I love live albums. I just want to say that right off the bat. Now, a lot can be said for an extremely deep, extremely produced studio effort, but it always lacks the energy level and the overall ambience of the live recording. I've finished listening to our newest studio project and have began listening to the live board feed from our Freedom Experience benefit concert a couple weeks ago. I am proud to say that I consider the JMB a live band. Now, you may ask yourself, what is a live band? Don't all bands play live? A live band is simply a band that is better live. It's a band that communicates well onstage. It's a band that puts on a much better show in the spotlight than in your cd player. As I listen to this recording (live), I am actually a little disappointed in my performance at Cedarmore in the studio. I don't know if my style developed so much between the two days or if I am just timid when that red light goes on, but my playing live is much more melodic and in the pocket. I'm not saying that I'm not proud of my work on "Not So Easily Pleased", I'm just saying that I wish I would've thought a little more about my parts before recording them. You see, that's the funny thing about recordings. They represent exactly where you are as a musician at that moment, almost like a snapshot. But years (or months in my case) down the road you go back a listen and instead of feeling nostalgia, you often feel anguish and regret thinking "Why did I play that note there?" or "Why weren't we together going into that bridge?" With live recordings, I sometimes feel the same way, but there is so much more that goes into a live show than just playing notes. Whereas studio time is dedicated to getting music recorded, live shows are focused on energy, getting the audience involved, and if you miss a few notes or rhythms, the show isn't a bust at all. You can listen to those concerts and immediately be taken back and overwhelmed with feelings of pride, sentimentality, and inspiration to get back on the stage. I hope there will be a new JMB live album coming out this year. We'll surely keep you posted.