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We've been sort of lost in trying to find that original spark, but I can tell you, on stage it feels like we just became successful. There's just sort of a giddiness I feel up on stage and I think a lot of it has to do with 'Roi. -Stefan Lessard |
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While the recording process was nearing its final stages this spring, I caught up with longtime Matthews collaborator Tim Reynolds, who was then touring with his band TR3 and had recently finished his guitar contributions to the record. Also a full-time touring member of DMB, Reynolds seemed still flying high on the Big Whiskey sessions and seemed ready to carry on for days with praises for Cavallo and high expectations for the album.
 Dave Matthews Band |
"The new record is going to be – it's hard to come up with a word for it – but maybe expansive would be a good way to put it," Reynolds said, going on to discuss Cavallo not only as a producer but as a musician and someone with a skilled ear when it comes to guitar tones.
Expansive is a dead-on summation, but the core of the album is still quintessential DMB, even if a cut like "Time Bomb" could easily be misfiled as a Pearl Jam cut, given that Matthews' voice gets as rough as we've ever heard. Matthews is still imploring the whimsical storytelling he's included on each and every DMB record and several songs, including the first single from the album, "Funny the Way It Is," are marked by the band's penchant for creating poppy hooks out of the most complex arrangements. But what Lessard thinks sets this record apart from its predecessors is that he feels the DMB live emotion has finally made its way onto the album. This is something critics and fans alike have often found absent in DMB's studio efforts.
"Rob was so great about bringing in what we do live and how we create songs in the moment. He was really good in taking that and transforming them into gems of songs and pretty much finding the songs within the jam," says Lessard, adding that Cavallo recorded much of the material live in the studio.
 Dave Matthews by Rod Snyder |
Lessard repeatedly reinforces the amount of effort the band poured into Big Whiskey, not afraid to gush with pride over the album. Fans, who snagged up nearly a half million copies the first week it was on the shelves, seem to agree, as Lessard says that the crowds at this summer's shows have been responding well to the Big Whiskey material, all but two tracks of which have made it into the band's live show.
"I'm very proud of the process and I'm proud of the lyrics, I think Dave did a wonderful job digging deep," says Lessard. "In a way, his lyrics are a little bit simpler on this record, but to me, they're from a deeper place. Lyrically, this is one of his best works."
In discussing Big Whiskey, Lessard can't help but get comparative, laying it up against the band's long list of well-received records. He is almost nostalgic when he talks about the first three Dave Matthews Band records, recalling how the band was "exploding with a sort of naïveté" when it laid down Under the Table and Dreaming, and continued to do so on the next two albums. He's tentative to set this record up alongside these albums, but does so anyway... well, sort of.
"I have a hard time saying that this record is better than any of those, but at the same time, I feel that this record is, to date, probably most representative of who we are now," says Lessard.
 Dave Matthews Band |
What he says next is as good of a summation of the album and perhaps the state of the Dave Matthews Band as one is likely to hear from anyone.
"It's a new beginning, but it's also a return to the past."
Losing a friend will do strange things to people, sometimes good, sometimes bad. From what Lessard says of DMB, it seems that although losing Moore was difficult, in a strange way there has been a new life, or at least a different life, breathed into the increasingly legendary act. The bassist says that he sees the Dave Matthews Band continuing on – playing the summer tours that have become almost religious tradition for its fans and cranking out challenging records – as long as everyone remains in good health. When he talks of the band's upcoming European tour, where they will be playing to crowds far removed from the Church of Dave that's present here in the states, Lessard does so with the optimism and eagerness of a fledgling bassist. If you didn't know the guy, you'd think he was just cutting his teeth in the touring business by the way he welcomes the challenge of playing to new fans. Lessard gives Moore some thanks for this passion, which very well might be the glue that holds DMB together.
"You know, he taught me one thing and that was to play every single note like it was your last note and that's something I take to the stage no matter what's going on," says Lessard. "The most important thing is that everyone loves playing on stage together, which to tell you the truth is kind of rare and after twenty some years we might have had some moments when we weren't that excited to be on stage together, but those days seem to have moved on."
Dave Matthews Band is currently on tour in Europe. They kick-off U.S. dates on July 18 at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI. Complete DMB tour dates available here.
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