AO. For those that aren't familiar with Sister Hazel, can you give us a little background on how you came up with the name?

KB. Sister Hazel Williams was her name. She ran a homeless shelter in Gainesville, FL. Regardless of age, race, religion, anything, she would give you a safe, warm place to stay while you get back on your feet. I always thought that that is unconditional love. And that's what the name meant to us. The people that connect with our music are so broad and diverse that that really appealed to us because the music definitely treads different genres and the fan base definitely are people from all walks of life, so we felt like that name really represented something that we felt strongly about.

AO. You guys have been at this a long time, about 10 years. What keeps five guys on the same page?

KB.(laughing) Well, we're rarely on the same page! What keeps you together is that we have learned that you pick your battles. It's not what you say, but how you say it. We are very, very passionate people and very different in our perception of things sometimes and our creativity. I think getting to a point where you embrace each other's gifts, you embrace your own gift and say, "this is what my strong suit is, this is what my role is". That's when things have gone more and more smoothly. In the picking your battle thing, it's not going to matter in an hour, never mind in six months. Don't turn it into WWIII. We have gotten better and better at that. There aren't that many bands that last more than a couple of years. We don't always agree, but we are learning how to. We are learning how to communicate and to let go of the things that may not mean the world to us.

AO. Did you all go to school together?

KB. Sort of. Drew and I both grew up in Gainesville and four of us went to the University of FL. Mark, the drummer, went to North Texas State College of Music. So four of us knew each other from school. Not from class, but from being in different bands and wanting to work together and finally having the opportunity to do so.

AO. Chasing Daylight seems to have a more intense feel to it than some of the other CDs. Since many artists write from life experiences, were there any major occurrences to influence the direction of it?

KB. Yes, I think that writers, in general, write about snapshots of what's going on at the time. All of us have had some personal issues going on in the past couple of years that are amazing and tremendous and tragic. And so I think on this record you see a reflection of those things. But that's life. Life is all of those things. Life is triumph and tragedy and trying to figure out what to do with it all, and these songs reflect a lot of those things in different ways.

AO. Is there any desire to do solo projects, or are you firmly cemented as a band?

KB. I think that now that is something that there is an interest in. And now I think that is okay with the band. I think early on it's important for a band to feel like a band and to feel like the band is the priority. I think that being together this long and not only getting this far, but also getting along better and were very much like brothers now, and very much showing our commitment to the entity of Sister Hazel. I think now it's a little more comfortable to say, "I have some needs to express some other things creatively, too". I think everyone thinks that Sister Hazel is the priority, and will remain the priority. I think that if anyone has success outside of Sister Hazel, that is only going to help the band because I don't think anybody will look into distancing themselves, we're only looking to express ourselves and factualize our creativity.

AO. Do you feel that you have made it now that you have been featured as a Lego set?

KB.(laughing!) I thought that was unbelievable! I showed my son that, and he has never been impressed with much. He thinks I butcher "Wheels on the Bus". So when he saw the Lego set of the band, he thought that was great. I've become the hero of the house finally!

AO. You have mentioned the Indigo Girls as artists that you admire that you would like to work with that you haven't?

KB. There are producers that I've wanted to work with. I've always wanted to do things with Glen Ballard who just did the last Dave Matthews record. He also did everything from Michael Jackson and Alanis Morrisette. Brendan O'Brien who has done so many great albums is someone I've wanted to work with from a production standpoint. Writing - I've had the opportunity to write with some amazing people. Everyone from Desmond Childs who has written 30 years of hit songs from Aerosmith to Ricky Martin to Bon Jovi, all kinds of different people. Richard Marx, and Henry Paul who is a southern rock guy and Marty Fredrickson who wrote for Aerosmith and Pearl Jam. I really enjoy the writing process and the artists I really look at are artists like the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and Paul Simon. I'm really influenced by those guys. I'd love to sit down with Tom Petty, Don Henley and Lindsey Buckingham. Those guys I think would be really interesting to work with. I am a fan so many different kinds of music. I love the old classic rock like Bad Company and Lynyrd Skynyrd. But I also love the singer songwriter - James Taylor and the Indigo Girls kind of thing. I think these bands have done a great job of fusing the singer/songwriter lyricism, harmonies and introspection of that with the high energy and musicianship of a rock band.

AO. How long have you personally been playing music?

KB. I started playing out in public when I was 12 years old.

AO. That was your first time on stage?

KB. My first time on stage.

AO. Where was that?

KB. That was at Skeeter's Home of the Big Biscuit. I got up to play acoustically doing Cat Stephens songs and John Denver and James Taylor. That same year I was in a band doing heavy metal stuff. We were doing stuff like Led Zeppelin covers and Rolling Stones covers and stuff like that.

AO. Do you have a most embarrassing moment on stage?

KB.(laughing) I have a few. In the party days I've landed on my back a few times like a sprayed cockroach. I've fallen down on stage a few times and those days are over, I hope! I've forgotten words. I've fallen between the stage and the speakers up front one time and got stuck at a show in Detroit. They had to pry me out. It was funny.

AO. Do you have any guilty pleasures?

KB. I have too many to name. I have no shame. I will go crank up an old Air Supply record out back really loud right before I play the filthiest Frank Zappa song you have ever heard. It's all just entertaining to me.

AO. What are you listening to now?

KB. I've been listening to a comedy CD by a David Cross. It's a sub pop record. He's pretty foul.

Thank you Ken!