Split personality: Dave Matthews defends his music’s new direction

Kirk Baird

Friday, May 25, 2001 | 9:39 a.m.

Fast Facts

What: Dave Matthews Band with Widespread Panic, Macy Gray, Angelique Kidjo.

Where: Sam Boyd Stadium.

Shows: 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Cost: $50.50.

Information: 895-3900.

In some respects it's the story of two bands going in different musical directions.

One, clinging to a sound that its members have outgrown, but built a reputation on; the other wanting to push forward into new territory, even at the expense of its fans.

In reality, its the story of one: the Dave Matthews Band, which performs Saturday and Sunday at Sam Boyd Stadium. (Matthews also performs at a private VIP concert tonight at the Aladdin.)

There was a lot riding on the bands new album, "Everyday," as it began work on the new release in January. Matthews had sold 20 million records and was listed as one of the countrys top four touring acts since 1997, according to Pollstar, a music industry magazine that tracks concert ticket sales.

So, its no wonder the band was looking to stay the course, relying on longtime producer Steve Lillywhite to help maintain the its eclectic but increasingly familiar folk-meets-jazz-meets-world-music sound; however, Matthews and the other members Carter Beauford, drums, percussion; Stefan Lassard, bass; Leroi Moore, horns; and Boyd Tinsley, violin grew increasingly frustrated with the album, particularly its been-there-done-that sound.

So Matthews, 33, did what few musicians have the courage to do. He started over.

After touring last summer he found a new producer in pop maestro Glen Ballard, whose previous efforts include Alanis Morissette and Aerosmith, and forged a new musical direction -- sort of -- replacing his acoustic guitar for an electric guitar on many numbers.

The duo crafted 12 songs in a matter of days, and soon the rest of the band was quickly speeding through the carefully orchestrated recording session that would yield "Everyday." Gone were the lengthier, indulgent tunes the band was accustomed to playing, replaced by shorter, meatier pieces that edged the Dave Matthews Band closer to pop-band status.

For Matthews, this new style marked a rebirth of sorts.

"It was fun to work in a format, for me, of thinking about writing pop songs," Matthews said in a recent phone interview from his home in Seattle. "Not to belittle what we do, but me and Roy (LeRoi) have always seen this band as a pop band. What else is it? It's popular music. Then again, my category of what's pop music would probably be a little wider" than most people's.

Still, despite what amounts to a musical overhaul, he resisted the statement that this is a new direction -- stylistically speaking -- for the band.

"Nothing's really changed that much for us," Matthews said. "I've read all these things that say we've never had an electric guitar (on an album). We've never had an album that didn't have an electric guitar on it. This time I'm playing it, so that's what made the difference."

As can be expected with any change, reaction was divided.

Critically, "Everyday" was well-received, with many applauding the band's more muscular and edgier sound. Although the album debuted at No. 1, quickly going platinum, some fans were not willing to let go of the band's familiar sound.

"Some of the more extreme reactions have been this is a really great departure, and this is a really terrible departure," he said. "And I'm like, 'Look, I've been here the whole time and I haven't departed.' So, whatever.

"Certainly, I don't think that I've betrayed anyone or that I've bent over to indulge anybody, either, except myself."

Perhaps adding fuel to the fire of those who prefer the older musical style of the band was the leaking of the unreleased album to Napster and various Internet newsgroups just as "Everyday" hit the stores.

Although never titled ("We never really came up with a name for it," Matthews said) the album is unofficially referred to as the "Lillywhite Sessions" in honor of its producer.

"Lillywhite" is, in many ways, the antithesis of "Everyday," with longer songs filled with richer arrangements. Although darker in tone than any other Dave Matthews Band album, it's by no means a disappointment.

Certainly not to Matthews.

"I love the songs, you can't get me to change my opinion on it and criticize the album," he said. "I think (they are) some of the best songs I've ever written. And by no means are they any less important to me than any other music we've ever released."

As for the album's availability on the Internet, Matthews said he thought it was "cool," but expressed disappointment that what fans are hearing in the new album is a work in progress.

Some of the songs were "half-a-day's sketches," he said, when the band was sometimes unsure how to play the pieces, even after recording them.

"It's disappointing that it didn't get to the point where we said, 'OK, it's done' and then it gets out," Matthews said. "We got to a point where we said, 'OK, it's not done,' and let's go out on tour. And then on the tour decided for the health of us -- the band -- we would make a change. I just think the way it came about was we need a little more time to live with it, you know, and to work with that stuff, to bring the nature of the album out.

"I'm certainly in between other members of the band: one side of which thinks 'It's good' (it was released); other guys think it's terrible, it's robbery."

Given a choice, Matthews said he would have liked to have done "a Bruce Springsteen thing" and released both "Everyday" and "Lillywhite" in the same package.

When asked if there were plans to officially release the album as is or to return to the studio to complete it, he said he wasn't sure.

"We haven't had any plans about putting it out," Matthews said.

But the band plays many of those songs in concert, he said, adding, "They're better now than they ever were."

It's the same for the songs from "Everyday," which are also expanding as the band grows more comfortable with them.

For example, the gospel-tinged title track that he joked could head toward "40-minute nightmares" and the rollicking "What You Are," which will eventually feature "a lot of different episodes."

"But because we've only been playing these songs live for three weeks, it's no time to make a judgment yet," Matthews said.

Meanwhile offstage Matthews has other concerns.

He's soon to be a father (his wife is expecting fraternal twins in September) and he's adjusting to his new life in Seattle, after moving from his longtime home in Charlottesville, Va.

And, of course, there's the fact he's now a certified rock star. Never mind that Matthews is often asked, "Has anyone ever told you you look like Tom Hanks?" (in particular his "Forrest Gump" character).

At this stage in his life, he clearly has found success -- or has he?

"What is success?" he joked. "I don't know. Not paying for hotel pornography, that is success."

For the curious, there was no word on how successful Matthews has been.

Kirk Baird

is an Accent feature writer. Reach him at kirk@lasvegassun.com or at 259-8801.