.870 --> 00:12:27.730
went in and recording that was probably one of

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the hardest things I did with the band as far

00:12:30.889 --> 00:12:33.769
as like kicking back to my... old sight reading

00:12:33.769 --> 00:12:36.850
and and you know kind of band times when you

00:12:36.850 --> 00:12:39.850
know or orchestra as far as having like music

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i had you know deep notes because the songs were

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like 12 15 minutes with like a change you know

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it wasn't a standard format it was just like

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a section another section another section another

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section so without writing down and noting it

00:12:54.710 --> 00:12:56.889
because we don't we don't work that way no one

00:12:56.889 --> 00:12:58.950
writes you know sheet music and say hey play

00:12:58.950 --> 00:13:01.730
this you know it's rock bands don't really do

00:13:01.730 --> 00:13:05.669
that so but there were a lot of parts and so

00:13:05.669 --> 00:13:08.610
there was just like squirrely little notes about

00:13:08.610 --> 00:13:11.250
how to you know that i recognize and how oh this

00:13:11.250 --> 00:13:13.750
is coming up or that you know like open e open

00:13:13.750 --> 00:13:17.190
g you know just little like flags that you know

00:13:17.190 --> 00:13:19.389
kind of cued me on where things are going but

00:13:19.389 --> 00:13:21.450
we sat down and cranked that out in like two

00:13:21.450 --> 00:13:25.830
days um wow and it was a lot of music i mean

00:13:25.830 --> 00:13:28.340
we had worked on parts but we we just kind of

00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:30.519
nailed it getting in there like once it starts

00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:33.240
we kind of you know if there weren't really many

00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:37.139
fixes but yeah i digress sorry as far as why

00:13:37.139 --> 00:13:39.940
that didn't get released i don't i do not know

00:13:39.940 --> 00:13:44.200
specifically it might be a john question where

00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:46.940
he didn't want to do it partially it wanted to

00:13:46.940 --> 00:13:49.240
be one thing and if it couldn't be one thing

00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:51.580
he just didn't he didn't want to do it all together

00:13:51.580 --> 00:13:55.539
so i don't have a legitimate answer for you but

00:13:55.870 --> 00:13:59.450
That's about all I can offer. Well, another thing

00:13:59.450 --> 00:14:01.190
that happened that night in New York City was

00:14:01.190 --> 00:14:04.309
the band played a version of Runaround in a minor

00:14:04.309 --> 00:14:07.309
key. And this version was entitled Fucked Run.

00:14:07.429 --> 00:14:10.250
And it was played live for several years and

00:14:10.250 --> 00:14:13.230
then kind of just fell off the live map. And

00:14:13.230 --> 00:14:16.409
I assumed in 2007 when the band released Cover

00:14:16.409 --> 00:14:19.210
Yourself that I was finally going to get a studio

00:14:19.210 --> 00:14:22.570
version of this amazingly dark and melodic take

00:14:22.570 --> 00:14:25.240
on one of the band's biggest hits. But alas,

00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:28.000
the band took the song in a different direction

00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:31.679
from now both versions of Runaround. So my question

00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:34.879
is, is there a studio version of Fucked Run out

00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:37.100
there? And if so, will it ever see the light

00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:40.279
of day? Yeah. Yeah, that's a fun one to play.

00:14:40.379 --> 00:14:43.580
In fact, we tried to revisit it a couple times.

00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:47.639
And we actually have randomly, like one, we will

00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:49.159
come in and John will be like, hey, let's just

00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:51.059
make that transition like Fucked Run and then

00:14:51.059 --> 00:14:53.139
go to, you know, something else in G, you know,

00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:56.539
play Prof or something. And I'm just trying to

00:14:56.539 --> 00:14:58.139
think the last time we probably within the last

00:14:58.139 --> 00:15:00.559
year or two, we've, we've hit it, but we've never

00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.879
recorded it. Wow. Yeah. It's never been recorded

00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:06.440
by us. Maybe next time we get in the studio,

00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:09.700
we should just lay something down. So we have

00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:13.059
it, but it's kind of like run is such an kind

00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:16.500
of iconic pop song, you know, success. So it's

00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:19.659
kind of like juicing, you know, a stone where

00:15:19.659 --> 00:15:22.220
you're like, Hey, maybe they want to hear another

00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:25.090
version that we just totally. changed the melody

00:15:25.090 --> 00:15:27.750
and played in minor keys. You know, I think that's

00:15:27.750 --> 00:15:30.350
the, the idea is like run has gotten a lot of

00:15:30.350 --> 00:15:33.009
success for the band and it's maybe bad juju

00:15:33.009 --> 00:15:36.269
to try to rerecord it for that purpose. You know?

00:15:36.309 --> 00:15:38.570
Yeah. From another musician standpoint though,

00:15:38.610 --> 00:15:41.529
hearing that being re -imagined in a dark light,

00:15:41.669 --> 00:15:44.549
the minor key gives it that dark feel. And when

00:15:44.549 --> 00:15:48.309
John holds the high note for the chorus, it just

00:15:48.309 --> 00:15:50.610
kind of sends it into this different musical

00:15:50.610 --> 00:15:55.350
place. And to me, it really, makes you focus

00:15:55.350 --> 00:15:59.129
on the lyrics more than the pop version, which

00:15:59.129 --> 00:16:01.190
you're kind of up and dancing and enjoying. And

00:16:01.190 --> 00:16:03.470
I think that was the part of that song that was

00:16:03.470 --> 00:16:06.549
so interesting to me. Yeah, no, no, you're, you're

00:16:06.549 --> 00:16:08.669
absolutely right. I mean, in a way it's almost

00:16:08.669 --> 00:16:10.870
too bad that we weren't able to throw different

00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:14.730
lyrics to just the four chord, you know, minor

00:16:14.730 --> 00:16:18.129
dirge because it's kind of cool. And John's melody

00:16:18.129 --> 00:16:21.850
on it is really cool. Yeah. Yeah. It's an interesting,

00:16:21.929 --> 00:16:24.899
you know, I don't know who came up with that.

00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:27.100
I think it was already in place. Maybe by the

00:16:27.100 --> 00:16:29.299
time I joined, they had like been tossing it

00:16:29.299 --> 00:16:31.480
around as like kind of a, Hey, let's start at

00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:36.379
normal and then go weird. Well, in 2003, the

00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:39.039
band released what could very well be my favorite

00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:42.100
blues traveler album, which depending on the

00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:43.840
day it's neck and neck with travelers and thieves,

00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:47.039
the incredible truth be told. And I'd love to

00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:48.700
talk about this album for a couple of minutes,

00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:51.220
if you don't mind. Sure. First song I'd like

00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:54.220
to talk about is Can't See Why, because as a

00:16:54.220 --> 00:16:57.120
bass player myself, I have to give love to my

00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.919
favorite bass line on the album. That bass line

00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:03.700
is absolute fire. Oh, thanks. When you're contributing

00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:06.220
songs to the band, other examples from the album,

00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:08.960
Let Her And Let Go, Partner In Crime, did you

00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:11.460
write those songs with a specific bass line in

00:17:11.460 --> 00:17:13.619
mind, or were you kind of writing the music and

00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:16.440
chords first and then designing the bass line

00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:19.000
after the song was kind of in the band's hands?

00:17:20.190 --> 00:17:23.329
You know, Let Her and Let Go was more chordal,

00:17:23.329 --> 00:17:26.970
but Partner in Crime and I Can't See Why, both

00:17:26.970 --> 00:17:29.990
of those were written like riff style. Like I

00:17:29.990 --> 00:17:32.809
wrote the riff and then showed Chan and I actually

00:17:32.809 --> 00:17:35.509
paired back some of the bass parts to not be

00:17:35.509 --> 00:17:37.529
playing the riff and have Chan carry it. So it

00:17:37.529 --> 00:17:39.730
was all like old school, like, you know, kind

00:17:39.730 --> 00:17:42.529
of Zeppelin, you know, where you got the riff

00:17:42.529 --> 00:17:45.250
and then you built the song around it. Nice.

00:17:45.450 --> 00:17:48.809
Yeah. Well. Letter and Let Go also has one of

00:17:48.809 --> 00:17:51.349
my favorite lyrics of any blues traveler song

00:17:51.349 --> 00:17:54.390
ever. And that line is, you never get the one

00:17:54.390 --> 00:17:56.630
you dreamed of. You get to dream with the one

00:17:56.630 --> 00:17:59.710
you get. According to the liner notes, both you

00:17:59.710 --> 00:18:02.390
and John wrote the lyrics together for this one.

