In a new interview with ChicagoNow, Joe Russo discusses the continuing success of his Almost Dead band. “I think it’s only getting better,” he says. “We have the luxury of pulling from an incredible and vast song book. With each new tune, we become re-inspired.” It may not last for too much longer though, Russo hints, saying that the band has plans for the rest of 2015 (including the New Year’s Eve gig at Philadelphia’s Fillmore) and will schedule dates for 2016 but plans to play less in the future. “Soooooooo……. get it while it’s hot.”

The drummer also talked about his time in Furthur and his post-band relationships with former bandmates Bob Weir and Jeff Chimenti, including his work on Weir’s new “cowboy” album, where Russo says he was able to show the Grateful Dead guitarist another side of his musicianship. “It’s been a really great experience getting to come in as the drummer/musician I’ve always been, outside of the Dead world, and feel like peers making new music,” he says. “It feels really good to make a deeper, post-Furthur, musical connection with him.”

Russo commented on his short reunion with his Benevento/Russo Duo partner Marco Benevento at Mountain Jam, which he admits was a very unplanned performance. “We just made stuff up for about 20-minutes on some terribly cheesy rental equipment.” Don’t count out a full-fledged reunion of the BR Duo in the future, though. “I’m ready to do the Duo again,” Russo says. “I miss those songs and I miss that style of performance. It was purely us.”

Russo and Almost Dead will be playing the North Coast Festival, which begins tonight in Chicago’s Union Park.