With Dave Matthews Band’s summer tour now underway, we thought it was a fine time to share this archival interview from May 2005

Though a classically trained violinist and one-time guitarist, Boyd Tinsley first found national fame as a fiddler in the Dave Matthews Band. Cutting its chops on the jamband circuit, the Dave Matthews Band followed the grassroots blueprint perfected by the Grateful Dead, spending months on the road and linking with like-minded organic acts. Blossoming into one of the nation’s top concert draws, the Dave Matthews Band eventually became one of a handful of acts to sell out stadiums across the country, reaching the top of the Billboard charts along the way. Yet, in recent years, Tinsley and his bandmates seemed to lose some direction in the studio, trimming their arrangements for the radio-friendly Everyday and then shelving the controversial “Lillywhite Sessions” (later rearranged and released as Busted Stuff).

Following an 80,000-person gathering in New York’s Central Park, the members of the Dave Matthews Band temporarily went their separate ways, releasing a variety of solo projects and touring with an eclectic selection of musicians. For his part, Tinsley issued his first solo album, True Reflections, which showcased both his vocal and songwriting skills. Before coming together for an amphitheater tour last summer, the Dave Matthews Band returned to active songwriting, composing its most improvisational songs since the early 1990s. This winter, the group returned to the studio with producer Mark Batson for Stand Up, the band’s most collaborative effort to date.

The Dave Matthews Band recently announced its plans to play New York City’s Randall’s Island this summer, for a two-day multi-band urban festival. The “Island Getaway” on July 30 and 31 will feature supporting performances by Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Black Eyed Peas, Jem, Mike Doughty and more.

Tinsley took some time out to talk to Relix about his recent recording sessions, his group’s first multi-band festival, and why Warren Haynes is a “spiritual individual.”

Initially, what spurred the idea for the Randall’s Island Getaway?

We wanted to do something in New York. Last time we played New York was our Central Park show. If we play for another 20 years, I think that will be the pinnacle of our career. Last year we tried to organize a festival on Governors Island but we just couldn’t get it together in time. A festival is a great opportunity to see a lot of cats. In the mid-1990s, we played H.O.R.D.E. three or four times. There were some great acts out there: The Allman Brothers, Lenny Kravitz and, of course, Blues Traveler. When you’re on the road touring so much, the last thing you want to do is see a band when you come home [laughs]. We’re also excited to play Bonnaroo. I’ve never been there myself, but I know Dave was down there to perform with another group. It’s going to be a lot of fun – a big “hippie bash,” so to speak.

I hear each performer on the Randall’s Island bill was handpicked by the band.

Jem is an awesome performer and just a great, great girl. It’s going to really be cool to get her out there to play with us. And Robert Randolph has been out with us a couple of times. He is a spectacular player and his whole band is awesome. It will be a great opportunity to see a lot of those cats. I’ve never seen the Black Eyed Peas before. We’re all really excited to see them.

Unlike your previous albums, you didn’t road test the songs on Stand Up before entering the studio.

We did this album a little differently. We usually come into the studio with the songs already ready, as you said. But this time we wrote them all in the studio. Because of the way we went about it in the studio, we really haven’t played these songs together as a band. Starting next week we are going into rehearsals and are going to really nail the songs down. Like all of our songs, they will just evolve as we go on the road – they’ll take a different shape from their album versions.

Last summer you also debuted a handful of numbers on tour with the intention of eventually recording them…

Our intention was to take about seven of the songs that we had worked out last summer and use them as the base of the album. But when we got in the studio, man, everyone was feeling this time like, “Let’s just start from scratch – let’s just build a whole new album from ideas from everyone in the band.” I’m really glad we did that. This is definitely one of the most fun, creative studio experiences we’ve ever had. Everyone was a main contributor to at least one, or even several, songs. It brought out a lot of different things from each band member. It forced us to dig into places we haven’t really dug into before. Stefan picked up an electronic guitar. Dave played piano. I play electric mandolin on a tune. I think everyone wanted to experiment. There is a good chance that I’m even going to play mandolin on the road.

