August 24, 2025 • 37 mins
This classic replay with Chris Wood from The Wood Brothers is like a Master Class in creativity.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I've had shows that I thought were a disaster and
people loved it, or maybe I even heard a recording
of it. It's like, oh my god, it's so interesting,
like that was unusual and beautiful something about it.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
But I felt terrible on stage.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I felt insecure or the opposite where and this happens
a lot.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Where in recording too, in the studio, where.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You get that feeling like I just nailed it, that
was perfect. I played the crap out of that song.
That's usually not the best take.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
I'm buzz night and welcome to the Take in a
Walk podcast, the podcast where we delve into the stories
behind the music with musicians of all type talking about
their influences, their creative processes, and their passions. Today, on
this episode, we welcome Chris Wood from the Grammy nominated
(00:52):
leaders of Americana roots music, the Wood Brothers. They're hitting
the road. They've released their eighth studio album, Hard is
the Hero, which is outstanding. Once again, here's Chris Wood.
I'm taking a Walk.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
Thanks Chris for being on Taking a Walk. I want
to ask you who instilled in you.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
The notion of pushing the envelope, which is so much
a signature of you and the Wood brothers.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Who instilled it. Should I be walking right now?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
By the way, I feel like I should be taking
a walk literally, but maybe that's just a metaphor.
Speaker 5 (01:29):
It could be both.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
So you can stay input, you can saunter, But as
long as I've got you on a good quality space,
I'll take it and grab.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
It, Okay, pushing the envelope.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I guess when I started, well, the first thing I
did early on when I was a kid is you know,
I was really lucky to have some amazing mentors base
professional base teachers in the Boulder, Denver area where I
was growing up.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
First guy studied with.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Was kind of a young hockshot in the Boulder of
Denver area, and he pushed me into all kinds of
things like out of my you know, I was ninth grade,
so I was into my brother and I were into
sixties rock and roll and all kinds of things. But
he definitely pushed me into more adventurous jazz music listening.
(02:26):
He I remember him giving me a cassette tape. One
side was stan Getz, the other side of Stelonious Monk.
At first, I gravitated towards the stan Getz, and the
more I listened to both sides, the more and more
I gravitated towards Stelonious Monk because it's just you know.
It took me a minute, but once I once, once,
I got a taste for it, and I was like, oh,
(02:46):
this is really cool. Stan Getz was nice, but Alonious Monk,
so I'd say he I I attribute maybe the beginnings
of that pushing the envelope to him. In high school,
I was really lucky to have again a professional, local,
working bass player as the head of the jazz band
(03:08):
that I was a part of. So I feel like,
in my own tiny little bit way, I'm like a
Malcolm Gladwell ten thousand Hours story, like where I lucked
out with some great mentors early on. Then I went
to the New England Conservatory in Boston, and I studied
with Dave Holland. But not only did I just study
(03:30):
based with Dave Holland, but I studied music with Bob Moses,
with Jerry Allen, great jazz pianist George Garzone, credible tenor
sax player John McNeil is a great trumpet player. All
musicians known for pushing pe co envelope. So I remember
having private lessons with Jerry Allen, you know, who just
(03:53):
was a monstrous, incredible jazz pianist and so irreverent and
about the music, deeped in the tradition and yet pushing
the envelope and really trying to do new things. At
first we did I would say, more traditional lessons where
you know, she would have me do things like, oh,
(04:14):
go transcribe this Charles.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Mingus solo or something.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But eventually the lessons turned into as did most of
my lessons with all those people, we have an hour
for a lesson, improvise, go, and so it was just
this constant pushing and encouragement.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
To explore, you know, explore.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
The instrument, explore the music, explore all the possibilities, while
at the same time, you know, learning the history of music,
so you kind of knew where it all came from.
So again, lucky to have some great mentors. Once I
started Medeski Martin Wood with John Medeski and Billy Martin,
those guys were on the same trajectory, if not even
(04:59):
more so, like a very independent minded always about stretching
the music. We never knew what we were going to do.
We always knew what we were not going to do,
so we sort of had no idea what we were doing,
but we knew we could by process of elimination, find
a pass forward musically. The way we approached our career,
(05:25):
the way we toured, everything about it was a very
independent spirit and not wanting to be boxed in and
wanting to be able to call all the shots.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
You know, So your music and you touched on it
spans all these different genres. And when I think of
the Wood Brothers, I don't think of the Wood Brothers
in a category. I think of funk and jazz and
folk and just.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Gospel and just this range of things.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
How did your time when you spent in the Boston area,
since I'm outside of Boston, how did that sort of
influence you in terms of where the spirit of the
music around Boston is so diverse as well?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Well? I didn't.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Honestly, I didn't last long in Boston. I went to
the New England Conservatory of Music. I was full time
for one semester, and by the second semester I really
just started working playing gigs. By the summertime, I did
this crazy tour where this Israeli Sachs player hired me
(06:31):
John Medeski and Bob Moses and another person to be
his rhythm section for a tour of Israel.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And you know, I was very young.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I was like twenty years old or twenty one years old,
and it was just when Saddam Usain had invaded Kuwait,
but the official Gulf War hadn't started yet, but you know,
it was a lot of crazy stuff going on. Tensions
are really high, and here we were touring Israel and
waiting for scud missiles to come over into Tel Aviv
(07:03):
at any moment.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
So it was an amazing experience, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And by then that was my summer and I got
a sublet New York City where I uh just played gigs,
you know, down in Rivington. And this is back in
the early nineties, and man was it not gentrified. So
I was sort of almost scared to go out the
(07:31):
street and basically practiced all the time and then played
some gigs and then went back from my second year
of school in Boston, but I was literally just part time.
I'm only taking private lessons at that point. That's when
I really went in deep with all those mentors that
I thought told you about, and so I was really
just playing shows, playing playing gigs and taking the lessons.
(07:55):
And by the end of that year, John Medeski and
I decided to get a place together in East Village, Manhattan,
and that's when we started Medeskie Martin. I would I
think that was the summer of nineteen ninety one.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Well, it's obvious you and the band love live performance,
and you've chronicled live performances, you know, quite frequently in
the history of the Wood Brothers as well.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
Who and what are some of the live performances that.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
Really had an influence on you as a fan just
watching and enjoying it.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
I mean, living in New York City in the early nineties,
early to mid mid nineties, I was able to see
a lot of cool stuff, some things that I really
remember that were special.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Coachoo it was the great bass player from Cuba.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
He's basically like the Duke Ellington of Cuba invented the mambo.
