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Interview With String Cheese Incident

Aired September 26, 2003 - 14:38   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. They're all laughing as they watch themselves perform. The String Cheese Incident is here. You know, let's face it. The CNN demo is not the String Cheese Incident demo. This is a group you might not have heard of. I'd like to introduce you to them.
They are following behind rockers-turned-activist Pearl Jam, going after a big outfit by the name of Ticketmaster. But they're in the tradition of the old -- well, they're a jam band, right? Would that be the way you describe yourselves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what they say.

O'BRIEN: Yes, and they're here. We've got two members of the band, Bill Nershi, Keith Moseley. And then their manager, Mike Luba who's been there since day one. Ten years ago, these guys were ski bums, hanging out in Colorado. And now they're still ski bums, says somebody out there.

How's life treating you? You still enjoying this success?

BILL NERSHI, STRING CHEESE INCIDENT: It's been great. And it's going strong. We just finished a new album that was a lot of fun to do and we're feeling good.

O'BRIEN: Yes? What -- as you continue your tour what kind of reaction you getting from audiences these days? You now have kind of a cadre of Deadhead-like type people that follow you all around...

KEITH MOSELEY, STRING CHEESE INCIDENT: We've got a got fan base. It does travel to see the band. We're just starting a new leg of the tour here in Atlanta today and swinging up the coast.

But, as Bill said, we're on the heels of a new album release. Excited about that. Obviously, the Ticketmaster thing is in the news as well. Good time for the band. We got a lot going on.

O'BRIEN: We have a little music from one of your concerts recently. Let's see if we can play a little bit of that, give you a sense of the kind of music that you guys are all about here. Let's listen to it.

(MUSIC)

O'BRIEN: It's great stuff. These guys can't hear, but I'm telling you, it's great stuff. Of course, they were there. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see it I can tell from the chords what we're playing.

O'BRIEN: What you can't see from this concert is you -- like the Dead and like some others, over the years, you actually invite people to record it, play with it, do whatever you want with it.

Why do you allow that? There are some labels and bands that would say absolutely no way.

MOSELEY: Well, from the beginning, we've had a taper audience. We've had people come out and tape the shows, trade the tapes on the Internet. It's just been part of the culture from the very beginning.

And for us, it's just like free advertising. It's a way to get the music out there, reach as many people as possible. And then in turn hopefully those people can come back and come see the show, buy the tickets to see the shows, buy the CDs, become fans.

O'BRIEN: But that's heresy for some of these record company guys, right?

NERSHI: We don't go with record companies, aside from the one we created. So we don't have to worry about that. But it's a great form of promotion, you know, just having people creating through -- you know, trading tapes, talking about us on the Internet and things like that. That's a great way to spread the word.

O'BRIEN: Tell us about this -- you know, when you make the decision to go independent, it is with some risk. As you've done that, you have actually gone up against some big names like Ticketmaster, for example.

When you make that decision like that that's a gutsy move. Mike, tell us -- first of all, give us an idea of what you're going after once you sue Ticketmaster and what the band hopes to gain from all of this.

MIKE LUBA, MNG., STRING CHEESE INCIDENT: Sure. The basic intent for us was that over the years we've come up with a system to get tickets out to our fans that works really well, with really excellent service at a far reduced cost to the people who come and support live music.

And what we've run into is that with Ticketmaster there's no option. They have a complete and total monopoly on it and basically are telling us that we can't actually sell tickets to our own fans any more, which to us was kind of odd.

O'BRIEN: You're in the midst of this litigation. There's no general outcome. But basically what you're saying is this is a monopoly and bands should be able to do their own thing?

LUBA: Yes. We just think that the people of this country deserve a choice. And if we can provide a service that's superior or more cost-effective and is generally better, then people should have that opportunity.

O'BRIEN: Bill, to what extent do you think this approach is the wave of the future? We talk about the state of the music industry, the labels, the fact that they're -- you know, they're losing a lot of market share because of their current business approaches.

Do you think this is the way to do it? You level -- you market yourself on a more -- well, it's a more flattened marketing approach, I guess.

NERSHI: Yes, I think that a lot of bands are trying to start off by doing their own thing and not looking to be signed by a big label and creating their own fan base, by touring and getting their music out there. And a lot of the music is stuff that is being, you know, kind of downloaded even, you know, and traded around that way.

And it's really hard to fight progress, you know? And may be better to go with it and work with it.

O'BRIEN: All right, words to remember. Now you got a big tour starting tonight in Atlanta. You're going to end up all over the country?

NERSHI: Yes, we'll be out for three weeks. We'll start out in Atlanta and end up actually in Canada.

O'BRIEN: All right. Have a good tour. Gentlemen, the String Cheese Incident.

MOSELEY: Thanks for having us.