00:18:02.490 --> 00:18:05.650
So I am just curious who came up with that line.

00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:09.579
Oh, that's vintage John Popper. Yeah, that line,

00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:11.839
the first time I heard it, I'll tell you right

00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:13.880
now, my wife and I were driving through Disney

00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:16.839
World. We were not engaged at the time. A few

00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:18.680
weeks later, we would be. And that line came

00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:21.240
on and I literally held my arm up to her and

00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:24.220
said, holy shit, the hair on my arm stood up

00:18:24.220 --> 00:18:26.799
from that lyric. Oh, wow. It's just one that

00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:30.059
always resonated with me. Yeah, John, he's a

00:18:30.059 --> 00:18:33.859
good songwriter. He writes good lyrics, man.

00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:37.180
it'll surprise. Yeah. Sometimes I will play a

00:18:37.180 --> 00:18:38.980
song. We'll even record it. We'll be playing

00:18:38.980 --> 00:18:40.779
it live. Like, you know, the next year or two

00:18:40.779 --> 00:18:43.920
years later. And I'll like choose that night

00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:46.380
to like, listen to the lyrics fully. And I'll

00:18:46.380 --> 00:18:48.380
be like, Oh shit. I didn't know he was saying

00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:51.759
that, you know, cause you get, you know, I like

00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:53.799
my, it's just like my wife and I, when she listens

00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:56.279
to a song, she hears all the lyrics. So she sings

00:18:56.279 --> 00:18:57.880
all these songs. And I'm like, how do you know

00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:00.759
the lyrics? Cause when I'm listening to the songs,

00:19:00.779 --> 00:19:03.519
I'm listening to totally different things. Like,

00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:07.019
you know, the beats, bass parts a lot, like a

00:19:07.019 --> 00:19:09.559
riff, like good, like melodic single line stuff.

00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:12.680
And I'm totally like I could literally hear a

00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:16.019
song and not know what the chorus was from the

00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:18.799
lyrics. And so it's an interesting thing, you

00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.140
know, the way, you know, songs are written like

00:19:21.140 --> 00:19:24.180
that. Well, Thinnest of Air is another track

00:19:24.180 --> 00:19:26.400
on that album that's maintained its spot in the

00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:28.799
band's live sets over the years. And it's probably

00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:30.980
one that my wife and I agree are one of the highlights

00:19:30.980 --> 00:19:34.000
from this incredible album. With so many albums

00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.500
to pull from in your discography and an obvious

00:19:36.500 --> 00:19:40.319
bank of hit songs that really can no longer be

00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:43.039
denied during your live shows. How does the band

00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:46.220
decide on which songs make it past the quote

00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:50.079
unquote album tour cycle into the quote unquote

00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:52.140
this song's here for the long run mentality?

00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:57.859
These are good questions, man. I didn't know

00:19:57.859 --> 00:20:02.230
I'd have to think. It's an interesting process,

00:20:02.430 --> 00:20:04.990
actually. I mean, you're, you're bang on in that

00:20:04.990 --> 00:20:08.230
respect. Like we go through that process where,

00:20:08.250 --> 00:20:11.130
I mean, we're, we're now we've played long enough

00:20:11.130 --> 00:20:13.569
and together and recorded enough. We have good

00:20:13.569 --> 00:20:16.970
sense about it, but some like when you're writing

00:20:16.970 --> 00:20:19.230
the song in the beginning, first couple, two

00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:21.730
or three albums, you didn't know what would stick.

00:20:21.730 --> 00:20:23.529
You know, it's like throwing pasta against the

00:20:23.529 --> 00:20:26.029
wall and just, you know, because sometimes if

00:20:26.029 --> 00:20:28.940
it was too layered. a recording or produced us

00:20:28.940 --> 00:20:31.240
the song was too produced and didn't have independently

00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:34.240
strong parts you'd play it live and be like oh

00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:37.259
wow that sucks you know like or like there were

00:20:37.259 --> 00:20:39.660
real heavy harmonies that at the time we couldn't

00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:41.299
hit you know because john's up in a different

00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:43.400
register and you know ben and i couldn't like

00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:46.559
try to get to them and then there's others that

00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:49.240
aren't really prevalent on the album you know

00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:52.759
they're just kind of but live just kick ass you

00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:58.640
know it'll have a Just, you know, you play it

00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:00.180
live and you're like, oh my God, that was really

00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:04.160
fun. And people seem to like respond to it. So

00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:07.180
we don't have the formula down and, you know,

00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:10.559
kudos to anyone who does, but that is a process

00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:12.059
that we go through. And I don't think at the

00:21:12.059 --> 00:21:14.839
time, Finest of Air was, we were really thinking,

00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:17.740
it happened so fast writing. It's not like we

00:21:17.740 --> 00:21:20.740
sit, write the parts and then like experiment

00:21:20.740 --> 00:21:22.900
with it on the road for a while. We're not really

00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:26.230
that kind of band. We go in right and then. get

00:21:26.230 --> 00:21:28.549
a producer and then record. So we're literally

00:21:28.549 --> 00:21:32.029
still tweaking our part as we're recording. I've

00:21:32.029 --> 00:21:35.470
definitely had it where like Bren or me or Ben,

00:21:35.509 --> 00:21:37.490
I mean, Ben can overdub, but like the rhythm

00:21:37.490 --> 00:21:40.069
section, you know, we'll go in and we'll have

00:21:40.069 --> 00:21:41.750
a first takedown. And I'm like, oh, wait, wait,

00:21:41.789 --> 00:21:43.450
let's do something. And I'll think, I'll listen

00:21:43.450 --> 00:21:45.089
back to the first take and be like, I got to

00:21:45.089 --> 00:21:46.910
change the part. So it's like more locked in.

00:21:47.069 --> 00:21:50.549
So we're literally writing the parts. So Thinest

00:21:50.549 --> 00:21:52.690
of Air, I think we were, you know, kind of, it

00:21:52.690 --> 00:21:55.069
was a quick song and a lot of little intricacies.

00:21:55.609 --> 00:21:57.390
we were still thinking about the song while we're

00:21:57.390 --> 00:21:59.809
doing it. And it didn't really dawn on us that

00:21:59.809 --> 00:22:01.849
that would actually end up being like a good

00:22:01.849 --> 00:22:05.130
live song. And the formula for, you know, what

00:22:05.130 --> 00:22:07.829
stays playable is really like how it performs

00:22:07.829 --> 00:22:10.869
and the reaction from the crowd and also the

00:22:10.869 --> 00:22:14.130
way we feel playing it. And there are several

00:22:14.130 --> 00:22:16.009
songs that we've like, you know, indefinitely

00:22:16.009 --> 00:22:19.369
thrown out as a live option, but most of them.

00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:21.579
The first time you play it, you know whether

00:22:21.579 --> 00:22:23.619
it's going to be an OK live one. And then if

00:22:23.619 --> 00:22:26.119
you play it a whole cycle, a lot of times it's

00:22:26.119 --> 00:22:28.640
new. We'll play it an entire tour. Then it'll

00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:30.640
be in our bones and we'll be able to be like

00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:33.799
reference it whenever we want. And if you can

00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:36.039
like play it two years later and have the same

00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:38.920
response, then that's kind of a keeper. Well,

00:22:38.980 --> 00:22:40.900
one last song I want to talk about from Truth

00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:43.200
Be Told, then I promise we'll move on. The powerful

00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:45.420
ballad Sweet and Broken that was co -written

00:22:45.420 --> 00:22:48.000
by John Popper and Chris Barron of the Spin Doctors.

