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The Muellers, left to right, are Sarah, 13; mother Karen; George, 7; father Curt; John, 10; grown son Tom; and Laurah, 16. They are based out of Waterville, Maine.

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Favorite album to listen to on the tour bus: Cadillac Sky Gravity's "Our Enemy," Alison Krause's "So Long, So Wrong," anything by Hot Rize, Steely Dan or Earth Wind & Fire. Or an '80s rock compilation we got at a truck stop in Indiana for five bucks, or a disco funk compilation we bought in Branson, Mo.

Best folkie from the '60s? Dylan.

Does Maine need more Missouri, or does Missouri need more Maine? When we're playing an outdoor festival in the Missouri heat and humidity, Missouri definitely needs more Maine. But ... people plant their peas on Valentine's Day in Missouri. That's a tough question.

Does the dress code ever change? Rarely. We've evolved a bit over the years, going toward the more traditional suit-and-tie look for the guys, honoring the bluegrass fathers. We girls have played around with our hemlines, but skirts are definitely the rule. We've had some hilarious wardrobe malfunctions over the years, and when that happens, it just has to become part of the show. From socks to ties to pants, the boys seem to forget things every once in a while. They claim that the wardrobe responsibilities belong to the girls, but we only honor tradition up to a certain point!

Imagine the best and worst days of your childhood, the most visceral memories possible of interactions between you and all of your family members. Now, compress those interactions into a traveling van and throw in an oversized stand-up bass hard case for good measure.

This is what it's sometimes like for the five kids of the world-travelin' but central Maine-based Mueller family bluegrass band. You'd think that picking, plucking and hollering through a country set from town to town would take its toll. The Muellers, though, seem to feed off of it, drawing on some unknown resource to power their time on the national stomping-ground circuit.

From the state's youngest big-stage country singer in 7-year-old George on up to the brave, joyful ringleader parents, Karen and Curt, Muellers young and old go about their task with quiet confidence and professionalism. Then they just let it rip on stage.

If you want to see all of them -- including Laurah, 16; Sarah, 13; John, 10; and adult son Tom -- in action, check out the Sixth Annual Waterville Area Hospice Benefit Show in Fairfield on Oct. 17. Get more info at www.muellerfamilymusic.com.

Let's start with the obvious. What on earth is it like to be a big country family and be a world-travelin' bluegrass band all at once?

Karen: There is a lot of togetherness! This is probably the biggest area of curiosity. We are very close, both figuratively and literally. Everyone has their spot in the stage configuration, in the van, around the table. We like to cook together, and I've been told that seeing the family in the kitchen is like seeing us work around the mics. I don't know if we're exceptionally close because we're a band or the other way around.

Tom: Someone once described us as "your normal big family, plus bluegrass insanity."

Describe the longest tour the family has ever toughed it out for.

Karen: We have done several one-month tours, to the point that anything else feels short. We're pretty ready to be home after a month. When we get home, we spread out and don't talk to each other much -- this lasts about three days!

Tom: I think our longest tour was about 8,000 miles. I love being able to play our show every night and to have a chance to tighten up our stage show, but touring can be stressful as well. Living out of a van with the same group of people for an extended amount of time can be difficult; I think that most people do not realize just how much time is spent traveling and preparing for shows.

How long has bluegrass been in the family?

Tom: Our great-great-grandmother and grandfather played music together when they were courting -- he played fiddle, she played guitar. We have a picture of them playing music together before they were married.

Despite the rootsy sound, there are a lot of jazz and other styles creeping into the traditional bluegrass progressions. Is this on purpose?

Tom: To a certain point. Individually, we all have wide-ranging musical interests -- my background is in jazz and classical music, for example -- and it would be impossible to leave all of that musical experience at the door.

At the same time, we try to only use ideas that strengthen our material. There are countless musical ideas that we have messed around with, but have had to discard for one reason or another.

When practicing, we will often mess around with pieces that we like to listen to but would never want to perform live, like Toto's "Africa," a Kurt Rosenwinkel tune or a movement of a Vivaldi concerto.

Do you draw comparisons to other famous traveling family bands?

Tom: The most frequent comparison...