Tea Leaf Green guitarist Josh Clark doesn’t care what people label his band.
While Tea Leaf Green’s latest release, the concert film/live album Rock ‘N’ Roll Band, may have seemed like a shot against their jam band label – the title came from a lyric in the album’s opening song “These Two Chairs” -Clark says he doesn’t mind what people call his group.
“I like jam bands,” he says. “I love it. I embrace it. I want to hear a 45-minute song. I want my songs long, I love that shit.”
Tea Leaf Green, which plays at Baltimore’s The 8×10 on March 21, has been grinding it out in music world since 1998, when the band started in San Francisco.
“I grew up with [drummer Scott Rager] and then moved up to San Francisco and wanted to keep playing in a band. We met [bassist Ben Chambers] at college and picked up [lead singer and keyboardist Trevor Garrod] shortly there after,” Clark says.
“We were getting stoned and making shit up,” he says. “That’s how you make a jam band right there. That’s the blueprint.”
Tea Leaf Green’s sound – which Clark describes as “John Denver with Tourette’s” – comes from its many influences.
“When you start playing the guitar, you start playing AC/DC songs and classic rock songs, I guess I never really dug any deeper then that,” Clark says. “Trevor listens to funk and jazz, sophisticated stuff like that, Scotty is into the classic rock thing – he’s a big Rush fan – and Ben is into hip-hop and rap music.”
Clark also says there is one genre he spends most of his time listening to these days.
“I listen to modern country radio. It’s the only place you can hear a good guitar solo on the radio today,” he says. “I love that shit and I can’t get enough of it. It makes you laugh and it makes you cry.
For any jam band, the biggest thrill comes when the band collaborates on stage with one of their idols. Tea Leaf Green has already played with two titans in the genre: In 2005, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir sat in with the band on separate occasions.
Clark says both sit-ins were “awesome and surreal experiences,” but he enjoyed playing with Anastasio more.
“Its kind of like getting to play [baseball] with Willie Mays or something,” Clark says. “They were both fun, but I kind of liked playing with Trey a bit more. Weir’s out there – he’s got these hand signals that are confusing. Trey just likes to get in there and play.”
Clark also says there is one artist he would love to collaborate with: former Guns ‘N’ Roses guitarist Slash.
“I think that’d be another dream come true right there,” Clark says.
Tea Leaf Green also has a close relationship with several of their peers, including Chicago-based Umphrey’s McGee. The band has opened for Umphrey’s McGee four times since 2005, and last year at a show in Santa Cruz, Calif., their sets segued seamlessly into each other.
“It was their idea,” Clark says. “We were sharing equipment, which made it easier, and it’s cool for the fans. It worked out great, I thought. When you get that many people that know the road map, it can either be bad or it can be beautiful. You never know.”
Playing more than 150 shows coast-to-coast and creating new and inventive ways to perform songs every night can be grueling, Clark says.
“It gets to be a drag sometimes,” he says. “Sometimes I wish I was in a band that plays the same set every night. I want to put it on auto-pilot sometimes.”
With die-hard fans along both coasts, Clark actually says the band has seen more success in the east than in their west home base.
“I don’t really notice that much of a difference [between crowds], but more people show up on the east,” Clark says. “It’s slowly going but once people catch on it starts snowballing. Fans of this type of music are the best you can have. They rock out and they’re more entertaining than the band sometimes.”
Tea Leaf Green has especially found success in Virginia – they even sell T-shirts reading “Virginia is for leafers,” playing off the state’s “Virginia is for lovers” slogan.
“Virginia kinda caught on to us,” Clark says. “The Northeast is pretty great, but we don’t discriminate. Everyone rocks out all over the country.”
As for the summer, the band will once again hit the ever-popular festival circuit, hitting Summer Camp, Mountain Jam, Wakarusa and Bonnaroo among many others.
While Clark says Wakarusa is his favorite to “hang and chill” because it’s “so wide open and gorgeous,” he enjoys them all.
“They’re all a great time,” he says. “I get into it, I love the Festie. The Bonnaroo is great. It’s a great artist situation – they do it the best. You get to sit in an air-conditioned tent and watch the sets on a TV.”
“Bonnaroo – you can’t beat that as a performer.”
Tea Leaf Green performs at Baltimore’s The 8×10 on Wednesday March 21. Tickets are $12 in advance and day of. You must be 18 or older to enter and doors open at 8 p.m.
Contact reporter Rudi Greenberg at greenbergdbk@gmail.com.