And his nephew or cousin is Cuchaito Lopez. It's the
Lopez families, all the great great family bass players from Cuba.
But he would the Cutchaito was part of the Brunavista
social Club and all the offshoots of that. Coachow was
(09:20):
kind of like the founding father, and he came out.
Andy Garcia produced a double album with Coow that came
out around that time, and I got to see him
at Soob's like right up close. That was a huge
influence seeing that, I remember seeing. I was also a
huge sly Stone fan, and also through that, Graham Central
(09:44):
Station so Graham Larry Graham with Graham Central Station bass
player for sly Stone, did a residency at Tramps in
New York back then too. I remember that being incredible,
not just for the band and how amazing he was,
but but also for the audience. You know, he's the
kind of musician that attracts musicians, and I just remember
(10:08):
being surrounded by incredible singers and musicians, New York musicians
in the audience who were like singing along and I
felt like I was in like.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
A church service, you know. It's incredible. That was a
good one.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And then just really cool stuff like the Balinese National
Orchestra coming to Town Hall, or like seeing Pendereki himself
conducting the threnity for the Victims of Hiroshima with the
New York Orchestra you know, at Lincoln Hall and all
(10:44):
kinds of just incredible music, and not only that, you know,
amazing dance performances. It's just it's just New York's amazing
for that. You know, you could just get quite a
cultural education just by going out and seeing what's coming
through town.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
Do you remember the moment that first cemented your love
and passion for music at Like how old you were
in the moment that that happened.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I don't know if there was a singular moment, but
there was definitely an influence from our father, you know,
who was by trade a molecular biologist, like he was
sort of a respected scientist. But when he was at
Harvard in the late fifties, he was also and as
a kid, you know, he was obsessed with folk music
(11:36):
and was in that same generation as Bob Dylan, soaking
up all the same music. So when he was a
kid living in Saint Louis, there was all these musicians
coming up from the Ozarks and from Appalachia, and he
was cutting class and learning all these songs. By the
time he's in Harvard in the late fifties, he had
(11:56):
his own radio show, he had his own band, he
was doing duets with Joan Baez, and he knew like
four hundred folk songs, like he just had that kind
of mind, you know, So he didn't he could have
pursued it as his profession. But even though he didn't,
we grew up with him singing and playing guitar around
the house. And so I would say that is the
(12:17):
earlyest influence, seeing you know, up close, someone who can
really play the guitar and sing a song, and that
always stuck with me. I don't think I appreciated it
until he started The Wood Brothers, you know, because I
was off exploring a whole different musical universe in New
York City and with Letiski Martin and Wood.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
And by the time.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
The Wood Brothers started, you know, we were sort of
in our mid to late thirties and reflecting back, it
was like, oh, this is like coming full circle mount
being in a band where we're really writing songs and
exploring roots American music in that way. That's when we've
kind of felt the connection back our father in those
(13:01):
early days.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Can you take us inside the process that went down
for Hard as the Hero, which is your latest and
it's just outstanding. The songwriting process the recording process. Give
us a little glimpse into how you guys work.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Well, I mean the songs kind of come from different
directions and grow organically. I mean it might be some
lyrics or some music that Oliver starts. It might be
lyrics and music that I start. It might be even
just a musical idea that JOHNO comes up with, whether
it's on the keyboard or the drums. Sometimes the lyrics
(13:43):
are disembodied for a while, they live just on the
page without music, and then a piece of music comes along,
like the voice memo for example, maybe a sound check
groove that we just spontaneously play together, and suddenly whoever
wrote the lyrics is like, oh, that this actually is
the perfect kind of music for these lyrics. Some music
(14:06):
is good at generating lyrics, you know, like it might
be a very generic piece of music that's for some
reason it inspires you to write a story or create imagery.
But then once that's done, you might realize, like, well this,
if I keep this music, it's not going to be
(14:28):
very interesting. So let's now that I have the lyrics,
let's throw away the music find a different piece of music.
Let's find a new home for these words, and some
really interesting things can happen that way, you know. So
you can take a very generic country waltz or blues
form and it's kind of great for generating phrases of words,
(14:51):
you know. But in the end you're like, well, okay,
that was great, but musically, let's do something more interesting,
let's do something different. So there's all is that, you know,
There's there's always that process of creating and throwing away,
creating and throwing away, and by the end of hundreds
of choices, you end up with something that's uniquely yours.
(15:15):
It's it's quite a variety of ways that the songs
get written. The recording process, and this one was interesting,
you know, only because we went fully to tape.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
We didn't use a computer, so a.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Lot of people record a tape. But what we decided
that we weren't even going to turn on a screen
for the recording process. What we didn't realize is how
profound that is. And I think most people you talk
to in this modern world don't go a single day
without turning on a screen of some kind, and I
(15:54):
think we've forgotten what it's like to live without them.
We get all our information, sure screens now, and with
all this information and data that comes through the screens,
we are able to agonize over all these choices that
we make in our lives, whether it's the weather or
(16:15):
the stock market, or the news, or the traffic or
all these things that before the screens existed, you just
pay attention to your present moment and your environment immediately
around you and make split second decisions based off what
you see and hear and feel very obvious what I'm saying,
But we take it so for granted now that all
(16:39):
this data is streaming through these screens, that kind of
have to take a minute to really remember what that
was like. So making this record it felt like going
back to that little bit we never try on a
screen when you don't use a computer. I think we
have to remind people that the way most records are
made these days with computers, anything you record you can
(17:02):
be manipulated in just endless amount of ways, right, so
it changes the whole mindset, Like whatever the performance, whatever
happened in the performance, can be manipulated or fixed, you know,
as people say like, well that wasn't a perfect take,
but we can fix it with a computer. We'll change
(17:22):
you know, we'll mute this part, or edit this part,
or I'll re record this one little part, or when
you go onto tape, that option is not there, at
least not as simply, it's quite a risky task to
try to redo a little part of a song, right
because you could destroy the entire take by erasing too
much of the song, you know.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
So the result is it.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Completely changes your decision process when you listen back. If
we go in and retrack a song, we go into
the control room to listen back to it. Instead of
having the mindset of like, well, this may not be perfect,
but we can fix it, it changes to does this
feel good or does it not feel good?
