Dierks Bentley Interviews Sam Bush

8/17/2007 Stephen L. Betts   In an exclusive feature for Country Weekly, Dierks Bentley interviews bluegrass musician Sam Bush. The country superstar and the former member of the influential New Grass Revival discuss, among other things, Bob Dylan, baseball, and a band called Dick Butter. Here's a sample:   Dierks: How do you define your music? It’s bluegrass, it’s Americana … it’s kinda soul … ? I guess it’s a weird question … trying to define your music. But is it more difficult for you trying to get an audience?   Sam: I guess in some ways it’s easier to have an audience if you’re able to categorize. It’s like my buddy in Bowling Green, Kenny Lee, says, “We play in this band, Duck Butter, where you can’t put us in a certain box. We’re the band that time forgot. We never practice, it’s not allowed.” I get to play electric guitar in Duck Butter.   Dierks: People who think of you … probably think “Baton Rouge” and Newgrass … and people might think Garth Brooks [who recorded the New Grass Revival tune "Callin' Baton Rouge"]. Sam: The word newgrass probably applies, especially now that … I’ve got a banjo player, and if we want to play bluegrass we feel that we can really play bluegrass. And if we want to vary off, we have Byron House on bass … who’s great on the upright. Byron and I are from Bowling Green—his dad and my mother used to work at Sears & Roebuck at the same time. So we’ve known each other since we were kids. The door is open for us to be able to play anything we want to try. Sam Bush's On the Road DVD was released earlier this week, and he's slated to host the IBMA Awards, honoring the best in bluegrass music on Oct. 4 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. For more with Sam and Dierks, check out the Aug. 27 issue of Country Weekly.