Dave Johnston, banjoist, singer and co-founder of the Grammy Award-winning roots-music group Yonder Mountain String Band, looks forward to the Colorado-based ensemble’s four-night run starting Jan. 2 at the Egyptian Theatre. “We’ve played there many, many times, and it’s always a wonderful gig with wonderful people,” he said. “We have friends there who are coming to see us. We get to hang out and visit and go eat at the Red Iguana in Salt Lake City.”Johnston also enjoys that he and his band — founding guitarist and vocalist Adam Aijala, founding bassist and vocalist Ben Kaufmann, multi-instrumentalist Nick Piccininni and fiddle player Coleman Smith — don’t have to deal with early-morning wake up calls for a few days.“You don’t have to worry about getting from point A to point B all the time, so that takes out some of the anxious energy of travel,” he said.Johnston promised the Park City concerts will feature some new songs culled from the band’s album “Nowhere Next,” which they released Nov. 8.“Maybe half of the songs on the album have made it into the regular rotation of the band’s live shows, but we got to work on the rest of the stuff and getting them ready to be performed,” he said.The album’s title track, “Nowhere Next,” was piece-mealed together, according to Johnston.“Part of it was written on stage during an improvisation Ben was doing, and the lyrics were written in hotel rooms,” he said with a laugh. Parts of the song were also arranged during other moments between 2016 to 2019, Johnston said.“Everyone was working on parts and doing things but not putting a lot of pressure on us to come up with a product,” he said.While “Nowhere Next” took a few years to put together, the other songs came together between 2022 and 2024, Johnston said.“Maybe next time when we do something, I should pay closer attention to when and how we do it,” he said with another laugh.Recording a new album today is much different than what Johnston and the band have done in the past.“I hate to say this, because I sound like an old man, but we used to record a new album like every 18 months to two years, whatever,” Johnston said. “That was kind of what you wanted your timeline to be. But now, with the availability of good recording software, it seems like everyone is making music all the time. You could conceivably make an album every 10 weeks.”Still, Johnston kind of knows when it’s time for the band to record a new album.“When you have a group of musical ideas that seem to cohere and tell a little story, you think you may be ready to go record something,” he said.In addition to the new album, Yonder Mountain String Band released a live, five-song extended play, “I’d Like Off,” earlier this year.The record features the band’s original lineup — Aijala, Johnston, Kaufmann and the late mandolinist, Jeff Austin, who died in 2019. The tracks were recorded Dec. 13 and 14, 2010, and Jan. 28, 2011, in Boulder, Colorado at Coupe Studios, Johnston said. “It’s the original band, and we had the recording in our archives,” he said. “And we thought we should put it out. We kind of forgot about it for the past 15 or 20 years but started kicking around the idea that we should look into putting it out.” Hearing the original recordings brought back many memories to Johnston.“I remembered where I was and what I was doing at that time in my life,” he said. “For instance, I did not have any kids, yet, and I had just been married a couple of years. The band was touring a lot, and it felt like we were constantly in the middle of things. I mean, the band was really cracking on some of the stuff.”The songs also brought up memories of playing with Austin.“He was a big part of the original band’s sound, and it was good to listen and remember some of the positive stuff of that incarnation of that band,” Johnston said. “I thought it would be good to have that out there.”Last year, the band celebrated its 25th anniversary, which still blows Johnston’s mind.“I think the thing that keeps me going is that it’s a joy to live this kind of life,” he said. “I don’t think it’s common, and I think most people don’t have the opportunity to do what I do for my job.”Johnston described his job as “reading, practicing and listening to music.”“I get to be inspired and keep my ear to the ground to see if I can find something I like in what other people are doing,” he said. “I don’t think of myself as a good writer or musician. So there’s always opportunities to improve and work on something. I always like the idea of improving, even though it can be something that is not super healthy. But I love coming across new music and hearing old music that is somehow new to me. It’s energizing and inspiring, and that’s a pretty sweet job.”Yonder Mountain String BandWhen: 8 p.m., Jan. 2-4; 5 p.m., Jan. 5 Where: Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St. Tickets: $49-$79 Phone: 855-745-SHOW Web: parkcityshows.com and yondermountain.comThe post Yonder Mountain String Band sets up Egyptian Theatre residency appeared first on Park Record.