GG: As a violinist, what were some of your influences in
your formative years as a musician?
Boyd: I started playing the violin sort of by accident,
when I was about ll or 12, going to middle school.
I wanted to be a guitar player. So, I joined this
class that said strings and it turned out to be a
stringed orchestra class. I started to play the
violin and that introduced me to a lot of
classical music and music with strings in it. And
that's what I listened to through high school.
Most kids were listening to a lot of rock n' roll,
and I was listening to Mozart, Chopan. That was a
large part, plus on part of that a lot of 60's and
70's rock and roll.
GG: How does a violinist become part of a rock band
lineup?
Boyd: I guess it's just an attitude.(laughs) I was
already in another rock band when Dave asked me to
join his band. Actually, I've been in a couple of
rock acoustic duo's and things like that. That's
what really I've been doing for the past 10 years
or so.
GG: Were you into Kansas at all? They were one of the
pioneers on incorporating violins in their music
on a regular basis.
Boyd: I listened to Kansas... and I liked them, but I
wasn't heavily influenced by them. That is
definately were I got the idea-like how to use the
violin in an alternative setting, other than just
classical music, country music, or whatever.
They're definately one of the bands that opened my
eyes to that.
GG: How did the five piece lineup hookup?
Boyd: Dave had worked at this bar called Miller's in
Charlottesville for a while and we had all played
there, and David had seen us all play. He had these
songs that he wanted to put together on a demo
tape, and asked each of us to record with him. We
said yes obviously, and we were doing a couple of
gigs at a restaurant called the Eastern Standard on
Tuesday nights just to prepare for this recording.
That's were the band began, we really liked what
was happening there. We decided to stay together
beyond the demo recording. And here we are 4 or 5
years later.
GG: How did John Popper from Blues Traveler become
involved on your debut "Under the Table and
Dreaming?"
Boyd: We've known John pretty much almost from the
beginning. Their soundman was a big fan of ours,
and he introduced Blues Traveler to us. And we
opened some shows for them that were really on,
and that started our relationship. John had been
sitting in with us, and various members of our
band were sitting in with Blues Traveler over the
last couple of years. He was a pretty natural pick
when we wanted to have someone sit in on the album.
GG: You're band has toured with our hometown hero's
Rusted Root. Do you think the music scene has
expanded because of the newer, more diverse bands?
Boyd: I think it definately could be. There's a lot of
cool bands that seem to be popping up, and doing
well. It could only help in having a scene of
diversity out there.
GG: How did RCA come to find the band?
Boyd: We were on our own for a couple of years, with our
manager, and I guess doing well-picking up some
following at different places and about to release
our own album. This caught notice of RCA and a few
other record companies. But RCA was the most
determined(chuckles), and eventually got us.
They're also people who are really interested in
the music... and it's really turned out to be a
good relationship so far.
GG: This CD has been out for a while, and you guys have
been on the road quite extensively since then. Is
there any new material in the works?
Boyd: We have 6 or 7 songs that we've been working on
since the last tour that we're preparing for the
studio. I think more songs will probably transpire
before the studio, and in the studio as well.
GG: Will you re-release your indie album Remember Two
Things?
Boyd: It's still out there. It's probably not as readily
avaliable in record stores as Under the Table and
Dreaming. Because it's basically distributed
through our own offices, and not through RCA.
GG: How did you come up with the violin solo in "Ants
Marching"?
Boyd: I really don't remember. I'm trying to recall
when we recorded that, it wasn't too many takes.
Steve Leuywise is our producer and basically said,
'Look, just go in play a couple of times and have a
good time.' It's a pretty laid back philosophy, and
it's pretty much what we did.
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