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JAM BLAND (DMB article with moe. content)
Source: Other
Posted by: ArmsAkimbo
Posted on: 2003-06-22 09:09:57 ET
Last Updated: 2003-06-22 09:11:40 ET
This article was printed in the Cleveland Free Times
JAM BLAND
The Dave Matthews Band brings the 'frat-house circus' to Blossom
by JEFF NIESEL
IS THAT ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH YOU'RE WEARING?
Dave Matthews Band.
Shortly after it was announced that moe., a jam band from upstate New York that's stayed true to a DIY approach over the course of its decade-long career, would open for the Dave Matthews Band on several stops on its current tour (including a June 21 date at Blossom), moe. fans started to protest. The reason? The moe.rons aren't so stupid. Like many diehard jam fans, they don't like the Dave Matthews' preppy fanbase or the concessions Matthews has made in order to sustain his popularity.
It's a sentiment that's often echoed throughout the jam band community that once claimed DMB one of its own and now treats the Charlottesville act as a cast-off, too complacent and commercial. And not very rock 'n' roll.
"My theory on the teenie bop frat boy crowds of recent years is that [Dave Matthews Band] became the in show to go to for the rich white upper class Abercrombie set in the 15 to 25 year old age group," wrote one moe. fan in an email posted in wake of the announcement moe. would open for DMB. "[Matthews] writes love songs that get the attractive high school and college girls to show up. [Once] that happen[ed], the drunk horny frat boys followed. I hope he turns things around."
A post on the Web site nudeasthenews.com makes the same point.
"Yes, Dave Matthews has a great voice. Yes he has a great band. And dammit, he was once able to pen inspired pop songs. But rather than evolving into an artist you love to follow, Dave has evolved into a frat-house circus monkey you love to hate."
Even moe.'s press release that announced their tour with DMB sounded defensive, as if touring with DMB needs to be justified on account of the band members' pleasant dispositions.
"We've been fortunate that we've been able to play and meet with a lot of great artists," says moe.'s Chuck Garvey in the press release. "We have a lot of respect for the Dave Matthews Band. They're nice guys, too, so we're looking forward to playing with them."
But just because Matthews and Co. might be "nice guys," that doesn't make their fanbase any less obnoxious. Remember that these are fans that booed Al Green when Matthews invited the great soul singer out to sing "Take Me to the River" with him three years ago at a Chicago show. Still, DMB violinist Boyd Tinsley says the DMB crowd's bad rep isn't justified.
"I've seen so many different kinds of people at our shows," Tinsley says.
"I've seen longhaired, dread-locked, Birkenstock-wearing kids and kids who come down in Abercrombie and Fitch. I've seen older people and kids coming with their parents and grandparents. Sometimes, the grandparents and parents dig it more than the kids. The cool thing about this music is that lots of different people can get into it. I go backstage and meet fans afterward and you see all kinds of different people. And that's what music should be about. Bringing people together."
But to bring people together, the Dave Matthews Band will have to keep it together. And if their last two albums are any indication, that's not so easy these days. When the band started recording a new album in 2000 with long-time producer Steve Lillywhite, those sessions were scrapped after a record label rep reportedly said they weren't up to snuff. Matthews then teamed up with schlock producer Glenn Ballard (Sheena Easton, Paula Abdul, Alanis Morissette), to record new material for 2001's Everyday. Because the band wasn't involved in the songwriting process for the first time, rumors of internal tensions circulated.
After the initial Lillywhite sessions were leaked to the Internet -- and got a better response than Everyday -- Matthews went back to the material and reworked it for last year's Busted Stuff. The subsequent sessions with producer Steve Harris reportedly went much better and Busted Stuff has subsequently gone on to become another platinum album, even though long-time fans still didn't care for it.
"Busted Stuff was probably the best recording experience we've ever had," Tinsley says. "It was like butter. The recording project that didn't go so well was the Lillywhite Sessions but there was good music there but we just never got it to a point of completion. But with Steve Harris, it was a lot of fun. We just played and it only took about five weeks. I had a blast and I think everybody else did, too."
Still, it's hard to not read between the lines and think that Tinsley's new solo album, True Reflections, and forthcoming solo efforts from Matthews, drummer Carter Beauford and bassist Stefan Lessard — aren't indications that something stinks in Charlottesville. Even the tone of Tinsley's solo album which includes heartfelt tributes to his wife and two children -- would suggest that his mind frame differs from Matthews, who explored darker sentiments on Everyday and Busted Stuff. Tinsley, who plans to tour to support the album in the fall doesn't think coming out from under Matthews' shadow will be a problem, even though he'll likely be touring at the same time that Matthews himself launches a solo tour.
"I don't think about it too much at all, man," he says of competing with Matthews. "I don't see it in that light. To me, it's about playing some music. Playing some other music that was in me as well. It just happens to be a good time to branch out and do some solo projects."
And in the end, Tinsley's not about to take anything away from his time in DMB, even if the group's falling out with the jam scene and spotty track record in the studio suggests there's been more inner turmoil in the last three years.
"It's been awesome," he says. "I'm one of the luckiest musicians in the world. I tell you what, though. We've just been about music. Charlottesville is a great musical community. It's an open community where a lot of people get together and jam. You'll go down to a club and see jazz and rock players and bluegrass and old-time players, and they'll be all jamming together. That's a very Charlottesville kind of thing. The DMB is just a natural extension of that. It's great. We're always about the music and trying to rock a crowd. We're never satisfied about yesterday's gig. I love playing in the Dave Matthews Band. I think it's a great band, and I'm really fortunate to be here in this band at this time."
So not to worry. Everything's fine in
the land of the Dave Matthews Band. And the Blossom show won't be a frat-house circus, either.
Story found at http://www.freetimes.com/issues/1108/music-lead.html
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