Headstash

String Cheese Incident at Electric Forest 2011 - Photo Credit: Jordan August

Few bands have become synonymous with everything the jam band genre stands for – extended group solos, social consciousness and a love of collaborative playing. Veteran rockers The String Cheese Incident are one of those few.

Founded in Colorado in 1993, String Cheese has led the scene with their astounding musicianship and unique way of navigating the music industry.

In response to frustrations with existing policies, the band created their own ticketing, marketing and recording agencies to promote their music. String Cheese Incident has always taken the creative route both musically and commercially and in their almost 20-year career has headlined festivals like Bonnaroo, Rothbury and sold out Red Rocks, Horning’s Hideout and other famous venues countless times.

[FIND news, downloads and tour dates on String Cheese Incident's official website.]

String Cheese Incident at Electric Forest 2011 - Photo Credit: Jordan August

But since 2007, the band has only played sporadic “Incidents” before a rousing reunion at Rothbury 2009 that seemed to reinvigorate the group’s touring aspirations.

After exploring various side projects, the band is back together for a run of intimate shows on the East Coast for the first time in years. Headstash Magazine caught up with keys player Kyle Hollingsworth to talk about this tour, the impetus for “Roots Run Deep” and the future of the band.

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Headstash Magazine: Why is now the time for a String Cheese Incident tour now?

Kyle Hollingsworth: We actually have been together but not full on touring for about two years.  We played Bonnaroo this year, we did a couple festivals including Electric Forest and then last year we did Red Rocks.

For the past two years we’ve been doing what we consider “one-offs” and this time we wanted to actually get back on the buses and be in the middle of it. I feel like sometimes when you do a Bonnaroo or something, you all fly in and you play the show and you fly out. You hang out but not as much as living together again and kind of being in the moment. So we’re excited to kind of do that again.

HM: So those “one-off” shows were direct catalysts of this tour?

KH: Yes, very much so. We had taken a couple years off because we needed some space from each other and from the scene. We had a big business and we needed a break from everything.

String Cheese Incident at Electric Forest 2011 - Photo Credit: Jordan August

We were running an in-house travel agency, we were running an in-house ticketing agency, we were running an in-house record company – so the whole thing was getting too big for the music and we needed to step back from that.

Then when we started doing more shows, even if it was just Red Rocks for “one-offs,” we started feeling that connection again and we were excited to get into it a little bit more.

HM: You have The Kyle Hollingsworth Band, Michael Travis and Jason Hann have EOTO, Bill Nershi has The Emmitt-Nershi Band, and everyone else has their own stuff going on. How do these side-projects influence the future direction of the band?

KH: I’ve said this before, but I really do believe that the side-projects only strengthen String Cheese. Obviously, when we’re off doing our own thing, we’re being satisfied musically in that direction. If I’m working on what my solo project is or Billy is working on his bluegrass one or Travis is working on electronic or dubstep, you can go out and get your thrills out doing that.

When it comes to String Cheese, you can bring so many elements. Why couldn’t String Cheese play a dubstep song? Why couldn’t String Cheese play a Beck song? We bring all our elements into String Cheese as well as get our kicks out playing with solo projects.

HM: How about more specifically to you – how does your side band affect you as a musician?

KH: The main thing is to go out and visualize to completion exactly how a song wants to go.  A lot of times when you’re in a band situation, there are so many people that have input and you have to respect that.

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String Cheese Incident at Electric Forest 2011 - Photo Credit: Jordan August

All of a sudden, what you had a vision for has now turned into something that’s not exactly right.  I like that aspect of being able to complete something. It’s also honestly a little freaky to be the head of a band and have to deal with everything.

I’m excited to go on a String Cheese tour because we can all go on the bus and someone will help us make decisions versus where I’m the band manager.

HM: You guys hosted Electric Forest but the lineup was really heavy with electronic artists like Bassnectar, Pretty Lights and Tiësto. Do you see your sound heading into a more electronic direction?

KH: I think we, in the early parts of Rothbury, felt like we were definitely involved in the vision of how it was going to manifest – not only in music that was being brought to the table, but also the vibe. The forest and the hammocks and what happens after the actual festival stops was very much from a String Cheese perspective.

We did a lot of that sort of thing all across the country and we just did it in a bigger way at Rothbury. Electric Forest is the same setting, the same cool forest, the same everything there, but we just kind of changed it a little bit –  it was more electronic.

For us, it was great to see, especially for me, cause I don’t get to see that much electronic music. And especially for Billy. We walked away being like, “Wow this is really heavy music going on” and learned a lot. I think it has influenced our style, but we still want to stay true to our style.

HM: Where did the name of your tour, “Roots Run Deep,” come from?

KH: The actual name came from a song lyric from Billy Nershi’s “Restless Wind.” I think, obviously, it’s a sense of coming back to our roots.

String Cheese Incident at Electric Forest 2011 - Photo Credit: Jordan August

Getting back to the roots of our music as a core unit – as five brothers playing music together. I also think it comes back to exploring the roots of our music. For me, it’s about getting back to the heart of what String Cheese is about.

HM: What should fans expect of the tour?  Do you have some new material and are you going to be playing music from your various side-projects?

KH: We have lots of new material. Yesterday, we went through working on a Bollywood groove – taking a bluegrass thing and applying Bollywood techniques to that. We were working on a dubstep version of something. We’re all bringing in different elements, so we’re constantly evolving.

And yes, I am bringing in side-project songs and so is everybody else.  We’re also going to create music on-site.

HM: So here’s the question fans are dying to know the answer to: what does the future hold for SCI?

KH: From my perspective, I’m back in and I think that overall the band is feeling that this is just the beginning of the growth of the band again. I don’t see it being a single tour.  I think we’re back in for real.

HM: Aside from music, what else have you been working on?

KH: Well, I’ve been brewing beer. I actually made a national beer that’s available everywhere, called Hoopla. Very aptly named for a Boulder beer.

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For this tour, I’m doing an interactive experience with the fans called “Hop on Tour.” Obviously it’s a play on words, but “hopping on tour” at certain venues, I’m going to bring local breweries in and do a tasting with fans.

Also, I’ll be doing “behind the scenes” looks. There’s a lot going on in my brew world. I play music but also, for me, there’s a real connection between how I approach playing music and how I brew beer. There’s definitely these kind of “taking risk” aspects of both those crafts that I enjoy. It’s really cool because people can win contests to have beers with the band and cool things.

 

 

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String Cheese Incident opens up their “Roots Run Deep” tour Friday, November 25 at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville, NC. For a complete list of dates, check out the band’s official website.