00:22:48.730 --> 00:22:51.029
A few episodes ago, Aaron Comis of the Spin Doctors

00:22:51.029 --> 00:22:53.069
was a guest on the show, and we talked about

00:22:53.069 --> 00:22:55.849
the early New York City days that included the

00:22:55.849 --> 00:22:58.349
spinning traveler shows and such. But to this

00:22:58.349 --> 00:23:01.529
day, the bands are still extremely close. Can

00:23:01.529 --> 00:23:03.430
you talk about the relationships that the two

00:23:03.430 --> 00:23:05.670
bands have continued to forge since you joined

00:23:05.670 --> 00:23:08.789
in 1999? Yeah. Well, to give some reference,

00:23:09.029 --> 00:23:10.950
Chris went to Princeton High School. So we're

00:23:10.950 --> 00:23:13.849
all high school buddies. And when the band decided

00:23:13.849 --> 00:23:16.380
to make the jump and go to New York. Chris actually

00:23:16.380 --> 00:23:18.539
rolled into New York as well, and he was kind

00:23:18.539 --> 00:23:21.099
of doing singer -songwriter stuff. But, you know,

00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:22.799
we've all known each other from back in high

00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:25.960
school. And, you know, that bond is, you know,

00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:27.680
if you're a high school guy going to New York

00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:29.799
and playing in the same scene, like, you're about

00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:31.519
as close as you can get because you're going

00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:34.380
to hold on to those friendships. And they clearly,

00:23:34.619 --> 00:23:37.140
Spin Doctors, I mean, it was like lightning striking

00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:39.299
twice in the same spot with Spin Doctors and

00:23:39.299 --> 00:23:42.380
Blues Traveler coming from Princeton. Both getting

00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:44.460
hits, you know, in the same, you know, two or

00:23:44.460 --> 00:23:46.640
three year period. I mean, that's that was just

00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:49.640
like no one expected that. And it was very lucky

00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:52.480
and chance had to do with it and talent. But

00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:55.819
Chris has been, you know, we've we've probably

00:23:55.819 --> 00:23:58.420
haven't gone more than like two or three years

00:23:58.420 --> 00:24:02.019
since 2000 without playing a gig with Chris or

00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:04.700
the spin doctors. I mean, I think that we're

00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:08.619
irrevocably tied together via the 90s and also

00:24:08.619 --> 00:24:10.730
the fact that. If the name comes up, we're like,

00:24:10.849 --> 00:24:12.690
yes, let's do a gig with them. Let's, you know,

00:24:12.710 --> 00:24:15.529
let's try to make it happen. And we're still,

00:24:15.630 --> 00:24:17.589
we just, I'm trying to think of the line. We

00:24:17.589 --> 00:24:19.589
just played with him, you know, not all that

00:24:19.589 --> 00:24:22.690
long ago. He came out in the, was it the fall?

00:24:23.029 --> 00:24:26.089
Our last tour, our spring tour. He actually opened

00:24:26.089 --> 00:24:28.410
a bunch of shows doing, playing guitar and singing

00:24:28.410 --> 00:24:30.990
solo. And it was actually really cool because

00:24:30.990 --> 00:24:34.130
he's gotten really good at guitar. And it was

00:24:34.130 --> 00:24:35.769
really fun. I mean, there's something really.

00:24:36.430 --> 00:24:39.250
cool about seeing john and chris on stage like

00:24:39.250 --> 00:24:41.809
it brings back memories of when i saw them you

00:24:41.809 --> 00:24:43.869
know when i was in like you know seventh grade

00:24:43.869 --> 00:24:46.049
or whatever and they were at that you know the

00:24:46.049 --> 00:24:50.279
church across from the high school playing Well,

00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:52.119
while we're talking about co -writing, I want

00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:54.859
to jump ahead to 2015's Blow Up the Moon, which

00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:57.099
is a very unique album in the Blues Traveler

00:24:57.099 --> 00:25:00.079
discography because every song on the album was

00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:03.599
a collaboration, along with artists such as NSYNC's

00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:07.119
J .C. Chassez, The Dirty Heads, Hanson, Plain

00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:08.980
White Teas, and Bowling for Soup, just to name

00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:12.180
a few. The title track, Blow Up the Moon, which

00:25:12.180 --> 00:25:15.259
features both J .C. Chassez and 303, happens

00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:18.359
to be my... kid's personal favorite blues traveler

00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:21.299
song so i'm just pulling that one out as an example

00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:24.279
but as a whole can you talk about how these collaborations

00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:27.059
kind of came to fruition and maybe how those

00:25:27.059 --> 00:25:30.480
sessions differed for you versus other albums

00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:33.259
in the blues traveler catalog yeah that was that

00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:35.539
was an interesting we had a management team that

00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:37.460
was kind of they're out in vegas and they're

00:25:37.460 --> 00:25:41.160
a little bit green and i mean if you look at

00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:43.940
the list of like you know collaborations it's

00:25:43.940 --> 00:25:46.700
like Someone took, you know, a wall full of band

00:25:46.700 --> 00:25:48.740
names, you know, printed all over it and just

00:25:48.740 --> 00:25:52.039
randomly threw darts. You know, there's there's

00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:55.079
no like I mean, it's about as random. You couldn't

00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:57.000
have bet on who we were going to do a collaboration

00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:00.000
with and been right. You know, it was really

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:02.539
interesting. So our management at the time, I

00:26:02.539 --> 00:26:06.240
think those were contacts they had made. So we

00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:08.359
didn't know this at all, but they didn't have

00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:11.240
a huge portfolio of people to call. So they just

00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:14.069
called some people, I think. One of our manager's

00:26:14.069 --> 00:26:17.690
assistant was somehow related to J .C. Chassez.

00:26:18.309 --> 00:26:22.289
And, you know, the 303, I'm not sure. I think

00:26:22.289 --> 00:26:24.490
there was a gig that one of their openers did

00:26:24.490 --> 00:26:26.970
with them. But they just called up a bunch of

00:26:26.970 --> 00:26:31.170
people and we took the yeses, you know. And we

00:26:31.170 --> 00:26:33.410
found this out kind of after the fact, you know,

00:26:33.410 --> 00:26:35.450
because we weren't putting in calls. And we just

00:26:35.450 --> 00:26:37.670
kind of went with their concept, like it's going

00:26:37.670 --> 00:26:40.029
to be random, but we feel like it's going to

00:26:40.029 --> 00:26:41.769
be an interesting, you know, kind of collaboration.

00:26:42.619 --> 00:26:44.980
And that writing process was really cool. We

00:26:44.980 --> 00:26:48.200
traveled to each place and then we'd like rent

00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:51.119
a studio and basically meet the people, sit down,

00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:53.960
like have coffee and lunch maybe, and then start

00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:56.500
like writing back, hey, any ideas? And it was

00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:59.160
literally like whoever played the first thing,

00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:02.619
we'd be like, okay, let's try that. And sometimes

00:27:02.619 --> 00:27:05.480
it was us or John being like, here's an idea.

00:27:05.640 --> 00:27:07.859
And he had some lyrics and they would do lyrics

00:27:07.859 --> 00:27:10.549
first and then we'd fill in the music. And then

00:27:10.549 --> 00:27:12.450
some others were like, here's a couple of chords

00:27:12.450 --> 00:27:14.190
that I was thinking this could be really cool.

00:27:14.349 --> 00:27:17.210
And then we'd get the chord structure down. And

00:27:17.210 --> 00:27:19.230
then John and the other singer would like kind

00:27:19.230 --> 00:27:22.269
of work on lyrics together. Well, while we're

00:27:22.269 --> 00:27:24.309
on the subject of unique albums, I mentioned

00:27:24.309 --> 00:27:26.710
this one earlier. Listeners of My Weekly Mixtape

00:27:26.710 --> 00:27:29.950
will recall episode 36 because John O'Manson

00:27:29.950 --> 00:27:32.309
was the guest on that show. And we talked about

00:27:32.309 --> 00:27:34.650
his collaboration with the band on The Mountains

00:27:34.650 --> 00:27:38.089
Win Again for the 2007 release Cover Yourself,

00:27:38.190 --> 00:27:40.859
an album that. The band took their biggest hits

00:27:40.859 --> 00:27:42.700
and re -recorded them with new arrangements.

00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:46.039
Can you talk about the mindset behind taking

00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:49.299
some of the band's most beloved songs and rearranging

00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:52.700
them, and then how the fans reacted to hearing

00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:58.460
these songs under a new lens? Yeah. We were in

00:27:58.460 --> 00:28:01.160
Austin at the time, and Jim Eno produced that.

