Folk-rock group Carbon Leaf hits Big Dipper

Carbon Leaf is one of those bands that puts its fans above all else. The group has a fervent following, especially in its native Richmond, Virginia, and the members encourage their fans to record and distribute their live shows. The folk rock group hits the Big Dipper on Sunday night, and it’s just one in a long string of fall tour dates.

“We’ve been together for 22 years, and for a good decade we were playing 200-plus shows a year,” said the band’s frontman Barry Privett. “I think we maxed out at 250 one year. But now our goal is to keep it at about 100 shows a year.”

The group has released plenty of studio albums, but they’ve recently been re-recording some of the material they made for a label that no longer represents them. The band’s most recent release is titled “Love Loss Hope Repeat Reneaux,” and it’s a remake of an LP that originally came out in 2006.

“We made it in a very rushed kind of way,” Privett said of the original “Love Loss” album. “We didn’t have the songs developed and didn’t really hit the mark on the production. … We learned a big lesson where we should stepped back and said, ‘Why don’t we take time to get it right instead of hoping for the best.’ Now we’ve got the album right and we’re proud of it.”

Revisiting old material is an interesting process, Privett said, and it requires a balance between creative reinvention and fidelity.

“It’s like visiting a former part of yourself,” Privett said. “It’s about keeping the original spark while adding a little bit of the evolution you brought to it. It was a great thing to do in between writing and releasing new material. … It’s a great way to reintroduce what you’ve done in the past to fans that are newer to the band.”

They also have more control over their own material, with the band releasing its last six records through its own label, Ivy Music.

“We owned the songs, but we didn’t own the master recordings,” Privett explained. “We went into this saying, ‘Let’s try to stay faithful to the recording but add the 10 years of experience that we’ve had.’ And if someone approaches us and they want to use those songs for one reason or another, we’d have control of it and not the label.”

Three of Carbon Leaf’s albums have received the revamp treatment, including its 2004 album “Indian Summer.” The band also received some funding through online crowdsourcing, offering the fans who pledged time to meet and hang out with the band.

“Fans seem to like it,” Privett said. “If you’re a fan of something, it gives you more options than just buying the album.”

That allegiance to fans translates to Carbon Leaf’s live shows, which Privett said is the best way to experience their folksy brand of rock.

“You have to keep remembering what it’s like to be a fan of something,” he said. “When you step on that stage, you want to pay back that ticket, the anticipation that people purchase. … That’s what we try to focus on each night.”