A Conversation with Kyle Hollingsworth of SCI  (continued)

PM: I was interested in the crowd demographic of the Ryman show, and the Kimock show I saw in New Orleans recently -- where I think some of you guys were also, because you'd gigged earlier in the evening, right?

KH: Oh, right, yeah. I wasn't there, but a couple of the guys were.

PM: The demographics of both of those shows looked really young, and yet both acts are making records very suitable for people of all ages. I wonder how that bridge will be made toward selling your music to the older crowd, the thirties and forties, and to some degree, the fifty-something people.

KH: Well, I don't think we purposely made an adult contemporary album. [laughs]

PM: No...

KH: Not adult contemporary. I'm just kidding. But we just did what we're doing. I feel like we were lucky enough to have a really good producer, Steve Berlin, who was able to go for more of a live feeling for the studio album. And he kind of chose the songs and kind of arranged them in a way that was a little bit more -- I don't know, it would appeal to all generations, or across the board.

PM: Yeah. Because I think that really rang true. And my question really is about that. It came across that this was not just a young person's album, this is anybody's album.

KH: Right, right. Well, he was very good at that. I thought he took the meat of the songs and decided, "This is what's important. And you can do the jamming when you play live." He'd let us go a little long, and we stretched out a little on "Roll It Over," which was nice.

PM: How did he actually track the tunes? Did the band do the basics all together?

KH: Yeah. We had a pre-production week or two, and we went and hung out in our little practice area. And he came down and made tapes of everything, then he went home and listened. It was the first time we'd worked with a producer, so it was hard to give up any kind of creative control. And we were like, "Ah, I don't know if that's a good idea."

And then, the first day we got in the studio, the first take -- the very first take on the first day, you know, he said, "Okay. That's it. Next tune." And we're like, "No, no, no. We can do it tons better! I know we can do it better! We can do better." And he's like, "No, no. That's it. If you don't trust me, you can fire me right now." We're like, "Okay. So that's the way it's going to go..."

PM: Wow.

KH: So it was basically like, the first cut on Outside Inside is the first take, first day. And there was all sorts of sloppiness in it that I would have fixed up. But I think he was just kind of going for the vibe.

PM: Oh, and that has great spirit, though, that first cut.

KH: Right, right. So that's kind of what he was going for, I think.

PM: I remember my brother Jon and I were at home, and we were talking about String Cheese. He's a manager of talent. And he said, "Well, put it on. Let's listen to it." And it was after those first few bars of "Outside and Inside" that he walked right over to the stereo and cranked it right up and said, "Okay. This is good."

KH: [laughs] Well, I guess Steve knows what he's doing.

PM: Yeah, I think that was a good call. What are you personally listening to lately, and what are you reading?

KH: I just finished a book by Kenny Werner called Effortless Mastery. It's a kind of a Zen approach to music. It's about taking a less critical approach to music, and being more intuitive about it. Because I'm kind of a studied musician, and I'm always analyzing. And it was great to read this book that said, "Well, stop the discipline and sit down and play nothing." [laughs] So it was a great book for me.

What have I been listening to...? Right now I'm working on a Keith Jarrett solo off of a live album he just put out. Always some Herbie stuff, Herbie Hancock. Mainly jazz stuff.

PM: Where did you study music?

KH: In Baltimore. I went to Towson State University. I studied jazz piano there, and I got a degree in performance. It's a good place.  
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