It's good to get a second chance.

In 2002, Widespread Panic [ tickets ]--guitarist/vocalist John Bell, keyboardist/vocalist John "Jojo" Hermann, drummer/vocalist Todd Nance, percussionist/vocalist Domingo S. Ortiz, and bassist/vocalist Dave Schools--lost one of their founding members, lead guitarist Michael Houser, to pancreatic cancer. Jimmy Herring (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Allman Brothers, Jazz Is Dead) was contacted about helping out, but was unable due to touring commitments with The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh.

After a few years of stalwart playing by veteran guitarist George McConnell, Herring, in late 2006, was again asked about playing with the Georgia-based jam-rock group. This time, the Fayetteville, NC, native didn't have any prior commitments, and joined Widespread Panic [ tickets ] in time to take part in the writing and recording of its latest album, "Free Somehow," available on Widespread Records.

Herring took time out to talk with LiveDaily about his longtime relationship with the group, the new album, and spreading panic on the upcoming tour.

LiveDaily: Did you know Michael Houser or the guys in Widespread before you joined?

Jimmy Herring: Oh, yeah. We didn't see each other all the time, but we definitely were friends. We've known each other since 1988 or 1989. I met all those guys around then, when I was in Colonel Bruce Hampton's band [Aquarium Rescue Unit], at a club one night. I think it was Mikey, John Bell and Todd--they came in and hung around for three sets of this crazy music. They came up to us and said, "Man, you guys are just not right." They liked it because we were nuts, and asked us to open for them. We became acquainted with Widespread's world; they had built this whole community. We toured with them a lot in the early days, and for us that's 1989-92. They really helped us. If it hadn't been for them, I don't think Aquarium Rescue Unit would have left the state of Georgia.

What happened when Michael Houser passed away in 2002, when George McConnell joined the group?

George had played with Jojo in a band called Beanland, before Jojo joined Panic, so they had a thing going. But they called me when Mikey got sick, and he was still playing with them. I was already playing with Phil Lesh and Friends at the time. When they told me what was going on with Mikey, about his illness, I was on my knees. They wanted me to come on the tour, play with Mikey or take over if he got tired, because Mikey wanted to go all the way as far as he could.

But I couldn't do it, and I felt so bad. I had a tour with Phil Lesh that I was totally committed to, and I couldn't bail out on him. I explained it to [Panic], and they understood. They knew that I would have done anything for them, but I was two weeks away from starting a 40-city tour with Phil. We'd already had long rehearsals and everything, so I couldn't do it.

What happened in late 2006, when McConnell and Panic parted ways?

I don't really know the details. They loved George. But I got a phone call that was, "Hey, you want to come play?" And at that time I had left Phil Lesh's band, and it just took me back ... I don't want to say no to [Widespread Panic] about anything. After everything they did for Aquarium, I've never forgotten that, and I never did get over feeling bad about not being there for them when Mikey was sick. So this time when they called I said, "Whatever you want me to do, I'm there."

How was it getting acclimated to Panic's music, compared to, say, The Allman Brothers?

I had two weeks to learn the music. [laughs] In that way, it was kind of similar, since I had to learn a lot of music in a short amount of time. With Panic, I mean, I don't know anyone that can learn 20 years of music in two weeks. I knew the guys, and they were good friends, but I didn't know every one of their songs. They have so many.

Panic's music covers a lot of stylistic territory, a lot more than some other bands do. The Dead has a tremendous stylistic range, from blues to funk to jazz-oriented stuff, they cover a lot of territory. Panic's kind of similar to them in that way. So it was a lot of work. It was 10-hour days, sometimes more, for weeks. Even now, I'll listen to tunes, try to get a feel for them, and make rough charts of the forms of songs.

"Free Somehow" was created differently from previous Panic albums. Normally, the material is written before recording.

Right. This time, we had a few tunes that had been played live, but had never been on a studio record. Then we had quite a bit of material that hadn't been fully realized yet. We recorded the stronger stuff first, then we worked on arranging the newer stuff. The producer, Terry Manning, got involved, and everybody just kind of worked together.

There's a definite polish.

That's Terry Manning, man.

What do you say to people who say that the studio albums don't capture what you do live?

Those are two completely different things. People come to see live shows, and that's available for people that want that. Tapers trade tapes of the shows. But, on a studio album, there are so many more colors at your disposal. You have the option to have an orchestra, or horns. [With the guitar] you have the option to overdub and play rhythm underneath yourself playing a lead, stuff like that. You can't do that live. Some of the stuff gets taken advantage of in the studio because you're like, "Hey man, what would it sound like if we did this?"

I do understand what you're asking, about "the album's not doing justice to the live shows," but I have to say this: I saw Widespread a lot when I was touring with them back in the day, with Aquarium Rescue Unit. I saw the shows, but I never had any of their records, per se. It wasn't until I had to learn their music that I really saw just how great their albums are. I don't think people are really giving the albums a chance. Those records sound like big-budget rock-and-roll records to me.

Are you psyched about the upcoming tour?

Absolutely, man. This will be the first tour we've done where we're playing this new music. Some of the tunes on the new record, we played live before, but, like I said, a good portion of it, we haven't played live yet. That was a conscious decision. Some of us felt that we needed to be playing the songs live, and letting them evolve a little bit, before we recorded them. But other people felt, "Yeah, but if we do that, the album will be all songs that everybody has already heard." So this is going to be fun.