How are you going to pay rent? How are you going to eat? How are you going to wash your clothes? And then on top of that, for us, how are you going to get to do your show? We actually all lived together in a big house for a while, which was convenient in many ways. It involves all those things that you have to learn from day to day. I think just the early sense of freedom we had, when youвЂ™re a young person and you have a life in front of you and youвЂ™re not quite sure what itвЂ™s going to be. Take us back to the beginnings of the band when you were all just teens in the вЂ™60s. WhatвЂ™s the longest break youвЂ™ve ever taken from the road in the past 50 years? People that just for whatever reason seemed to become comfortable there and would rather that be their talent, but for us, itвЂ™s always been the stage. Some bands become studio bands, and they turn out great records, and they spend their time (there), and theyвЂ™re laboring over their creativity - Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, The Beatles. ThatвЂ™s going to probably be the most accurate thing we can reflect upon right now. Is it fair to say that touring has been the lifeblood of this band? Those things are very interesting in the moment that youвЂ™re doing it. Some nights weвЂ™ll play it a little slower. ItвЂ™s a living, breathing experience, where weвЂ™re all sort of on the same page or maybe somebody is a little less into it or somebody is more into it. To me, itвЂ™s a challenge to get the dynamics right. I think for me, some people have said how do you play a song like вЂњBojanglesвЂќ from night to night and do it justice. Everybody has maybe a little opportunity to play something with a little different inflection. Sometimes Jeff will call out something we havenвЂ™t done in a while. With so many songs that people expect to hear, how much do you switch things up from night to night? ItвЂ™s the field of play, if you can imagine any team of people moving together in one direction. This spontaneity is an interesting experience to find yourself in. ItвЂ™s just live music, so thereвЂ™s a lot of freedom in that in the sense that we communicate to one another as weвЂ™re playing in various ways as things happen. ThereвЂ™s nothing digital going on onstage.

We donвЂ™t use any prerecorded contrivances. ThereвЂ™s always something that might be different from the night before or thereвЂ™s something thatвЂ™s happening that you remember it being like a few years ago. ItвЂ™s always a little bit of a different conversation musically. From night to night, (people say) doesnвЂ™t that get old? For me, no it doesnвЂ™t. To be able to play these songs with enthusiasm and some freshness is an easy task for us. What is historically important in our band is currently important onstage, if that makes any sense. I think whatвЂ™s behind us is in front of us every night. WeвЂ™ve just kind of done what was in front of us, and we continue to do that. May was the official milestone month.Дo you find that being the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band these days is a balancing act between keeping up with the times and honoring the tradition of the past? ItвЂ™s a stop on the bandвЂ™s 50th-anniversary tour, which kicked off last year. The band, which also includes longtime members John McEuen and Bob Carpenter, will be hard-pressed to fit them all in during a sold-out show Friday night at the Meyer Theatre. Bojangles,вЂќ вЂњDance Little Jean,вЂќ вЂњCadillac Ranch,вЂќ вЂњLong Hard Road,вЂќ вЂњAn American Dream,вЂќ and, of course, 1972вЂ™s вЂњWill the Circle Be Unbroken,вЂќ the seminal album that defined the groupвЂ™s blend of country, rock and bluegrass. ItвЂ™s but one iconic song in a Nitty Gritty Dirt Band catalog thatвЂ™s filled with them. All those family outings and maybe sneaking away and getting away from the family.вЂќ I think about everybody going to the lake in the summer. вЂњI guess a lot of people have that kind of destination in mind in that state. вЂњItвЂ™s the fishing thing and the outdoor thing together,вЂќ Fadden said. Fadden, who along with singer and guitarist Jeff Hanna, are the original members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for 50 years and counting, witnesses the love every time the band breaks out the song in the state. The bandвЂ™s 1987 hit plays especially big in Wisconsin, where all that talk about the lazy yellow moon, counting the stars and waiting all winter for the time to be right never fails to spark a feel-good sing-along at whatever summer festival, bar gig or church picnic it gets played at. вЂњI think Wisconsin really, theyвЂ™re on it. вЂњOh yeah, it is,вЂќ said drummer Jimmie Fadden. The Nitty Gritty Dirt BandвЂ™s вЂњFishinвЂ™ in the DarkвЂќ doesnвЂ™t just seem like it could be WisconsinвЂ™s unofficial anthem.

Go fishing in the dark