00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:04.200
He's the drummer from Spoon and has a studio

00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:06.900
in Austin. I think he still does. But anyway,

00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:09.700
it was really a cool time. Our management, I

00:28:09.700 --> 00:28:11.960
think here's the deal. It was like we had recorded

00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:15.099
something and John was like, I'm not, I don't

00:28:15.099 --> 00:28:18.960
have it in me to do a full writing session and,

00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:21.140
and doing a whole album full of material. Like

00:28:21.140 --> 00:28:23.339
right now I'm just, I'm like, you know, he was

00:28:23.339 --> 00:28:24.720
just, they were taught, we were tired, we were

00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:27.559
torn a lot. So the management came up with these

00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:29.619
like, well, what about if we like just re -envisioned,

00:28:29.619 --> 00:28:32.180
you know, your own stuff? And we were like, John

00:28:32.180 --> 00:28:37.180
was like, sweet. Perfect. No lyrical work. And

00:28:37.180 --> 00:28:40.660
so I think literally that was where that brainchild

00:28:40.660 --> 00:28:43.220
came from. It was like, this is the least amount

00:28:43.220 --> 00:28:46.720
of work I can do, but be creative at the same

00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:49.440
time. So it turned into a really fun project.

00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:51.700
But I think it was like that was kind of the

00:28:51.700 --> 00:28:54.740
kernel of where that idea came from. And then

00:28:54.740 --> 00:28:58.380
we would kind of just sit and throw out ideas

00:28:58.380 --> 00:29:00.720
of what style to play the song in and then just

00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:03.180
kind of reimagine it. I think most of the time

00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:06.380
we stayed in the same key and didn't go major,

00:29:06.599 --> 00:29:09.400
minor, like that run thing. But it was super

00:29:09.400 --> 00:29:13.240
cool. Basically, you're writing a new song, but

00:29:13.240 --> 00:29:17.980
just applying the old lyrics to it. So boiling

00:29:17.980 --> 00:29:20.359
it down, that's about what we did. And it was

00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:24.140
a really fun process. Fortunately and unfortunately,

00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:27.039
those songs really didn't stick live. We did

00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:29.869
them a couple times. It didn't resonate really.

00:29:29.950 --> 00:29:32.609
I think there were some disappointed people when

00:29:32.609 --> 00:29:36.710
we did it. So a lot of those, I don't think we

00:29:36.710 --> 00:29:40.150
play any of those versions anymore live, but

00:29:40.150 --> 00:29:44.490
it's a good point to bring up. Maybe coming up

00:29:44.490 --> 00:29:47.109
this fall, we can maybe implement some of those.

00:29:47.970 --> 00:29:50.170
Now, Blues Traveler has always been one of my

00:29:50.170 --> 00:29:52.130
favorite live bands, and I don't think we can

00:29:52.130 --> 00:29:54.289
discuss this band without a little bit of a focus

00:29:54.289 --> 00:29:57.220
on the live shows. And at one point, When you

00:29:57.220 --> 00:29:59.500
went to see blues traveler in the early two thousands,

00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:02.440
there was never a guarantee that you'd hear run

00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:05.700
around hook or, but anyway, in a set list, but

00:30:05.700 --> 00:30:07.859
you could always expect something deeper like

00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:10.039
business as usual from straight on till morning,

00:30:10.140 --> 00:30:13.599
conquer me from save our soul or optimistic thought

00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:15.740
mashed up with a sprinkling of Kenny Rogers,

00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:18.640
the gambler. Yeah. And I remember a run in November

00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:21.720
of 2002 where I caught the band several nights

00:30:21.720 --> 00:30:24.180
in a row at Irving Plaza, New York city, where

00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:27.369
the band did a no repeat run. And to me, that

00:30:27.369 --> 00:30:30.009
really lends itself to the jam band community

00:30:30.009 --> 00:30:32.829
mindset, something I've always felt that Blues

00:30:32.829 --> 00:30:35.930
Traveler embraced in live shows. So how does

00:30:35.930 --> 00:30:39.069
the decision come within the band to craft set

00:30:39.069 --> 00:30:43.069
lists? And has that jam band mindset evolved

00:30:43.069 --> 00:30:45.470
over the years in terms of what songs you guys

00:30:45.470 --> 00:30:49.170
plan to play at a given show? Yeah, no, for sure.

00:30:49.250 --> 00:30:50.910
I mean, the times have changed just like, you

00:30:50.910 --> 00:30:53.579
know, the way music, you know. bands don't make

00:30:53.579 --> 00:30:55.539
money selling albums anymore they make money

00:30:55.539 --> 00:30:58.200
touring you know or you know you could be in

00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:01.079
the middle of the outback in australia and have

00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:03.980
five million views of a song you wrote in your

00:31:03.980 --> 00:31:06.779
house like things have changed in the industry

00:31:06.779 --> 00:31:09.180
you know let's say that so back in the day like

00:31:09.180 --> 00:31:11.160
when i first joined we were doing those two sets

00:31:11.160 --> 00:31:14.680
a night and there was a real hunger for that

00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:17.180
and we were i think we were more positioned in

00:31:17.180 --> 00:31:19.519
the jam band scene having come out of it and

00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:22.240
kind of helped start it let's say with the horde

00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:25.480
and all that and and like our friends and peers

00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:28.200
were like you know dave matthews and fish and

00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:31.819
mo and you know all these bands widespread so

00:31:31.819 --> 00:31:34.259
we were i think more positioned with that then

00:31:34.259 --> 00:31:37.980
and the two sets the people coming like i remember

00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:41.519
where we were up in like upstate new york and

00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:44.720
i remember like we started at 10 started but

00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:47.000
we played like an hour and a half first set which

00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:50.140
was the shorter one like a 30 minute break Second

00:31:50.140 --> 00:31:52.819
set started at like 1215 and then played. It

00:31:52.819 --> 00:31:56.599
was like 230 when we ended and like people were

00:31:56.599 --> 00:32:00.119
still there. It didn't end. Like nowadays, if

00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:03.839
we got out and played a two, four hours, it would

00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:06.559
be like a quarter of the people still there.

00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:10.619
And especially if it's past like 1030 at night,

00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:13.019
because like most of the, you know, there's a

00:32:13.019 --> 00:32:16.140
lot of parents and responsible people that come

00:32:16.140 --> 00:32:18.680
see us. And they kind of, I have to say it's

00:32:18.680 --> 00:32:22.720
shifted. We go in, clearly there are songs we

00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:25.180
feel obligation to play because there are people

00:32:25.180 --> 00:32:28.119
with that expectation. And we're very fortunate

00:32:28.119 --> 00:32:31.119
to be still playing music. So obviously we're

00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:34.660
going to cater to that kind of mindset. But as

00:32:34.660 --> 00:32:37.119
of now, it's really shortened up. People want

00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:40.660
to see one set and be out of there in time to

00:32:40.660 --> 00:32:43.700
get a night's sleep. It's not quite the party

00:32:43.700 --> 00:32:46.500
that it used to be. And we still have the jam

00:32:46.500 --> 00:32:49.230
band mentality in that. Each of us takes a turn

00:32:49.230 --> 00:32:52.509
writing a set on cycle since basically I joined

00:32:52.509 --> 00:32:54.970
the band. It's been the same five, you know,

00:32:54.970 --> 00:32:57.589
it's five of us in rotation. Actually, I can

00:32:57.589 --> 00:33:00.569
swear, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. So it's big cock,

00:33:00.630 --> 00:33:07.690
tiny blowjob. And that's been it. It's hysterical

00:33:07.690 --> 00:33:09.569
because we say it's almost like a business term

00:33:09.569 --> 00:33:12.430
now. And we forget it's just such like ludicrous.

00:33:12.450 --> 00:33:14.890
Like, what are you talking about? But that's

00:33:14.890 --> 00:33:16.769
the order in which we've been going for the last

00:33:16.769 --> 00:33:19.130
since I joined. So for 20 years and probably

00:33:19.130 --> 00:33:21.730
before that, they were doing the same. And each

00:33:21.730 --> 00:33:24.789
night, like there are requisite songs that we're

00:33:24.789 --> 00:33:27.730
going to put in there if John's voice is up for

00:33:27.730 --> 00:33:30.210
it. I mean, you know, the unfortunate thing is

00:33:30.210 --> 00:33:34.009
John had such great he has great pipes, but his

00:33:34.009 --> 00:33:36.890
early songs, he really went for it up high. So

00:33:36.890 --> 00:33:39.069
a lot of those songs, he's like, oh, dude, I

00:33:39.069 --> 00:33:42.359
cannot like there's no way I can hit that. So

00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:44.940
we kind of have to retire some songs. Sometimes

00:33:44.940 --> 00:33:48.799
we try switching keys, but we've retired songs

00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:52.400
that are, you know, not, you know, he's not able

00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:55.380
to hit with as much confidence as he wants. But

00:33:55.380 --> 00:33:57.720
the jam band stuff, we still have a different

00:33:57.720 --> 00:34:00.779
set with the kind of requisite songs, you know,

00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:03.099
the framework. And then there's probably, I'd

00:34:03.099 --> 00:34:05.759
say like three to four audibles at this point

00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:07.420
where we're at. We're playing like 90 minutes

00:34:07.420 --> 00:34:12.230
or so. 75 to 90. We were just out Big Ed Todd.

