November 11, 2025 • 25 mins
Join us for a heartfelt podcast episode of Takin A Walk-Music History on foot hosted by Buzz Knight with legendary guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Warren Haynes. Known for his iconic work with Gov’t Mule, The Allman Brothers Band, and countless collaborations, Warren opens up about his musical journey from the small towns of North Carolina to the biggest stages in rock and blues.
In this episode, we explore Warren’s approach to songwriting, his philosophy on improvisation, and what it means to keep the spirit of Southern rock alive while constantly pushing creative boundaries. He shares iconic stories from the road, discusses his influences ranging from classic soul to psychedelic rock, and reflects on the importance of musical community and music history..
Warren also talks about his annual Christmas Jam benefit concert, his passion for mentoring young musicians, and how he’s maintained his artistic integrity across decades in the music industry. Whether discussing tone, technique, or the transcendent moments that happen when a band truly connects, Warren offers wisdom gained from a lifetime dedicated to his craft.
Enjoy his deep dive into the mind of one of rock’s most respected and soulful iconic guitarists.
Accolades:
Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Warren Haynes as the 23rd greatest guitarist in their “100 Greatest Guitarists”
Warren Haynes is described as a Grammy Award-winning artist who has been recognized as a cornerstone of the American music landscape and revered as one of the finest guitar players in the world. Warren Haynes is part of music history.
Guitar Player magazine has praised his tastefulness as a lead guitar player, noting that few guitarists can match it, and that while others could play rings around him technically, he’s proven that the magic of blues guitar isn’t always about virtuosity
Takin A Walk is the podcast that specializes in interviews with musicians and is produced by Buzz Knight Media Productions and is part of the IHeart Podcast Network.
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk. We were never trying to second guess
what we thought people expected from us, or what the
music business expected from us. We just were making decisions
based on what seemed like the most.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Fun Humpus night and welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
You know, there's a very short list of musicians who
can claim they've been a part of three of the
greatest live bands in rock history. Okay, let me be
more precise. There's really only one person who could make
that claim, and I'm talking about the bands The Allman
(00:34):
Brothers Band, Government Mule and the Dead. Today on Taking
a Walk, I'm joined by that singular force, the Grammy
winning guitar legend, songwriter and producer Warren Haynes. He's been
on quite a journey lately. After nearly a decade away
from solo work, he returned in twenty twenty four with
(00:57):
a Million Voices whisper he Ren with Derek Trucks in
the studio for the first time since the Almond Brothers
Band's final Bow to Finish lyrics that Greg Alman had started.
Also Government Mules, celebrating thirty years of blistering rock and roll.
Let's talk to the man next Warren Haynes, I'm taking
(01:18):
a walk, taking a walk, Warren Haynes, Welcome to the
Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Good to be back.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
So we throw this little opening question out there, Warren.
It's one that sometimes mystifies people and the answers go
all over the place. So I'm not gonna let you
get away with with not trying to answer this one,
mister Warren Haynes, if you could take a walk with
someone living or dead, who would you take a walk with?
(01:51):
And where might you take that walk with them?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Sir? Wow, Uh, that's sure. As a tough we would
probably check change every day for like seventeen days in
a row. If you ask me that question, that's that's
a great question. I mean, Jimmy Hendrix, I don't know.
I guess that is as good an answer as any.
(02:16):
I have a long list of people that would qualify
for that wish list. Where would that be? Maybe Central
Park in New York.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
It's all good. Those are all perfect answers. This is
the thing. There's no right or wrong to the question,
And to your point, it can change by the day,
for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
You know, yeah, you know, because people ask me a
lot about favorite albums, favorite artists and if the lists
are so long that you know, it depends on what
mood I'm in, what creeps up to the top of
the list on any given day. I get it.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I get it. We had this chap on the podcast
previously named Devin Almond and had a wonderful chat with him,
and it's funny. I was just remembering the interview and
I wanted to I wanted to validate it. And we
can talk about AI separately, but I went to this
(03:19):
thing called Claude AI and I said, during the Devin
Almond Taking a Walk episode, tell me what was discussed
about Warren Haynes. And it came back like a flood
of great energy. Not a flood is the wrong word,
it said, Yes. Devin Almond brought up Warren Haynes multiple
(03:41):
times on the Taking a Walk podcast. He discussed sitting
in with the Almond brothers and described having to stand
between Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks or Warren Haynes and
Dicky Betts while playing songs like One Way Out, calling
them the Jedi Masters of guitar. And I even think
(04:01):
he texted you in the midst of the interview, asked
you a question, but how does it make you feel
being referred to as one of the Jedi Masters of
guitar by Devin.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Well, that's quite a confliment. You know. When I joined
the Allman Brothers in nineteen eighty nine, it brought on
such an overwhelming amount of recognition and acceptance and respect
and reverence, because you know, I was a huge Allman
(04:33):
Brothers fan my entire life, and I assumed that other
people were as well. But I came to realize the
amount of respect that comes with being in that band,
not just by listeners but fellow musicians. You know, every
(04:55):
door imaginable open for me at that point, and every
musician that I would meet that I had grown up
listening to and admiring when instantly put me on a
level of respect, you know. And that's in some ways,
(05:19):
I guess I wasn't expecting that or prepared for that,
but the Allman Brothers music touched so many people, but
among musicians, you know, the the amount of respect that
fellow musicians have for that music is pretty uncanny.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I remember that period, that early period when you when
you joined, and in fact was fortunate enough I live
outside of Boston, so I was fortunate enough when you
came through for one of those amazing It was called
Great Woods back then, and so I saw those early days,
and I saw the band's performance, and I saw your work.
