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A Conversation with Gabe Dixon (continued)
PM: Were you recording in this house that Henry Diltz captured on the cover here, or is that a different house?
GD: No. It looks a lot like it, but that's actually a house in L.A.
PM: In L.A., really?
GD: Yeah, we flew out and did a photo session with him there, and we just kind of walked around this one area that had a lot of nice looking houses, and hung out with Henry all day, and got pretty much just about all the photos you see on the record.
PM: Wow. My entrepreneurial brother collects rock photographs, and he's got some cool Henry Diltzes. What's he like? We've never met the man, though we admire his work.
GD: Oh, he's just joyful and funny.
PM: Really?
GD: Yeah, I mean he's--
PM: That's not an adjective you can apply to too many people: Joyful. That's beautiful.
GD: He's an older guy with long gray hair in a ponytail, and kind of an old hippie in a way.
PM: Sure.
GD: Just funny and fun. He seems like an old soul to me.
PM: Wow.
GD: So it was fun being around him. He was cracking jokes and stuff. There's one picture in the album where we're all just busting out laughing. I'm like clapping my hands and we're all laughing. And he had just told some joke, I don't even remember what the joke was, but snapped the photo at the right moment.
PM: Fantastic. To tell a joke and then snap the picture that's their reaction? Fantastic!
GD: Yeah. [laughs]
PM: So is that Garth Fundis' son, Ben, who co-wrote the super closer "Baby Doll"?
GD: The super closer. [laughs] Yeah. Actually, Ben and I went to school together from about 6th grade until 12th grade.
PM: Oh, wow! So he grew up in Nashville as well, right.
GD: Yeah, he sure did. And we were in a couple bands together. We've been friends ever since.
PM: That's a beautiful song, too. I mean, it's just got that classic feel, again, that's what this record is really about.
GD: Thanks.
PM: I get the sense that you are, but I'd like to ask, as I often do, are you what you'd call a spiritual person?
GD: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I always gravitate toward that realm. I'm a seeker, I guess. I think a lot about the connectedness of things, and the spirit in everything. I'm sorry. Can you hang on one second?
PM: Sure, Gabe.
GD: We're driving through Michigan. Go ahead.
PM: I'll just ask you another thing or two. I heard through the grapevine that there's a green aspect to your touring machine. Is that true? Because I didn't really get the story.
GD: Well, we're not headlining, so when somebody dumps a case of bottled waters in the dressing room, we can't exactly object because it's not totally up to us. But we've tried to stay away from plastic and we try to reuse our cups as often as possible. Of course we want to use the most fuel-efficient vehicle that makes sense to use. And I think we're all better at that stuff when we're at home than we've learned to be on the road.
PM: The road is very difficult to even travel, much less travel ecologically.
GD: Right, right.
PM: It's just hard to eat decently.
GD: Yeah, I know. And we're all vegetarians, which I guess is partly an ecological decision.
[We talked about the raw food diet I'd found myself on and its effects.]
GD: Well, would you recommend any reading for me? Because I'm interested in that.
PM: Sure. There's a fantastic book called Dining in the Raw by Rita Romano. A groundbreaking book--I mean, it was written over 10 years ago and it's still completely up-to-date.
GD: Cool.
PM: And I started reading these scientific body builder guys, like Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. If you Google that, this whole library of stuff by Tom Venuto will come up. And it's like, "Wow, there are some really smart body builders out there now.” [laughs]
GD: That don't eat meat?
PM: Well, some of them do. In fact, most of them do. But they make allowances. They say, "If you don't eat meat, go here. And here are all the charts. I know some of you guys are into yoga and all that stuff--well, good luck to you." [laughs]
GD: [laughs] Yeah, we're pretty into yoga, too. Winston does it every morning --I don't know how he does that, but he does. Jano and Winston are actually quite good at working out. I do that maybe three times a week.
PM: Wow, that's some good living for a touring band.
GD: We try.
PM: Well, it's really, really nice to meet you. I was incredibly blown away, as I've said in 500 ways, by the record. I really can't say enough about it. If I wasn't garrulous, I would have been speechless.
GD: [laughs] I think you chose the right one.
PM: I can't wait to see you live. Let's stay in touch, and I'll let you know when the interview goes up.
GD: I really appreciate it, Frank. Talk to you again.
listen to clips print interview (pdf)
gabedixonband.com their myspace