00:34:12.409 --> 00:34:14.809
It was about 75 to 90. So there's three or four

00:34:14.809 --> 00:34:16.769
songs that are audibles each night that will

00:34:16.769 --> 00:34:20.809
shift up. And you tend to get comfortable sometimes

00:34:20.809 --> 00:34:22.789
because it's a different venue. You're like,

00:34:22.869 --> 00:34:24.369
hey, that worked last night. Let's do that again.

00:34:24.570 --> 00:34:29.150
But in general, we try to keep cycling in old

00:34:29.150 --> 00:34:31.869
songs and some surprises and maybe some weird

00:34:31.869 --> 00:34:36.039
covers and do what we can. We're definitely not

00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:38.500
in the jam band scene like where Phish is now.

00:34:38.619 --> 00:34:42.420
They've kind of almost expanded upon their jamming

00:34:42.420 --> 00:34:45.320
where we've kind of tightened up our show. And

00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:48.519
it's not, you know, it's more of playing to the

00:34:48.519 --> 00:34:52.320
audience. Our audience isn't the two set, leave

00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:54.599
at two in the morning, you know, fan base anymore.

00:34:55.500 --> 00:34:57.739
Well, talking about the band's biggest hits that

00:34:57.739 --> 00:34:59.880
you say are, you know, staples of the show, Run

00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:02.119
Around Hook, The Mountains Win Again, But Anyway,

00:35:02.460 --> 00:35:05.400
Carolina Blues. Is there a song that the band

00:35:05.400 --> 00:35:08.619
kind of universally considers to be the definitive

00:35:08.619 --> 00:35:10.960
blues traveler hit? Because you can ask different

00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:13.559
people and some people will say run around. Some

00:35:13.559 --> 00:35:15.780
people will say hook. Some people will say the

00:35:15.780 --> 00:35:18.119
mountains win again. So I'm curious what that

00:35:18.119 --> 00:35:22.280
thought is in the band. I would personally, I

00:35:22.280 --> 00:35:24.559
would say, but anyway, it's the most definitive

00:35:24.559 --> 00:35:28.119
iconic blues traveler song. It was written a

00:35:28.119 --> 00:35:31.900
long time ago in high school. It's kind of intelligent

00:35:31.900 --> 00:35:36.570
lyrics. but still light and it's a two -chord

00:35:36.570 --> 00:35:39.489
vamp and that's like what like the band used

00:35:39.489 --> 00:35:42.030
to play like you know three hour sets at nightingales

00:35:42.030 --> 00:35:45.610
and still with only you know not a whole lot

00:35:45.610 --> 00:35:48.489
of songs to play and that like they would pick

00:35:48.489 --> 00:35:50.610
songs where it was like two chord vamps and somehow

00:35:50.610 --> 00:35:53.630
kept it interesting you know and that's like

00:35:53.630 --> 00:35:56.650
a definitive characteristic of kind of the band

00:35:56.650 --> 00:35:59.190
being able to play just very simple songs but

00:35:59.190 --> 00:36:01.800
kind of make it interesting and Each player kind

00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:04.619
of plays their instrument in that song, and it's

00:36:04.619 --> 00:36:07.400
kind of an integral part. However, it's not like

00:36:07.400 --> 00:36:09.539
a mind -blowing crazy. I mean, other than John,

00:36:09.719 --> 00:36:12.559
maybe, just freaking out. But I think But Anyway,

00:36:12.699 --> 00:36:16.340
to me, is like the kind of integral, the iconic

00:36:16.340 --> 00:36:19.460
Blues Traveler song. Now, in a Blues Traveler

00:36:19.460 --> 00:36:23.480
live show, the sets... do change in some ways

00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:26.039
every night, as do the segues between the songs,

00:36:26.059 --> 00:36:28.280
because the band kind of mashes songs together.

00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:31.300
And as a musician, I've always wondered how the

00:36:31.300 --> 00:36:35.019
musical conversation unfolds on stage between

00:36:35.019 --> 00:36:38.380
the five of you to decide when the next change

00:36:38.380 --> 00:36:42.139
is about to take place. Well, it's a musical

00:36:42.139 --> 00:36:44.860
conversation. You know, we write our sets and

00:36:44.860 --> 00:36:47.960
then we have a bunch of figures and symbols that

00:36:47.960 --> 00:36:50.869
mean like. There's like a wave where we just

00:36:50.869 --> 00:36:52.690
hold the note. There's a dot, dot, dot where

00:36:52.690 --> 00:36:55.590
it's like a count in. And then there's the into,

00:36:55.670 --> 00:36:58.329
which is like a greater than or, you know, greater

00:36:58.329 --> 00:37:01.230
or less than symbol or whatever. Yes. And those

00:37:01.230 --> 00:37:04.510
are completely open ended. So we don't really

00:37:04.510 --> 00:37:07.809
discuss it. It's just like, oh, OK, we're jamming

00:37:07.809 --> 00:37:10.369
in there. If there's a key change, we might say

00:37:10.369 --> 00:37:13.750
like, oh, on Bren's cue. But that's about other

00:37:13.750 --> 00:37:16.320
than that, it's just kind of. a conversation

00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:18.579
with the music and we've just gotten kind of

00:37:18.579 --> 00:37:21.280
good at, at being able to read each other. And

00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:23.539
it's, you know, it changes. Some nights it's

00:37:23.539 --> 00:37:26.039
horrendous, you know, we'll have two of us, we'll

00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:28.820
be up in D and, you know, so I'll still be like,

00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:31.059
Oh, we've gone, you know, like you'll look around

00:37:31.059 --> 00:37:33.519
and get some weird looks. And, but then other

00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:36.039
nights it's just like, we'll decide to break

00:37:36.039 --> 00:37:38.360
it down and, and like, I'll stop playing or Ben

00:37:38.360 --> 00:37:40.500
will stop playing. And then Chan and I will start

00:37:40.500 --> 00:37:43.519
coming in and we'll rework a riff from the middle

00:37:43.519 --> 00:37:46.170
of the song to the star. So it's a pretty cool

00:37:46.170 --> 00:37:49.409
process. And it's one of the things I look forward

00:37:49.409 --> 00:37:52.130
to the most kind of in each night is like where

00:37:52.130 --> 00:37:54.449
we're going to end up when we go down that path.

00:37:55.349 --> 00:37:57.530
Now, over the years, the band has incorporated

00:37:57.530 --> 00:37:59.929
a ton of amazing covers into the set that almost

00:37:59.929 --> 00:38:01.909
feel that there is much of the band's legacy

00:38:01.909 --> 00:38:04.730
as the hits themselves. A few that come to mind

00:38:04.730 --> 00:38:06.989
is the band's rendition of Charlie Daniels, The

00:38:06.989 --> 00:38:09.309
Devil Went Down to Georgia, and in more recent

00:38:09.309 --> 00:38:12.269
years, Sublime's What I Got and Radiohead's Creep.

00:38:12.760 --> 00:38:15.139
How do you guys decide what songs are quote unquote

00:38:15.139 --> 00:38:20.139
live show worthy? Usually I'd say most of all,

00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:21.940
it's gotta be John's being comfortable singing

00:38:21.940 --> 00:38:23.960
it and pulling it off. Like that's kind of the

00:38:23.960 --> 00:38:27.679
main thing we try to stay, you know, that's it's

00:38:27.679 --> 00:38:29.739
tough for any band, you know, you want to play

00:38:29.739 --> 00:38:33.880
approachable songs that, you know, are inclusive

00:38:33.880 --> 00:38:37.179
to the audience, but aren't like the give me's.

