Is being a multi-instrumentalist a requirement for being in the Decemberists?
It seems like a lot of people in the band play more than one instrument. Right. When the band started I played only upright bass in the band, Jenny [Conlee] played only accordion in the band and Colin played only the acoustic guitar and we had a drummer. That was basically the band in the beginning. With the first record, Jenny played a little bit of keyboards and we had Chris Funk do a little bit of peddle steel, some electric guitar, things like that. Only over time have we grown into this thing where we all play a bunch of different instruments. It’s not so much a requirement for joining, but I think that as the band has grown it’s fostered an environment that encourages experimentation and branching out in instrumentation. I’ve always wondered this about professional musicians that are in pop groups. Do you keep practicing and taking lessons on your instrument, or is just playing with the band and rehearsing enough to keep your chops up and keep your skills progressing? I do all th
