Bounce Magazine April Edition 2017

APRIL 2017 | ISSUE #54
INTERVIEW WITH JOHN WHEELER
Hayseed Dixie began one day in 2000 when John Wheeler and Mike Daly
drank roughly enough whiskey to float a battleship from the Florida Coast
over to Portugal and back and decided to play around in John’s studio.
Now, 17 years and 14 albums later, with global
physical sales in excess of half a million and
over 1,200 live shows in 31 different countries
under their belts, Hayseed Dixie are the
undisputed creators of the musical genre,
Rockgrass.
There are many copycats,
converts, and disciples out
there. Accept no imitations.
Free Your Mind And
Your Grass Will Follow’ is
released worldwide on
April 14 th on Hayseed Dixie
Records.
You’re style of music has
been called Rockgrass,
can you explain that to us?
Talking about music is rather like dancing
about architecture, but instead of trying to
explain to somebody what kind of music we
play, the term was coined. Probably very
late at night. I can’t honestly remember. But
I do remember saying it on a radio show in
Birmingham, Alabama in 2001 and it’s been
in circulation ever since. I reckon we think of
ourselves as a rock band playing on bluegrass
instruments, as opposed to a bluegrass band
playing rock material. There’s a fundamental
difference. But neither one will likely fix the
pot holes in the road!
Having played well over 1000 shows across
the world, is there anything youve learned
that needs to be passed
onto our readers?
Oh... That would take several
volumes! But I think the
most important things I’’ve
learned is that once you
get past language barriers,
people are pretty much the
same everywhere you go.
Everybody feels the same
emotions, the same fears,
desires, hopes. And that
most of the differences we’re taught to think
are national, cultural, ethnic, whatever... are
artificial. Somebody is just making all this s**t
up.
What has been the most unusual place you
have played?
There have been a few! A huge cave with 600
people under a mountain in East Tennessee
was a pretty interesting one. On the castle
mound for the 2005 Edinburgh Hogmanay
For more information go to www.hayseed-dixie.com
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