Just a couple of years ago, however, relations between the groups members became badly strained.
As far as our friendships, wed not been in top form, admits frontman Dave Matthews.
And inthe last few years we have taken the time to rediscover each other, soto speak.
Credit: Danny Clinch
Entertainment Weekly: Grux was LeRois nickname.
That was his way of courting cash.
WethoughtBig Whiskey and the GrooGrux Kinghad a sort of a grownup fairly tale-sound to it.
It also sounds like a buddy comedy about a cowboy and an alien.Itsort of does, doesnt it?
It certainly invites one to imagine a story.I think this is the bands best album.
We have the spontaneity ofour live performances but mixed in with some carefully, carefully,crafted music.
Im sure there are fans thatwill argue.
But I dont care what they say.
But LeRois playingis all over the record.
The good fortune was that we had LeRoi playing in boththose sessions.
He has a real presence.
The lions share of thesaxophone is LeRoi and we were very careful about that.
And Roi was part of that process.
But in another sense, I guess that was a good thing.
I feel like it should have saidDave Matthews Band featuring Mark Batson.
For a while wed been in aholding pattern as far as how we were playing with each other.
What exactly was the problem?I think it was just wed been together for so long.
When youre in a marriage or a work relationshipfor more than a decade small thingsbecome big things.
But I bet you after 12 years itsounded like fingernails against a chalkboard.
You forget to count theblessings.
I think the musicsuffered.
Or at least it didnt accelerate, like I feel like it has onthis album.
Did the improvisational sessions help rekindle the band relationships?It happened a little before that.
It came to a head.
I blew up andthrew my hands up in the air and everyone basically said, Exactly!
We all said, Lets fix it.
That was about two years ago.
We began to talk openly about everything, and thatswhat allowed the music to explode again.
It does sound like youre having fun on the album: the opening instrumental.
Quite early on I had this ideathat I wanted that song to run straight up against Shake Me.
For somestrange reason I thought that honored Roi in a way that would have madehim laugh really hard.
He might have cursed us out too.But in a good way.
Carter and I were on eitherside of him and he hadnt been communicating.
But we started teasinghim and he said F yall.
That came out in this weak little voice.But there was no doubt what he was saying.
