Dave Matthews Knows When to Ignore Paltrow and Affleck
When you’re a major recording artist, you never know who’s gonna drop by the studio, and in Dave Matthews’ case, you never know who’s going to disrupt your creative process either. Here’s the story: When Matthews’ girlfriend Ashley popped into the band’s Manhattan recording session a few months ago, she brought along a few friends, including Hollywood couple du jour Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow. That day, Matthews was struggling with the lyrics to “The Dreaming Tree,” a song that would wind up on the band’s new album, Before These Crowded Streets.

“Steve Lillywhite, our producer, was telling me just to write whatever came into my mind,” recalls Matthews. “He was trying to get me to think spontaneously, so I had all this gibberish down, some sappy story that had a sappy ending.” It was his second attempt at lyrics for the song, and even though Matthews remained uncertain about version two, he sang through it in the studio in front of Affleck, Paltrow, and the other guests. “The starlets came up to me after the take and told me how much they loved it, how great it was,” he says. “I knew then and there that I had to change the song, and change it immediately.” The lyrics to the released version of “The Dreaming Tree” are the third, final, and arguably best set of words to the song, thanks in part to Ben and Gwyneth. —Bob Gulla