World Oft Can Be.” That song was one I brought to the band that I had started a couple years ago as kind of a little banjo and vocal piece, a little ditty. That was a very collaborative writing piece that Celia and myself and the rest of the band all put together. I think out of all of the songs on the album, that was definitely the most collaborative writing process that we had done. Also, I think the title really kind of encompasses our journey over the last year. We’ve done a lot of world traveling in South and Central Asia that was pretty eye opening and life changing for us all and something that we want to continue to do. That title track means a lot to us in the sense that this world oft can be lonely, it oft can be joyful, it oft can be full of music, it oft can be full of many things. We’re excited to see where it takes us next. tDB: You chose to record your new album at Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee. What made you choose that studio? Kimber: A lot of good recordings have come out of there and we found out about the studio through networking and friendships. The opportunity presented itself and we went and looked at the studio and there’s no other place that we would have rather recorded that album. We stayed on the ranch and we were all there for 10 days, just living together and it was our maiden voyage with Shelby, our new bass player. We’d hired her and she came out to Boston for about a month and we rehearsed and finished writing the album. Bryan Sutton came out for preproduction and then a couple of weeks later we all hopped in a van and drove to Nashville and started recording. It was definitely a great place as far as inspiration and bonding as a band with the new lineup. tDB: Courtney, you had quite an honor while you were there. You got to play June Carter Cash’s vintage 1933 Gibson L5 round hole guitar. What was that like holding that guitar?
Courtney: It was so amazing! Laura Cash had let me play it a little bit and of course I totally almost peed my pants when I played it, because it was just so good. The last track on the album is called “Some Roads Lead On” and we ended up recording that around one microphone at the fireplace in the living room area of the cabin, which was really special. That’s the kind of energy we wanted to encompass, and before we recorded it Bryan came up to me and he said, “That L5, this song needs that guitar,” and I was just like, “Oh My God!!!!” That was such an honor to get to play that instrument. I think every instrument has a life of its own and that one has had quite a life. So many amazing people have played it. tDB: Kimber, you got to play John Hartford’s custom carved fiddle and that had to have been something? Kimber: It was pretty great, yeah. I got permission from the Hartford family, and actually the first track on the record “Letter From Down The Road,” that’s the song that I got to play that fiddle on. It was cool. Jenni got to play some Lloyd Loar mandolin on the record as well, so we were all kind of in
heaven out there being in this great studio. You know Johnny Cash built that cabin for his wife and so many great recordings have been made there. Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, so many things and getting to play those instruments was such an honor and an inspiration. That was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole session. tDB: You have mentioned that Bryan Sutton was the producer of your new album, This World Oft Can Be. What was it like working with Bryan? Courtney: Bryan has probably spent more time in the studio and behind a mic as anyone in the music industry in our world. He has an incredible sensibility for what needs to happen and what’s right, musically and vibe wise as well. He was so much fun to work with and also just had a lot of really great intuition. He’s been one of my guitar heroes for so many years, so that was pretty cool. I wasn’t sure how it would feel having him at the board telling me to retake my solo, but it wasn’t as intimidating as I thought it could be. Kimber: I think that he’s just so intelligent and so full of music and he’s worked in so many genres. He’s really known in the world of bluegrass, but