 |
|
 |
|
|
feature
World on a String:
The String Cheese Incident Keeps on Getting Bigger
interview Page 2
Page 1 of interview
SCI began in 1993 in Colorado, and headlined the famous Telluride Bluegrass Festival that same year. The group has dramatically increased its following over the last couple of years, and continues to expand it through grassroots efforts. Some say String Cheese is poised to become the leading jam band on the road. Despite its increased fan base, SCI strives to make its scene feel like a community. The group remains independent and plans to stay that way. The band runs its own record label, merchandising company, booking agency, publicity firm, and travel agency, so fans can make air and hotel reservations to come to shows. SCI even offers child care at some festivals.
mt: Tell me about your success; it sounds like it happened pretty rapidly.
KH: We did a unique thing, in that we tried to tour the entire country all the time. We started out going to the East Coast (when no one was there and no one knew who we were), play at clubs, come back to Colorado, go to the West Coast, come back to Colorado. We've been doing that for five years. Hitting all the country, versus a lot of bands hit a pocket and work on one pocket at a time, get that strong, and go from there and leapfrog. Instead of doing that, we did a huge figure eight across the country endlessly. We were playing 300+ days a year when we first started. What happens when you get your name out in so many different places at once—and we were willing to work ourselves that hard—that when it started to grow, it grew very quickly. As soon as we came to an area, they started expecting us, and they started coming every six months. It was a word of mouth thing. Also, the taping helped us out. The grassroots following [also helped], and I think improvisational music is at the forefront [of music today], at least in my world. I see a lot of bands out there like moe and Widespread and Phish doing that sort of thing, and I think we're going along in the same vein.
mt: Are you scared of it getting too big?
KH: Not scared; we're just trying to be prepared for keeping our scene cool, keeping the drugs down, and the family together: family being all of us, the fans as well as the band.
mt: Will SCI remain independent?
KH: Yes, we're prepared. Everything is in place like our record company; we have our own ticketing company. We have a lot of different companies that are in-house. There's a lot more creative control in that way, and we can kind of tailor our vision in a sense; we can see what we want to happen. So, we're not scared of it and I think we'll be prepared. Each of the companies are good on their own. We have many employees within each company to keep them running. I feel pretty comfortable that they will grow with us, and I think we'll be able to handle the load. There's SCI Fidelity Records, the merchandise company, the travel company, the booking agency, and the publicity company.
mt: I noticed that there are some live shows you can download off the Web site. The other thing I was really impressed with is that there's a digital music overview with a whole tutorial about MP3s. I mean, you're really helping to enable fans to get in touch with your music.
KH: There's a lot of that going on. Unfortunately, there's also a lot of pirating going on. I'd say a reaction to the record companies would be that a lot of [artists] are doing their own companies, are finding they don't necessarily need big companies to help them sell records. The Internet is opening up a whole new world for musicians.
mt: How does that relate to you guys?
KH: In a very similar way. The reason we have our own record company is that we like to feel like we're keeping creative control of what's going on and what we're releasing—what we're giving to our fans, the music we decide to put on the album, the art that's on the album, how we decide to sell it, via the Internet or through a store.
mt: What size venues are you guys playing now? What would you say your average crowd is?
KH: Fifteen hundred is average.
mt: But you also played some larger venues this summer?
KH: Oh yeah. Over an average, it would be larger than that, but for this spring tour, we're playing venues between 1,500-3,000. But this summer—the summer, for every band, is a lot bigger—we did a big campout weekend in Oregon and we played Red Rocks as a headliner this year.
mt: How was it playing Red Rocks?
KH: It was amazing. I walked off stage and said, "Something is happening here." You work so hard for so many years and you don't get to really see what's happening around you. Then you walk out on a stage, like at Red Rocks, and you say, "OK, my work is paying off."
mt: Michael [Kang] said in an interview: "What comes out in the studio is like a time capsule, a way to chronicle where the band is creatively." What would you say the new album says about where the band is?
KH: I think there's been a lot of growth as far as songwriting, musically. As musicians, the band has grown, as well. I think we're growing to be a better band in the studio. This time, I think we are going to release an album that is the best energy we've put down on record. Sometimes, you don't get the same energy that you do live when you produce a record. This time, we had a producer; it was the first time we ever had that. It was Steve Berlin from Los Lobos. He really made sure that we were comfortable. We went to a place in Austin, and we lived in this house with a pool outside. We'd wake up and go swimming and then record. I feel like it was a growth in the band that we were able to release an album that is more like we are live. The other releases—not necessarily the live ones, but our studio releases—are more like canned String Cheese. We're looking potentially at doing an acoustic album, which I think would be fun, too.
mt: As far as sound, would you say it's more bluegrass, more world, more jazz…?
KH: High energy from the very beginning; it seems to be a little more rock-oriented. We have a couple of bluegrass numbers on there, an Afro-Cuban Latin number on there, but the other tunes are a little more rock-oriented. It's the first time we've ever done that, too. It definitely represents us, and where we are right now, but we're not forgetting our roots.
mt: Karl Denson and Andy Cleaves play on there as well?
KH: Yup, the guys from [Karl Denson's] Tiny Universe, they are playing on two songs on the album. It's amazing. Karl is playing a solo on one of my tunes; he came in there, "OK, I'm ready," played the first solo and it was the one we kept. So, that was kind of like the theory for the whole album. We just kind of went for the best energy takes. Maybe this isn't the perfect [take] note-wise, but it's the best feel on tape. Yeah, they did a great job. I'm glad they're on the album.
mt: What effect would you say Steve Berlin had on the album?
KH: He tried to get us to play from the heart, and I'd say he was successful.
mt: You're about to embark on your fall tour, what can fans expect from Fall 2000?
KH: Better energy than they've ever gotten before; we're just coming out of this new album and we're ready to hit the gates. We're psyched to go out and perform, so we're ready to put a lot of energy out there. They can expect some new tunes, and always lots of hula-hooping, and hopefully a lot of good energy exchange.
mt: What's the deal with the hula-hooping?
KH: They originated in Telluride when a friend of ours brought them to a show, but I think it has more to do with the circle and a sense of community. In a circle, everyone [is] connected. And I think it's neat to have that on tour. Beyond just a fun toy, it represents more; but, in the end, it is fun.
SCI's New Year's Eve extravaganza, "2001:A String Cheese Odyssey," is going to be quite a flashy production. Attendees can look forward to breathtaking props and costumes supporting this year's theme of Evolution, wild opportunities for audience participation, food and beverages for all tastes, children's activities, childcare, and more. In addition, this year's event features an expanded indoor festival, including performances by Steel Pulse and Ozomatli, as well as a second stage showcasing artists. For more information, see the official press release.
mt: I'm interested in the description of the New Year's show and how it's going to be big production-wise, with props, costumes, [and] audience participation. Has the band done anything like this in the past?
KH: We've done a few of these, but for Portland, we're shooting even higher. This summer, we did something similar in Eugene, Oregon, where we had performance art after the show that entailed large puppets and fire-breathing—kind of like a mixture between a Renaissance festival meets a Grateful Dead show [with] a lot of really creative artists.
mt: So, a Renaissance festival on acid?
KH: Um…no…yeah, kind of. I don't know if you've ever been to the Oregon Country Fair. People get dressed up and run around in glow in the dark colors at night. It's going to be a really neat Northwest experience. If you've never been to the Northwest, this is going to be a great time to experience it.
By Carrie Nieman
Page 1 top of page
|
|
|
