1) What’s behind the band name?

I was sitting with Chad Gracey and Kevin Martin at Jethro’s bar discussing a conversation I had with our agent Jonathan Levine. He’s the agent for The Dead. We spoke about the organic, giving nature of the word “grateful” and its importance to the lineage of Grateful Dead fans. He pushed for me to contemplate its relevance to the new leg of our journey. Kevin added that he could relate. The five of us were incredibly fortunate to have music in our lives after a twenty year run. We were lucky to have each other and blessed to have fans that care about our musical offerings. We talked about how we were graciously accepting this new chapter of our lives. Kevin said, “We really are The Gracious Few.”

2) How is your role different in this band?

LIVE was four teenage boys with nothing more than the hope and spirit needed to chase a dream. My role was to dream and dream big. Thankfully, Ed, Chad and Patrick had a ton of talent to back those dreams up. The Gracious Few, however, are a group of men who achieved those childhood ambitions. This phase of our career isn’t about gold records or hit songs. We’ve already done that. I personally feel it’s more about how we approach each other and the music. Now I’m dreaming about honoring our past, respecting our fans and exploring each other’s artistry. My job is to ensure that each character finds his voice within this band. I have to be a leader that carries the flag of the collective rather than the individual. The Gracious Few through and through are a band. I also have to be careful to balance the bands needs with the individual desires of each performer and the commercial expectations placed on us. Thankfully, I have more than twenty years of on-the-job training. Only the fans can judge the outcome.

3) What were some of the hurdles you faced bringing the band together?

I can’t take credit for bringing the band together. It was Gracey and Dahlheimer who persuaded me to join them. I’m in their band with Kevin and Sean. I really think that the rhythm section is the key to the sound of The Gracious Few. I’m sure the vocals and guitars will get plenty of love but no one can lay down a groove like our guys. My toughest challenge was coordinating the record funding and the schedules of a very busy group of men. Kevin and Sean are still playing shows with Candlebox and Gracey, Dahlheimer and I have a feature film showing at film festivals. Add in producer Jerry Harrison and our engineer Karl Derfler and you need like thirty secretaries to tie us down! We had to give up projects and time with our families to write and record the album. This was in the face of the dramatic changes within LIVE. While we were excited to celebrate something new, there was also a period of morning. Thankfully, we’ll start to mix soon and a finished product can find its way to the people. At this point I can tell you that it was worth it. It feels so rewarding to crank up my stereo and hear our inner voice rattle the windows. Of course, I’m biased but I’ve been involved in albums that didn’t have this type of energy. You can always feel it.

4) Does The Gracious Few mean no more LIVE?

That’s it! This fucking interview is over……okay, okay, just kidding. Ahh, the million-dollar question. The great thing about recorded music is that you can pop it in your player and take a stroll down that musical lane any time you want. For me LIVE lives on for forever in those recordings. The future is just that and I can’t begin to predict what it will bring, so I won’t even try. For now, Ed is working on his solo career and we’re focused on The Gracious Few. I see it as a win for LIVE fans. They get two new offering when it was clear we wouldn’t have done much otherwise. The future is wide open. Most important, I think we’re all happy doing what we want to be doing at this moment.

5) On a lighter note, how is your guitar work different on this album?

I was determined with The Gracious Few to return to the form that had made early rock n’ roll great. We used as little studio bullshit as possible. In fact, 90% of what you’ll experience was the band playing live to tape. Since most of the early ideas to these songs were stock piled from material I had written over the last ten years, it was really riff heavy. I had been working with my friend Carson Slovak who is a celebrated metal core producer and adapted his ambition and playful spirit. I wanted to break free from the predictable nature of pop music but also be careful to not make it feel foreign. This meant a return to how I created music in the early days, drooling and all. Thankfully, my spirit for the guitar was renewed and I got the drooling under control.

6) …and then you added Sean Hennesy as a guitarist. How did that impact your playing?

I’m a strange bird with the six-string. My sense of timing has always been what made me stand apart. Lakini’s Juice is a great example of that. The riff is only two notes but I’ve heard cover bands from all around the world butcher the part. It’s got a push pull thing going on. It’s more about the timing than the notes. When Sean first started to play with us, I just kept saying, “don’t rush, let the part find you.” He had to find The Gracious “groove.” When it finally clicked, I quickly realized that Sean would raise the bar. He not only found the groove but soon he began to push me as a musician. I relished in the pressure to perform at his level. This is a new dynamic and something I had never had previously. Kevin also has a real affinity for the guitar and pushed Sean and I to come up with parts that would propel the tracks to the next level. Holy shit it was fun! I can’t wait to get on stage with these guys.

7) What is this about you not liking guitar solos?

Oh, I like guitar solos, just not playing them! I give it a go on “Honest Man” but other than that I’m happy to let Hennesy take over. You have to want to perform those types of acrobatic movements and that has never been my thing. I pride myself on staying tight with Dahlheimer and Gracey in the pocket of the track. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t hear The Gracious Few and not rock out to my parts. This album is all about the electric guitar and there is plenty to grab hold of.

8) Does this mean no more stomping?

Just the opposite. I could only stomp when I was jamming with the rhythm section. Those moments are when I’m totally losing my head, lost in the moment. I never know when it’ll strike.

9) Where are you now on working on the album?

We’ll start to mix the album in about two weeks with Tom Lord-Alge. We really wanted the fans of The Gracious Few to get the ultimate sonic experience and no one is better than TLA in my opinion. After that we’ll master the album and finally release it worldwide by early summer. There is no doubt it’s a long process but I think the music will be well worth the wait. I know the fans are anxious and we are too.

10) Where do you see yourself a year from now?

Hopefully, we are on a really big stage with huge production and sold-out of course. Some habits stick with you for life and I’m still dreaming big. With The Gracious Few we have a chance to really perform at a new level. We’re going to embrace production technology and push our shows to the next level. Our fans are going to get a great ride. We are going to invest heavily in making The Gracious Few tour something that our audience will always remember. We just started talking with a set-designer to help enhance the production. I can’t wait for the first show. I know our Facebook fans will be there.