On a recent episode of CBS This Morning, host John Dickerson visited Dave Matthews in his hometown of Charlottesville, VA to discuss an array of intriguing topics, including those that hit-home with the South African-born rockstar. Matthews yields an undeniable strength in bringing people together, and Dave Matthews Band has made a habit of giving away its good fortune. The band recently committed $5,000,000 to reimagine public housing in Charlottesville, including fixing up an apartment building downtown. Dave and his bandmates plan to replace every public housing unit in the city of Charlottesville, all 376 of them.
Dickerson began the interview by discussing Charlottesville being hit in the face with racism and white supremacists in the summer of 2017. He asked, “How did that make you feel?” as Matthews explained:
I don’t know if it’s an irony, but I was in South Africa with family when this happened. (Chokes up and takes a moment to recompose himself) My friend gave me a call and said, ‘I Just think I witnessed a murder, I think I’ve just witnessed a hate crime.’ It’s very hard when you look at what happened in this town, the destruction of a beautiful possibility. It broke my heart to see this happen, but I do think that we can make some beautiful progress out of that.
Dickerson continued, “Where did this all come from?” in which Matthews responded:
Good luck. I’ve been incredibly lucky. My mom is an extremely generous soul, and I’ve been lucky enough to grow up around generous people. It feels like I already have too much, so it’s such an opportunity to feel better and give something away. I always try to give money to people who have their hands out or a little cardboard sign, because I think, ‘I could be sitting myself right there if I weren’t so lucky.’ People always remind me that they’re probably going to spend that on booze, and I respond, ‘So…?’ That’s what I would probably spend it on. Go get a beer, go get a sandwich, or get a sandwich and a beer. It’s not up to me, but that temporary solution is fine until we figure out a more sustainable solution. I will buy that person a beer because I can afford to buy them a beer. I will then try to find a way for that person to not have to sit on the street with dirty socks on.
When asked, “Explain to me the joy in playing music?” Matthews responded:
When it’s perfect it’s like being lifted out of your body, and not being there anymore. It feels so good.
Dickerson finished off the segment by asking, “Are you going to be touring until they pull your boots off? in which Matthews responded:
I don’t know, I have no idea. I dream about going and living in a hut in Kenya, and growing my facial hair. I always think about something else. Maybe I’ll go into a room and paint pictures until I die. I always think about what else I wanna do, but I feel very grateful for being able to make a noise with people that want to make a noise. I don’t have any immediate plans to stop doing this, because it’s a beautiful opportunity.
Watch the full four-part CBS This Morning segment below:
Dave Matthews on CBS This Morning (Part 1)
[Video: CBS This Morning]
Dave Matthews on CBS This Morning (Part 2)
[Video: CBS This Morning]
Dave Matthews on CBS This Morning (Part 3)
[Video: CBS This Morning]
Dave Matthews on CBS This Morning (Part 4)
[Video: CBS This Morning]
[H/T JamBase]