MM: I imagine it's tough. It's a marriage.
BN: Yeah‚ and the more baggage you have‚ the heavier it gets (laughter).
MM: Well‚ it seems like you guys have a healthy approach to keeping it together creatively and keeping it going‚ finding new outlets to put out something fresh.
Are you psyched for tonight's gig?
BN: Yeah. I like playing in this kind of band‚ where you have the bluegrass set-up going and that sound. I used to play a lot of bluegrass right before String Cheese Incident. Actually‚ when it started it was a lot more like that. So in a lot of ways‚ I'm getting back to my roots musically.
MM: You really bring that element to the band. That's another interesting thing: everyone has their own unique background.
BN: Yeah. Pretty bizarre (laughs).
MM: Yeah‚ that it works and some cool stuff comes out of it. What do you think the other guys have brought out of you?
BN: Having that side of the music in our band-that Kyle brings‚ and Mike brings-it forces me to expand my thinking and learn some things that I might otherwise not have learned as a guitar player. So I guess it's helping me expand as a musician. I think probably what I bring to the band is somewhat of a grounding influence. You know‚ with my instrument and the way I write.
MM: What about the spiritual aspect of playing live? Any moments recently where you lost yourself onstage?
BN: We did these shows with Drew out in the Northwest. There were some moments during that where I was watching the people all dancing together‚ everybody moving together‚ and I could feel the pulse of the music. That was a very uplifting feeling. When we hit on that kind of stuff-those are the moments that we're going for.
MM: Yeah‚ that's when it becomes bigger.
BN: That doesn't have to happen all the time but if it happens once or twice a night‚ that's all you need. I think the same for the people who come listen to music‚ too. If you hit on moments like that once or twice a night‚ then that was worth any kind of trip you made to get to the show.
MM: Absolutely. That's why we're doing it.
BN: Yep. That's why we're doing it.
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