Scott Avett on how he feels about drive-in concerts — and how he voted for president
Scott Avett is resting his scruffy chin on the palm of his left hand and looking out the window of his art studio in Concord, and doesn’t say anything for seven full seconds as he decides how — or perhaps if — he wants to answer the question: “Would you say who you voted for?”
This didn’t start as a conversation about politics.
The Zoom call with the 44-year-old co-founder of N.C.-based Americana/country-rock/country-folk/folk-rock band The Avett Brothers actually began in lightweight Zoom-call-ish fashion, with one person asking the other if they wouldn’t mind explaining what that thing is in the background. (In this case, Avett had a large pair of eyes peeking around his shoulders.)
“Oh, those eyes that have been sitting behind me for months now were actually attempts at the ‘Closer Than Together’ album artwork,” he said on Tuesday, referencing the band’s 2019 album. “In the pupil there’s like a little silhouette of (brother and fellow bandleader) Seth (Avett) and (bassist) Bob (Crawford) and I. ... It just wasn’t it. So we kept going. But it has a future. I’m living with it and seeing what it is. And I think it’s really funny for it to be behind me when I’m doing Zoom calls.
“It’s obviously planted there,” Scott Avett admitted, laughing. “I obviously put it there so somebody would ask me about it.”
There were some other obvious questions to ask Avett, too.
The first few centered around his band’s scheduled return to the stage under the giant video board at Charlotte Motor Speedway this Friday night, just eight weeks removed from their highly successful first drive-in-style concert here.
But about halfway through, the conversation did shift to topics related to the election, via a question about the brothers’ participation last week in HBO Max’s special “A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote.” (The reunion of the cast of Aaron Sorkin’s TV drama, shot over multiple days at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, premiered on Oct. 15. It closed with the Avetts’ performing a cover of Peter, Paul and Mary’s 1962 song “Early in the Morning” in the otherwise-empty venue.)
And eventually, Scott Avett — for the first time, publicly — answered the question about which presidential candidate is getting his vote in 2020. He did it in an indirect way at first, and then, he did it much more clearly.
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q. So on Friday, is Seth gonna let you drive around the track this time? (For the Aug. 29 concert, the band made its entrance in Seth Avett’s 1965 Ford Galaxie, with Seth driving his brother, Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon from Victory Lane to the stage.)
(Laughing.) I went ahead and jumped the gun on that and said, “Hey look, I’ve got an idea for a car.” So I helped line up the car and I’ll be in the driver’s seat this time.
Q. How quickly did you guys decide that you wanted to do another drive-in show?
Our first concern — and we talked about it last time — was the safety of it. Whether or not it would be successful as far as our performing, who knew? Our plan was just we would do it and we would do our best and that would happen or not. But before we even did that first one, we thought we should at least (pick out a tentative second date). At first we kind of got on a waiting list, because they thought that the car show (the annual Pennzoil AutoFair) was gonna be this weekend, in which case we wouldn’t have been able to do it. Then (that got canceled), so we thought, well, OK, let’s do it.
Then after we had decided to do it, we held back a little bit. Bob’s taking care of his daughter again. (Hallie Crawford was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 2 in 2011, and has had multiple cancer diagnoses.) She’s had recent surgery and she’s in a critical moment right now with her battle. So we were watching and waiting and thinking, What’s right here?
But Bob especially is a true veteran and just such a soldier in this journey. And we’ve learned that it’s good to work. It’s good to turn the wheel. We think it’s good for the whole. We definitely think it’s good for our conversation and our relationship with our fans. So in the end we thought, You know what? Let’s just make ourselves available, and go do the show. And here we are.
We knew that it’s hard for people to be able to do it when you let it out late (the show wasn’t announced until Oct. 6), ’cause people make plans, and it’s a busy time of year even with the pandemic and everything. But people have adjusted, I think, and they’ve learned how to make plans anyway within the limitations of the pandemic.
Q. I know what the experience of that first drive-in show was like from an audience member’s perspective. What was it like from your perspective?
It didn’t feel that far removed from a large festival. It was quieter, because you don’t hear (much sound) come back to you. I mean, it’s such a big space anyway, so all the noise just sort of lifts to the air and disappears. Without a P.A. and without that concentrated group of people roaring back, there was a silence that took some adjusting to. Because I think part of my performing is reacting to that; that’s always been part of my relationship with it. And sometimes I overdo it and I lose tone because of it, because you sort of fight against this rumble. But it’s part of the energy.
We had to focus. We couldn’t work physically like we do with a seven-piece band. We didn’t even try to. We weren’t going to run up and down the stage. (It was just the four core members on stage. And with many fans at the first show watching from cars hundreds of feet away, the Avetts knew most would be watching the performance on the big screen and therefore played more for the cameras.)
It was more like, Let’s be in these songs. I really like the idea of looking at it as like a late-night performance on a mega-stage, in a mega-setting. When we go to do a late-night performance, it’s all about, Deliver the song. Be in the song, versus work the room. And that’s more about bringing people from the opposite side of the camera in — instead of reaching out to people.
Like, “The West Wing” thing, that was for TV. That was just like a late-night performance. Crowd or no crowd, we’re just playing for the camera and we’re there performing. That’s it. So this is a little different, ’cause there is some reaction. The people down in the front on their cars, they’re pretty close. It doesn’t feel that weird. It just feels like they brought their car along to Bonnaroo or something.
