{"id":3953,"date":"2021-06-22T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/315music.com\/?p=3953"},"modified":"2021-06-22T12:17:28","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T16:17:28","slug":"the-315-interview-chris-wood-of-the-wood-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/315music.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/22\/the-315-interview-chris-wood-of-the-wood-brothers\/","title":{"rendered":"The 315 Interview: Chris Wood of The Wood Brothers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Wood Brothers play Beak And Skiff Orchards with support from Valerie June on August 13.\u00a0 For summer and fall tour dates and to find their music follow these links respectively, Wood Brothers<\/a>, Valerie June<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

315 Music recently sat down with Chris Wood of The Wood Brothers in advance of their upcoming Beak & Skiff show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean Nevison<\/em>:<\/strong> So the Wood Brothers have been together now for how long?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Wood<\/em>: <\/strong>We began to put the idea into motion in 2005-2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SN<\/em>:<\/strong> You all just did your first post-covid tour and are taking a break until August, correct?\u00a0 How was that tour?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW<\/em>:<\/strong> Yeah, we had that on the books for a while.\u00a0 We knew it was a definite with the socially distanced pods.\u00a0 August becomes more like pre-pandemic and then the fall is full capacity indoor shows by September.\u00a0 It\u2019s weird and I have many feelings.\u00a0 First of all, playing together is incredible after everything this past year. Seeing our fans and doing shows is so exciting.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humans are so affected by the information they take in, but I\u2019m just getting home to BC Canada, where I am currently under a two-week quarantine after crossing the border.\u00a0 There is a general euphoria in the USA and I got swept up in it doing this tour.\u00a0 Having the perspective of being back in Canada, though it is hopeful, we are still not out of this yet.\u00a0 There are still some unknowns and nothing but time will tell us the truth, so it\u2019s interesting to see NYS open up to 100% capacity.\u00a0 It\u2019s still exhilarating, don\u2019t get me wrong, but it’s also interesting to be back in this other extreme that is Canada while I\u2019m home with my family. Time and science will tell all as this plays out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SN<\/em>:<\/strong> Before that you helped to form Medeski, Martin and Wood?\u00a0 Can you tell us a little about the journey before these amazing bands that brought you here and who influenced and guided you along the way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW<\/em>:<\/strong> MMW still exists though we don\u2019t tour much.\u00a0 It\u2019s our 30th anniversary this year so we have a few things we might try to celebrate.\u00a0 Oliver (Wood) and I have many of the same influences though we developed in different scenes.\u00a0 I was in NYC thinking I’d be a jazz musician for life and I was into the scene at the Knitting Factory.\u00a0 John Zorn, Mark Rebo all these eclectic influences like James Brown, Sly Stone, the music of New Orleans, Sun Ra, so much.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MMW was obsessed with field recordings of some guy in a field in Africa playing amazing instruments or the Alan Lomax recording of sounds of the south.\u00a0 Folk, traditional influences from all over the world formed the vocabulary of the music we played.\u00a0 Though it was essentially a jazz trio. When my brother and I got together he was so steeped in the blues and soaked up all those old Delta, Chicago, Texas influences and he was buying Muddy Waters vinyl.\u00a0\u00a0 It was like what if Charles Mingus and Robert Johnson started a band together and that was the kind of, you know like making a fantasy football team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
THE WOOD BROTHERS (Photo: Alysse Gafkjen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SN<\/em>: <\/strong>How do you think the Wood Brothers have evolved as songwriters and bandmates?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW<\/em>:<\/strong> You throw together musicians like any band and you grow organically together. Jano Rix (Drummer) has so many talents and it took time to find how he fit and we developed and wanted to keep our sound and evolve.\u00a0 It\u2019s like Led Zeppelin, who was a blues band essentially, but as they evolved they found their voice and are now are one of the most recognizable bands with their own unique sound.\u00a0 Bands are these cool, weird musical and social experiments and it\u2019s a one-of-a-kind time and talent that can capture all of that.\u00a0 So we try to stay together, grow, support and learn from each other’s talents and make the music we love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SN<\/em>: <\/strong>How excited are you to be touring again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW:<\/strong> <\/em>It\u2019s very important to tour. It\u2019s such a special environment to be in.\u00a0 We just did the pod tour, so the energy was different than say a sold out club or theater, but the audience and band still connected and things that excite the audience feed directly back into how you play.\u00a0 That energy is joyful.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing music period after that break was amazing.\u00a0 Being on stage, that\u2019s not like the studio, so paying attention to the details brings out the best performance.\u00a0 It\u2019s like our song “The Muse,” “thinking is the last thing that you want to do.”\u00a0 It\u2019s such a high when it all gels.\u00a0 I listen to the other guys more than myself and when it\u2019s all clicking and because we are human beings and we are so social that just elevates everything. Just playing I get that high, but if there is a whole bunch of people watching it elevates that even more.