(06:00):
How did you make that integration into the band appear
so easy?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Well, I think it had a lot to do with
the fact that I was in Dickie Betts's band for
two or three years prior, and he and I had
spent all that time kind of honing in our thing,
and we had really learned how to play together in
a great way. And it also forced me to kind
(06:31):
of up my game in a lot of different ways,
regarding my tone, my style, my note selection, how to
come across on a bigger stage, and playing next to
him night after night after night was intimidating, but it
was also the best lesson possible for me to be
(06:52):
prepared for joining a band like the Almer Brothers. So
by the time eighty nine roll around it and I
found myself and the Almand Brothers, I had had that
initiation and learning period. There was still a lot of
learning to be done, but I felt more relaxed and
(07:13):
ahead of the curve a little bit, you know, And
the fact that they allowed me from day one to
interject my own personality. You know, they were very good
about saying, hey, we chose you to play like you.
You know, we don't expect you to play more or
(07:34):
less like Duwayne Almend than you choose to play at
any moment. You're here to be yourself. And that was
very important because you know, I was very influenced by
Dwayne Alban, but I also didn't want to be copying
what he had done, and that's not what they wanted either.
They wanted somebody that had reverence for that music, but
(07:57):
that would bring their own personality. And I think in
hind that music demands that you.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Did a beautiful job of it. I really admire the
way you made that all work. An incredible fan. So,
after nearly a decade away from solo albums, what made
this the right moment for you to return with a
Million Voices Whisper? What changed your life or perspective that
(08:24):
sparked this particular collection.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Well, I think it was mostly the COVID lockdown, and
not just because of the emotional impact that it had
on everyone, but because it forced songwriters to go into
hibernation and write more music. Than any of us had
written in decades, you know, and for speaking for people
(08:49):
that have been writing songs for a long time, I
wrote more music during that time period than I've written
since I was probably thirty years old or something, and
it wound up turning into two Government Mule records. But
then I also had all these songs that I had
written that didn't seem like government mule songs, which inspired
(09:10):
me to keep writing in that direction and record Million
Voices Whisper. You know, I only do a solo record
when it seems like I've written enough songs that work
together that kind of want to be part of a
collection of songs, but they don't necessarily sound like government
(09:34):
mule songs. Are going back to when the all my
brothers were recording that don't sound like all my brothers songs.
You know, some of these songs obviously could be interpreted
that way, but they all have their own kind of
vibe and personality and fit together. So I really attribute
it mostly to that, and I'm I'm glad that I
(09:58):
was able to find the the positive in such a
dark time period.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
And as someone who has just been you know, the
epitome of a live performer and you and others like you.
That must have been just like chopping your arm off.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Yeah, to know that we couldn't travel, we couldn't tour,
we couldn't perform on stage, and wondering in the back
of all of our minds when and if that's going
to change. You know, we all thought, is this the
new normal, the new music business where people aren't going
(10:38):
to be willing to be in live crowds like that?
And that that was a scary factor because that's what
we do. So as soon as we were able to
be around each other, we're all vaccinated and willing to
go into the studio, we just decided, Well, the path
(10:58):
forward were for us was to go make a couple
of records back to back and kind of feel normal again.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I want to talk about the special Real Real Love
including lyrics, you know, initially started by Greg Allman and
brought you back into the studio with Derek Trucks for
the first time since the Allman brother Band had the
final sunset. Take us inside the session and what it
(11:29):
meant for you to complete Greg's words.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, let's go back to I got an email from
Bert Holman, who's the Alma brothers manager Love Burt, and
he had photo copied the handwritten lyrics that Greg had
written for that song and sent it to me and said, hey,
do you remember this song? And I remembered Greg showing
(11:57):
it to me, but we never worked on and he
never completed it. It just got put on the back burder.
