DMB Questions

DISUNION SHOP Talking to the five members of the Dave Matthews Band gives five very different impressions of the ''Lillywhite'' situation

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Everyday (Music - Dave Matthews Band)

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On how good the material really is

Matthews: I'll never think of it as being less than some of the best stuff I've ever done. Lyrically it was directly from the heart. I guess one of the things that the music industry -- which is a whore in many ways -- would have had a problem with is that it's a very introspective album, very still, and the industry is very impatient with stuff like that nowadays.... Lyrically there's a lot of unfinished stuff, a lot of rambling just to fill the air, which I guess is in a way kind of cool. There's some of the best lyrics I've ever written in there as well. I think ''Bartender'' is one of the best songs I've ever written, without a doubt.

On what'll happen with the material... officially

Beauford: It could end up on a live thing. Could go the other way, be a studio thing, you never know. We may not release it at all until 20 years from now, who knows.

Matthews: It would be nice, when we get those songs really strong, to release a live album with five, six, or seven of the unreleased songs on it. OFFICIALLY unreleased songs. [Smiles] I think they'd have to be balanced [with other material] because if we were just to play the 10 or so that we did for the album, it would be kind of a dark set. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I like to get my feet tapping every once in a while. The impact of a dark song, if you can put the right amount of breadth around it, is maybe somehow a little stronger if it's framed by something more dreamy or a little more optimistic.

On which is better -- the ''Lillywhite'' or ''Everyday''

Lessard: It's the rough, rough, rough mixes, so who's to say what the finished product would have really sounded like, anyway. By far, I'm a big fan of ''Everyday.'' Even though the sounds are different from what people are used to hearing on the road, at the same time, I think the drums and bass come across more like you hear 'em on the road. The rhythm section on ''Everyday'' is really tight, clean, and clear, and I haven't really felt that for a lot of the past albums.

Matthews: The fact that people are discussing and fighting one against the other is great, because I made both of them. ''That one's way better than this one -- what the f--- were they thinking?'' Oh, well, I thought both of them up -- WE thought both of them up -- so thank you for at least having a conversation about both of them. I love both albums; it's just that the one was more eagerly received.

Read EW's review of the ''Lillywhite Sessions'' here.
Read EW's review of ''Everyday'' here.