MM: So that one stands out…
GS: The shows we did with Galactic were incredible. Those guys were great to us‚ and what a learning experience that was. I mean‚ when you're opening for a band like that your ears are open. Watching Stanton Moore play drums and just the command that he has over the music just blew me away. He goes out and kills it every night. I can relate to that.
I mean this past year was incredible. We played so many shows and it was like a blur. You know‚ so many shows so little time (laughter). I think somebody told us we did 200 shows in the past year. It's mind-boggling. The Endless Music Mountain Music Fest was great. Harper's Ferry in Boston is always great - that's like our home away from home and so is Colorado.
MM: Yeah‚ Colorado. It's funny because we have info about you guys on the website and I can usually tell when you guys had a good night somewhere across the country because we get this barrage of hits from people who are searching for more info about you guys. But what was really great was we got this email from a guy out in Colorado stating he had this peak experience listening to you guys; the holy shit emails about this band that came through town‚ you know?
GS: Those are the stories that keep you working hard and wanting to make your band better. You want to keep people having those kinds of experiences. The Halloween show was pretty epic at the Fiske Planetarium. I walked into that show being like‚ "this could be really good or really‚ really bad"...well I guess I walk into most gigs feeling that way (laughs). Not playing-wise‚ but production-wise. It was just unbelievable and people just freaked out.
MM: Yeah‚ let's talk about that element of playing. I heard about that show; It seemed that it wasn't a "let's go out drinking‚ get rowdy and listen to some jamming rock n' roll‚" but it was about "let's go out and go out‚" you know? Basically‚ it's a bunch of kids showing up on drugs ready to lose their shit.
GS: Definitely. When we started playing nobody was dancing. So I started questioning what was going on‚ you know? Should I be grooving more? Should I drive this beat harder‚ you know? Hmm...they're still not dancing. So at set break the realization came that everyone was tripped-out and that was like‚ "Ahhhh...I see what's going on here."
MM: (Laughter) Right...you're with us.
GS: Yeah‚ you love us but you're just tweaked out‚ right? Perfect‚ we'll play some more music for you. You know‚ whatever‚ you just write it off. That's fine too. We play music - come and enjoy it. Don't hurt anybody‚ have a good time‚ take care of yourself and your friends so everyone can enjoy it...don't do anything stupid (laughter). Enjoy the music so everyone can. It wasn't the monumental show we thought it was going to be‚ but then by the end of it people were coming up to us saying how amazing it was. I gave a friend of mine who I only see occasionally when we play out there my nasty wristband‚ but he didn't care because he wanted something to take with him to mark the experience. You know‚ it wasn't the fist-pumping rock show where the room is bouncing. It was a laser light show mind-body experience. It was a strange show to organize; there was space to dance behind the speakers and nobody went there because the sound wasn't good so people just sat and stared at the ceiling. But at the time when we started playing we were looking at each other like‚ "What are we doing? What the fuck is going on? Are we doing something wrong here?" Later to find out that people were just sitting and freaking out (laughter).
MM: Have you had any other shows like that?
GS: Not really...(pause) but here's a funny memory: At one of the Galactic shows we were walking up on stage and we heard all this cheering and there were definitely quite a few people in the front row that were unaware that there was an opening band‚ and I literally heard one person say‚ "Oh wait...what?" and then a sigh (laughter).
MM: Right‚ right. "Who the hell is this?"
GS: That's rough‚ you know? You had to say it like that (laughs). They were bummed that we weren't Galactic‚ which makes sense when you show up to see a show and you have to hear this opening band you weren't expecting to hear...but to actually hear someone say it while you take the stage is different (laughter). And that's an obstacle man.
MM: (Laughing) Right‚ "We're not here for you."
GS: "Get the fuck off stage and give us fucking Galactic!" "Ah shit‚" is the only way you feel. So this is like our second show with Galactic and we're trying to get our music to some new people and...
MM: What size venue were you in?
GS: This was at the Crystal Ballroom.
MM: Yeah‚ out in Oregon. That's a pretty big room‚ right?
GS: Yeah‚ I think it's about 1500 to 2000 person seat venue.