For fans, Mark Hague is the type of musician you just have to love.  A key member of two of Chicago’s premier jambands (and possibly cooking up a third?), he brings the attitude and perspective of a superfan to what he does on stage.  And of course, as fans, we get to benefit from his drive to expand and improve, as well as his unabashed love of the same music that we do.  Whether performing and recording with Mr. Blotto, re-creating Phish shows with Helping Phriendly Orchestra, or leading the ultimate party-band with Hack ‘N Wheeze, Hague’s tasteful licks and heads-up jamming sense have been thrilling Chicagoans for years.  The Barn had a chance to catch up with Mark, and discuss bridging the gap between fan and performer.

You’ve had a tremendous opportunity to play original music as a part of a successful band, but still wear an obvious love for Dead, Phish, Panic, etc. on your sleeve.  Do you still keep tabs on those bands?

Absolutely.  We gig so often with Blotto though that it can be tough.  It’s funny because if I want to see Phish or something, I might have to fly out somewhere on a Monday or another “off night” for me.  Panic just played on a Monday, Halloween, so I got to see that.  I pretty much still catch every show I can.  I’m still really into it.

What was the last Phish show you were able to catch?

I saw the UIC Wednesday show.  I loved it.  They were on the ball.  I was disappointed that they didn’t play at an outdoor venue.  Originally, I told myself that I wasn’t going to see them because of that.  Part of the experience of seeing a jamband in the summertime is being outside and I know lot of people concur.   At the last minute, I was offered a ticket and I couldn’t refuse.

There are so many incarnations of Phish as far as their presentation.  You get a different type of sound and approach to the show from era to era.  I found it interesting in 2009 when they first came back, they really kind of tightened up.  Seemed like there were a lot more songs in the setlists and less stretching out.  This last tour, I feel like they’ve reached more of a happy medium.  Starting to explore again like they used to but still delivering a really tight show with a lot of great songs in the setlist.

When I talked with [Mr. Blotto bassist]Mike Bolger in the spring, he dropped a couple hints about the band recording.  Do you have anything to say about next Blotto album?

We’re shooting for March right now.  We’re doing some of the overdubs now, but this record is going to be kind of a minimal overdub approach.  In other words, the traditional approach is to go in and do scratch tracks, scratch vocals, then go back and patch things up later.  When we listened back to the roughs, we found that the more we listened to them, the more we felt it just had a great live feel.  So, this should be a bit more raw than past records, which I’m looking forward to.  We just captured so much that was really good, that when we started overdubbing… sometimes it didn’t even beat the original recording.  Now we’re just going back and patching minor mistakes and editing.

You guy are playing out live so often, when do you find time to get in the studio?

For this record, we’ve done the most amount of pre-production that we’ve ever done.  The idea was that we’d go in the studio and not be writing, composing and fixing the tunes as we were recording.  It was the first time we did it like that.  We did a bunch of rehearsals prior to setting foot in the studio and it served us well – we’re really happy with the outcome.  In addition to that, which is kind of a break from the past, we are trying to not play any of the material that’s on this recording.

I know there have been some unreleased songs that have popped up on setlists recently and fans are curious if they will make the cut.  Sounds like, maybe not?

Exactly, there are a couple we have that we’ve been trying for the last three records to get down, but we’ll forget them or they’ll come just under the bar for inclusion on the record.  And yet, they’re still in our regular rotation during our sets.  Some things don’t just make it to “plastic”.  I think about 80% of the material is either brand new or may have been played once or twice.  That way, when we do our release, everything will be nice and fresh — for us and the audience.

In the past, I’ve written about Blotto, given its longevity and accomplishments, as an institution.  I also find that given that the “Blotto year” is built around so many special events (Blottopia, other festivals, New Years, Hotel Blotto), there’s almost some ritual about the band as well.  Any one of these that you find particularly rewarding or representative of what the band does?

I would say Hotel Blotto.  I think a lot of people, like myself, get the winter doldrums.  You want to be at a fest, but there’s not much going on in the Midwest.  Our idea was to put on a fest indoors.

It’s really quite a carnival scene.  During the day, there’ll be people walking around the hotel lobby with their dogs, you’ll have a mini-Shakedown Street, just like they’re at a summer festival.  We’re pretty proud that we can bring that outdoor festival vibe to a hotel in February.  It has really taken off and it’s a pretty singular experience… I’ve never experienced anything like it from the other side.

Read On For More With Mark… PAGE 2