Jason Isbell doesn’t think “there’s any rock band that can hang with” him and The 400 Unit right now
When you’ve known someone for years, you get to know each other pretty well. But what about if you’ve known someone for decades?
With some friendships spanning over two decades, Jason Isbell and his 400 Unit bandmates have formed an incredibly special connection. As Isbell asserts, it’s made him and his band unstoppable team.
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Speaking to Los Angeles Daily News, Isbell discusses his deep bond with his bandmates. “We enjoy each other’s company, first and foremost,” he says. “I think that translates into a live show… I think that’s really, really valuable, because there becomes a sort of shorthand between the people on stage.”
“If I play something differently from how I played it the night before, Chad and Sadler and Derry [drummer Chad Gamble, guitarist Sadler Vaden, keyboardist Derry deBorja] all respond,” he explains. “Will [Johnson, guitarist] I’ve known honestly for 22, 23 years now, but it’s the first time we’ve actually been in a band together.”
With everyone so in-tune with the rest of the band, making music is like clockwork. “It’s kind of like when you’ve been with a therapist for a long time,” Isbell says. “You don’t start from the beginning every time. It makes the rudimentary things – how do we play this song or how do we stay out of each other’s way – get handled real quickly.”
Of course, fresh faces have also helped along the way. “Anna [Butterss, bassist] was a game-changer for us,” he insists. “When Anna joined the band we were rehearsing the Weathervanes songs to go on tour. We would go into the outro from Free Bird, Sadler and I, after every song all day. Finally, Anna says, ‘I love that, what is that?’”
“We all looked at each other in shock,” he recalls. “Like, ‘oh my God, for once in our life we don’t have a fuckin’ redneck in the band,’ you know? There’s somebody playing this music that doesn’t know what Free Bird is, and it was so wonderful… Anna sort of approached the music that I made, the songs that I write, with a fresh perspective.”
The fresh blood has also inspired Isbell to shake up his vocals. “I recently learned to sing,” he says. “Which is a big deal, because I’ve been yelling for 30 years, and a few months ago I lost my voice!”
“It’s made everything way, way more fun for me,” he continues. “Especially these new songs, because when we recorded them, I was trying to push my vocal range to its limits, and it was really difficult to do that at first. Now, the more I play the songs from [2023’s “Weathervanes” the more enjoyable they are for me and probably the audience.”
With his fresh vocals and the gang in tow, Isbell insists his band is the strongest musical unit around right now. “I don’t think there’s any rock band that can hang with us right now,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to follow us, I’ll tell you that!”
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are set to play the Hollywood Bowl on the 21st July.
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