 On 9/20/05 Dave Matthews was interviewed by KBCO's Bret Saunders about Red Rocks, Farm Aid, a new Red Rocks DVD, and recent satire in The Onion.
Thanks to
Pakelikaforprezz for the transcription.
Dave Matthews: Hey. How are you doing Bret? KBCO: Fine man. How are you? DM: I’m doing good thank you. KBCO: I heard you were really battling a virus or two while you were here in Colorado. DM: Oh no I wasn’t. I was healthy as I could be. I just have to, when I’m uh not accustomed to the thin air and the altitude then uh I have to sort of take a little extra care of myself so that I don’t blow it all out in the 1st night. KBCO: Hey, may I say on behalf of everybody here: Thanks for everything that you do and everything you did on Monday night DM: Oh that was a blast and you know really the thing is in all honesty that, that uh, everybody who bought tickets and everybody who came and all the crew, and the bus drivers, the local crew, everybody, the truck drivers that gave their time for free: you know, where it not for the people that bought the tickets we wouldn’t have been able, obviously, to raise anything so the truth is anybody who came there was a participant in it and we’re just grateful that uh, we can hold a party and collect a good deal of money to help uh, rebuild uh, down there in the gulf. KBCO: What did you get out of that show? DM: Well you know we’ve had a- pretty exceptional year as far as our relationships with each other and enjoyment of the music. And to finish off the tour with something that was so, in a sense, commu- you know obviously there was the catastrophe that was an inspiration for it, but for something that so community- community oriented it was a good way to light the last candle. The performance was just, we had such a great weekend there; we just tried to keep the same mood with a slightly philanthropic edge to it. KBCO: Did you check out the Neville Brothers Dave? DM: Oh yeah. The Nevill-that’s you know. We were so excited that they considered coming down cause you know their roots, their whole family, they’re history is New Orleans. So I love watching them so I’d go, I‘d pay, I’d gladly buy a ticket to go see em’; but to have the luxury of having them sharing the stage was pretty amazing. It was great to have Ivan come on and sit in with us. It was just awesome to have them. Sort of legends coming to join us is, pretty humbling. KBCO: I thought it was incredibly brave of them too but after talking with Art: they basically don’t have anything else to do right now besides tour because they don’t know the situation with their own homes. DM: Yeah I mean their, like I said, everything of theirs is you know back there and you know at least to a degree underwater. I know for all (mumble) purposes they’re kind of without homes so. So they’re on the road you know? KBCO: Do you see a CD/DVD release of Monday’s night’s performance in the future? DM: I’m not sure what we’re going to do with it. I mean we had such a, we had such a great time and I think if we were going to do anything like that, I think that it would only be appropriate for us to make it one that would, the profits from which would go to furthering into something that didn’t, wouldn’t profit us but maybe would profit the efforts down, uh down south there. KBCO: Alright, I’m talking with Dave Matthews. You’re also participating in Farm Aid. Uh maybe a lot of people don’t know it Dave, but you’re a farmer yourself. DM: Yeah well you know uh, a comfortable farmer. Maybe a better way to explain it would be that I enable a lot of qualified farmers to do what they love and uh, at least to do more of it using the land that I have. And my involvement with Farm Aid is principally because I have real concerns about the quality of food that, to a large degree, is compromised for profit in our culture and I think the world over really. Its to trying to promote the small farms, or the farms that are heavily pre-occupied with the idea of making the planet healthier. KBCO: You know one of the other advantages to Farm Aid is that you get to hang out with Willie Nelson too. DM: Yeah that’s you know, that’s a giant plus, and Neil and John. And there’s always an interesting collection of musicians. One of the things I like about Farm Aid is that is just a really, there’s no bad side to it; it’s just a really beautiful thing. And uh, like you said on top of that I get to hang out with Willie. KBCO: Hey are you familiar with the satirical newspaper The Onion? DM: Oh yeah. But I tell you, that’s the only true article that I’ve ever read in the Onion because I actually did say all those things. I am over me. I’m sick of me. I think the only misquote is that, they said that I said that I was so 1997. But the tru- I think I’m much more 1996. I’m just tired of me. I can’t take it anymore. And the thing is that wherever I go, I’m going to Africa in a week to see if I can get away from my self that way. But I don’t know that I can. I can’t get away from me. Wherever I go there I am. KBCO: Trey Anastasio told me a few weeks ago that being satirized in the Onion was the greatest honor that ever happened to him. DM: Well you know for him honors are few and far between. KBCO: By the way I want to clear up a rumor. Well obviously the rumors already been cleared up. And that was back in 2003, July of that year, somebody threw a knife on stage during one of your performances here in Denver. I don’t know if you remember that. And you know, lots of fans have called in and said you know, Dave would never come back to play here again. But you did come back. No. Yeah uh, I’m guess that that was an exception more than anything else. That was an incredibly stupid thing to do. But I certainly didn’t blame Denver for it. You know, just one drunk idiot- you know took his pocket- his hunting knife out and whipped it at the stage. And you know, one hopes that people that were in his immediate vicinity at least gave him uh, some come uppin’s. KBCO: Alright well, Dave Matthews I know how busy you are. I’m glad you can take the time to speak with us. You got to know here at KBCO how happy we are for your success. Well thank you. You guys have always been you know, the first station I remember, spending-spent a lot of energy there. And I’m grateful for all the support you guys have given us. You know, I’m the luckiest bastard I know so thank you for uhm, for being so generous to us all these years.
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