MM: But‚ I remember a time when bands went for it and seriously improvised. They were looking for a new sound‚ following a philosophy that if you listen to each other and go for it‚ you'll sound like yourself. I think over time‚ like anything else‚ a formula was established and it started leaning towards instant gratification. And that has no longevity. When the formula and all of that shit kind of goes out the window‚ that's when something interesting happens‚ but no one seems to really care about that anymore.
DM: And now what's happening? Nobody cares about that?
MM: Well‚ yeah‚ no one cares at all.
DM: No one cares about anything.
MM: (laughter) That's the funny thing. I keep having these debates because there's a lot of these bands that have kind of lasted‚ making this music have longevity‚ but it always seems to be influenced by trends going on outside. One of the things that is really huge‚ that I keep having these talks about is indie rock.
DM: Yep.
MM: And it's just funny because there are so many parallels between that and what people perceive is going on in the jam world‚ mostly stemming from Phish‚ with their throw-away lyrics. If you sing about goofy shit and you have really good chops‚ that's totally not cool. That's bad songwriting or whatever. But if you play like…if you don't have chops and you sing about goofy shit‚ it's irony and that's cool. (laughter)
DM: And that happens in the indie world?
MM: It's happening in the indie world‚ but that kind of sound is just seeping in.
DM: It's seeping into the jam band world?
MM: Yeah. Well‚ it's like there is almost no separation because really the whole thing that I always went back to is why bands have to put this stupid fucking label on it. It's really about who is going to see them. (laughter)
DM: Yeah‚ that is true.
MM: And right now it's getting so blurry. I mean‚ you look at festivals; it used to be more about serving this one type of fan‚ and now it's getting so blurry. They are going to see rock bands. I have no idea what's going on.
DM: Maybe it's time for the Seapods to come back because we were more like an indie band.
MM: I had this conversation with TP (Tom Pirozzi) about six months ago when I said "You guys were so ahead of your time." (laughter)
DM: It seems like it‚ man.
MM: Take a band like My Morning Jacket; you were into that way before that was popular‚ before that ever broke. Back then‚ no one was playing good rock music..
DM: It's true‚ Wilco is like a jam band‚ rock band now. My Morning Jacket is the same way‚ and they'll go off.
MM: Right.
DM: It's interesting. Maybe we were ahead of our time.
MM: Yeah. I think in a lot of ways‚ yeah. It's funny because there is that negativity that is associated with the name jam band‚ but I always thought of those bands as being the sponges. You're kind of influenced by everything‚ and you kind of stretch out‚ too. That's the Grateful Dead.
DM: There wasn't really anything at the time like they were doing‚ but they were sponges. They listened to everything‚ and especially Americana. They're fucking all about classic American experiences.
MM: Sure.