Episode overview

Jesse Valcich, frontman and guitarist for Asheville’s Strictly Liquid, visits me at the crossroads to discuss influence, intention, the South, and life and musical partnership. Fresh off a week at Roots Rock Revival, our discussion threads the Allman Brothers Band, Phish, the Grateful Dead, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit.

Our crossroads

We’re Floridians, Orlandoans, guitar players. Each of us is interpreting the musical traditions we’ve inherited, making them our own. Roots Rock Revival has given us another crossroads—as musicians, as friends, and as followers of the muse. A generation apart, we are each inheritors of the Southern musical tradition—from the Allman Brothers Band to the Tedeschi Trucks Band to Col. Bruce and the Aquarium Rescue Unit. Jesse cut his teeth on Phish and the Grateful Dead. And we share something beyond music: the experience of building a life with a woman we love.

The conversation

Late night Waffle House runs. With no Phish on the jukebox, Jesse’s chief introduction to the Allman Brothers Band was “Jessica.” From there, he sought a deeper understanding of the band’s place in the music he already loved.

Roots Rock Revival. This was the impetus for this episode: a conversation about intentionality and the difference between showing up to receive and showing up to give. We talked about arriving with insecurity and leaving with a much stronger sense that music is about giving rather than taking.

Finding a musical identity. Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit, the Grateful Dead, and the Hampton Grease Band’s Music to Eat—Jesse talks about how these influences manifest in Strictly Liquid’s sound.

Music and companionship. Jesse asked my thoughts on the importance of friendship, love, family, and trust in sustaining a creative life. These relationships—the lovers and bandmates and friends—make art a reciprocal act. This is the goal. To help create a space in the world in which you and those around you are reaching their utmost potential.

Strictly Liquid. Website: strictlyliquid.com. Things are much more active on the band’s Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/strictly.liquid. Their latest album is Music to Drink (link opens to all music services).

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