Episode 109: Greensky Bluegrass’ Paul Hoffman & Anders Beck

Listen to an interview about the group’s new album, ‘Stress Dreams,’ and much more.

By Team JamBase Jan 20, 2022 • 8:31 am PST

Episode 109 of The JamBase Podcast, a partner of the Osiris Media Network, features the return of Greensky Bluegrass mandolinist Paul Hoffman and dobroist Anders Beck. JamBase’s Scott Bernstein caught up with the pair to discuss the band’s new album, Stress Dreams, which comes out tomorrow Friday, January 21 via Thirty Tigers.

Scotty spoke with Anders and Paul last week over a video call. Beck was at home in Nashville while Paul was at home near Denver where Greensky recently played a two-night stand at Mission Ballroom. The duo discussed the disappointment of canceling their New Year’s Run due to COVID-19 as well as the excitement that came when they finally took the stage in Denver for a weekend that included a soundcheck set to raise funds for Marshall Fire victims. GSBG went without playing any covers in Denver besides “Auld Lang Syne,” a decision Beck and Hoffman spoke about with Bernstein.

Talk then turned to Stress Dreams. Paul and Anders recalled the early sessions for the album held in Guilford, Vermont back in 2020 and how they developed the material for the LP. Stress Dreams includes songs written by Beck and bassist Mike Devol in addition to Hoffman and Dave Bruzza. Paul explained the approach he takes to singing material penned by his bandmates. The guys also discussed the challenge of having five band members, a producer and engineer all have differing opinions on what works best for each song and the album in general.

Greensky tapped frequent collaborators Dominic Davis and Glenn Brown to produce and engineer Stress Dreams. Hoffman and Beck talked about the decision to bring Davis and Brown back and the possibility of working with a different producer in the future. Additional topics hit upon were the sequence of the album, adapting the songs for the stage and Greensky’s upcoming tour with The Infamous Stringdusters. The tour begins tonight in Albany, New York.

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