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And if it feels good enough that you can forgive
any imperfections, then you go with it. But if it
doesn't feel good.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Enough, then you just perform it again. Is not the
option to six.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
So you know, everyone closes their eyes, you play the tape.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
And it's purely listening. When you have a screen and
you're listening back to a take, you see the waveforms
on the screen, so you're not purely listening. You're watching
the music, and you can see before a sound happens,
you can see it on the screen, so oh, here
comes the vocal, here comes the drum track, and it's
(18:48):
not that's not the way we experience music when we're
just a listener, appreciator, or a fan. So it's all
these things again, so obvious, but it really does. Has
changed the way you perceive and experience the music, and
therefore is the creator changes the way you make decisions
about you know, what is good and what is not
(19:12):
good enough.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
Does that makes sense?
Speaker 4 (19:15):
Yeah, it really does, because even before you went and
talked about imperfection, which is so missing in so much
music these days. Yes, you read my mind where I
was going to go next.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Well, this is and this is an important point to
put to This is our what I'd like to point
this out because it's so important and it's the reason,
the explanation of what you just said of why so
much music today is missing the imperfections. Which are these
imperfections that a lot of our favorite recordings of the
golden age of recording, like the early seventies. Let's say,
(19:55):
there's imperfections that become your favorite part.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Of the song.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
You know, it's the most human part. And through things
like pro tools and all the computer editing The way
people mix songs is they listen to it and they're like, oh,
that could be a little better. I'm gonna adjust that
level and I'm gonna tweak that little part, and then
they listen to it again. Oh, now I hear something else.
I'm gonna just change that. And we describe it as
(20:22):
like a microscope. You're putting a microscope that's way too
powerful over this piece of music and seeing all the
little rough edges. And when you get in that mindset,
your tendency is to fix all the rough edges because
you can. That's you know, it's kind of this amazing
technology you can do that. But the result is you
(20:44):
tend to eventually massage out of the music all of
the personality.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
So it's not.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
To say that the technology is useless or you shouldn't
use it, but you have to be mindful of that,
and it's always good to remember that so that you
act quickly and you trust your gut instinct. But if
you only if you just keep using the technology because
it's there and it's an option and you can. Yeah,
(21:13):
the end result tends to feel.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
Really really well.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Put will be right back with more The Taking a
Walk Podcast Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
So hard as the hero, there is a theme that
I detect running through of sort of mindfulness and enjoying
and savoring moments. Uh Pilgrim is one that sort of
says we're all running around too fast to slow down,
and and and and rolling on as a beautiful one
(21:54):
about you know, finding love. Is that the guiding light
between the beats, you know, Oliver pulls that sort of
meditation technique and line those pockets. Also is really kind
of looking at mercy and material materialism. How did you
(22:16):
guys get to this wonderful place that embodies the spirit
of this album.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
It's something we talk about a lot, I mean, and
not just recently, but for years, you know, constantly fascinated.
And it stems from looking back at performing because after
shows we're always talking about what did that feel like
for you?
Speaker 3 (22:41):
And what did she like for you? Was it good?
Was it bad? What does that even mean?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
And I think what we've all learned any any musician
who's been doing this kind of thing long enough learns
eventually is that however they think it went, that it
doesn't mean it's good or bad. You know that you
can't trust the way your just personal experience was. I've
had shows that I thought were a disaster and people
(23:08):
loved it, or maybe I even heard a recording of it.
It's like, oh my god, so interesting, like that was
unusual and beautiful something about it. But I felt terrible
on stage. I felt insecure or the opposite where And
this happens a lot in recording too, in the studio
where you get that feeling like I just nailed it,
(23:30):
that was perfect.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
I played the crap out of that song. That's usually
not the best take.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
You know, there's no because it lacks in general, those
kind of when you feel that way, it's your two
in control and it lacks vulnerability, and it lacks Humanity's
you've perfected something, You've turned it into a formula when
you feel that way, and you can repeat that formula,
(23:57):
But that formula is never as interesting as that vulnerable
first take when you actually didn't know what was happening.
So once you accept that you're not in control and
you're not even really I mean, there's a lot to
be said about preparation, but ultimately, in the heat of
the moment, in the final performance, no matter what, you're
(24:19):
really not in control to how it turns out, because
it's just too much happening. But the one thing you
can in control of is your presence of mind and
just paying attention. That's the one thing you can do.
And it's the most important thing, of course, and that's
you know, this gets talked about. People have been talking
about that for thousands of years. And it's a slippery slope, right,
(24:43):
And how do you do that? How do you get
out of your own way? How do you not be
self conscious? You know, all these sort of paradoxes and
conundrums that people struggle with. So there's a lyric that
repeats itself on the records and two different songs and
it's remember to remember. So the hardest thing about this,
(25:05):
like if I asked you, like, can you enjoy yourself
right now? Can you just like in people? You know,
it's like a guided meditation, right, Someone guiding a meditation
will get you to be mindful of your body and
like think of your feet and your shoulders and your
neck and can you relax and can you breathe and
can you smile and actually enjoy this moment even if
you have a few cranky parts in your body?
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Right? Now, it's actually not that hard, right if you
allow yourself.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
A moment to go there, no big deal, Like most
people can make themselves feel better and gain some presence
of mind. The hardest thing about it is like, suddenly
you're up on stage in front of a whole bunch
of people performing. Can you do it then? Or when
someone in the studio hits the record button and you're
(25:52):
trying to make your definitive version of a song for
a record, you know, and that pressure is on you,
can you get yourself into that space right then? And
so we found that the hardest thing about being mindful
of and being present is remembering to do it. And
so it becomes an interesting practice of like, sure, you
(26:14):
can do it when you're all alone and you're in
a peaceful place, but can you do it in a
chaotic place? Can you do it when you're in pain?
Can you do it when you're in the middle of
an argument with someone else? Like practicing presence of mind
in difficult situations is where you really learn how to
do it. So as a performer and dealing with you know,
(26:38):
the nerves or the tension or other things that can
happen on stage in your mind, or the fact that
maybe your monitors are not working or something technically is
going around, Can you still relax, listen and enjoy what's happening.
I think so much of the best music happened when
(27:00):
we kind of don't even realize it, because really, all
you're doing in that moment is listening not to yourself
but to the other people in the band. And if
you're in a state of mind where you trust your
own instincts without thinking about it, you just react with
the perfect appropriate response. So there's a lot of trust involved.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
You know.
Speaker 5 (27:25):
We produce this other podcasts.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
It's called Music Save Me, and it focuses on kind
of the healing power of music from musicians' viewpoint.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
Do you believe music has healing powers?