How did you structure the group writing process?

For the first week or so, we’d get in the studio with Mark Batson one at a time and just put down ideas. On “American Baby,” the violin hook is the very first thing I played in the studio. Mark basically said, “Play” and the violin hook is the first thing I came out with at that time and that whole song is based on that hook. Everyone did that: Dave came in with some chord progressions and Carter came in with some drum grooves and Roi came in with some horn lines. It was based on ideas brought to the table by individual band members. Mark is an amazing guy – a really insightful producer and individual. He understood what each of us brought to the table as an individual.

Did Batson bring any elements of his hip-hop background into the Stand Up sessions?

If there is anything from the hip-hop side, it’s that the low-end is a lot more kicking than it used to be. And that’s a good thing. But he didn’t try to come in and make us into a hip-hop band. The thing about Mark is that he is a great musician…period. He understood the band from the very beginning. I think the album sounds like the Dave Matthews Band but a different side of the Dave Matthews Band. It comes across in a lot of different ways. There is a funkier side in certain places and more of a rock side in other places. A few songs got very African – a lot of that is coming from Dave, who’s South African. It brought a lot of stuff that we already had in us but we needed Mark to draw out.

In a 2002 Relix interview you told [senior editor] Dean Budnick that, in recent years, the Dave Matthews Band has been focusing more on tightening its arrangements than jamming. How much room do you feel there is for improvisation within these songs?

I think these songs definitely lend themselves to improvisation. I mean, I think some of the ballads will come out to be less improvisational, but I think for the most part, these songs are going to lend themselves to stretching out and evolving on the road. “Louisiana Bayou” is one that comes to mind as a song that will lend itself to a lot of improv.

Since 2002’s Busted Stuff, both you and Dave have recorded and released solo albums. Do you think your time away from the band helped further Stand Up’s collaborative spirit?

Hell yeah! I think that was a really great thing for us. At the same time I was doing my own solo album, Dave was doing his own solo thing. Everyone was reaching out to different projects and just going into their own studios and working on different ideas. It shows on this album. Everything we learned from those individual projects, we brought to the table on this album. Everyone had a lot of different ideas to bring. I played with Doyle Bramhall and Chris Bruce – a lot of great musicians. I think it actually opened us up a lot musically working on those different projects.

Shifting gears to the Dave Matthews Band’s live show – how is the band composing its setlists this tour?

It comes around that day [of the show]. It usually involves either Dave or Stefan or Dave and Stefan and Carter, because they’re the rhythm section. Roi and I don’t necessarily have to play every note, so we defer to them. And, occasionally, the crew will contribute as well. We try to mix it up for both us and the audience.

Last year the Dave Matthews Band also began to issue Live Trax, a series of authorized archival performances. How did you select the three shows currently offered. [12/8/98, Worcester, MA; 9/12/04, San Francisco, CA; and 8/27/00, Hartford, CT]?

A lot of it is the crew – they are the ones listening to us all the time. A lot of times when we’re in it, we can’t remember today from yesterday [laughs]. They’ll give us a bunch of CDs from different shows and we’ll listen to them and give our opinions on the best ones. But we usually let the crew pick those out. Like that San Francisco show was a really special one – similar to the New York show. The whole city sort of opened us. I remember it being a pretty smoking show – Carlos Santana came out and played with us that day. That was the highlight of that night for me.

*Santana seemed to act as a city ambassador, similar to what Warren Haynes did during your Central Park performance… *

I’ll tell you what: You see a lot of musicians come and go over the years, but Warren has been with us from the very beginning. He offered to support us when we were just starting out in clubs. He would come down and sit in with us – share his wisdom with us – and he always comes back around. He used to come down to check us out when we were playing at the Wetlands in the early 1990s. I have yet to meet a more spiritual individual.