As it turned out, their improvisational background meshed well with Matthews’ often-fragmented songwriting. The sound arrived, after the addition of bassist Stefan Lessard (a high schooler at the time) and violinist Boyd Tinsley, who split his time between DMB and his own projects until the former’s reception on the college circuit became too heavy to ignore. Within a couple years, DMB was a jam band sensation in Virginia and beyond, attracting the attention of RCA Records — and longtime U2 producer Steve Lillywhite, who flew to New York to convince the group to ditch their original choice for producer.
Lillywhite’s bet paid off. The band’s major label debut,
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