But it all started coming back to me when I
saw the lyric and it was incomplete and there was
no music as far as anyone knows. So I instantly
(12:21):
started writing music for it. And then I started tweaking
the lyric and and and wrote some additional lyrics to it,
and it all came about really quickly. So I called
Derek and told him about it, and I said, I
really think we should record this song together, and of
course he was very into that idea. And then the
(12:46):
talk turned to, well, why don't we get together and
write some other songs and maybe think about recording half
of an album or something, you know, because in my
mind I was inspired to make another solo, so I
talked to him about maybe co producing some stuff with me.
Initially it was going to be at his studio in Florida,
(13:10):
but his studio was under construction and wasn't going to
be ready in the timeframe that we needed, so we
decided to just bring him up to Connecticut where we
were recording the other stuff. And it was great to
have him in the studio for those three days. And
(13:30):
we spent three days at his farm in Georgia writing
and then three days in the studio recording, and a
lot of magical stuff happened, real real love. You know,
it sounds a little tried or cliche or cheesy to say,
but Greg's presence was felt through that entire process, you know,
(13:52):
and the fact that Derek and I are in the
same room would sing I'm singing, and he's trading with
me on the slagh guitar, and we're recording live as
it should be. It just all came together in a
really wonderful way, and that kind of inspired us to
(14:14):
want to do a lot more stuff to go.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
I love it, And I was going to ask you,
did you feel the presence of Greg? So you answered
the follow up question because I would imagine that that
would be possible.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Yeah, no question about that. And I wanted to for
the first time ever to honor someone else's style to
that extent, you know, down to the chord changes and
the melody, and the way I approached the vocal harmonizing
(14:53):
with myself and the intro similar to what he did
on some of the songs on Laid Back. It gave
me the perfect reason to go a little further down
that path than I normally would. As far as utilizing
someone else's influence.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
It's fantastic. Then there's this little band called Government Mule,
which is celebrating thirty three to zero, thirty years since
that self titled debut. What is the secret to that
band's longevity?
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Good question. I think probably the fact that we all
know that we have a unique chemistry in the way
we play together and we all still get along, which
is pretty uncanny for a band that's been going as
long as we have. And I think part of it
(15:49):
is also that since we didn't start out as a
real band. We started out as a side project to
the Almen Brothers, thinking that we are going to make
one record, do a short too, or then get back
to life as normal. It kind of caught fire and
took off on its own, and so we were faced
(16:10):
with the challenge of making decisions about our future one
step at a time. You know, whatever felt good at
that moment, That's what we did. And we were never
trying to second guess what we thought people expected from
us or what the music business expected from us. We
just were making decisions based on what seemed like the
(16:33):
most fun and knowing that, you know, this might be
our last record. We didn't know we were going to
make a second record, or a third record, or a
fifth record, or now we have thirteen studio records. We're
about to play our twenty five hundredth show in a
few days, And that's just something I never would have
(16:58):
ever guessed.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Congratulations, my god. I want to talk about community, and
in particular after the terrible Hurricane Helene, the Christmas Jam,
which was an amazing act of generosity and bringing community
together and soul shine in particular. I mean they you
(17:21):
know at the garden with Dave Matthews and so many others.
What did that teach you, maybe that you already didn't
know about the power of community and how music is
so important.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Well, it brought into focus and solidified my belief that
musicians loved to give back because not solely because but
partially because we all appreciate and are extremely grateful to
(17:57):
be able to do what we love for a living,
and so something as easy as playing music on a
night off to raise money for charity, it's so much
easier than people might expect because that's what we do.
Musicians love to play music, whether it's work or behind
(18:20):
the scenes or whatever the case, and it reminds us
all of why we started playing music in the first place.
It was for the joy of doing it, and so
if you can turn that into helping others in your community,
it's just not only a win win, but it's an
easy thing to do. And that's why I encourage people
(18:42):
to get involved and charity work, not if it's a hassle,
but find a way of doing it that works with
your life and that makes you feel better. That Soul
Shine experience at Madison Square Garden was fantastic, and we
knew that the music was going to be special. Be
(19:04):
those people coming together to help other people always is.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
There was another special Medicine Square Garden moment, Little Moment
twenty twenty five, the Brothers showing up at that amazing venue.
What did that moment mean to you?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Well, you know, Jamo was the catalyst for that, bringing
us all back together. He called everybody and said we
need to play and everybody agreed that. Everybody was instantly
on board, and we knew in twenty twenty when we
(19:44):
did the one show right before COVID it was an
extremely special thing, emotional but cathartic and inspiring, and that
group of musicians playing that music is just special. Doesn't
do it justice. You know, we all felt it even
(20:05):
more than any of us expected right from the beginning
of the rehearsals, and this time around, doing two nights,
it seemed even a step beyond where we were in
twenty twenty. It just felt so natural and so beautiful
and so much the right thing to do for ourselves,
(20:27):
for the audience. You know, it was just two nights
of music that I'll cherish forever.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
So you've been a Gibson man your whole career, and
in twenty twenty five you finally got your signature Less Paul.