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Well, yeah, of course.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I mean the music is incredible, you know, like when
Bob Marley, Bob Marley said it all with you know,
once the music hits you feel all right, right, that's true.
It's amazing when you put on some music, it literally
immediately changes your state of mind. So that's truly a
magical thing. But I think it's probably not much different
(28:08):
than paying attention to anything. You know, if you're in
a drab, blank room and all of a sudden someone
hangs an amazing piece of artwork or puts this incredible
bouquet of flowers in there, and you smell it and
you see the colors. Anything that is organic and there's
something to focus on. I think also does things to
(28:28):
your mind that are probably similar. But I think the
practice of playing music is feeling just because you're working
on those very things of trying of being present while
you're doing something.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
And I think.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Playing an instrument or singing comes with all kinds of baggage.
You know, you have this desire to be good at it.
Maybe not when you're a tiny little kid and you're
first banging on a piano and you've never you know,
it's just probably this euphoric outburst, but eventually, when you
get indoctrinated with all the hang ups of society, your
(29:07):
desire when you're play an instrument is that you're supposed
to be good at it, and that is the one
thing that will get in the way of you making
good music. You're going to be so hung up on that.
So that's when then you have to start practicing. How
do I let go of that and simply pay attention
not to myself because I'm going to focus on the
(29:28):
minutia of whether I'm doing it right or wrong, but
instead focus on everything else but myself and learn how.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
To trust that I will react appropriately.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
And that's that's the essence of even just living in
the present moment, whether you're playing music or not right,
just paying attention and trusting that if you simply pay attention,
you'll know what to do. Your environment will tell you
what to do, but you have to trust yourself to
let go of the forethought and the hang ups. So
(30:00):
easier said than done, but it's it does. It really
takes practice.
Speaker 5 (30:05):
How does being an organic farmer help you as a creator?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
It it takes me away from my instrument. I mean,
I think you'll hear a lot of our artists talk again,
people like Rick Rubin or you know, all kinds of creators.
We'll talk about the power of simply taking a walk.
You know, if you're if you're working on a song
or working on something creative or writing a book or
whatever it may be, and you take a walk. There's
(30:29):
something about that. So farming is a lot of heavy
labor and repetitive and you know, uh, we do most
of our farming not with machines.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
You know.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
We're on a small farm and on an island in
British Columbia, and so, uh, it's just a lot of
sort of just labor, but in a beautiful place. There's birds,
there's lots of wildlife here is amazing. So it's a
peaceful place where you just do hard work for hours
on end, and that's a great time for a song
(31:04):
to kind of it's like a meditation. It's a time
to kind of let a song just keep looping in
a pleasant way away from your instrument, and I stumble
across a lot of good ideas I think doing that,
and it also gets your way from over practicing.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
I think a lot of my heroes for talking about
classic blues musicians, and there's all kinds of people that
that we love, you know, in the sort of Alan
lomackx folk tradition of recordings that weren't working hard all day,
they weren't sitting around practicing scales in a room. Like
(31:47):
their music came at the end of our day because
they needed it, you know, they needed.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
That release that it was this joyful expression.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
I think all this work and being away from my
instrument then creates at hungards and there's never a chance
I'm ever going to be burnt out. I think there
can be a danger creatively to working on something too
much in a room by yourself, to practicing too much.
You can go down all kinds of rabbit holes and
maybe lose sight of what's vital about music.
Speaker 6 (32:22):
Chrisen closing, what do you think the future uncharted territory
is for you and the Wood Brothers, Because you guys
are always looking forward.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
I think once you fall in love, once you understand.
I mean, the beautiful thing about music is that nobody
has ever figured it out.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
No one's ever gonna figure it out.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
It's just the endless one of those endless games that
it's those infinite possibilities. If anything, you can start to
at least get familiar of the process and why the
process works.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
You're not in control.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Like it comes back to that thing again when writing
and even when playing, if you want the music to
feel right, you're not in control. That keeps it infinitely
and just interesting. I think if you were in control,
and if music were a formula that you could figure out,
(33:23):
it would get boring really quickly because everyone could do it.
Anybody could do it. The process that I think now
we've gone through enough times to realize these things means
that it's never going to get boring. There's endless ideas,
there's endless new combinations of things to stumble upon.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
We're in a situation.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
I feel really lucky to be in a situation to
be working with in the same way that I had
this with Medeskie Martin Wood, but with Oliver my brother
and John Rix, two people that have different tastes and
yet I have huge amount of respect for all of
their insights and opinions. So if I bring in a
(34:11):
musical idea, whether it's lyrics or just the music, and
they here's a way to change it, I've a complete
trust that they're hearing something that's a good idea that
I just for some reason couldn't hear because I was
stuck in one perspective. So to be with co creators
(34:33):
like that is incredible. It saves you, again, a lot
of time from maybe getting lost down creative rabbit holes
that aren't going to end up in a very interesting place.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
So incredibly grateful for that. Yeah, it's really fun.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
I mean, I think there's this romanticized idea about being
a creator all by yourself and doing everything, and this
sort of internet culture has taken that to a whole
nother level. It used to be a lot of our
favorite recordings from back in the day. You had the composer,
you had a different person was the arranger, you had
(35:16):
the star singer, you had an orchestra. All those were
different people that then created this one recording that we love,
and then you had maybe a TV show that promoted
them and all that kind of thing. Now, think about
people growing.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
Up in this age.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
They have to be the writer, the arranger, the performer.
They have to video themselves doing it. It's not collaborative anymore.
You're expected to be this renaissance person who can do
everything at such a high level. And there are the
few freaky people who do it and they're amazing, you know,
(35:55):
and they become big on YouTube and Instagram and TikTok.
But I think for most creators it's a collaborative process,
and the beautiful things happen because we listen to each
other and follow the music instead of, you know, feeling
like we're in control of it and it must abide
to our will.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
Amazing I'm so grateful for the time, I'm grateful for
the music. I'm really so happy to talk to you
and I wish you well on the road, and thanks
for being on Taking a Walk Chris.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
Thanks buzz all right, my pleasure.
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Taking a Walk
with Chris Wood from the Wood Brothers. Thanks for listening
to this episode of Taking a Walk with Chris Wood
from the Wood Brothers. Share taking a walk with your friends.
We'd really appreciate it. Also follow us so you never
miss an episode and leave us a review. That would
be really helpful for us as well. Find us at
(36:55):
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or the iHeartRadio app where you concern church.
