From a recent Associated Press story about the Avett Brothers:
CONCORD, N.C. — When Scott Avett sings the last bars of The Avett Brothers’ “I and Love and You,” he puts his fingers over his heart, then gestures out to the audience.
It is a symbol of what he and his brother Seth say the song is about — not a lost love, but the growing distance that success has put between them and their audience. It’s a rare occurrence now for them to sit at a bar after a show and chat with fans; after some shows, too many fans show up at the bus for them to even shake all their hands.
The “ands” between the “I love you” ”make it where it’s not just getting to say ‘I love you,'” Seth says. “It’s about the separation. And we’re experiencing an ongoing kind of separation from a growing fan base.”
With the success they’ve had over the past year, that chasm might grow even wider. Though the North Carolina-based band has been around for years and has released several albums, they had their best commercial success with their eighth CD, “I and Love and You,” which was produced by Grammy-winning producer Rick Rubin, whose credits range from Johnny Cash to the Dixie Chicks to Jay-Z.
The album has sold 181,000 copies in the United States, according to their record label, and garnered plenty of critical acclaim. It was named Paste magazine’s best of 2009 and one of the best of the decade.
Their concerts in medium-sized venues sell out across the country, and they started their first major international tour in mid-March with performances sold out in London, Amsterdam and Dublin. They’re now performing mostly at festivals in the United States, Great Britain and Canada through September.