Reflector: When did you really get interested in playing music?
Sam Holt: I picked up a guitar when I was really young but I started playing at about 15.
R: Can you remember having music in your house as a kid?
SH: I remember being little, like 5 years old, and getting an Elvis 8-track and I loved it.
R: I know you had a close relationship with Michael Houser of Widespread Panic. How did he influence you?
SH: He started out in this grass roots band that exploded into what they [Widespread Panic] are now. He never sold himself out. I always looked up to him and to be his friend and his guitar tech was great.
R: I listened to Traveler’s Rest and noticed Mickey Raphael played harmonica on “Winds.” How did you guys get him to play on the album?
SH: I’ve always been a huge Willie Nelson fan and met Mickey at Warren Hayne’s Christmas Jam. We approached him about playing and he immediately obliged. We actually sent the song file to him over the Internet, and he sent it back to us. We did the whole thing electronically, it was pretty cool.
R: Everybody has that song that they never really get tired of. Can you think of yours?
SH: It would have to be Frank Zappa’s “Jesus Thinks You’re a Jerk.” It’s from his album Broadway the Hard Way.
R: Have you found any new bands that you see a lot of potential in?
SH: I really like Shooter Jennings, Waylon’s son. Also. Lucero, they aren’t “new” really but I like them a lot. And these young guys named Ninja Gun from Georgia are also really good.
R: Do you think Outformation will be around in say, 25 years?
SH: I hope so. Our plan is to play until we can’t go anymore. That’s how it should be.