by Paul, Alan
HAYNES: A lot of people will try to be tricky and clever, but Gregg is completely clued in to the truth that whether it’s your instrument or your voice, the goal is to speak from your heart and clutter it up as little as possible. I’m still working on that.
DEREK TRUCKS: That belief is at the heart of the Allman Brothers’ music, not just the singing. A lot of Duane’s best solos are very simple ideas perfectly executed—just cut right to the chase and nail it.
HAYNES: That’s why it’s easier for me to play more simply and fit it in better in the Allman Brothers than anywhere else—because I am surrounded by people who have made an art form out of it. Whenever Gregg hears a guitarist overplaying, he says, “That cat sounds like he’s getting paid by the note.” You hear it about a hundred times and you start to think, “Less notes is better.”
DEREK TRUCKS: Playing with three drummers and Oteil creates such a huge rhythm pocket that you can do anything you want in there. But at first I was just trying to stay on top of learning the tunes right and having the right feel and being respectful to the music. When you step into an institution that’s been around for thirty years, you want to make sure you’re not stepping on anyone’s toes. Now that I really understand the parameters, I know when and how much I can break them.
BUTCH TRUCKS: I still have no idea what Derek is going to do. Every time he plays something it’s a surprise and it’s astounding what that says about his musical depth. He just blows me away. I’ve played with a lot of really great guitar players, and after a while you start to know what they’re going to do; they get predictable. Derek is still not predictable.
Family Matters: Derek Trucks and Butch Trucks.
ALLMAN: I still really like to play acoustic guitar, though me and electric guitars have parted ways. It’s like having a dragon on a leash. Those things scare me. You can’t make up for talent and chops with volume, I will guarantee you that. I understand about tone and all that, and I understand that a really good guitar player adds a hell of a lot to a group. It’s just that guitar players are so crazy, man.
CHAPTER
29
The Road Goes on Forever
IN 2008, THE band skipped their annual Beacon run as Gregg Allman underwent twenty-four weeks of Interferon treatment for hepatitis C. The band played their Wanee Festival in April without him, with a host of guests helping round out the “Wanee Family Band.” Allman returned to the stage in August for an abbreviated summer tour.
The following year, the band turned their fifteen Beacon appearances into a celebration of their fortieth anniversary. Every night except one—March 26, the actual anniversary of the band’s first rehearsal—featured special guests, including Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Scott Boyer, Levon Helm, Taj Mahal, Boz Scaggs, Buddy Guy, the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell, Jimmy Herring, Johnny Winter, and Sheryl Crow. Dickey Betts was invited to return for three songs one night and seriously considered the offer, but never actually responded. The run took the band’s growing habit of welcoming special guests to the Beacon stage to its logical conclusion.
HAYNES: I think the tradition of having series of guests at the Beacon just happened organically. Since I lived in New York, I probably knew more people and that played a part in who came. In the beginning, there were only certain people that we felt comfortable bringing on stage and then the band grew more and more open to having other people join us. We’ve all been of the mind-set that there’s a certain type of musician that can come up and add to rather than subtract from the Allman Brothers sound. There has to be a trust factor that things will elevate—or at least stay the same. Everyone would be very wary of making the wrong decision.
As that became easier to do and we began to have more and more people sit in, then of course the task became “If so and so is going to play, what is the song that they would add the most to?”
I enjoy the challenge of figuring out who’s going to play what and I think I’ve gotten better at it through the years as that opportunity has been presented to me, and I think it’s a way of presenting music that not only the audience might never see or hear again, but also creating music that goes to another dimension that it couldn’t have gone to without that happening. All that takes place only if you have a stage full of open-minded musicians who have no qualms about going into uncharted territory. Gregg has become more and more open to having guests and I think I’ve earned his trust about who I might invite. At first I think it pushed him out of his comfort zone a little bit.
ALLMAN: We love the Beacon and have always had fun there, but that [2009 run] was the most fun I’ve ever had in that building. It was a combination of the great New York crowd and all the incredible guests. At first, part of me doubted that we would find enough worthy people to guest every night, but it was fantastic. We planned on just having people my brother played with, but it’s been a while now and that list was getting thin, so we expanded it.
DOUCETTE: That whole thing was amazing, because it was exactly what Duane wanted. He and I talked years ago about how cool it would be to play an extended run in one place and have guests come join the band. That was premature, of course, because the band was just jumping off, but he just loved playing with people. If Duane was here, he would have absolutely eaten this up. He would have loved the idea of people like Eric Clapton and Billy Gibbons coming to play with his band. Unfortunately, Duane died just on the downstroke of the diving board, as the band was about to launch.
HAYNES: It was some of the most fun any of us have ever had playing music. The whole run felt surreal, and even stopping to think about it never burst the bubble and allowed the music to deflate, which can happen. There was something really incredible happening that had to do with the right combination of the audience and the band creating something that neither on its own can create. Plus, we had the incentive of what we were trying to do: pay homage to Duane and the fact that the band had survived so long and hopefully lived up to his initial vision. Everyone connected on that thought process and no one’s ego interrupted it. Everyone stayed part of this tapestry and it was just incredible.