00:38:37.719 --> 00:38:40.889
So. a cool song like something that isn't like

00:38:40.889 --> 00:38:43.250
the single from the album maybe like the second

00:38:43.250 --> 00:38:46.929
single or something but it's important that in

00:38:46.929 --> 00:38:49.070
like some like supply it's you're reaching out

00:38:49.070 --> 00:38:51.090
and saying hey you know this person might know

00:38:51.090 --> 00:38:54.489
that song this is us doing it in our way and

00:38:54.489 --> 00:38:58.170
i think that bridge is really helpful and it's

00:38:58.170 --> 00:39:01.050
a useful tool in a lot of scenarios that like

00:39:01.050 --> 00:39:03.130
festivals or you know when you're not playing

00:39:03.130 --> 00:39:05.429
your own show you don't assume those people are

00:39:05.429 --> 00:39:08.260
fans of you so You want to kind of reach out

00:39:08.260 --> 00:39:11.159
and say, hey, you know this song, like check

00:39:11.159 --> 00:39:14.639
out the way we do it, you know? Nice. Well, one

00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:16.840
of the live staples of Blues Traveler is the

00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:19.239
annual 4th of July show at Red Rocks, which has

00:39:19.239 --> 00:39:22.599
happened every year since 1994, with the exception

00:39:22.599 --> 00:39:26.480
of 1999 due to John's health and 2020 due to

00:39:26.480 --> 00:39:29.800
COVID. The band takes up shop and offers really

00:39:29.800 --> 00:39:32.739
unique. one -of -a -kind set lists, full album

00:39:32.739 --> 00:39:35.139
playthroughs, and other momentous live moments.

00:39:35.360 --> 00:39:37.380
Can you talk about what this tradition means

00:39:37.380 --> 00:39:40.500
to the band? Yeah, Red Rocks is like the cornerstone

00:39:40.500 --> 00:39:42.960
of our year. You know, it's really a keystone.

00:39:43.300 --> 00:39:45.820
It's probably our most important gig and our

00:39:45.820 --> 00:39:47.980
favorite gig to play. It's an amazing place.

00:39:48.480 --> 00:39:51.980
It's always a great crowd. We have the longest

00:39:51.980 --> 00:39:55.719
running tenure of any single event night at Red

00:39:55.719 --> 00:39:57.480
Rocks. I mean, it's something like 30 years,

00:39:57.599 --> 00:39:58.980
you know, with the exception of that one year

00:39:58.980 --> 00:40:01.880
where John couldn't. And it's a real, you know,

00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:04.760
big deal. We take that really seriously and try

00:40:04.760 --> 00:40:06.980
to vary it as much as we can. We've done a lot

00:40:06.980 --> 00:40:10.139
of different things. We've done some, if it's

00:40:10.139 --> 00:40:11.860
the anniversary of an album, we've done like

00:40:11.860 --> 00:40:14.480
doing the album. But I think we're over that

00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:17.460
because it's like that ends up being like you

00:40:17.460 --> 00:40:20.739
play maybe three or four of the songs on any

00:40:20.739 --> 00:40:22.980
given album we play regularly, but the others

00:40:22.980 --> 00:40:26.420
we don't. So we play it front to back live. but

00:40:26.420 --> 00:40:29.079
having never rehearsed the other songs. So you

00:40:29.079 --> 00:40:30.760
end up with a couple songs that are a little

00:40:30.760 --> 00:40:32.900
bit flat in there that are just kind of like,

00:40:32.980 --> 00:40:37.739
oh, crap. So I think now we're trying to just

00:40:37.739 --> 00:40:40.400
make it as cool an experience as we can, unless

00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:42.960
there's a big anniversary that John really wants

00:40:42.960 --> 00:40:46.280
to try to celebrate. I think it's kind of our

00:40:46.280 --> 00:40:49.599
most important show, and there's a legacy there

00:40:49.599 --> 00:40:53.099
of kind of that was one of the big first shows

00:40:53.099 --> 00:40:56.349
the band ever did. As far as like big places

00:40:56.349 --> 00:40:59.510
that meant a lot to him. Well, selfishly, I'm

00:40:59.510 --> 00:41:01.250
going to bring up my favorite blues traveler

00:41:01.250 --> 00:41:04.289
gig of all time, because that was June 2nd, 2009,

00:41:04.449 --> 00:41:06.409
when I had the honor and privilege of opening

00:41:06.409 --> 00:41:08.329
for you guys at the Bergen Pack in Englewood.

00:41:08.469 --> 00:41:10.909
And it was one of the most memorable musical

00:41:10.909 --> 00:41:13.510
experiences for me because I got to share the

00:41:13.510 --> 00:41:17.030
stage with a band that I admire. Now, my question

00:41:17.030 --> 00:41:19.889
to you is, is there a band that you have ever

00:41:19.889 --> 00:41:22.940
shared the bill with personally? where you left

00:41:22.940 --> 00:41:24.980
the stage with that feeling of, man, I can't

00:41:24.980 --> 00:41:27.460
believe we got to share the stage with blank.

00:41:28.119 --> 00:41:31.519
Yeah. You know, for me, oddly enough, it was,

00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:34.000
you know, I mean, there were several times, you

00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:36.539
know, that we had played or opened that I was

00:41:36.539 --> 00:41:40.539
just like, this is, this is awesome. But on like

00:41:40.539 --> 00:41:43.199
some festivals, like we, we, we, Blues Rabbit

00:41:43.199 --> 00:41:45.400
doesn't really go, I think Train and the maybe

00:41:45.400 --> 00:41:47.420
Bare Naked Ladies were the only time we've ever

00:41:47.420 --> 00:41:50.159
gone out as like a precursor, you know, an opener.

00:41:50.670 --> 00:41:53.210
And so with Blues Traveler, it didn't happen

00:41:53.210 --> 00:41:55.849
that much. I mean, we'd share a stage at a festival.

00:41:55.949 --> 00:42:01.949
But oddly for me, like the most meaningful was,

00:42:02.050 --> 00:42:05.750
well, there were two. Personally, I played with

00:42:05.750 --> 00:42:08.010
John Popper Project and we did this thing where

00:42:08.010 --> 00:42:10.989
Taj Mahal was on stage at Warren's Christmas

00:42:10.989 --> 00:42:15.150
Jam. And I was just, I love Taj Mahal. And my

00:42:15.150 --> 00:42:17.849
dad had passed away just before. So it was like,

00:42:17.909 --> 00:42:20.780
I was in an emotional state. just meeting Taj

00:42:20.780 --> 00:42:23.739
and having, I was just, that personally was like,

00:42:23.800 --> 00:42:26.579
whoa. But the other one was Ziggy Marley. When

00:42:26.579 --> 00:42:29.579
he sat in with us and we played with Ziggy on

00:42:29.579 --> 00:42:33.219
tour, there was something just so amazing about

00:42:33.219 --> 00:42:35.900
him singing the Bob Marley song, No Woman Will

00:42:35.900 --> 00:42:39.219
Cry, that was just, it blew me away. And it just

00:42:39.219 --> 00:42:41.400
gave me shivers while we were rehearsing it.

00:42:41.460 --> 00:42:43.739
And then on stage, I was just like, oh my God,

00:42:43.820 --> 00:42:46.360
this is just. That's something about that, you

00:42:46.360 --> 00:42:48.739
know, the timbre of his voice and the song and

00:42:48.739 --> 00:42:51.159
the place, it all came together. And that, that

00:42:51.159 --> 00:42:53.519
really was like a, you know, an honor to be a

00:42:53.519 --> 00:42:56.139
part of that, even though it wasn't an opening

00:42:56.139 --> 00:42:58.559
gig necessarily, but you know, it was one of

00:42:58.559 --> 00:43:00.920
those things where I was just like, duh. And

00:43:00.920 --> 00:43:04.579
then on a personal note, when like Oteel sat

00:43:04.579 --> 00:43:07.360
in and jams with us, you know, and he and I are

00:43:07.360 --> 00:43:09.920
trading licks or, and Victor Wooten, those were

00:43:09.920 --> 00:43:13.519
like, you know, I'm not worthy kind of moments.

