SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has been making music for 60 years.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FISHIN' IN THE DARK")
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: (Singing) You and me go fishing in the dark, lying on our backs and counting the stars. Where the cool...
DETROW: The band has released multiple hits over the decades, like "Fishin' In The Dark" and "An American Dream."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FISHIN' IN THE DARK")
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: (Singing) Voila - an American dream. Well, we can travel, girl, without any means.
DETROW: Don't worry. They're not done making music together, but they are taking a break from the road. Last month, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band wrapped their All The Good Times tour, their last shows as touring musicians. So we thought it was a good time to talk to front man Jeff Hanna.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONG HARD ROAD (THE SHARECROPPER'S DREAM)")
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: (Singing) Way back in my memory there's a scene that I recall.
DETROW: You just wrapped up a tour. How are you feeling?
JEFF HANNA: Mixed emotions (laughter). You know, the band hit - on May 13 of this year we hit our 60th anniversary from when we started in Long Beach, California. And it's quite a run (laughter).
DETROW: Yeah. Yeah.
HANNA: And we're very grateful - really extremely grateful - that we've been able to do this all these years and have had a great time.
DETROW: What, if anything, felt different to you on the stage, off the stage, knowing this was a farewell tour?
HANNA: We're still kind of processing that. Yeah. We all - you know, all of us got a little choked up...
DETROW: Yeah.
HANNA: ...On some of those shows. My son, Jaime, has been playing with us since 2018, and he typically would introduce me somewhere in the middle of the set. And, you know, he got - you know, he grew up on this music, so - and he's a great singer, songwriter, guitar player, all of the above. I'm very proud of him and happy to have been alongside him for the last eight years. But, you know, when somebody starts getting choked up, then it's contagious (laughter).
DETROW: Yeah, everybody does.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONG HARD ROAD (THE SHARECROPPER'S DREAM)")
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: (Singing) 'Cause someday I was dreaming that a song that I was singing takes me down the road to where I want to go.
HANNA: Mostly, a lot of the emotions were literally like goose bumps, you know? Just looking out over that crowd and seeing kind of three generations of fans. You know, we call them Dirtheads.
DETROW: (Laughter).
HANNA: (Laughter). And, you know, folks that came to our shows, and then they brought their kids to our shows, and their - and those - their kids brought their kids to our shows. So the legacy part of it really kind of hit us a lot in the last couple years. And we never imagined...
DETROW: Yeah, what do you think you would have said if somebody said you'll do a 60th anniversary tour at one point?
HANNA: (Laughter) We would have, you know, laughed him out of the room. It would be like, no, no, no (laugher). You know, hope I die before I get old, you know?
DETROW: (Laughter) It must be interesting. Like, the music's the same. I assume it feels pretty similar being on the stage, looking out and seeing people in the audience listening to you play music. But I have to imagine almost every other aspect of touring is wildly different from when you got started.
HANNA: Well, you know, we got started in a regular sedan and then a station wagon and then a van and eventually, you know, on to buses, which I really prefer over anything. But the whole thing - well, seeing what's changed in the landscape of touring. There's a lot more people touring. That's one thing. And there's so much talent. There's so many young kids that are just incredible out there, playing and singing better than any of us did.
DETROW: You talk about those three generations of fans that you saw on this latest tour. What do you think has kept people coming to your shows over the years? What do you think the draw is? Like you said, there are so many different shows you can go to, or you can not go to a show at all and just listen to endless music at home. Like, what do you think it is that you guys have offered over the years that make people want to come out and see you?
HANNA: We've always kind of - the fun factor has always been part of it.
DETROW: Yeah.
HANNA: We like bringing joy. You know, there's a certain escapist aspect to it, and I love that. And I love that people engage with us. Concerts are a communal experience, you know? It's this give-and-take with the audience. Like, here's a example, "Mr. Bojangles," which is a song I've sung thousands of times.
DETROW: Maybe millions.
HANNA: (Laughter) But who's counting?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MR. BOJANGLES")
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: (Singing) I knew a man, Bojangles, and he'd dance for you in worn-out shoes.
HANNA: Every night, hearing those folks applaud when I sang the first three or four words of the tune and singing it back to us lifts us up. You know, this might - and I'm sure a lot of artists say this. It's great having people sing your songs back to them.
DETROW: Yeah, but a lot of people get jaded about that, and it sounds like you never did.
HANNA: Well, you know, I think that they're - I've gone on autopilot a few times (laughter) and turned around to one of the guys and said, did I sing on the third verse? I forgot. You know, I just went to Jamaica.
DETROW: Yeah.
HANNA: But generally speaking, no.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MR. BOJANGLES")
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: (Singing) Mr. Bojangles. Mr. Bojangles, dance.
DETROW: Having done it for 60 years, any tips for all those touring musicians these days? Sounds like get a good bus is one of them.
HANNA: (Laughter) That's a challenge 'cause, you know, the big tours got 10 buses out there, so it's hard to - sometimes you're getting that, you know, smoky old...
DETROW: Yeah.
HANNA: (Laughter).
DETROW: All kinds of smoke.
HANNA: You know? I think that the big thing that I would recommend - steal from the best when you're coming up, when you're trying to learn, when you're trying to emulate somebody. Go ahead and do that. But then try to write your own songs and try to play - I mean, some of the best advice I've ever heard about playing guitar, for example, is you got to learn the basics and then try to make it your own. When you pick up an instrument, nobody's going to play like you (laughter). Is just human, how we're wired, you know? And embrace that as a writer, artist, singer, all of it.
DETROW: I think that's good advice for anybody doing anything.
HANNA: I agree. I agree because we're, you know, we're - each of us are one of one.
DETROW: If you really are done touring, what do you think you're going to miss most about being on the road?
HANNA: You know, seeing our country up close is really great. And we've done a lot more of that over the last few years. And we usually will play a show, get out of town about 1 a.m. on the bus and then travel to the next town. Sometimes it's a five-hour drive. Sometimes it's eight, nine. But we'll get there typically late morning, and we have a lot of time on our hands, and you can walk around. I love downtown America. I like it a lot. There's a lot to see. And, you know, that's pretty great. I love that a lot. I'm going to miss that.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MODERN DAY ROMANCE")
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: (Singing) I never dreamed she would take me that far.
DETROW: That is Jeff Hanna, lead vocalist and guitarist of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who recently wrapped up their All The Good Times farewell tour. Jeff, this was a really wonderful conversation. Thanks for talking to us.
HANNA: Thank you, Scott.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MODERN DAY ROMANCE")
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: (Singing) It's a modern-day romance. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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