When I'm working on a new idea, I'll play it over and over again with just a guitar until I hear all the parts in my head. Many times I'll roll an idea past them and they'll digest it and feed it back in a completely fresh, inventive way. You can create a particular groove in your head, but you still have to add that band chemistry. A great band should operate like Muddy Waters's old group. Those guys didn't even have to think about getting out of each others way.
Blues is basically about feeling the big groove that's created through musical interplay.
I think it's far more interesting for people to listen to a group of musicians working as a band, as opposed to watching a group that's subservient to a frontman. All the great jazz masters, like Mose Allison, have had trios that they've played with for years and years. Tony Bennett's band is a great example of a group of musicians that sounds seamless because they've been working with each other for years. I really appreciate that because it's very, very hard to find people that really can connect musically. You know, you have such a natural feel for those quarter tones in your slide playing, I'm surprised you're not performing Arabic or Pakistani music.