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Although they got their start in 2000 along with a
crowded new wave of bluegrass revivalists, Concord, NC, trio The Avett Brothers
have done what most Americana proponents cannot: evolve at a consistent pace,
without caring what critics or fans think. The band’s latest album, I And Love And You (slated for a
September release), is their first for a major label, and even boasts
production from music industry kingpin and bearded mysterioso Rick Rubin. But
there’s nary a straightforward bluegrass tune in earshot on the entire record,
which instead leans on uplifting piano lines and soaring pop-rock majesty, all
undercut by the Avetts’ rock-solid songwriting. EasternSurf.com checked
in with The Avett Brothers bassist Bob Crawford about the band’s unlikely
origins, the studio mastery of Rick Rubin, and the camaraderie of the road.
ESM: You’re the only non-Avett member of The Avett
Brothers, Bob. How did you get hooked up with Seth and Scott?
Bob
Crawford: A buddy of mine told me he
knew these brothers that were looking to start a bluegrass band and needed an
upright bass player. I met them in a Media Play parking lot on a Sunday night
at 10:00 pm, and we were the only guys there. They got out of a gold Ford
Taurus station wagon, with cut-off shorts and flannel shirts on. They showed me
an original song with a really interesting structure — interesting chord
choices for that kind of music, I thought — and we were off and running
from there.
ESM: When you guys started out, you were lumped into the
bluegrass category. But your new album doesn’t sound like bluegrass at all.
What gives?
BC: We never even talked about genres; we just did what
we did. But I guess with a banjo and an upright bass, no one was wrong when
they categorized things as they did. I find accuracy in every phrase anybody’s
ever coined about us or said about us. We’ve let things grow and become
whatever it was going to become. That’s always been the plan... I say, “plan,”
but that’s always been the natural way of things. As new songs came, they were
what they were, and the musical decisions we continue to make have led to a
bigger scale all the time. It’s been a very comfortable pace of growth. No
matter how it seems right now, it’s been eight years. It hasn’t been a year or
six months.
ESM: The band’s upcoming album is your first for a major
label, Rick Rubin’s American Recordings, which is under the Sony/Columbia
umbrella. Did you actually work with Rick on I And Love And You?
BC: Yes, we did — he was there about seven hours a
day, in addition to whatever else he had going on. He provided that extra bit,
that extra push. He’s very easy to be around — he’d sketch our songs out
as far as intro, verse, chorus, and pre-chorus. We’d print up lyric sheets, and
he’d diagram the songs, move things around if need be, and then play with the
form. Sometimes it was a case of Rick being like, “Well, I like this
instrumental part you got here, can we do it somewhere else?” Sometimes, as on
the song “I And Love And You” — a Townes Van Zandt-like song, where you
have just a rolling stream of verses — Rick pulled out that “Brooklyn,
Brooklyn, take me in” part and said “How do you feel about this being the
anchor for the song?” So he was very instrumental in the recording process. It
could not have been a better fit; it could not have been a more relaxed
atmosphere. It was a wonderful learning experience being together, and that has
never stopped. We made a good record, we’re real excited, and we learned things
recording this album that will individually and collectively ensure that we’ll
never make music the same again. We’ll always have that experience inside of us
that we can draw from.
ESM: As The Avett Brothers have achieved more mainstream
success, have your personal lives changed?
BC: No, we haven’t changed at all. It’s been the same for
eight years as far as personalities and us dealing with each other. There are
eight of us that travel together now, and it’s a well-run machine — we’re
a team, and everybody inside that bus is an equal. That’s the way it is, that’s
the way it’s been, that’s the way it will be. Scott and Seth, for all the
acclaim they’ve received, have not changed one bit as far as their
personalities go. Our families are growing, and we’re itching to spend more
time with our wives and kids, as that’s becoming a bigger part of our lives
— probably the most important part of our lives. But that being said, we’re
taking this time that we have together, knowing that it’s precious time and
it’s going to slip away from us. So the camaraderie is getting stronger every
day. It’s a good time to be alive.
ESM: Your current marathon of a tour boasts a good mix of
high-profile concert halls, outdoor festivals, and free shows. Do you prefer
one type of venue to another?
BC: It’s great to have the variety, because they each
have their charms, as long as the stage is workable and the room is workable. We
played at a place recently, the Newport Music Hall in Columbus, OH, where Bruce
Springsteen and Neil Young and Grateful Dead played — it’s old, it’s
gritty, and when you’re up there you can see Springsteen and Young working that
stage. The vibe probably hasn’t changed there in 30 years. And then we played
the Kentucky Theater in Lexington, which is a beautiful theatre, and it’s a
whole different kind of workable. So the variety brings out different things in
us every night, and it brings different things for the audience every night I’m
sure.