Taking a Walk
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I've had shows that I thought were a disaster and
people loved it, or maybe I even heard a recording
of it. It's like, oh my god, it's so interesting,
like that was unusual and beautiful something about it.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
But I felt terrible on stage.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I felt insecure or the opposite where and this happens
a lot.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Where in recording too, in the studio, where.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You get that feeling like I just nailed it, that
was perfect. I played the crap out of that song.
That's usually not the best take.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
I'm buzz night and welcome to the Take in a
Walk podcast, the podcast where we delve into the stories
behind the music with musicians of all type talking about
their influences, their creative processes, and their passions. Today, on
this episode, we welcome Chris Wood from the Grammy nominated
(00:52):
leaders of Americana roots music, the Wood Brothers. They're hitting
the road. They've released their eighth studio album, Hard is
the Hero, which is outstanding. Once again, here's Chris Wood.
I'm taking a Walk.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
Thanks Chris for being on Taking a Walk. I want
to ask you who instilled in you.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
The notion of pushing the envelope, which is so much
a signature of you and the Wood brothers.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Who instilled it. Should I be walking right now?
Speaker 2 (01:23):
By the way, I feel like I should be taking
a walk literally, but maybe that's just a metaphor.
Speaker 5 (01:29):
It could be both.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
So you can stay input, you can saunter, But as
long as I've got you on a good quality space,
I'll take it and grab.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
It, Okay, pushing the envelope.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I guess when I started, well, the first thing I
did early on when I was a kid is you know,
I was really lucky to have some amazing mentors base
professional base teachers in the Boulder, Denver area where I
was growing up.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
First guy studied with.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Was kind of a young hockshot in the Boulder of
Denver area, and he pushed me into all kinds of
things like out of my you know, I was ninth grade,
so I was into my brother and I were into
sixties rock and roll and all kinds of things. But
he definitely pushed me into more adventurous jazz music listening.
(02:26):
He I remember him giving me a cassette tape. One
side was stan Getz, the other side of Stelonious Monk.
At first, I gravitated towards the stan Getz, and the
more I listened to both sides, the more and more
I gravitated towards Stelonious Monk because it's just you know.
It took me a minute, but once I once, once,
I got a taste for it, and I was like, oh,
(02:46):
this is really cool. Stan Getz was nice, but Alonious Monk,
so I'd say he I I attribute maybe the beginnings
of that pushing the envelope to him. In high school,
I was really lucky to have again a professional, local,
working bass player as the head of the jazz band
(03:08):
that I was a part of. So I feel like,
in my own tiny little bit way, I'm like a
Malcolm Gladwell ten thousand Hours story, like where I lucked
out with some great mentors early on. Then I went
to the New England Conservatory in Boston, and I studied
with Dave Holland. But not only did I just study
(03:30):
based with Dave Holland, but I studied music with Bob Moses,
with Jerry Allen, great jazz pianist George Garzone, credible tenor
sax player John McNeil is a great trumpet player. All
musicians known for pushing pe co envelope. So I remember
having private lessons with Jerry Allen, you know, who just
(03:53):
was a monstrous, incredible jazz pianist and so irreverent and
about the music, deeped in the tradition and yet pushing
the envelope and really trying to do new things. At
first we did I would say, more traditional lessons where
you know, she would have me do things like, oh,
(04:14):
go transcribe this Charles.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Mingus solo or something.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But eventually the lessons turned into as did most of
my lessons with all those people, we have an hour
for a lesson, improvise, go, and so it was just
this constant pushing and encouragement.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
To explore, you know, explore.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
The instrument, explore the music, explore all the possibilities, while
at the same time, you know, learning the history of music,
so you kind of knew where it all came from.
So again, lucky to have some great mentors. Once I
started Medeski Martin Wood with John Medeski and Billy Martin,
those guys were on the same trajectory, if not even
(04:59):
more so, like a very independent minded always about stretching
the music. We never knew what we were going to do.
We always knew what we were not going to do,
so we sort of had no idea what we were doing,
but we knew we could by process of elimination, find
a pass forward musically. The way we approached our career,
(05:25):
the way we toured, everything about it was a very
independent spirit and not wanting to be boxed in and
wanting to be able to call all the shots.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
You know, So your music and you touched on it
spans all these different genres. And when I think of
the Wood Brothers, I don't think of the Wood Brothers
in a category. I think of funk and jazz and
folk and just.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Gospel and just this range of things.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
How did your time when you spent in the Boston area,
since I'm outside of Boston, how did that sort of
influence you in terms of where the spirit of the
music around Boston is so diverse as well?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Well? I didn't.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Honestly, I didn't last long in Boston. I went to
the New England Conservatory of Music. I was full time
for one semester, and by the second semester I really
just started working playing gigs. By the summertime, I did
this crazy tour where this Israeli Sachs player hired me
(06:31):
John Medeski and Bob Moses and another person to be
his rhythm section for a tour of Israel.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And you know, I was very young.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I was like twenty years old or twenty one years old,
and it was just when Saddam Usain had invaded Kuwait,
but the official Gulf War hadn't started yet, but you know,
it was a lot of crazy stuff going on. Tensions
are really high, and here we were touring Israel and
waiting for scud missiles to come over into Tel Aviv
(07:03):
at any moment.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
So it was an amazing experience, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And by then that was my summer and I got
a sublet New York City where I uh just played gigs,
you know, down in Rivington. And this is back in
the early nineties, and man was it not gentrified. So
I was sort of almost scared to go out the
(07:31):
street and basically practiced all the time and then played
some gigs and then went back from my second year
of school in Boston, but I was literally just part time.
I'm only taking private lessons at that point. That's when
I really went in deep with all those mentors that
I thought told you about, and so I was really
just playing shows, playing playing gigs and taking the lessons.
(07:55):
And by the end of that year, John Medeski and
I decided to get a place together in East Village, Manhattan,
and that's when we started Medeskie Martin. I would I
think that was the summer of nineteen ninety one.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Well, it's obvious you and the band love live performance,
and you've chronicled live performances, you know, quite frequently in
the history of the Wood Brothers as well.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
Who and what are some of the live performances that.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
Really had an influence on you as a fan just
watching and enjoying it.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
I mean, living in New York City in the early nineties,
early to mid mid nineties, I was able to see
a lot of cool stuff, some things that I really
remember that were special.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Coachoo it was the great bass player from Cuba.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
He's basically like the Duke Ellington of Cuba invented the mambo.