00:43:14.119 --> 00:43:17.400
I get it. Now, in 2021, the band released an

00:43:17.400 --> 00:43:20.800
album entitled Travelers Blues. The title, awesome,

00:43:20.920 --> 00:43:23.519
by the way. A collection of blues cover songs,

00:43:23.739 --> 00:43:27.079
such as Sun Seal's Funky Bitch, which jam band

00:43:27.079 --> 00:43:29.639
fans also know as a popular song in the Phish

00:43:29.639 --> 00:43:32.480
universe, as well as a blues rock rendition of

00:43:32.480 --> 00:43:35.480
Gnarls Barkley's massive hit, Crazy, featuring

00:43:35.480 --> 00:43:38.760
Rita Wilson and John Schofield. And that album

00:43:38.760 --> 00:43:41.219
also featured guests like Chris Stone, Kingfish

00:43:41.219 --> 00:43:44.199
Ingram, Warren Haynes, Keb Moe. Can you talk

00:43:44.199 --> 00:43:46.539
about that full circle moment for the band doing

00:43:46.539 --> 00:43:50.840
an actual straight up blues album? Yeah, that

00:43:50.840 --> 00:43:54.579
was pretty surreal to be. We were joking about

00:43:54.579 --> 00:43:57.059
the whole time going in like we're actually playing

00:43:57.059 --> 00:43:59.500
blues. So, you know, we all kind of, you know,

00:43:59.500 --> 00:44:01.219
listen to a bunch of blues songs and obviously

00:44:01.219 --> 00:44:05.320
the ones that we did. But we tried to mean it.

00:44:05.360 --> 00:44:08.980
What was hard is not to go like super bluesy

00:44:08.980 --> 00:44:12.190
with it and try to maintain just playing. kind

00:44:12.190 --> 00:44:15.730
of our roles in our rendition of it obviously

00:44:15.730 --> 00:44:18.429
we're not we don't profess to be you know blues

00:44:18.429 --> 00:44:21.070
guys i mean obviously john i could easily see

00:44:21.070 --> 00:44:23.289
as but we're not you know that's not our forte

00:44:23.289 --> 00:44:27.469
and uh it was you know a little humbling to to

00:44:27.469 --> 00:44:29.730
get in and when you get into the minutia of some

00:44:29.730 --> 00:44:31.329
of the blue stuff it's like what they're not

00:44:31.329 --> 00:44:34.389
playing is what's cool about it and we're more

00:44:34.389 --> 00:44:37.949
of like throw everyone's playing and it's a cacophony

00:44:37.949 --> 00:44:40.030
of you know a lot of people jamming in the mid

00:44:40.030 --> 00:44:43.179
-range And it was really interesting, and that's

00:44:43.179 --> 00:44:45.719
why I said it humbling, to kind of peel back

00:44:45.719 --> 00:44:48.420
and be like, wow, it's when they're not playing,

00:44:48.500 --> 00:44:51.739
it's the space that makes blues so cool. And

00:44:51.739 --> 00:44:56.380
it's no choices as opposed to not a flurry of

00:44:56.380 --> 00:44:58.780
notes. And in going through the recording, it

00:44:58.780 --> 00:45:01.699
was really kind of fun to go through that process

00:45:01.699 --> 00:45:05.659
and learn about the blues in that sense. Well,

00:45:05.659 --> 00:45:08.340
now the band has just released Traveler's Soul,

00:45:08.519 --> 00:45:11.679
the sequel. in part to travelers blues, which

00:45:11.679 --> 00:45:14.360
features the band's take on soul classics, such

00:45:14.360 --> 00:45:16.960
as the lead single fool for you, which was originally

00:45:16.960 --> 00:45:19.480
written by Curtis Mayfield and performed by the

00:45:19.480 --> 00:45:21.659
impressions. And you guys took some liberties

00:45:21.659 --> 00:45:24.400
with the original recording, making it a unique

00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:27.639
blues traveler song, as well as a rounded re

00:45:27.639 --> 00:45:30.840
-imagining of that. classic track. Now, even

00:45:30.840 --> 00:45:33.900
though Soul has always been a part of Blues Traveler's

00:45:33.900 --> 00:45:36.760
mindset, because a song like Money Back Guarantee

00:45:36.760 --> 00:45:39.440
from Bastardos immediately comes to my mind,

00:45:39.599 --> 00:45:42.260
this is the first time it's the focus of an entire

00:45:42.260 --> 00:45:45.440
Blues Traveler album. So can you talk about the

00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:48.440
mindset behind that around what songs you guys

00:45:48.440 --> 00:45:52.139
chose? Yeah, it was kind of a continuation. The

00:45:52.139 --> 00:45:55.719
idea kind of from the get -go with the record

00:45:55.719 --> 00:45:58.449
company who kind of presented it to us as if

00:45:58.449 --> 00:46:00.570
we do like three different genres over three

00:46:00.570 --> 00:46:04.210
albums and the blues one we just we just picked

00:46:04.210 --> 00:46:06.190
blues randomly and then kind of went through

00:46:06.190 --> 00:46:09.010
trying to curate which songs we want to do and

00:46:09.010 --> 00:46:10.869
again you know it comes down to there's some

00:46:10.869 --> 00:46:13.829
vocal kind of that's the the centerpiece is like

00:46:13.829 --> 00:46:16.829
will john be able to and get into singing this

00:46:16.829 --> 00:46:19.809
and so that that did pretty well in in our i

00:46:19.809 --> 00:46:22.449
kind of came out well for us you know we felt

00:46:22.449 --> 00:46:25.730
that it was cool And so we then picked soul as

00:46:25.730 --> 00:46:29.530
a kind of the next genre. And it was kind of

00:46:29.530 --> 00:46:31.550
the same process. Everyone kind of picked through

00:46:31.550 --> 00:46:33.409
some of their favorites and threw it into a pool.

00:46:33.469 --> 00:46:35.989
We had, you know, kind of a thread and with the

00:46:35.989 --> 00:46:38.809
producer and the record company and the band

00:46:38.809 --> 00:46:41.670
and just kind of built a list and then kind of

00:46:41.670 --> 00:46:43.889
took away things that wouldn't work necessarily.

00:46:44.530 --> 00:46:46.969
And then kind of looked into the keys and see,

00:46:47.010 --> 00:46:48.510
you know, kind of how they all fit together.

00:46:48.960 --> 00:46:51.440
And just I mean, it's as simple as that. It's,

00:46:51.440 --> 00:46:53.219
you know, we kind of went with like the ones

00:46:53.219 --> 00:46:56.139
we want to do. Well, the band offers their take

00:46:56.139 --> 00:46:58.500
on Delight's classic Groove is in the Heart,

00:46:58.599 --> 00:47:00.820
which features Liv Warfield from Prince's New

00:47:00.820 --> 00:47:03.760
Power Generation. Now, the original is a funk

00:47:03.760 --> 00:47:07.320
bass masterclass from the legendary Bootsy Collins.

00:47:07.760 --> 00:47:10.400
And as a bass player to another one, not only

00:47:10.400 --> 00:47:12.679
did you step. to the plate on this one, dude,

00:47:12.739 --> 00:47:15.260
you hit a frigging home run because it feels

00:47:15.260 --> 00:47:17.679
like you're tipping the hat to Bootsy, but you're

00:47:17.679 --> 00:47:21.239
also adding your unique style of playing to this

00:47:21.239 --> 00:47:23.960
song. I'd love to know what your mindset was

00:47:23.960 --> 00:47:27.920
walking into approaching an iconic baseline without

00:47:27.920 --> 00:47:31.039
changing it so much that you take away from the

00:47:31.039 --> 00:47:33.719
heart of the song. Yeah, that was an interesting

00:47:33.719 --> 00:47:37.690
one. That was John. John contributed that. He

00:47:37.690 --> 00:47:39.469
just liked the song and we were like, well, yeah,

00:47:39.570 --> 00:47:41.250
it's a badass song, but how are we going to do

00:47:41.250 --> 00:47:44.090
it? You know? And me and Shan just sat down and

00:47:44.090 --> 00:47:46.030
said, Hey, this is how we'll play the riff. Cause

00:47:46.030 --> 00:47:47.409
it can be played kind of a couple of different

00:47:47.409 --> 00:47:50.510
ways. And I didn't know if the producer was just

00:47:50.510 --> 00:47:52.829
going to loop it or we'd actually play it. And

00:47:52.829 --> 00:47:54.510
it ended up me and Shan played the riff just

00:47:54.510 --> 00:47:57.050
straight through. Like, so that's all just live

00:47:57.050 --> 00:47:59.969
playing the riff over and over and over. And

00:47:59.969 --> 00:48:02.659
you know, After one take, you basically have

00:48:02.659 --> 00:48:05.400
it. And, you know, it's, yeah, Bootsy's, you

00:48:05.400 --> 00:48:08.079
know, it's phenomenal. And it kind of came together

00:48:08.079 --> 00:48:10.380
pretty good and kind of, we shifted slightly

00:48:10.380 --> 00:48:13.760
because there's some soul feels you just can't

00:48:13.760 --> 00:48:15.320
get, you know, you just don't have it in you.

