When I recently spoke with Anders Beck, he was enjoying some well-deserved downtime after his band Greensky Bluegrass just wrapped another Strings and Sol in Cancun, Mexico. The annual jam-cation saw a smorgasbord of bluegrass acts like Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain Stringband, Railroad Earth, and Greensky all playing intimate yet rowdy sets to die-hard fans on the beach. Beck and some friends decided to stay in Mexico “for an extra week and actually have a vacation and decompress.” Beck was decompressing not just from Strings and Sol, but also from what was a huge year for his band. 2018 found Greensky playing to bigger crowds than ever before as they have become arguably the biggest bluegrass (or jamgrass) act around. This is well-deserved for a band that has put in almost 20 years of touring, and that has gained respect as one of the rare acts in the jam scene that write and sing songs that hold up without twenty minutes of improvising and translate to solid studio recordings.
With a whirlwind year behind them, Greensky Bluegrass is setting their sights even higher with the release of a new studio album called All For Money. Out on January 18, the album finds the Michigan band in fine form as they share a collection of songs that may be their most personal to date, as well as their most experimental. The band proves to be adept at channeling the loose energy of their live shows into studio-worthy jams on songs like the uber catchy and funky “What You Need”, the raucous anthem “Courage for the Road”, and the light-hearted title track “All For Money”. Just as they demonstrate on stage night after night, the members of Greensky Bluegrass make it clear that playing bluegrass instruments does not mean they have to be tied down by the genre. The album shows that they are progressing into new sounds and even picking up instruments more associated with rock than bluegrass. It’s this willingness to take risks that has made them so exciting to fans. Needless to say, Anders Beck’s enthusiasm and passion for his band is clear throughout our conversation as he shares details of All For Money, reflects on the success of his band, and talks about his love for the dobro.
Were there any moments at Strings and Sol that stood out for you?
There’s so much cool stuff that happens every time. All the bands are all my dear friends. Yonder [Mountain Stringband] and [Leftover] Salmon and the [Infamous String]Dusters and Railroad Earth and Billy Strings and the Lil’ Smokies are all my dear friends. We played a lot of music together. We invited Drew Emmitt from Leftover Salmon to come up and sing a Jimmy Buffet song – “A Pirate Looks At Forty” – which we both agree is the best Jimmy Buffett song whether you like him or hate him. He’s like the best songwriter and the worst songwriter all at once. So singing this classic Jimmy Buffett song on the ocean – we really enjoyed that. Other than that, playing music on the beach and everyone dancing on the sand is literally one of the most epic things you can do. It’s really unbelievable. Non-musically, my favorite two hours of every year is when Leftover Salmon plays at sunset and I get on a pool floaty and float out in the ocean while they’re playing, and it’s literally my favorite set of the entire year every year.
Did you get a chance to play any of the new songs live?
We have played three of them live and we played two at Strings and Sol. We played “What You Need”, which is a funky tune, and then we played “Like Reflections”, which has a slower country vibe. We keep trying to wait [to play the new songs live] because that’s what you’re supposed to do or whatever.
It’s interesting because it seems with bands that improvise it’s almost a reverse approach because you would want to test out some stuff before going into the studio.
Totally, and we’ve done that. The coolest thing about our band in my opinion is that jam band fans love us – and I’m thankful for that – because we improvise and every night is different. Rightfully so, we are a jamband. But also, we make really good records. It’s almost a dichotomy of our band – we’re a jamband but we also are a studio band. I hate to say it but I feel like a lot of bands that are really great live don’t make the greatest records, and a lot of bands that make the greatest records don’t really improvise live. I’m not trying to imply that we’re perfect at anything, but we do both well. Making albums is very important to us, an art form in and of itself.
The songs on the album are pretty tight but there are also some jammy segments. How do you approach the jams in the studio?
We tried to make an album that actually sounds like our band live. We’re trying to make a record that’s for the fans. We’re not trying to make a pop record and like break through [to the mainstream], it’s not gonna fucking happen. So we were like, let’s make a record that sounds like what we do. We took some chances on some stuff that we don’t normally do, but I think each record sounds more and more like ourselves. To me this one is the most like ourselves. It’s a little nerve wracking because the more people who listen to us, the more scary it is to make an album. You can’t shit the bed a little bit because there are actual fans out there. When no one was listening we could do whatever the hell we wanted, but now people are listening. There is a little bit of pressure there and I really think for this record we rose to the occasion quite well and made something that we’re all super proud of.
The band seems to be experimenting with a wider array of sounds that are outside of bluegrass and more in an indie rock vein. Was there a conscious motivation to do something different with your sound?
No, we just like different sounds. [On] every record [of ours], there are more of those songs, like “Windshield” or “Past My Prime”. We enjoy listening to that kind of stuff. You know, we’re a rock band. We happen to play bluegrass instruments but it’s not really a conscious thing, like let’s do this so we can cross over. It’s more like, let’s rock. Certain songs deserve certain treatments in my opinion. We’re not really concerned if it’s bluegrass or whatever. The key is fearlessness, just going for it and believing in ourselves.