And his nephew or cousin is Cuchaito Lopez. It's the
Lopez families, all the great great family bass players from Cuba.
But he would the Cutchaito was part of the Brunavista
social Club and all the offshoots of that. Coachow was
(09:20):
kind of like the founding father, and he came out.
Andy Garcia produced a double album with Coow that came
out around that time, and I got to see him
at Soob's like right up close. That was a huge
influence seeing that, I remember seeing. I was also a
huge sly Stone fan, and also through that, Graham Central
(09:44):
Station so Graham Larry Graham with Graham Central Station bass
player for sly Stone, did a residency at Tramps in
New York back then too. I remember that being incredible,
not just for the band and how amazing he was,
but but also for the audience. You know, he's the
kind of musician that attracts musicians, and I just remember
(10:08):
being surrounded by incredible singers and musicians, New York musicians
in the audience who were like singing along and I
felt like I was in like.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
A church service, you know. It's incredible. That was a
good one.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
And then just really cool stuff like the Balinese National
Orchestra coming to Town Hall, or like seeing Pendereki himself
conducting the threnity for the Victims of Hiroshima with the
New York Orchestra you know, at Lincoln Hall and all
(10:44):
kinds of just incredible music, and not only that, you know,
amazing dance performances. It's just it's just New York's amazing
for that. You know, you could just get quite a
cultural education just by going out and seeing what's coming
through town.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
Do you remember the moment that first cemented your love
and passion for music at Like how old you were
in the moment that that happened.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I don't know if there was a singular moment, but
there was definitely an influence from our father, you know,
who was by trade a molecular biologist, like he was
sort of a respected scientist. But when he was at
Harvard in the late fifties, he was also and as
a kid, you know, he was obsessed with folk music
(11:36):
and was in that same generation as Bob Dylan, soaking
up all the same music. So when he was a
kid living in Saint Louis, there was all these musicians
coming up from the Ozarks and from Appalachia, and he
was cutting class and learning all these songs. By the
time he's in Harvard in the late fifties, he had
(11:56):
his own radio show, he had his own band, he
was doing duets with Joan Baez, and he knew like
four hundred folk songs, like he just had that kind
of mind, you know, So he didn't he could have
pursued it as his profession. But even though he didn't,
we grew up with him singing and playing guitar around
the house. And so I would say that is the
(12:17):
earlyest influence, seeing you know, up close, someone who can
really play the guitar and sing a song, and that
always stuck with me. I don't think I appreciated it
until he started The Wood Brothers, you know, because I
was off exploring a whole different musical universe in New
York City and with Letiski Martin and Wood.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
And by the time.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
The Wood Brothers started, you know, we were sort of
in our mid to late thirties and reflecting back, it
was like, oh, this is like coming full circle mount
being in a band where we're really writing songs and
exploring roots American music in that way. That's when we've
kind of felt the connection back our father in those
(13:01):
early days.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Can you take us inside the process that went down
for Hard as the Hero, which is your latest and
it's just outstanding. The songwriting process the recording process. Give
us a little glimpse into how you guys work.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Well, I mean the songs kind of come from different
directions and grow organically. I mean it might be some
lyrics or some music that Oliver starts. It might be
lyrics and music that I start. It might be even
just a musical idea that JOHNO comes up with, whether
it's on the keyboard or the drums. Sometimes the lyrics
(13:43):
are disembodied for a while, they live just on the
page without music, and then a piece of music comes along,
like the voice memo for example, maybe a sound check
groove that we just spontaneously play together, and suddenly whoever
wrote the lyrics is like, oh, that this actually is
the perfect kind of music for these lyrics. Some music
(14:06):
is good at generating lyrics, you know, like it might
be a very generic piece of music that's for some
reason it inspires you to write a story or create imagery.
But then once that's done, you might realize, like, well this,
if I keep this music, it's not going to be
(14:28):
very interesting. So let's now that I have the lyrics,
let's throw away the music find a different piece of music.
Let's find a new home for these words, and some
really interesting things can happen that way, you know. So
you can take a very generic country waltz or blues
form and it's kind of great for generating phrases of words,
(14:51):
you know. But in the end you're like, well, okay,
that was great, but musically, let's do something more interesting,
let's do something different. So there's all is that, you know,
There's there's always that process of creating and throwing away,
creating and throwing away, and by the end of hundreds
of choices, you end up with something that's uniquely yours.
(15:15):
It's it's quite a variety of ways that the songs
get written. The recording process, and this one was interesting,
you know, only because we went fully to tape.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
We didn't use a computer, so a.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Lot of people record a tape. But what we decided
that we weren't even going to turn on a screen
for the recording process. What we didn't realize is how
profound that is. And I think most people you talk
to in this modern world don't go a single day
without turning on a screen of some kind, and I
(15:54):
think we've forgotten what it's like to live without them.
We get all our information, sure screens now, and with
all this information and data that comes through the screens,
we are able to agonize over all these choices that
we make in our lives, whether it's the weather or
(16:15):
the stock market, or the news, or the traffic or
all these things that before the screens existed, you just
pay attention to your present moment and your environment immediately
around you and make split second decisions based off what
you see and hear and feel very obvious what I'm saying,
But we take it so for granted now that all
(16:39):
this data is streaming through these screens, that kind of
have to take a minute to really remember what that
was like. So making this record it felt like going
back to that little bit we never try on a
screen when you don't use a computer. I think we
have to remind people that the way most records are
made these days with computers, anything you record you can
(17:02):
be manipulated in just endless amount of ways, right, so
it changes the whole mindset, Like whatever the performance, whatever
happened in the performance, can be manipulated or fixed, you know,
as people say like, well that wasn't a perfect take,
but we can fix it with a computer. We'll change
(17:22):
you know, we'll mute this part, or edit this part,
or I'll re record this one little part, or when
you go onto tape, that option is not there, at
least not as simply, it's quite a risky task to
try to redo a little part of a song, right
because you could destroy the entire take by erasing too
much of the song, you know.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
So the result is it.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Completely changes your decision process when you listen back. If
we go in and retrack a song, we go into
the control room to listen back to it. Instead of
having the mindset of like, well, this may not be perfect,
but we can fix it, it changes to does this
feel good or does it not feel good?