O'BRIEN: It's our great pleasure. Can you play us to break? Not you, live of course. Yes, air guitarist to break. We got some tape that will take us to break. Here's the String Cheese Incident.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 26, 2003 - 14:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. They're all laughing as they watch themselves perform. The String Cheese Incident is here. You know, let's face it. The CNN demo is not the String Cheese Incident demo. This is a group you might not have heard of. I'd like to introduce you to them.
They are following behind rockers-turned-activist Pearl Jam, going after a big outfit by the name of Ticketmaster. But they're in the tradition of the old -- well, they're a jam band, right? Would that be the way you describe yourselves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what they say.

O'BRIEN: Yes, and they're here. We've got two members of the band, Bill Nershi, Keith Moseley. And then their manager, Mike Luba who's been there since day one. Ten years ago, these guys were ski bums, hanging out in Colorado. And now they're still ski bums, says somebody out there.

How's life treating you? You still enjoying this success?

BILL NERSHI, STRING CHEESE INCIDENT: It's been great. And it's going strong. We just finished a new album that was a lot of fun to do and we're feeling good.

O'BRIEN: Yes? What -- as you continue your tour what kind of reaction you getting from audiences these days? You now have kind of a cadre of Deadhead-like type people that follow you all around...

KEITH MOSELEY, STRING CHEESE INCIDENT: We've got a got fan base. It does travel to see the band. We're just starting a new leg of the tour here in Atlanta today and swinging up the coast.

But, as Bill said, we're on the heels of a new album release. Excited about that. Obviously, the Ticketmaster thing is in the news as well. Good time for the band. We got a lot going on.

O'BRIEN: We have a little music from one of your concerts recently. Let's see if we can play a little bit of that, give you a sense of the kind of music that you guys are all about here. Let's listen to it.

(MUSIC)

O'BRIEN: It's great stuff. These guys can't hear, but I'm telling you, it's great stuff. Of course, they were there. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see it I can tell from the chords what we're playing.

O'BRIEN: What you can't see from this concert is you -- like the Dead and like some others, over the years, you actually invite people to record it, play with it, do whatever you want with it.

Why do you allow that? There are some labels and bands that would say absolutely no way.

MOSELEY: Well, from the beginning, we've had a taper audience. We've had people come out and tape the shows, trade the tapes on the Internet. It's just been part of the culture from the very beginning.

And for us, it's just like free advertising. It's a way to get the music out there, reach as many people as possible. And then in turn hopefully those people can come back and come see the show, buy the tickets to see the shows, buy the CDs, become fans.

O'BRIEN: But that's heresy for some of these record company guys, right?

NERSHI: We don't go with record companies, aside from the one we created. So we don't have to worry about that. But it's a great form of promotion, you know, just having people creating through -- you know, trading tapes, talking about us on the Internet and things like that. That's a great way to spread the word.

O'BRIEN: Tell us about this -- you know, when you make the decision to go independent, it is with some risk. As you've done that, you have actually gone up against some big names like Ticketmaster, for example.

When you make that decision like that that's a gutsy move. Mike, tell us -- first of all, give us an idea of what you're going after once you sue Ticketmaster and what the band hopes to gain from all of this.

MIKE LUBA, MNG., STRING CHEESE INCIDENT: Sure. The basic intent for us was that over the years we've come up with a system to get tickets out to our fans that works really well, with really excellent service at a far reduced cost to the people who come and support live music.

And what we've run into is that with Ticketmaster there's no option. They have a complete and total monopoly on it and basically are telling us that we can't actually sell tickets to our own fans any more, which to us was kind of odd.

O'BRIEN: You're in the midst of this litigation. There's no general outcome. But basically what you're saying is this is a monopoly and bands should be able to do their own thing?

LUBA: Yes. We just think that the people of this country deserve a choice. And if we can provide a service that's superior or more cost-effective and is generally better, then people should have that opportunity.

O'BRIEN: Bill, to what extent do you think this approach is the wave of the future? We talk about the state of the music industry, the labels, the fact that they're -- you know, they're losing a lot of market share because of their current business approaches.

Do you think this is the way to do it? You level -- you market yourself on a more -- well, it's a more flattened marketing approach, I guess.

NERSHI: Yes, I think that a lot of bands are trying to start off by doing their own thing and not looking to be signed by a big label and creating their own fan base, by touring and getting their music out there. And a lot of the music is stuff that is being, you know, kind of downloaded even, you know, and traded around that way.

And it's really hard to fight progress, you know? And may be better to go with it and work with it.

O'BRIEN: All right, words to remember. Now you got a big tour starting tonight in Atlanta. You're going to end up all over the country?

NERSHI: Yes, we'll be out for three weeks. We'll start out in Atlanta and end up actually in Canada.

O'BRIEN: All right. Have a good tour. Gentlemen, the String Cheese Incident.

MOSELEY: Thanks for having us.

O'BRIEN: It's our great pleasure. Can you play us to break? Not you, live of course. Yes, air guitarist to break. We got some tape that will take us to break. Here's the String Cheese Incident.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com