Photo by Dino Perrucci

Anders Osborne’s latest EP, Three Free Amigos, revels in the tradition of Southern rock, while also taking a quick detour to explore the Caribbean sounds of reggae music. This might be surprising coming from someone who originally hailed from the frigid north of Sweden—surprising, that is, if this weren’t Anders Osborne we’re talking about. Osborne has long since transplanted himself to New Orleans where his music has become steeped in the sounds of the region, even as he remains interested in the wider world. For the better part of three decades the celebrated bluesman has been building a reputation as one of the finest guitarists Louisiana has to offer, and these days he shows no signs of letting up. We spoke with Osborne about his band, festivals, playing in New Orleans and Three Free Amigos, which you can stream right now at Relix.com.

Let’s talk about this new EP Three Free Amigos. It wasn’t that long ago you released your studio album, Black Eyed Galaxy. Were these tunes written during the same sessions or did they come about a different way?

They came a little bit later. The whole idea of this was first, we wanted to do an acoustic version of Black Eyed Galaxy and then we thought, “Hmm, that’s pretty boring. Why don’t we put some cool covers on there?” And then, “Maybe I should write one or two.” In that process, we wrote four new songs and I took two really old recordings: one that’s never been recorded by me and one that’s on a 1999 release. And that’s the makeup of the record.

You got a lot of great musicians on this record like Billy Iuso, Carl Dufrene, Eric Bolivar. What did each of the guys in your band bring to the recording process?

Well usually they bring who they are, which is why we play together. There is not a lot of pre-thinking on my part. I just throw it out there and then we design it together. The reason that we are a band is because we like to see how things turn out. There’s not a lot that goes into actual production once the band is there. It’s already figured out by then and we just kind of play. They add tremendous amount by just being themselves and playing the way they do.

The track “Marmalade” on the new EP is pretty much a reggae tune. Was that a big stylistic change for you?

Yeah! It’s a little departure. I had just worked with Toots and the Maytals and I thought it’d be kind of fun. That song actually was written for Black Eyed Galaxy but didn’t fit in.

Earlier this year, you put some videos up on YouTube of you playing a bunch of acoustic songs from the new album. What inspired that idea and do you have plans to do something similar for the new EP?

It was actually my manager Alex who said, “Why don’t you walk around New Orleans and give people a little sample of the record? Just you acoustic.” That was all his idea. I called my friend Shaggy who works for the fan page. We just walked out and found a few nice spots around the city. And for the next record, if we do something, I reckon we’d do something like that but slightly different so that it feels fresh. I don’t have a specific idea right now.

How did a guy from Sweden become one of Louisiana’s most celebrated blues musicians?

I don’t know man. I have no idea. I think I really try to do my best and be honest and do the best I can at all times. I have my peers and my mentors in and around the city. I feel blessed and lucky to be part of this wonderful scene here.

How’d you first end up in New Orleans?

I met a guy in Dubrovnik, which used to be Yugoslavia before all the fighting took place down there. He and I traveled together through Africa and lived in Israel for a little bit. I decided to come visit him when he lived in New Orleans. I was only about nineteen at that point. I also have family down here that used to live here.

Tell me about your sit-in with the String Cheese Incident at Christmas Jam. How did that come about?

I’ve been friends with the String Cheese guys for a while. We kind of grew up together at the beginning of the hippie jamband scene in the early 90s. We were always kind of jamming and hooking up at festivals back then. Me and Kyle Hollingsworth, we kept in touch the most. When we saw each other backstage, they asked me if I wanted to sit in. Of course, I was more than happy to.

You’ve been playing a cover of “Sugaree” by the Grateful Dead lately. Are you a Deadhead yourself?

Yeah! I’m kind of a closeted Deadhead. I used to listen to them when I lived in California for about a year back in 1987. I lived out there for a minute. My neighbor Mike, he and I used to roll around in our old 1970 Cadillac Sedan Deville. It was a big old barge. We used to crack old Grateful Dead. They just released Touch of Grey at the time too. We were jamming out to that and riding around just north of Santa Barbara. That’s kind of the beginning of my Grateful Dead affair. Lately, it’s just popped up more and more. I worked with Bill Kreutzmann a few years ago, we did those gigs. One of my closest friends right now, Billy Iuso, is a huge, huge fan of Grateful Dead and he keeps sending me a bunch of stuff. I also get fans and stuff sending me Grateful Dead songs they think I should play. It’s just gradually grown into that.

Aside from the release of Three Free Amigos what else do you have coming up in 2013?

Well, I’m going to make my next record. We’re starting that in February. I’ve got a bunch of productions I’m working on. Some local artists, some Canadian artists. I’m finishing off Clarence Bucaro and Johnny Sansone. Ross Neilson, he’s got sort of a power boogie trio from New Brunswick. Got Mia Borders, there’s a bunch of productions. And then probably about the time the new record comes out, not the EP but the next one, let’s say, we got festival season starting in May and we’ll do a lot of that. I got my plate full.

Having been down in New Orleans for so long, what’s your favorite venue to play in the city and why?

They’re all really good. I don’t wanna be biased but the holy church has always been Tipitina’s. We all know that. It’s just when you get a packed Tipitina’s, there’s something to it. I like that. But there are a lot of them. Rock ‘n’ Bowl is fun. It has it’s own atmosphere. I think DBA is one of the smaller places that I really like. You know, lately, the only thing I really do is Tipitina’s. Most places here are really good though.

I saw you had your holiday spectacular over at Tipitina’s in December. How’d you manage to get all those great guests (Luther Dickinson, Lee Oskar, Shannon McNally, Stanton Moore, Marc Broussard and more) down there?

Oh man! You just ask them to come out and pay them a little money and give them a good plate of food. Most people show up.