But when it came to jamming and writing songs like we used to, we realized Brandon was a huge spirit in the band. Who knew? It was just something we had to learn.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I was in the band as a boy and was taught music and learned to compose.
When we started I wasn't the singer. I was the drunk rhythm guitarist who wrote all these weird songs.
We used to really feel like the band was our family.
But then when he left, I realized that it was harder to write songs and feel spiritually connected to art and music as a band. When he came back I felt it again, instantaneously.
He learned through the way that my father and I felt about his songs, his country songs, that they were great songs. And then he went out and sang them for the audiences that we found, and he found a tremendous reaction to that.
I feel so lucky to have been in a group where it was a real band. This wasn't a singer and guitar player and some other guys.
My brother was always in bands and on the road when I was a kid and he was my inspiration. He never made it with a big band, in fact he never made a record. Here he is fifty-something years old.
I learned so many roles so quickly as a young singer, I thought it was time to come back to them and make them better - deeper, more nuanced.
Everyone's different, but it was fun for me to work with Garth Hudson. He's from 'The Band.' They are a massive influence, that was a big thrill. He's completely out of his mind.
Everybody knew James Brown. Every musician dreamed of being in his band.