Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr 2

copyright© mariannemeyer, 2013

How long before a show do you decide on the set list?
Sometimes we change it mid set. I like to think I’m James Brown just calling out songs and stuff, but generally we have certain songs we would feel horrible about not playing. It’s a balance.
Who is responsible for choosing the songs and the running order?
We all get together before a tour and discuss flow, vibe and all sorts of other dumb vague keywords. Then we play through different sets and see what songs feel right together. It's always fluid though.

As the opening act at the Fillmore, you had a brief set, only six songs. So I'm guessing (and please correct me if I'm wrong), that these are your absolute favorites.

Actually, the 6 we played that night were really chosen because we had a very short allotment of time and some of our songs are 7 minutes long. When you have a 27 minute set, that kind of excludes a longer song. So it was just the shorter songs.

Do you always follow the list exactly? When and why do you do something different from what’s listed?

We do to an extent. There are always differences every night and if there weren't we would go crazy. Sometimes we extend songs, and sometimes we stop the set and talk for 3 minutes. You just never know.

Do you ever do cover songs? If so, which artists might you cover?

We have been known to do a few covers. We have covered Steve Winwood, The Beach Boys, Whitney Houston and Leonard Cohen, among others. It's nice to play a song that you objectively believe is one of the greatest of all time.

I've heard stories of set lists written on all sorts of things – paper plates, stale pita bread and such. What’s the strangest set list in your history?

I wrote one in blood once. Only the blood turned out to be puffy paint. So it was just sparkly and slightly elevated.

Josh E.

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Josh Epstein, flying guitarist, answered WGP’s emailed questions about the set list for the fall 2013 American tour opening for Atlas Genius. The pair had just a half hour to make their mark - and they did!