ESM: You mentioned an eight-person traveling team. Has
your basic live setting as a trio, in addition to cellist Joe Kwon, changed?
BC: No, there’s still four of us onstage, but we have a
little more support, and the new guys have fit in very well. The personalities
and work ethic are there, and it’s a blessing for our crew. They’re people that
we’ve known for a long time and had our eye on — we were always intent on
these particular people. This year we had the opportunity to bring them on, and
they have not disappointed at all. The vibe amongst us — be it dually
pick-up truck, be it passenger van, be it mini-van, be it RV, be it bus —
has always been the same. And that’s the greatest thing. We’re growing together.
We’re really living this life together at this point. Who knows how long it
will last? That’s why we’re really trying to take it all in and savor every
moment.
ESM: Do you ever feel excluded as the third member of a
trio that boasts two brothers?
BC: There are things that only Seth and Scott can share,
unspoken things. They’re brothers, you know? But if I ever had any trepidation
about that, or if I ever had a feeling of being excluded, that has long since
gone away.
Upcoming
The Avett Brothers tour dates:
7/16
7/17
7/18
7/19
7/24
7/25
7/30
7/31
8/1
8/2
8/4
8/8
8/14
8/15
8/16
8/19
8/20
8/21
8/22
8/25
8/26
8/28
8/29
8/30
9/1
9/3
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St. Augustine Amphitheatre………………… St. Augustine, FL
House Of Blues………………………………. Lake Buena Vista, FL
The Cuban Club……………………………… Tampa, FL
The Parker Playhouse………………………. Ft. Lauderdale, FL
House Of Blues………………………………. Myrtle Beach, SC
House Of Blues………………………………. Myrtle Beach, SC
Thursday At The Square (Free)……………. Buffalo, NY
Westcott Theater…………………………….. Syracuse, NY
Newport
Folk Festival 50……………………. Newport, RI
Calvin
Theater………………………………… Northampton, MA
Bottle
& Cork………………………………….. Dewey Beach, DE
Bojangles Coliseum………………………….. Charlotte, NC
Mulberry
Mountain Harvest Festival……….. Ozark, AR
Crossroads……………………………………. Kansas City, MO
Sokol Auditorium……………………………… Omaha, NE
Sunset
Concert Series (Free)………............. Telluride, CO
Steamboat Springs Free Summer (Free)….. Steamboat
Springs, CO
Boulder Theater……………………………….. Boulder, CO
Ogden
Theater………………………………… Denver, CO
Red
Butte Garden…………………………….. Salt Lake City, UT
Knitting Factory Concert House…………….. Boise, ID
Paramount
Theatre…………………………… Seattle, WA
Britt Festival…………………………………… Jacksonville, OR
Outside
Lands Music & Arts Festival…….… San Francisco, CA
HSU Van Duzer Theater…………………….. Arcata, CA
Grand Sierra Theatre………………………… Reno, NV
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9/4
9/5
9/17
9/18
9/19
9/20
9/22
9/24
9/25
9/26
9/27
9/29
10/1
10/2
10/3
10/5
10/15
10/16
10/17
10/18
10/20
10/21
10/22
10/29
10/30
10/31
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Strawberry Music Festival…………………… Camp Mather, CA
Orpheum Theatre…………………………….. Los Angeles, CA
North Charleston PAC..……………………… North Charleston, SC
Westobou Festival……………………………. Augusta, GA
The Moon……………………………………… Tallahassee, FL
Bama Theatre…………………………………. Tuscaloosa, AL
The Lyric Oxford………………………………. Oxford, MS
Minglewood Hall………………………………. Memphis, TN
Robinson Center Music Hall…………………. Little Rock, AR
Cain’s Ballroom……………………………….. Tulsa, OK
Granada Theater……………………………… Dallas, TX
Baton Rouge River Center Theatre…………. Baton Rouge, LA
House Of Blues……………………………….. New Orleans, LA
Austin City Limits Festival……………………. Austin, TX
Rose State PAC………………………………. Midwest City, OK
Lovett Auditorium……………………….…….. Murray, KY
Ram’s Head Live……………………………… Baltimore, MD
Electric Factory……………………………….. Philadelphia, PA
Terminal 5………………………….………….. New York, NY
House Of Blues……………………………….. Boston, MA
Englert Theatre……………………………….. Iowa City, IA
The Barrymore Theatre……………………… Madison, WI
The Canopy Club…………………………….. Urbana, IL
Keith Albee Theatre………………………….. Huntington, WV
Louisville Palace……………………………… Louisville, KY
Ryman Auditorium…………………………… Nashville, TN
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For all things The Avett Brothers, visit www.theavettbrothers.com or www.myspace.com/theavettbrothers.
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