Boyd Tinsley Q&A Interview on ESPN.com
May 2nd, 2006
Online Interview on ESPN.com with Boyd Tisley of the Dave Matthews Band
Buzzmaster: (3:48 PM ET ) Boyd is here and ready for your questions.
Philip (Blacksburg, VA): Hey, Boyd, I herd that you are a very active tennis player. Who is your favorite pro tennis star?
Boyd: (3:49 PM ET ) I started getting into tennis in the mid-80s with McEnroe, Connors, Borg, Becker. I got away from it a bit until watching Andy Roddick play about 5 years ago. He showed the same kind of passion and heart that a McEnroe had and he's a big fan of DMB and came out to some shows. He sort of inspired me to play and get involved in tennis. He's my favorite and also a good friend.
________________________________________Mark (Hanover,PA): BT: Long time DMB fan (been to 81 shows). My question is, who are some of the top athletes you have met at DMB shows? Thanks, see you in Pittsburgh in June!
Boyd: (3:51 PM ET ) We've had a few athletes come to shows. I'll start with some tennis players: Roddick, James Blake, Mardy Fish, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and we've had Tiki Barber, Barry Zito, Scott Rolen, Rick Fox. We've also had McEnroe, Michael Moorer, Jim Mora the coach of the Falcons and Tony Hawk.
________________________________________Shawn (Marysville, OH): How exciting to be doing the theme music for the Wimbeldon coverage. Who are you favorite tennis players?
Boyd: (3:53 PM ET ) When I got the phone call that said ESPN wanted me to do this, I had to call back and say 'who wants me to do what?'. Combining a sport that I love with music in one occasion, especially such a prestigious event, it's a very historic moment and something I'll cherish the rest of my life.
________________________________________Nate: (scottsdale and Arizona):: Is it true you have a gym on your tour bus? You guys also havent been to vegas for a long time.... Do you think DMB will be playing VEGAS any time soon? Thanks for the tunes!!!
Boyd: (3:54 PM ET ) We have a gym on an 18-wheeler that we take with us. I'm in there everyday after sound check. Several other band and crew members are in there, too. Without working out, I'm not sure I'd have the stamina and energy to play. I can't wait to get to Vegas myself, so hopefully we'll be there soon.
________________________________________Ryan (Phoenix, AZ): Boyd, I just wanted to thank you guys for assisting me in my proposal to my fiance. I won 5th row seats through the Bama Works online auction to your show in St. Louis on 6/1/05. I brought her down right in front of the stage during Everyday and proposed. It was perfect. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you. Please pass this along to the guys.
Boyd: (3:55 PM ET ) That's cool and congratulations! Come celebrate your anniversary with us.
________________________________________Dino: Brookfield, CT: I've been to 111 Dave Matthews Band shows all over the United States. I saw you guys dusted off JTR to close the show at Jazzfest and was wondering if you guys will pull out any other songs the fans haven't heard in awhile(Last Stop, Dreamimg Tree, etc.)? Please be as specific as possible. Thanks, and see you at SPAC.
Boyd: (3:56 PM ET ) There's a lot of songs that we've set aside over the last couple of years, because we have so many. JTR is one of the songs that everyone in the band already love, but stayed tuned for more tunes we haven't played for a while.
________________________________________Bloomington, IL: Hey Boyd, can you explain in any way what the song Machead is about? We at antsmarching.org would love to know. Thanks a lot
Boyd: (3:58 PM ET ) It's a song that we were working on for These Crowded Streets and it's a song that we just never got to completion before we finished the album. Who knows, maybe one of these days we'll finish it and record it again, but we finished the album before we finished the song.
________________________________________Tim "Spotter" Spitler Bowling Green, Ohio: Boyd, we hear that athletes get in the "zone" during a big game or great performance.Do you get in the zone during a rendition of a song like Dancing Nancies or Lie in our Graves?
Boyd: (4:00 PM ET ) Yeah, every night before a gig, at least an hour, I'll always have time alone in the back lounge on the bus. It's pretty dark and calm so I can get inside myself. And it's to save up for solos to just completely stop thinking and lose myself and go with the music. So we definitely have to get in a zone just like an athlete.
________________________________________Andrew (Suffern, NY): Hey man, love the hemp necklaces... Where do you get them?
Boyd: (4:01 PM ET ) At one time, Dave used to sell those in South Africa. So he started wearing them a lot and making them popular. A lot of the ones you see us wear are from 'hippy shops' from around the country.
________________________________________Will Donnellan Birmingham, AL: Who are some of your favorite athletes that you've gotten to meet or would like to meet?
Boyd: (4:02 PM ET ) I met Muhammad Ali and that was probably the greatest experience of meeting an athlete and a legend. I'm sure there's a lot of athletes that I'd like to meet, but they always seem to come and find us so I'll stick around and wait for them.
________________________________________EJ (Texas): In your opinon, is the glass half full or half empty if your in the shoes of Pat Riley and hosting the Bulls tonight?
Boyd: (4:03 PM ET ) I think Pat is a world-class coach and understands how to coach a championship team. With Dwyane Wade and Shaq on the same team, he should be confident going into battle. But I will tell you the Bulls have nothing to lose and that's a scary team to face.
________________________________________Jonas concord New Hampshire: Will you play "You never know" this summer at Fenway? Just kidding kind of my real question is what can I do to encourage my children to play music? Did you parents make you practice, practice, practice? Did they provide rewards? Or did you just practice all on your own? Will you play "you never know" at fenway this summer?
Boyd: (4:06 PM ET ) I'm sure we'll probably play it sometime this summer, but not necessarily at Fenway. And I think that my parents definitely encouraged me to practice, but they didn't sit there with a stick. You have to foster a kid's love for music and encourage them to WANT to go and practice. I love to see my 10-yr-old daughter practicing the bass and when she finishes practicing, she picks up her flute and guitar...but if we were standing there telling her to practice, we wouldn't get the same result.
________________________________________Roger (Atlanta): Where is your favorite place to play live? What are some of the best memories you have of playing on the road?
Boyd: (4:07 PM ET ) My favorite place is MSG. It's got a special energy from all the great sporting and musical events that's gone on there. My favorite memory of playing is also at MSG, playing with James Brown there a few years ago. Nothing can quite match the experience of the way the crowd went off when James got on that stage.
Boyd: (4:08 PM ET ) Thanks everyone for all your questions and I hope to see everyone this summer. We're looking to have a lot of fun on tour.