“What's really fun about making a record with this band is that we actually have no idea how we're going to arrange a song, or what instruments we're going to play, when we get to a recording session,” says bassist Chris Wood, whose years as a member of Medeski, Martin and Wood primed him for the ego-stripped musical collaborations that are a hallmark of The Wood Brothers. “That's why first takes are often the best. You don't have any ideas about the song yet.” We get a chance to find out how many of the songs on their great new album, Puff of Smoke, were first takes, and a lot more, when the trio returns to Studio B this Friday, in advance of their appearance at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival. “Creativity is a winding road, not a straight path, if you’re open to it,” says percussionist and vocalist Jano Rix. “We're not in control,” adds the band’s primary guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Oliver Wood, “and that can be good news.”