From the humble beginnings of brothers Scott and Seth Avett jamming in their bedrooms, this indie-rock-turned-bluegrassy-folk-pop group has worked hard to become one of the nation’s biggest touring acts. This summer The Avett Brothers are playing festivals alongside such musical titans as Kanye West, Eminem and Elton John and will be headlining a show at the Toledo Zoo on Aug. 5. We sat down with Avett’s bassist, Bob Crawford, to catch up with this fast-moving outfit.
What was the early incarnation of the band like; how did you find your sound?
I met the guys in March of 2001. I went back to school to study music and a gentleman I was in the jazz program with at Winthrop University worked with Scott at the Learning Center in Charlotte, NC. They were looking for an upright bass player and my friend put me in touch with them and that’s how the three of us began playing together.
For a long while the band was working mainly small venues, and in the last five years you have ramped it up to these giant shows. Has it been a tough transition?
We are well suited now, right? [Laughs] Now we have seven people on stage. When we started making the transition we still only had four people on stage… it was awkward. We had a scenario going back five years ago where Scott and Seth would literally be running between banjo, drums, keyboard, electric guitar, and acoustic guitar. We realized, over time, we needed to have a drummer, a piano player, fiddle player, etc. Scott will switch off playing the one piano and guitar, and I switch off playing the fiddle. The keyboard player will play the bass. So we’ve got many tools at our disposal… We’re set up now where we can play the small venue or the large venue and feel comfortable.
On the song “Good to You,” off of the new record, there is a mention (on the commentary) that it’s mainly a song you had a big hand in, and it kind of hinted at a traumatic family event. Would you elaborate on that?
My daughter had recently been born when we were working on the song. I was so swept up in love with my daughter and being a father that I just couldn’t imagine not being with her all the time… There are so many pressures in life and fathers get pulled away and they become selfish or self-centered. … The weight of that has grown exponentially since my daughter got cancer. She was 22 months old when she was diagnosed and now she is 4 years old. She’s had four major brain surgeries; she’s got special needs. That song has a completely different meaning for me now.
How are you able to balance being in a global touring band with the demands of your daughter’s situation?
I took a year off. So, there was the initial shock, that initial two months in the hospital, then we went to St. Jude’s [Children’s Research Hospital] for treatment. So through most of that I just dropped out. Since she has gotten a more regular lifestyle, I’ve been back full time for a year.
Is there a rhythm between, “We’re going to tour for the summer and do the festivals and then put out a studio album after that,” or is it just play it by ear?
Everything has to be booked well in advance, but we leave these pockets of time for family and we leave them for recording and demoing and writing. We do it very untraditional. … If you’re gone for three weeks or more, that’s really hard.
Do you ever feel like, “Where the hell am I ” when you’re on tour?
No. We’re all pretty sober. It’s more like, “Hey, where’s my coffee?”
Tuesday, August 5, 7:30pm.
Toledo Zoo Amphitheater.
Reserved Seat Tickets: $42.50 / $38.50
ticketmaster.com