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And if it feels good enough that you can forgive
any imperfections, then you go with it. But if it
doesn't feel good.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Enough, then you just perform it again. Is not the
option to six.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
So you know, everyone closes their eyes, you play the tape.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
And it's purely listening. When you have a screen and
you're listening back to a take, you see the waveforms
on the screen, so you're not purely listening. You're watching
the music, and you can see before a sound happens,
you can see it on the screen, so oh, here
comes the vocal, here comes the drum track, and it's
(18:48):
not that's not the way we experience music when we're
just a listener, appreciator, or a fan. So it's all
these things again, so obvious, but it really does. Has
changed the way you perceive and experience the music, and
therefore is the creator changes the way you make decisions
about you know, what is good and what is not
(19:12):
good enough.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
Does that makes sense?
Speaker 4 (19:15):
Yeah, it really does, because even before you went and
talked about imperfection, which is so missing in so much
music these days. Yes, you read my mind where I
was going to go next.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Well, this is and this is an important point to
put to This is our what I'd like to point
this out because it's so important and it's the reason,
the explanation of what you just said of why so
much music today is missing the imperfections. Which are these
imperfections that a lot of our favorite recordings of the
golden age of recording, like the early seventies. Let's say,
(19:55):
there's imperfections that become your favorite part.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Of the song.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
You know, it's the most human part. And through things
like pro tools and all the computer editing The way
people mix songs is they listen to it and they're like, oh,
that could be a little better. I'm gonna adjust that
level and I'm gonna tweak that little part, and then
they listen to it again. Oh, now I hear something else.
I'm gonna just change that. And we describe it as
(20:22):
like a microscope. You're putting a microscope that's way too
powerful over this piece of music and seeing all the
little rough edges. And when you get in that mindset,
your tendency is to fix all the rough edges because
you can. That's you know, it's kind of this amazing
technology you can do that. But the result is you
(20:44):
tend to eventually massage out of the music all of
the personality.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
So it's not.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
To say that the technology is useless or you shouldn't
use it, but you have to be mindful of that,
and it's always good to remember that so that you
act quickly and you trust your gut instinct. But if
you only if you just keep using the technology because
it's there and it's an option and you can. Yeah,
(21:13):
the end result tends to feel.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
Really really well.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Put will be right back with more The Taking a
Walk Podcast Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
So hard as the hero, there is a theme that
I detect running through of sort of mindfulness and enjoying
and savoring moments. Uh Pilgrim is one that sort of
says we're all running around too fast to slow down,
and and and and rolling on as a beautiful one
(21:54):
about you know, finding love. Is that the guiding light
between the beats, you know, Oliver pulls that sort of
meditation technique and line those pockets. Also is really kind
of looking at mercy and material materialism. How did you
(22:16):
guys get to this wonderful place that embodies the spirit
of this album.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
It's something we talk about a lot, I mean, and
not just recently, but for years, you know, constantly fascinated.
And it stems from looking back at performing because after
shows we're always talking about what did that feel like
for you?
Speaker 3 (22:41):
And what did she like for you? Was it good?
Was it bad? What does that even mean?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
And I think what we've all learned any any musician
who's been doing this kind of thing long enough learns
eventually is that however they think it went, that it
doesn't mean it's good or bad. You know that you
can't trust the way your just personal experience was. I've
had shows that I thought were a disaster and people
(23:08):
loved it, or maybe I even heard a recording of it.
It's like, oh my god, so interesting, like that was
unusual and beautiful something about it. But I felt terrible
on stage. I felt insecure or the opposite where And
this happens a lot in recording too, in the studio
where you get that feeling like I just nailed it,
(23:30):
that was perfect.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
I played the crap out of that song. That's usually
not the best take.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
You know, there's no because it lacks in general, those
kind of when you feel that way, it's your two
in control and it lacks vulnerability, and it lacks Humanity's
you've perfected something, You've turned it into a formula when
you feel that way, and you can repeat that formula,
(23:57):
But that formula is never as interesting as that vulnerable
first take when you actually didn't know what was happening.
So once you accept that you're not in control and
you're not even really I mean, there's a lot to
be said about preparation, but ultimately, in the heat of
the moment, in the final performance, no matter what, you're
(24:19):
really not in control to how it turns out, because
it's just too much happening. But the one thing you
can in control of is your presence of mind and
just paying attention. That's the one thing you can do.
And it's the most important thing, of course, and that's
you know, this gets talked about. People have been talking
about that for thousands of years. And it's a slippery slope, right,
(24:43):
And how do you do that? How do you get
out of your own way? How do you not be
self conscious? You know, all these sort of paradoxes and
conundrums that people struggle with. So there's a lyric that
repeats itself on the records and two different songs and
it's remember to remember. So the hardest thing about this,
(25:05):
like if I asked you, like, can you enjoy yourself
right now? Can you just like in people? You know,
it's like a guided meditation, right, Someone guiding a meditation
will get you to be mindful of your body and
like think of your feet and your shoulders and your
neck and can you relax and can you breathe and
can you smile and actually enjoy this moment even if
you have a few cranky parts in your body?
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Right? Now, it's actually not that hard, right if you
allow yourself.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
A moment to go there, no big deal, Like most
people can make themselves feel better and gain some presence
of mind. The hardest thing about it is like, suddenly
you're up on stage in front of a whole bunch
of people performing. Can you do it then? Or when
someone in the studio hits the record button and you're
(25:52):
trying to make your definitive version of a song for
a record, you know, and that pressure is on you,
can you get yourself into that space right then? And
so we found that the hardest thing about being mindful
of and being present is remembering to do it. And
so it becomes an interesting practice of like, sure, you
(26:14):
can do it when you're all alone and you're in
a peaceful place, but can you do it in a
chaotic place? Can you do it when you're in pain?
Can you do it when you're in the middle of
an argument with someone else? Like practicing presence of mind
in difficult situations is where you really learn how to
do it. So as a performer and dealing with you know,
(26:38):
the nerves or the tension or other things that can
happen on stage in your mind, or the fact that
maybe your monitors are not working or something technically is
going around, Can you still relax, listen and enjoy what's happening.
I think so much of the best music happened when
(27:00):
we kind of don't even realize it, because really, all
you're doing in that moment is listening not to yourself
but to the other people in the band. And if
you're in a state of mind where you trust your
own instincts without thinking about it, you just react with
the perfect appropriate response. So there's a lot of trust involved.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
You know.
Speaker 5 (27:25):
We produce this other podcasts.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
It's called Music Save Me, and it focuses on kind
of the healing power of music from musicians' viewpoint.
Speaker 5 (27:38):
Do you believe music has healing powers?