You seem to use more effects on the dobro on this album. Can you talk about some of the effects you used throughout the album? Is there one that was a favorite for you and as a player who has accomplished so much, is there an urge to go outside your comfort zone?
Most of the sounds on the album come from something I’ve used live before. So one thing we do is use sounds from the live show, like the distortion sound or the electric guitar tone. I do that live in our shows a lot and really wanted to put it on a record in a good way. Two songs really do that: “Do It Alone” has that shreddy solo in the end and then “All For Money” has that triumphant solo that sounds like a “November Rain” Slash solo or something. That’s the kind of stuff that came from the live show and into the studio. Usually it’s the other way – I’ll make up something in the studio and then have to figure out how to do it live. It was kind of the reverse this time, getting the live sound really dialed in. I’ve got these shreddy tones and it’s really fun bringing them into the studio. I wasn’t really making that much up in the studio sonically.
Do you feel like there are younger people learning to play the dobro these days?
Yeah. I actually get a fair amount of messages from people who are starting to play it and ask what the deal is with this or that. I usually try hard to be helpful because that’s the least I can do to try and continue the legacy of this cool ass instrument. There are a lot of great dobro players out there, and if they want my advice that’s cool too. They’re out there and the more you dig into bluegrass, [the more] you realize it’s an awesome instrument, it’s a voice.
One of the things that has always set Greensky apart for me is how the band has multiple strong singers. How do you decide to break up the singing when you are approaching an album’s worth of songs?
Whoever wrote the tune, they sing the lead for the most part. Then with harmonies it’s really just figure it out on the fly and see what sounds good. I wish there was some heady amazing band answer, but we just go in there and do it.
Obviously, it seems hard for any artist not to absorb our current social and political climate, regardless of your views. Do you feel like there are any songs on the album that comment on our political state?
“All For Money” is about our crazy times, not necessarily about Trump ruining everything. It’s about the trip of becoming these five dudes that are just messing around and turning into a pretty popular band. Paul [Hoffman] has never really written anything like that, it’s always like third person or written [from an outside perspective]. That song particularly is really about us and that’s the first song he has ever written that is directly about us and it’s sort of tongue in cheek. [Part of the song] is about the loss of one of our dear friends, who passed away not at a show but on the evening before a show. It was a big event where all of our community was at the show to begin with and we had to play a show the next day. From my perspective, that is the most personal thing – there’s lots of personal stuff Paul has written but it’s kind of hidden – and for me the ability to put it out front is a really new and unique thing. I don’t think it is going to be some evolution where there are tons of songs like that, it’s just a moment in time. We tend to stay away in general from anything particularly polarizing and political, no matter what we all think and how fucked up everything is. We prefer to make music that makes people happy. I consider that a lot, whether I should use our voices to try and make some sort of difference or change, but what I keep coming back to is if we can make people happy for three hours a night and they can forget all their problems and everything that’s fucked up in the world and just have a great time, that’s pretty powerful too.
Totally. It seems like the jam band scene in particular is kind of able to insulate itself from the pressure to say something or take a stance.
For better or worse, it’s true. We’re in kind of a unique space because of the songwriter thing. It sounds kind of like I’m blowing my own horn, but Dave [Bruzza] and Paul are special songwriters and there are not a lot like them in the jam band world. They’re writing important songs in my mind.
It seems like in recent years your fanbase has expanded quite a bit and you have made it to the realm of a band that has cult fans who will travel and follow you around. What has this experience been like for you?
It’s weird because a lot of people – whether it’s friends or family or interviewers, whatever – they ask me about that. It’s fucking amazing, bottom line. Because I believed in us – we’re cool and I thought we were cool. But I didn’t know I was gonna get to be right. But day to day – my real answer – I try really hard not to think about it because that’s the way I can keep doing what I do. I try and not focus on it so that I can play the music that is making that occur. If I think about it too much it freaks me the fuck out. But also, if I just focus on making the best music I can with my four bros, then we’re good. It’s a real trip for sure.
All For Money is out on January 18 and Greensky Bluegrass are currently on tour.
January 16 – Covington, KY – Madison Theater *
January 17 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium *
January 18 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant *
January 19 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle *
January 22 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Landing Terrace ^
January 23 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall ^
January 24 – Knoxville, TN – The Mill & Mine ^
January 25 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz ^
January 26 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte ^
January 27 – Charleston, WV – Mountain Stage
January 29 – Portland, ME – State Theatre #
January 30 – Boston, MA – House of Blues #
January 31 – Jim Thorpe, PA – Penn’s Peak
February 1 – Washington, DC – The Anthem #
February 2 – Washington DC – The Anthem #
February 5 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues #
February 6 – Columbus, OH – Express Live! #
February 7 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE #
February 8 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
February 9 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
*w/ Circles Around the Sun
#w/ Billy Strings
^Cris Jacobs Band