ALLMAN: The whole thing was one of the highlights of our career. Usually we’re running out of steam by the end of the Beacon runs, which can be pretty grueling. This time, we were getting sad as the end approached. We wanted it to keep going.
BILLY GIBBONS, ZZ Top guitarist: One thing that struck me when I joined the Brothers at the Beacon was a need to commend Warren’s skill as a bandleader. He holds down the front line as kind of the musical director, keeping a keen eye on arrangements and on maintaining a good balance. He’s looked up to with respect by all of the Brothers. Warren is studious and serious about the music but he doesn’t let that get in the way of having a good time.
HAMMOND: It was tremendously fun to be there and play with those guys and it made me pause and appreciate how amazing it is that they have held this thing together for so many years and come out the other side sounding this good. There were several times I thought the whole thing would fall apart, including when they let Dickey Betts go—I couldn’t imagine the band without him, but there they are. Derek and Warren are so strong in their own ways that it just works. And being on stage with them as your backing band is just phenomenal.
BUDDY GUY, blues guitarist: Those guys were a lot of fun to play with. Gregg’s one of them guys who’ve been keeping the blues alive and in the spotlight all along.
ALLMAN: I called Mr. Dixon “Willie.” I met Muddy Waters and called him “Mr. Morganfield” and he said, “Call me Muddy.” How much is that worth? It’s an honor beyond anything. I am so grateful for that. I met Jimmy Reed, and the great Albert Collins played one of his last gigs ever with the Allman Brothers. That guy looked like he’d kill you in a minute but he was the sweetest man in the world. Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, Johnny and Edgar Winter, KoKo Taylor, Bo Diddley, Bobby Bland: I look up to every one of them and always will. And don’t forget John L
ee Hooker, who called me every birthday to say happy birthday and that he loves me. I loved that old man.
Gregg Allman and B. B. King at the Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York City.
GUY: Nobody told me that they had three drummers, in addition to the two guitarists. I didn’t even know what to do so I just sang and waited for my solo. Those guys were holding it down.
ALLMAN: The one guy who of course my brother had a real thing with and had never played with the Brothers was Clapton, and it was just real good to have him there. That was a long time coming and really fun and meaningful.
Derek Trucks, who spent a year touring the world with Clapton in 2006–07, facilitated the British guitarist’s appearance.
DEREK TRUCKS: I had mentioned it to him a few times, but the band wrote a letter—it was really important that it come from them—and I just made sure it got delivered. It was a group effort that basically said, “This is the Allman Brothers Band and we are paying tribute to Duane to celebrate our fortieth anniversary. Please join us.”
BUTCH TRUCKS: We’ve been trying to jam with Eric for years but have never been in the same place at the same time. Eric is a big fan of the Allman Brothers, and when Duane died, probably his three best friends outside of our band were Eric Clapton, John Hammond, and Delaney Bramlett. Eric and John were at the Beacon and Delaney had sadly died a few months earlier. That’s why it was so important to us to have Eric there.
HAYNES: It was a really big deal to the Allman Brothers Band because that had never happened, which is pretty incredible given the history between Duane and Eric. We were so honored to have him there and the fact it turned into seven or eight songs, going well beyond what we originally agreed upon, was icing on the cake. He was great to work with, he played great, and everyone was on his best behavior because we all knew what a special moment it was.
We were all very impressed with Eric’s desire to learn Allman Brothers songs rather than just get up and jam and not just choose ones that would make it easy on everybody. We were hoping for the opportunity to play some of the centerpieces, like “Dreams” and “Liz Reed,” and Eric was more than game. “Little Wing” was an afterthought and the coolest part of the rehearsal. Everything went very smoothly and when we had basically played through all the songs we agreed upon, Eric looked around and said, “Is there anything else we should think about? What about ‘Little Wing’?” Our group reaction was, “Well, we’ve never played it, but sure.” We started working it up from scratch and I thought it was one of the highlights.
Clapton’s “Little Wing” suggestion was particularly profound since it was Duane Allman’s idea to record it on Layla. Clapton and Haynes sang harmony vocals on the song. On Thursday, March 19, 2009, Clapton joined the band for six songs: “Key to the Highway,” trading vocal verses with Gregg, “Dreams,” “Little Wing,” and a trio of Derek and the Dominos’ songs: “Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?”, “Anyday,” and “Layla.” The next night, he also played on “Stormy Monday” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”
Eric Clapton with the Allman Brothers Band, March 19, 2009, Beacon Theater, New York City.
ALLMAN: He took a private jet in from New Zealand or someplace to be with us and then took it back to resume his tour. When he was here with us, he just gave it all. That was special, man.
DEREK TRUCKS: I knew he would come prepared but I was still a little taken aback by how much energy he had put into it. He had only hung with Gregg once or twice and obviously Duane was very important to him. He told me that the time he went and saw the Allman Brothers in Miami he was blown away by them—what they looked like, how they sounded. It was a part of his life that he had never put away and he came loaded for bear.
