ALO headlines the first day of Big Ponderoo. (Submitted photo)

More than 30 years into their existence, the Bay Area band ALO are in a creative “boom time,” according to keyboardist Zach Gill.

“Things were feeling really good pre-pandemic, and then everything kind of paused for a moment,” he said. “When we came out of that, it was like, ‘We’ve got a bunch of tunes and people are excited. Why not make another one?’”

He’s talking about another album — a quick follow-up to 2023’s “Silver Saturdays,” which was ALO’s first full-length in eight years. The follow-up is called “Frames,” and it’s a 10-track collection of typically tuneful songs from Gill and his band mates, whose easygoing combo of rootsy rock, funk ‘n’ blues, pop sensibility and willingness to stretch out on stage have made ALO a pillar of the American jam-band community.

“It was actually a bit of an extra push to make (‘Frames’) happen,” Gill said, “but I’m so glad we did.”

Ahead of ALO’s Big Ponderoo performance on June 28, GO! caught up with Gill for a chat about friendship, songwriting and the natural ebb and flow of a band that has been together for decades. Here’s an excerpt of that conversation, edited for space and clarity.

Ben Salmon: I recently saw someone call ALO a “rock ‘n’ roll institution, going on over 30 years.” Is it hard for you guys to believe you’ve kept this band going for that long?

Zach Gill: The truth is, it’s been 30 years of ALO, but (guitarist Dan Lebowitz and bassist Steve Adams) and I have been playing together since we were 12. I just turned 50, so this band has been together for most of my life at this point. But I don’t even flinch at that number anymore. I mean, I also play in Jack Johnson’s band, and I’ve been in that band for almost 25 years. And that’s my “new” band, in my mind.

BS: When ALO crystalized into a real band, did you think it was something you’d be able to do for the rest of your life?

ZG: We wanted to do the band, but we didn’t know how, you know? The music we were playing at the time wasn’t especially commercially viable except in the jam scene. But I remember seeing Phish and Ween and Ani DiFranco and these artists who were pretty much operating in their own ecosystems, and I think we were drawn to that.

So we started booking our own tours and that started going well, and it started to feel like, “We could just keep working this way.” And I think that’s what has made it sustainable in a lot of ways, because it’s always been more about community and friendship and exploring music as a language and as a way to bring people together.

BS: One of the common themes that runs through your new album “Frames” is navigating the warp-speed pace of modern life. Was that the plan going into the making of the record? Or did that theme emerge while you were working on it?

ZG: All four of us write, and we all kind of write at different paces. (Drummer Ezra Lipp rounds out ALO’s lineup.) So we were sharing demos and going through our process and once we sort of opened up to the songs that people were feeling at the time, they all started to have these common themes and even common words, which made me feel like we were on the right path.

When you’re making an album with your friends, these are people you’ve known for a long time. Everyone has grown. Everyone has changed. Every time you go in, it’s a bit of a different beast. And then there’s an element of chance to it all, too. You write a song and another guy writes a song, and you weren’t even talking about anything, but he wrote a similar song about similar things, and I guess it’s just the zeitgeist of the times. But things like that start to emerge and take shape and at some point the whole thing just locks in in a cohesive way.

BS: It has to help to be going through this sort of amorphous process with people you’ve been working with literally since elementary school. You all clearly have something special there, both interpersonally and creatively.

ZG: It’s kind of like surfing, really. There’s a combination of intention but also just sort of riding a wave, and both things are happening at once. Your intention is to catch the wave and put your feet in a certain place, but how that moment unfolds is really up to nature. With music, the goal is to catch great performances and express something in a meaningful way that feels appropriate to you and the time and place that you’re in. So to be able to do that with these guys, I’m just very, very grateful for it, and I’m grateful for all the people who have helped support us in many different ways.

More details

Now in its third year, Big Ponderoo is a two-day festival featuring two stages of music. In addition to ALO at 9:45 p.m. Saturday, June 28, this year’s lineup includes Shovels & Rope, Sierra Hull, John Craigie, Lindsay Lou, Tophouse, Yarn, Cat Clyde and more.

Noon-11 p.m. Saturday, June 28 and noon-8 p.m. Sunday, June 29
$120 Saturday ($60 for youth), $100 Sunday ($50 for youth), $205 for both days ($90 for youth)
Village Green Park, 305 S. Fir Street, Sisters
bigponderoo.com