Q: Jeff, you and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have an incredible history and have profoundly influenced many people’s lives over many years.
A thank you. We have had a good race. I’m really thankful that we’ve been able to play for so long and with the people we’ve been able to play with. It has been a tremendous honor and pleasure.
Q: What do you feel about “Welcome to Woody Creek”? It has been well received by everyone I’ve talked to and everyone I’ve read.
A: We feel very good about it. It was the first time we were all in the studio in a long time, especially with John McEuen. He was out of our band for, I guess, 14 or 15 years and then he rejoined the band in 2001. This was the first time we’d gotten in and done a whole new strictly “Dirt Band” record in a really long time. hour. It was great.
Q: Where did you record?
A: We did it outside of Nashville. We made our records for a long time and we had a great time recording in Nashville, but sometimes when you record in a music industry city like Nashville, Los Angeles or New York, the business side can get in the way of the process, so we went to Colorado to make this album in the mountains, and it was a very nice experience.
Q: I had a feeling of sweetness, of peace, of being at ease with oneself from “Welcome to Woody Creek.”
A: I think you have. We were hoping to convey that. Part of it was just the material and part of it was the environment in which it was recorded.
Q: What was the inspiration for the Beatles song?
A: That was just a bit of a jolt. We had been playing the bluegrass version of “Get Back” live that way for some time. We started doing that in the 1970s and played it that way for a long time. When John left, of course, we stopped doing it because we didn’t have the electric banjo. When he came back, he said, you know, let’s work on “Get Back” again. We tried it and people loved it. When we started recording we used it as our soundtrack song and the performance tickled us so we kept it on the record. I think it works really well as a bluegrass tune. It was also a good way to kick start the process.
Q: Is there a song in the back of your mind right now? There has to be a creative process that motivates you, that pushes you forward.
A: We have five guys and all of them are songwriters, so that’s a start. There is always an accumulation of material. One thing that we’ve loved about music and I think has helped us stay together all this time is knowing that you can record something new or just learn a new song; it’s great. One of the pitfalls of artists who have been touring and recording for over a decade or two, and we’re in the four decades here, is that you make your hits and that’s it. I can tell you that that can really make it fail for you. We love playing the old songs and it’s great the way people react to them, but the things that are the most fun for us are the new ones. I think that’s what really brings life, really keeps your blood flowing, as an artist. That’s why it’s always fun for us to make a new record. We love to talk about new things.
Q: Did you ever imagine reaching this level of fame?
A: No, not really. I don’t think any of us assumed that. I think when we all got into this, we were pleasantly surprised a couple of years ago that we were able to make a living playing music instead of teaching school or some of the other things we could have done. But being together as a band for more than 10 or 15 years was amazing. We had a 20th anniversary and we thought: My God, 20 years have passed like this. But that’s something people always tell you when you’re a kid, don’t blink, life flies by. I think a lot of what has happened to us has been sheer luck.
Q: And tremendous talent.
A thank you. I think sometimes we take our band for granted. One of the reasons we love playing live is the way people respond to what we do.
Q: How have you seen them change over the years?
A: I think we are a little more tolerant. Our band is a lot like a family, you know, one big dysfunctional family. We fight like brothers, but we are also very protective of each other. The five of us have probably spent more time together than with anyone else in our royal family. We know the dynamic that works and that is something we have learned. That is something that we have also learned as we get older, to be a little more tolerant.
Q: Have there been challenges in your career?
A: One of the things we’ve been dealing with over the last couple of years is that when you’ve been making music for as long as we have, it’s hard to get people’s attention with a new record because a lot of people say, well, another record release. “DirtBand”. Hopefully we can give them something to perk up their ears a bit. That’s a bit more of a challenge than being a new act. The advantage of this is that we have a certain degree of, I suppose, respect in the world, so at least people usually hear for the first time something new that we have done and we are happy that most of our fans are quite open.
Q: I think music affects people more deeply than any other medium, more than television, movies, or even the Internet. Music enters the hearts and lives of people. We hear it everywhere, in shopping malls, in the car. It seems to me that making music carries a sense of responsibility.
A: That is true. Music is everywhere and I think it has a very powerful effect. We’re all, of course, music fans too, so like you said before, it’s kind of a responsibility, but it’s cool. I love it when people tell us that a song or an album we made got them through a tough time. That always makes me feel great. I know that the music that I’ve listened to over the years, and it’s all kinds of music I have to point out, there’s always something really meaningful that has inspired me or comforted me or made me laugh or whatever. That whole concept that one’s life has a soundtrack is pretty true, isn’t it?
Q: Do you have an idea of this when you write or create, or does it just become part of the process?
A: Sometimes it will be a sentence, something I heard someone say or observed someone going through, or a particular situation. Sometimes it’s as simple as a little musical guitar riff popping up for me. Inspiration for songs is something intangible. The whole thing about having a muse and having something to inspire you is quite true. I could sit down right now, pretty much anyone could sit down and write a song, but one they’re happy with is always the challenge. Many times you go back and say: Damn, that’s not good at all; or you have the flip side — That’s really good. Great songs also tend to come very quickly, the ones you’re really proud of after the fact.
Q: Is there one in particular that comes to mind at this time in your life?
A: Not really, I’m not very objective with the songs I’ve written myself. I have some that I am very proud of, but it would not be fair to say so because tomorrow may be different.
Q: How does your family take all this?
A: My kids have obviously been at it their whole lives. My wife is actually a singer-songwriter, so she understands perfectly.
Q: What would be your advice to someone who is young, who is trying to make it big?
A: Number one is, don’t be discouraged. But the most important thing, I think, is to try to be original. Try to find your own voice. In my case, for example, when I was just learning music I started learning from others, being a fan of music and looking for heroes. You found people you thought were cool and you try to imitate them. That will usually get you to the next stage which is, hopefully, sounding more and more like you’re imitating them. So you start to hear less of that influence and you come out of that little cocoon and become yourself. That’s the ticket. I think that’s what really makes music individual.
Q: So that’s what people are doing right now with you, imitating what they appreciate about your music and then eventually taking off on their own, one would hope.
A: That one would expect, absolutely.
Q: You have carried on traditional American music, a legacy of talent and generations of historical figures. You are a very important part of this step of taking this American music forward.
A: I would like to think that we are at least part of the passing of the torch, and we are proud of that.