How was it hearing the Dead orchestrate “Stander on the Mountain” and “Valley Road”?
Bruce Hornsby: Well, those things never got too far. The first time we played “Valley Road,” I thought it was really smoking, but gradually people would just forget where the song was going, and it got to the point where I felt we had to rehearse more if we wanted to play it, so I called a halt to it. Which they were fine with, too, because they felt the same way . It just never came up again. Same with “Stander on the Mountain.” I thought it really had potential. I thought “Valley Road” could have really developed into something. The first couple times they played it, I thought it really rocked. I was never about pushing my music on them. That’s not why I was there. I have my outlet for my music. I was there to try to enhance their trip — I love their songs, and that was enough for me. They’d say, “Let’s work up a couple of your tunes,” and I’d say, “Let’s do it,” and we’d play them a few times. But if it wasn’t happening, or it fell by the wayside, I would never bring it up again. I