00:48:15.500 --> 00:48:17.980
And I think that it was just slightly shifted,

00:48:18.039 --> 00:48:20.880
but it was super fun to lay down and then afterward

00:48:20.880 --> 00:48:23.099
be like, oh, nice. It started to build, you know,

00:48:23.119 --> 00:48:26.260
that's one of the songs, you know, like DJs and,

00:48:26.280 --> 00:48:29.360
and, and loop based. creators you have to have

00:48:29.360 --> 00:48:31.699
a vision and know that where you start it's going

00:48:31.699 --> 00:48:35.699
to get more dynamic as you go along well while

00:48:35.699 --> 00:48:38.739
we're talking about quote -unquote groove let's

00:48:38.739 --> 00:48:40.840
pivot over to the band's take of king floyd's

00:48:40.840 --> 00:48:44.699
1970s top 10 hit groove me this one stuck out

00:48:44.699 --> 00:48:46.860
to me because of the pocket that you guys slid

00:48:46.860 --> 00:48:49.780
into along with how balanced the horn section

00:48:49.780 --> 00:48:52.920
was underneath john's vocals then you add in

00:48:52.920 --> 00:48:57.320
some very tasty from Chan and John. This to me

00:48:57.320 --> 00:49:00.179
was a standout track on the album. Now, as a

00:49:00.179 --> 00:49:02.519
live fan, I'm kind of curious. That horn section

00:49:02.519 --> 00:49:05.539
brought something to the song that made me think,

00:49:05.639 --> 00:49:08.340
hmm, I think about blues traveler tracks like

00:49:08.340 --> 00:49:11.139
Go Outside and Drive. I mentioned Money Back

00:49:11.139 --> 00:49:14.099
Guarantee. I think about The Wolf is Bumpin'

00:49:14.099 --> 00:49:17.440
from 2018's Hurry Up and Hang Around. I could

00:49:17.440 --> 00:49:20.420
hear a horn section in a blues traveler live

00:49:20.420 --> 00:49:21.980
show. Is there any chance that's ever going to

00:49:21.980 --> 00:49:26.280
happen? You know, we always enjoy the horn sit

00:49:26.280 --> 00:49:28.920
-ins. Like on the road, we were out with Vanessa

00:49:28.920 --> 00:49:32.360
Collier in the fall, I believe. Or no, I think

00:49:32.360 --> 00:49:35.079
it was the spring. Yeah, whenever we play with

00:49:35.079 --> 00:49:39.119
someone with a horn, it always just is a great

00:49:39.119 --> 00:49:41.840
sit -in. We always enjoy it. Usually we'll have

00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:43.179
one song and then be like, yeah, do another.

00:49:43.440 --> 00:49:46.619
I mean, and it pairs really well with the harmonica

00:49:46.619 --> 00:49:49.460
playing. And, you know, I would love to. We've

00:49:49.460 --> 00:49:52.010
thought about it in the past, but... Then it's

00:49:52.010 --> 00:49:57.610
a couple more people touring, and it just logistically

00:49:57.610 --> 00:50:00.510
hasn't worked out. But we would love to have

00:50:00.510 --> 00:50:03.070
a couple more. A three -piece would be fantastic,

00:50:03.269 --> 00:50:05.690
but that's something I think we've talked about,

00:50:05.789 --> 00:50:07.769
but we've never really committed to doing it.

00:50:08.130 --> 00:50:10.409
Well, you mentioned something earlier, and it

00:50:10.409 --> 00:50:15.150
would not be my radio personality to not touch

00:50:15.150 --> 00:50:17.250
on this a little bit more. We have Traveler's

00:50:17.250 --> 00:50:21.969
Blues. We have Traveler's Soul. What is the return

00:50:21.969 --> 00:50:25.449
of the Jedi to this trilogy? What genre of music

00:50:25.449 --> 00:50:29.429
will you be tackling next? You know, it is not

00:50:29.429 --> 00:50:32.110
certain. I would tell you, actually, if we knew.

00:50:32.349 --> 00:50:36.489
We don't. As of now, we haven't committed to

00:50:36.489 --> 00:50:40.579
what the third installation will be. Hopefully

00:50:40.579 --> 00:50:43.199
it's not jazz. I was going to say it could be

00:50:43.199 --> 00:50:46.420
Traveler's Dubstep, maybe. Yeah, yeah. You know,

00:50:46.420 --> 00:50:50.260
something. But it might be. We've talked about

00:50:50.260 --> 00:50:54.500
some kind of dance stuff. Maybe that would be

00:50:54.500 --> 00:50:56.559
a cool way to go, get some electronic producers

00:50:56.559 --> 00:50:59.460
and see if that would be something that would

00:50:59.460 --> 00:51:01.880
work. But we're open -minded, and we're having

00:51:01.880 --> 00:51:04.039
a blast doing these things. So it's great to

00:51:04.039 --> 00:51:07.000
be able to pull apart these iconic songs and

00:51:07.000 --> 00:51:11.340
listen to things. The analytics of how these

00:51:11.340 --> 00:51:13.519
songs fit together and stuff, it's really fun.

00:51:14.039 --> 00:51:16.760
Well, I am looking forward to finding out what

00:51:16.760 --> 00:51:19.780
that third album is. But for my last question,

00:51:19.880 --> 00:51:22.760
Tad, if you had to sum up Blues Traveler's musical

00:51:22.760 --> 00:51:27.460
legacy in three songs, which three would you

00:51:27.460 --> 00:51:36.539
choose? Let me see. I think I'd go, But Anyway.

00:51:37.320 --> 00:51:39.920
Just because I think it's an iconic song of the

00:51:39.920 --> 00:51:42.260
beginning of Traveler and it really identifies

00:51:42.260 --> 00:51:45.199
with what was the strengths of the band. I think

00:51:45.199 --> 00:51:48.119
Pretty Angry is one in there because it tells

00:51:48.119 --> 00:51:50.739
the story of what happened, you know? Yeah. And

00:51:50.739 --> 00:51:54.059
it's such a moving song. You know, I think that

00:51:54.059 --> 00:51:57.340
has a role there. You know, you're asking what,

00:51:57.400 --> 00:52:01.739
three songs? And then for me, I would go back

00:52:01.739 --> 00:52:03.800
to Reach Me because it's my favorite song to

00:52:03.800 --> 00:52:07.139
play just because it's just fun to play. And

00:52:07.139 --> 00:52:09.460
it's, you know, on a personal level, it's my

00:52:09.460 --> 00:52:12.300
involvement and, you know, joining of the band.

00:52:12.400 --> 00:52:15.000
So those three things kind of, you know, are

00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:17.880
kind of important. If you're looking at a timeline

00:52:17.880 --> 00:52:19.760
and kind of the history of the band, those three

00:52:19.760 --> 00:52:22.280
would stand out to me. Well, Tad, this has been

00:52:22.280 --> 00:52:25.139
an absolute honor to have you on the show. Thank

00:52:25.139 --> 00:52:28.920
you so much for the many amazing live concerts.

00:52:29.340 --> 00:52:32.119
And more importantly, thank you so much for joining

00:52:32.119 --> 00:52:34.059
me tonight on my weekly mixtape. It's been an

00:52:34.059 --> 00:52:36.000
absolute pleasure. Oh, dude, thank you so much.

00:52:36.059 --> 00:52:38.460
It was great talking. If we play anything, if

00:52:38.460 --> 00:52:40.179
we're through Jersey, please get in touch with

00:52:40.179 --> 00:52:43.760
me. Come say hi backstage. Certainly will. Yeah,

00:52:43.800 --> 00:52:46.150
please do. And to all the mixtapers out there,

00:52:46.190 --> 00:52:47.949
thank you so much for listening. Remember to

00:52:47.949 --> 00:52:50.869
head to myweeklymixtape .com to hear the full

00:52:50.869 --> 00:52:54.050
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00:52:54.050 --> 00:52:55.809
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00:52:55.809 --> 00:52:58.289
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00:53:07.250 --> 00:53:08.909
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00:53:09.010 --> 00:53:10.889
Until next time, enjoy the tunes.