HAYNES: Eric Clapton was my first guitar influence, along with Johnny Winter and Jimi Hendrix, so it was a very big personal moment for me as well. I sometimes forget how much I learned from him in my formative years, but it certainly came back those nights! And on top of that I sang a duet with him on “Little Wing.” I was just emotionally ecstatic.
DEREK TRUCKS: Afterwards, when we were hugging, Eric whispered in my ear, saying something like, “I haven’t played like that since 1969.”
I think it’s really incredible that a band could have a fortieth anniversary and have it be a musical highlight. I can’t think of anyone else who has or could pull that off.
BOYER: There’s a phrase called courting the muse, and that’s something you have to do if you want to be an artist or real musician. You can’t just run through the motions. Gregg is still doing that. He loves to play.
ALLMAN: I’m proud to say that I have a lot of good music to live up to so I can’t get out there and do it halfway. I’m one of the fans, too. In fact, I’m the biggest critic and I’ve got to be satisfied with it before it’s right.
DEREK TRUCKS: It amazes me how, despite all the drama, at the end of the day what’s right for the band trumps all. That’s what keeps this thing driving and that’s what’s different about it. Everyone is free to voice their ideas and opinions and have them considered. It’s very much a band in that way. I’ve been a part of major tours and I’ve never seen a situation where a band that’s been together this long will let everyone have their say. If something’s working and it’s musically happening, they follow it, regardless of whose idea it was. Every one of us has made suggestions that ended up being followed. We all chime in, and not just about our individual parts. It’s always about “What are we trying to say here, and what’s the best way of saying it?”
BUTCH TRUCKS: That spontaneity is still there—the feeling that anyone can come up with anything at any time to lead us in a different direction—and that’s the reason we are here almost forty-five years later. It’s still flowing. We still come up with things that surprise one another. You know what it feels like and you want to get there; it’s better than sex!
LEAVELL: Eventually we all grow up and the most important thing to all of us is the music. It has to be or we wouldn’t still be doing this. At the end of the day, the music prevails and I’m very happy that this is the case.
JAIMOE: The fact is, you perform better with people you’ve performed with the longest. You do learn something when you have been around each other for so long, whether it’s criminal or something great. That’s just the truth of the matter.
BURBRIDGE: It’s like: How do you understand a wife better after so many years? You become aware of nuance. It’s the same with a band: singular and group nuance becomes more defined. You can tell better what mood an individual is in. What the group spirit is. You need to talk, too! People are not mind readers, even if they think they’re great at it. So many small things that all matter when you are trying to make up something new, on the spot, collectively, in front of thousands of people, every night. It’s quite a dance. Fortunately, I love to dance.
LEAVELL: We’ve seen a lot of fallen soldiers through the years—Duane, Berry, Lamar, and many, many others. You look back at them and they are reminders of how lucky we are to be here, and to make this music. It makes it even more exciting to do it, to carry on, to take care of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally …
JOHNNY NEEL: People come and go but the Allman Brothers endure. Dickey’s out, Warren left and came back … it’s more than a band. It’s an institution and it’s like a big ol’ animal, an organism that can regenerate itself.
GIBBONS: Derek and Warren hold down a serious dedication to re-creating something that hasn’t been done since, and it’s remarkable how their talents have preserved what we’ve come to know and love about the Allman Brothers sound. They are younger guys who have devoted their musical careers to something very, very special. They are re-creating a really fantastic form of music that is indelibly emblazoned and that resonates with most brains. And as soon as you walk on the stage with them, you feel it.
QUIÑONES: I’m proud to be part of this legacy. I’ve been with the band for half their life now and have come to realize what an importa
nt role the Allman Brothers have played in American music. I feel honored and blessed to be a part of this history, and it blows me away when I meet people and realize just how much this music has touched them, what it’s done for them over the years.
ALLMAN: The drummers are back there behind me and I’m on the line. One night at the Beacon, I looked down and realized I was the only one left on the front line. I guess it makes me appreciate the whole thing even more, really. It’s hard to stick together, and that’s probably why a lot of other good bands don’t last this long. My brother, Woody, Oakley … they can’t be replaced because they were all unique individuals, but it doesn’t mean the whole shebang has got to fold. We still have music left to play.
The Allman Brothers Band, 2009.
DEREK TRUCKS: I don’t know if the ABB could withstand any more major personnel changes. If it’s going to remain legit, it has to be this lineup. Beyond that, it would be tough to keep it going and I think everyone is of the same mind-set that this lineup is the way it’s going to go out, whenever that time comes.
I think the chemistry between Warren and I has really grown over the past five or six years. It’s a pretty simple thing. The attitude is right and it’s never combative. We’re pushing each other on. There’s always a sense of trying to make shit happen, trading riffs, pushing each other. You want to make music, push it forward. And while we are not competitive, you don’t want to be second. Warren has that in him, and I have it in me. It was that way with Dickey and Duane; good players make each other better. As long as you’re moving forward, then it’s right.
Gregg had a liver transplant in June 2010, just months after appearing quite strong at eight shows at New York’s United Palace Theater, where they played that year instead of the Beacon Theater.