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Well, yeah, of course.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I mean the music is incredible, you know, like when
Bob Marley, Bob Marley said it all with you know,
once the music hits you feel all right, right, that's true.
It's amazing when you put on some music, it literally
immediately changes your state of mind. So that's truly a
magical thing. But I think it's probably not much different
(28:08):
than paying attention to anything. You know, if you're in
a drab, blank room and all of a sudden someone
hangs an amazing piece of artwork or puts this incredible
bouquet of flowers in there, and you smell it and
you see the colors. Anything that is organic and there's
something to focus on. I think also does things to
(28:28):
your mind that are probably similar. But I think the
practice of playing music is feeling just because you're working
on those very things of trying of being present while
you're doing something.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
And I think.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Playing an instrument or singing comes with all kinds of baggage.
You know, you have this desire to be good at it.
Maybe not when you're a tiny little kid and you're
first banging on a piano and you've never you know,
it's just probably this euphoric outburst, but eventually, when you
get indoctrinated with all the hang ups of society, your
(29:07):
desire when you're play an instrument is that you're supposed
to be good at it, and that is the one
thing that will get in the way of you making
good music. You're going to be so hung up on that.
So that's when then you have to start practicing. How
do I let go of that and simply pay attention
not to myself because I'm going to focus on the
(29:28):
minutia of whether I'm doing it right or wrong, but
instead focus on everything else but myself and learn how.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
To trust that I will react appropriately.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
And that's that's the essence of even just living in
the present moment, whether you're playing music or not right,
just paying attention and trusting that if you simply pay attention,
you'll know what to do. Your environment will tell you
what to do, but you have to trust yourself to
let go of the forethought and the hang ups. So
(30:00):
easier said than done, but it's it does. It really
takes practice.
Speaker 5 (30:05):
How does being an organic farmer help you as a creator?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
It it takes me away from my instrument. I mean,
I think you'll hear a lot of our artists talk again,
people like Rick Rubin or you know, all kinds of creators.
We'll talk about the power of simply taking a walk.
You know, if you're if you're working on a song
or working on something creative or writing a book or
whatever it may be, and you take a walk. There's
(30:29):
something about that. So farming is a lot of heavy
labor and repetitive and you know, uh, we do most
of our farming not with machines.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
You know.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
We're on a small farm and on an island in
British Columbia, and so, uh, it's just a lot of
sort of just labor, but in a beautiful place. There's birds,
there's lots of wildlife here is amazing. So it's a
peaceful place where you just do hard work for hours
on end, and that's a great time for a song
(31:04):
to kind of it's like a meditation. It's a time
to kind of let a song just keep looping in
a pleasant way away from your instrument, and I stumble
across a lot of good ideas I think doing that,
and it also gets your way from over practicing.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
I think a lot of my heroes for talking about
classic blues musicians, and there's all kinds of people that
that we love, you know, in the sort of Alan
lomackx folk tradition of recordings that weren't working hard all day,
they weren't sitting around practicing scales in a room. Like
(31:47):
their music came at the end of our day because
they needed it, you know, they needed.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
That release that it was this joyful expression.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
I think all this work and being away from my
instrument then creates at hungards and there's never a chance
I'm ever going to be burnt out. I think there
can be a danger creatively to working on something too
much in a room by yourself, to practicing too much.
You can go down all kinds of rabbit holes and
maybe lose sight of what's vital about music.
Speaker 6 (32:22):
Chrisen closing, what do you think the future uncharted territory
is for you and the Wood Brothers, Because you guys
are always looking forward.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
I think once you fall in love, once you understand.
I mean, the beautiful thing about music is that nobody
has ever figured it out.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
No one's ever gonna figure it out.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
It's just the endless one of those endless games that
it's those infinite possibilities. If anything, you can start to
at least get familiar of the process and why the
process works.
Speaker 3 (33:02):
You're not in control.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Like it comes back to that thing again when writing
and even when playing, if you want the music to
feel right, you're not in control. That keeps it infinitely
and just interesting. I think if you were in control,
and if music were a formula that you could figure out,
(33:23):
it would get boring really quickly because everyone could do it.
Anybody could do it. The process that I think now
we've gone through enough times to realize these things means
that it's never going to get boring. There's endless ideas,
there's endless new combinations of things to stumble upon.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
We're in a situation.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
I feel really lucky to be in a situation to
be working with in the same way that I had
this with Medeskie Martin Wood, but with Oliver my brother
and John Rix, two people that have different tastes and
yet I have huge amount of respect for all of
their insights and opinions. So if I bring in a
(34:11):
musical idea, whether it's lyrics or just the music, and
they here's a way to change it, I've a complete
trust that they're hearing something that's a good idea that
I just for some reason couldn't hear because I was
stuck in one perspective. So to be with co creators
(34:33):
like that is incredible. It saves you, again, a lot
of time from maybe getting lost down creative rabbit holes
that aren't going to end up in a very interesting place.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
So incredibly grateful for that. Yeah, it's really fun.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
I mean, I think there's this romanticized idea about being
a creator all by yourself and doing everything, and this
sort of internet culture has taken that to a whole
nother level. It used to be a lot of our
favorite recordings from back in the day. You had the composer,
you had a different person was the arranger, you had
(35:16):
the star singer, you had an orchestra. All those were
different people that then created this one recording that we love,
and then you had maybe a TV show that promoted
them and all that kind of thing. Now, think about
people growing.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
Up in this age.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
They have to be the writer, the arranger, the performer.
They have to video themselves doing it. It's not collaborative anymore.
You're expected to be this renaissance person who can do
everything at such a high level. And there are the
few freaky people who do it and they're amazing, you know,
(35:55):
and they become big on YouTube and Instagram and TikTok.
But I think for most creators it's a collaborative process,
and the beautiful things happen because we listen to each
other and follow the music instead of, you know, feeling
like we're in control of it and it must abide
to our will.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
Amazing I'm so grateful for the time, I'm grateful for
the music. I'm really so happy to talk to you
and I wish you well on the road, and thanks
for being on Taking a Walk Chris.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
Thanks buzz all right, my pleasure.
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Taking a Walk
with Chris Wood from the Wood Brothers. Thanks for listening
to this episode of Taking a Walk with Chris Wood
from the Wood Brothers. Share taking a walk with your friends.
We'd really appreciate it. Also follow us so you never
miss an episode and leave us a review. That would
be really helpful for us as well. Find us at
(36:55):
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or the iHeartRadio app where you concern church.
Taking a Walk
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