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'No Summers Off' For DMB Members

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By CURTIS ROSS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 3, 2008

Playing bass for The Dave Matthews Band might seem like a great gig, what with the sold-out stadiums and hordes of adoring fans and what not.

There is one distinct disadvantage though - summer vacations are few and far between.

"No summers off," Stefan Lessard says with a laugh, on the telephone from Pittsburgh, where the band was rehearsing for - what else? - its upcoming summer tour.

"Last year was the shortest tour in a long time. We had all of June off," Lessard notes.

The Dave Matthews Band's summer tours are an annual ritual for fans, some of whom plan their time off around tour dates.

"It's a fun thing to know you're someone's vacation," Lessard says.

The chances of the band becoming a vacation destination might have seemed slim when it formed in the early '90s, as hair metal was giving over to grunge.

The group didn't fit into any musical category, and its lineup, featuring violin and saxophone, featured nary a screaming electric guitar.

"A dysfunctional bluegrass band - maybe that's what we were," Lessard says. "But we hit a real niche."

"Dave is a great songwriter and lyricist," Lessard says. "Also, the vision he had was of a band. When we came into this together, we learned to write together and play together. Between the five of us, we created a sort of special moment."

Lessard acknowledges the band "got real lucky" but also points out: "We worked our asses off."

"We played any party, any fraternity house that would have us," Lessard says. "We put on a good show and made people remember us. That's the foundation of our fan base and our success."

Touring still is the mainstay for the band, despite a few platinum albums and more radio play than most of its peers, such as Phish or Widespread Panic.

It's important for a band rooted in live performance to view the studio as a separate entity, Lessard says.

"We don't want to do a live record in the studio," Lessard says. "The studio is a whole other art form.

"We love the studio as much as playing live," Lessard says. "We enjoy trying to put together the best piece best of work. We're in a lucky situation. The album's not done till we like it."

The band's lineup has remained stable since its inception. Lessard likens the individual members' contributions to those of the parts of a sports car.

"Carter Beauford, drummer is the engine. Without him, there's no motion. He's the vehicle," Lessard says.

"I think I bring in the wheels," he continues, "the foundation that's always there and always solid. Dave is the interior and the body. He puts the form together.

"Boyd Tinsley, violin and Leroi Moore saxophone add the details, the chrome, the wood molding. They give the car its own character." (Moore was injured Monday in an ATV accident and it's uncertain he'll play at the Tampa show.)

Lessard joined the band at age 16 and admits that "there's a piece of me that wishes I could have" finished college.

"I did really want to go to school. I love learning," Lessard says. "But I was at a crossroads. I made the right choice."

ON TOUR

Dave Matthews Band

WITH: Gomez

WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Ford Amphitheatre, 4802 U.S. 301 N., Tampa; (813) 740-2446

COST: $40, $67.50 and $75

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