Question and Answer

Thanks for all the incredible music over the years which has given me great pleasure! When life get me down I can always put on your music and invariably fee recharged by its beauty and personal impact.

I have been a longtime fan of yours (since 1980) when my college roommate introduced me to your music. I first saw you live in the fall of 82 at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, NY. It was truly a life-changing experience for me...

Your music has spanned a wide variety of styles and 'We Live Here' is yet another reinvention of your (and the groups) sound. I have to admit though, I'm not a big fan of pronounced drum machines or click tracks. Myself, and many other fans of yours that I know, would like to see you incorporate your Les Paul sound (Zero Tolerance) with ANY musicians you choose, to create stunning rock-like compositions (so you can show the rockers how its done). I'm thinking the best of Jeff Beck, King Crimson, etc...of course improved on by your incredible playing and compositional sense. A cross between Secret Story and Zero Tolerance? Beauty and intense passion! I believe a project such as this would be yet another milestone in your unique and illustrious career! Any chance of a project like this happening?

first off, thanks for all the nice compliments and i'm glad you like the music so much! one of my main goals in life is to completely reconcile all the things i love about music in a complete way - that is, what i love about it as a fan and what i love about it as a player or participant. because i, probably like most of you, grew up in a time where it was easy and natural to be exposed to alot of different things, it has been a reasonable reaction i think for me as a player to address the things that i dig in a complete way over the records that i get to make. someday, if i get good enough i will make the kind of record that you're talking about. i'd really like to. but it's gonna be a few more years before i'll have the wisdom and insight necessary to do it.

as far as click tracks and drum machines go, i've used them both extensively here and there since 1978. they are tools for me to realize a particular sound and i have never felt they limited possibilities as much as they have expanded them, assuming that the actual MUSIC that they are being utilized in is really happening. if a tune sucks, no click track or any other production technique is gonna help. nor, for that matter, will it help to record it all "acoustic" live-to 2-track either. to me, it's kind of like you're saying, i don't like it when people build things and they use hammers, i prefer the things that people build when they only use screwdrivers. it's just a tool. or a color. or a tool/color if something like that could exist in the physical world. most of the time people have had no idea just how often we in the group have used those kinds of things cause we generally do it in a "transparent" kind of way. it's true, with "we live here" it's quite a bit more overt. but, that was the "subject" we wanted to address this time and i think it ends up being one of our more interesting records.