DL: I would think of your animal instincts being very pure‚ but they also could be the side of you that is greedy. You've either got to embrace it or let it go.
How has the band evolved over the years?
ZG: When we were younger‚ and we were all living together‚ it was all very homogenous. We were all like one brain. I feel now we've all matured a lot as individuals. We've left behind a lot of that kid stuff that lingers in any long-term relationship.
DL: We always joke about our first gig for example. We played just four songs…a Stones tune‚ a Jay Giles Band tune‚ a John Cougar Mellencamp song and a Venture song. We used to play just a collection of what we listened to. Then as we all got into soul and funk‚ that started coming in handy. So I think our personal tastes have guided our changes.
DB: It's not about rambling forms and jams. I think we're trying to write our songs a little tighter‚ more concise with more song craft. We still try to keep that element of improvisation.
You've all individually mentioned song crafting. How do you approach your writing?
DL: Sometimes it's someone bringing in a whole song. Sometimes things start out of a jam‚ and we'll organize it right there on the spot‚ or someone grabs a kernel of a jam and goes home to work on it. In one sense‚ there's the idea that you create these songs that can stand on their own; that's the goal. But they can also be a platform for improvisation.
ZG: Improvisation without form is just chaos. Even when people say they are completely improvising‚ they still follow guidelines or rules within that song.
All of you got degrees in music‚ right?
ZG: Yeah. Well‚ I minored in music but spent most of my time doing music anyway.
How does music theory get into your writing?
DL: Well it doesn't so much get into our music as it gets out of our music. What I got out of school more than the theory itself was the exposure to all the different sounds and connecting with to other musicians.
ZG: Music is an intuitive thing. In a way‚ theory is just a language used to communicate and talk about what's going on in the music. Sometimes you create your own language to describe what's happening musically.
ZG: I think it's dangerous to learn too much theory before you gain a more intuitive sense about music. Then you just end up writing things more complicated than they need to be because you can. Sometimes you just need to hear it. Then‚ when you learn the theory behind it‚ you have a better understanding of how everything fits together.
It seems like there is a huge buzz coming out of San Francisco with you guys‚ Tea Leaf Green and New Monsoon. Do you feel connected to that?
DB: Definitely. All those bands you mentioned plus Hot Buttered Rum and a few others as well.
DL: That's been a really cool thing for us. It feels like a real community. We all kind of started out together. It's very unique. Actually‚ Trevor (Garrod‚ Tea Leaf Green) and Steve used to play in a band together in high school. I remember our first High Sierra. Hot Buttered Rum‚ even before they were a real band‚ were camped out next to us and had their instruments out…
ZG: That was one of my favorite all time jams…one of those free-spirited‚ 10 people improvising with their voices…
DL: Yeah‚ (laughing) that's when we were all fighting for a prime Tuesday night gig to play in front of three people.
You have all been on a roll this year. Any favorite gigs?
ZG: This year we have had really high highs. It's felt like after our CD release party (at the Independent in San Francisco in November) everything has really stepped up a level. The lights were better‚ the venues were better‚ sold out shows with more attentive crowds. That kind of made everything more fun.