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it\u2019s really good two things happen, it\u2019s the ultimate clarity. You pay such attention that everything is clear in the moment. As a musician, you have to trust that you will play the right notes and trust your bandmates. The other thing is you don\u2019t take credit.\u00a0 Never take credit. If you do, you lose the clarity. Pay attention and trust and enjoy and be in that moment.\u00a0 It\u2019s so special for us to feed off the energy of the audience and each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SN<\/em>: <\/strong>During the pandemic how did you spend your time?\u00a0 Did you have any other hobbies that helped you through?\u00a0 Do you think it helped folks gain perspective, even during such trying times for so many?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW: <\/strong><\/em>Everyone’s experience during the pandemic is completely unique. There are elements we all share, but I really think it is where you are at. What job you had, what support you have.\u00a0 As somebody who is single vs. a family, or if you have kids and are homeschooling or for like myself the life experiences I was going through made it very challenging.\u00a0 The break though was nice.\u00a0 The grind of touring and thinking about the next thing and the next thing\u2026. when we came to a halt suddenly, I realized how much I needed a break mentally and physically. I was feeling burnt out from doing this for such a long time. As we come back it just seems so beautiful and how good that was, to be able to step back and take a breath. Playing again though is so much more of a joy after that pause. I mean the pay still sucks\u2026 haha monetarily though, but connecting with my bandmates and being lucky enough to get to do what I love is so worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SN<\/em>:<\/strong> In a few days it will be the remembrance of Juneteenth.\u00a0 Have there been any movements and\/or causes during the last five very bizarre years of America that you, or you all as a band have championed, supported or become more aware of?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW<\/em>:<\/strong> God, there is so much.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been supporting Thistle Farms, an organization that saves women from the streets that have been involved in sex trafficking and drug addictions.\u00a0 It gets them housing and working.\u00a0 The organization finds them jobs and a lot of them make products for women. It has really taken off and we are so happy to see it grow and help so many.\u00a0 We got behind that the past few years to raise money and awareness and it\u2019s become really successful.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Message and vibe-wise the band, as a whole, is about connecting people to each other, which is so important to us.\u00a0 Like the charity, the communities we play in, and anything that can help and empower women is also high on the band’s agenda.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a huge proponent of environmental issues.\u00a0 The problem is we try to look through our own narrow, human lens and that’s how we got into trouble. We need to gain more perspective and find a new lens and look at the bigger picture.\u00a0 The oceans are hugely important and my wife is a conservational biologist so I am daily made aware of our impact and the time we have left to do something.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a country’s border, and it\u2019s confusing who is supposed to be taking care of these waters and it might not be tomorrow, but it\u2019s coming and it is something I think about all the time.\u00a0 It should be everyone\u2019s job. Nobody’s doing it well enough right now and it\u2019s going to get dramatic one day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if we can solve super important problems like racial and income inequality, the environmental and climate changes are just going to make it worse on those already suffering.\u00a0 It’s all connected.\u00a0 It\u2019s a human and community issue to take care of trees, waters and animals.\u00a0 If we have to look at this through a human lens though, let\u2019s be selfish in that we take care of, what is actually most important for all our survival, which is Mother Earth.\u00a0 We have to find a balance with all these issues or else it will all go to hell.\u00a0 It really is all interrelated, and it will help us become a better community worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SN<\/em>:<\/strong> How do you balance life\/ family\/ career in this ever-changing world of music?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW<\/em>:<\/strong> That\u2019s a tough question, because the past is already so different. The music business of the last twenty years is a completely different universe.\u00a0 The internet, anybody creating any kind of content, endless social media. I\u2019m still trying to get used to it as, now I\u2019m one of the older veterans. I mean we came in the old ’90s paradigm of the record companies giving you a good deal and helping you create an album. It\u2019s been a bit of a mess.\u00a0 Some of it is amazing, but some of it is tragically unfair. Like all my music heroes were mysterious.\u00a0 It\u2019s really different now, back then you didn\u2019t get like\u2026 the daily post.\u00a0 So you have to do everything for the right reason: because you love it.\u00a0 There is nothing wrong with projecting an image like Prince was a master at doing or say Miles Davis, so it\u2019s separate from the music.\u00a0 It\u2019s the same way that you find your voice and now you balance being yourself, being vulnerable and being a performer.\u00a0 I\u2019m still working on finding the balance every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SN: <\/strong><\/em>What is advice you would give to younger artists who are trying to break into a musical career?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CW: <\/strong><\/em>This answer spans the old and new paradigm.\u00a0 Just say yes to everything.\u00a0 Don\u2019t deny yourself any experience.\u00a0 You learn, and some of it is bullshit, but you learn.\u00a0 So play with people you respect.\u00a0 I think I was trying to be too careful because I was too afraid to fall on my face early on, but my advice is don\u2019t be scared to fail and that alone will help you find your voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n