Q. Would you make any adjustments based on the first show, just in terms of maybe trying to create a little bit more energy for yourselves?
I mean, it’s all about trust that we are enough. That even if it was just Seth up there, or if it was just me up there, that it’s enough. If you just trust that, it will be. So having the four of us or the three at times — or even just the two of us — playing on such a mega-stage is enough. And I think the energy thing comes naturally.
I have made the mistake in my life several times, especially when I was younger, of trying to go in with the intention of getting to that high-energy spot, and then getting there there too early. And feeling that it was forced, then making — not mistakes, but making dishonest decisions. Dishonest to myself. Man, I’ve been bad about that, like, throughout my life. Now I just try to trust and go, Let that arc happen. And if it happens in a way you didn’t expect, that’s OK. Just trust it.
Q. Going back to the performance you did for “The West Wing” reunion, I was wondering: Who are the two people who joined you for that?
The music director for the show (Rickey Minor) put together the group. He’s a brilliant guy. He used to play bass for Whitney Houston. Carlitos (Del Puerto) is playing bass. He’s one of those pro guys that has played with (Bruce) Springsteen. And Jessi (Collins) is the singer. She does a lot of (backup singing) for Kelly Clarkson. They came in and lent their talents.
Q. That was about stimulating voter turnout, and then this show on Friday is 11 days ahead of the election. So I have to ask: Have you voted already?
Yeah, and I’ve never voted early. I’ve never seen it as more important as it is right now in my whole life. Maybe it had been years ago when I was younger and just wasn’t aware of it.
When I was younger I didn’t bother with voting at all. It was something that I thought, What do I care? What’s that got to do with me? So I’m not gonna shame someone if they say, “I chose not to vote.” I think that’s a beautiful thing about our country. Nobody’s forcing you to vote. So that’s a good thing. You get to decide. But everyone should be able to, and I was very, very happy to go vote.
Q. A lot of people are feeling unsettled about the election. How are you feeling in regards to it?
I just think, I’ve got to choose from a system that is flawed, and I’ve just got to do my best with it. It’s not God. It’s not my master in any way, shape or form. I just don’t see it that way. It does not decide my fate. Period. I mean, if I’m done wrong by a politician or a policy that a politician puts in place, then I’ll do everything I can to battle it and fix it and help it. But my duty right now is to go vote. Because I do want to do my part. So I did. And I went and voted. And I would encourage anybody to do it.
Q. Did you have to wait in much of a line at your polling station?
Well, this is funny. They open at 8. I got there about 8:15. And I had just had lots of coffee. So I started waiting, and I was like almost to the door, and I’d waited for about 35 minutes and I was like, Man, I gotta go. So I left, ’cause I couldn’t get in to use the bathroom. It’s close to my house, so I left and did work and then went back. And then I waited about 20 minutes. It really wasn’t bad.
Q. Would you say who you voted for?
I’ll say — (he pauses for seven seconds) I did not vote for Trump. I’ll say that. I did not vote for Trump. But I don’t — I stop short of hating on people that do vote for Trump. Every person has their reason and their choices. I have friends that will vote for Trump. I know they will. And, I’m sure, family members that will. And I love these people.
I’m registered independent, and it’s never made sense for me to be one or the other. I really believe in aspiring for a non-dualistic existence. And I’ve never quite been able to give to just one or the other. I’ve never voted a fully straight ballot.
Q. So on Friday night, do you encourage people to vote or is it a good opportunity to just let people forget about it for a night and not mention it?
Yeah, that’s been our style in the past (to not get political during shows). There’s no shortage of being reminded of what time it is. And I’m pretty sure most people have decided, Here’s what I’m gonna do.
Just the other night, my wife and I were together and I was like, “I might be a little low on the let’s-just-have-some-fun parts of my life.” And I think that (the show) is a moment for people to enjoy. If we do say something, it would be off the cuff. But I think this (interview) is the realm to talk about it. On Friday, we’re there to play our songs, and I do think that’s our contribution.
Q. What do you mean by contribution?
Look, it’s a really unique time, and I think it will be a blip that will become, like, Wow, look at what was happening during this time, and what did people do during it? How did they react? What was their contribution? What was their action? This is part of our action. To provide something for people. Whether they vote for Biden, whether they vote for Trump.
To come out and put that aside and do this together. We’ve got a long history of that: knowing fans well that were hardcore conservatives and hardcore liberals, who come together and share stickers and patches and T-shirts of our group. So man, that’s the goal: to provide a place for people to come and enjoy an evening together.
At this point, the Zoom meeting ended. But just a few minutes later, Avett called back to make a clarification.
“It’s new for me to talk about who I voted for,” he said. “It’s not something I’ve ever really done. And when I thought about it, as soon as I got off the phone I was like, I really don’t like to represent myself in negative terms, towards anybody. So I was thinking, No, I voted for Biden.
So I wanted to say to you: I voted for Biden for president. That’s important to me. ... I wasn’t trying to vote against Trump. I’m trying to vote for Biden — and that’s what I went and did. So I apologize for that. That’s my just inexperience in it, you know?”
He continued: “I’m not out campaigning. I’m not pushing for anything. But I vote the way I do and I don’t mind telling people.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 7:58 AM.