What took so long?
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Well, it's a bit confusing because I we Gibson worked
with me in the past on a signature Less Paul
and on a signature is three thirty five that they
were limited edition, and this is the first time we're
making them readily available, which means a lot, because I
think it's wonderful that a young guitar player or not
(21:09):
so young guitar player can take my suggestion that I
think you might enjoy playing this guitar. It's beautiful, it
sounds great, it plays great, it's it's comfortable in my hands.
And if someone uses that as a reason to try
it out and and really loves it, then then that's
(21:30):
that's an amazing thing. And yeah, you're right. I've been
a Gibson guy my entire life. My first decent guitar
was a Gibson and almost every guitar I've played since then.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
So you've worked with everybody from from Dave Matthews to
the Dolly Parton to Chris Stapleton to the Grateful Dead Family.
What do you personally look for when you consider that
art of collaboration.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Well, it has to be something that I enjoy. I'm
lucky enough at this point in my career and have
been for quite some time to be busy enough to
where I'll always do something if it's appealing to me.
You know, in the old days when I was doing
(22:22):
studio work, when I first started out, you take every
session that comes along the way, regardless of how you
feel about it musically or emotionally. But I was fortunate
enough to make the decision that that's not what I
want to do. I want to play my music and
pursue what I love, and I've been fortunately successful with that.
(22:46):
And so now if a situation comes around that is
really appealing to me, I'll make time to do it.
But otherwise my schedule is pretty packed, so whenever I
do something, it has my stamp of group.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
So in closing the subtitle for a Million Voices, Whisper
could be questioning, certainly, how to make things better in
love and in life, in the in the world, at
this stage of your great career in life, what are
the biggest questions that you're wrestling with and can you
(23:24):
share with how music has sort of helped you find
some of those answers.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Well, speaking for myself, you know, how to be a
better person, a better father, a better friend, a better husband,
a better artist and musician and singer and songwriter. You know,
I think those of us who choose to do what
(23:49):
we love are it's a blessing, you know, but we
also put a lot of pressure on ourselves. You know
and so, and that's a good thing. In healthy doses,
it's definitely a good thing. But I also feel like
people have to come together at this point to make
(24:11):
the world a better place. It's not going to happen
if we're waiting on politicians to change it. It's going
to be up to the people to demand that we
make the world a better place and a more loving
and caring place and leave the planet in good shape
for children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. You know, I
(24:36):
know that answer went all over the map, but I
kind of feel like that's where my head is these days.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
I am so grateful for this opportunity to sync back
up with you and talk to you. Such a fan,
and so grateful for all you continue to give us warnings,
and thank you for being on the Taking a Walk podcast,
and thank you for everything.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
My pleasure good to see it.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk Podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Taking a Walk. We were never trying to second guess
what we thought people expected from us, or what the
music business expected from us. We just were making decisions
based on what seemed like the most.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Fun Humpus night and welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
You know, there's a very short list of musicians who
can claim they've been a part of three of the
greatest live bands in rock history. Okay, let me be
more precise. There's really only one person who could make
that claim, and I'm talking about the bands The Allman
(00:34):
Brothers Band, Government Mule and the Dead. Today on Taking
a Walk, I'm joined by that singular force, the Grammy
winning guitar legend, songwriter and producer Warren Haynes. He's been
on quite a journey lately. After nearly a decade away
from solo work, he returned in twenty twenty four with
(00:57):
a Million Voices whisper he Ren with Derek Trucks in
the studio for the first time since the Almond Brothers
Band's final Bow to Finish lyrics that Greg Alman had started.
Also Government Mules, celebrating thirty years of blistering rock and roll.
Let's talk to the man next Warren Haynes, I'm taking
(01:18):
a walk, taking a walk, Warren Haynes, Welcome to the
Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Good to be back.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
So we throw this little opening question out there, Warren.
It's one that sometimes mystifies people and the answers go
all over the place. So I'm not gonna let you
get away with with not trying to answer this one,
mister Warren Haynes, if you could take a walk with
someone living or dead, who would you take a walk with?
(01:51):
And where might you take that walk with them?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Sir? Wow, Uh, that's sure. As a tough we would
probably check change every day for like seventeen days in
a row. If you ask me that question, that's that's
a great question. I mean, Jimmy Hendrix, I don't know.
I guess that is as good an answer as any.
(02:16):
I have a long list of people that would qualify
for that wish list. Where would that be? Maybe Central
Park in New York.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
It's all good. Those are all perfect answers. This is
the thing. There's no right or wrong to the question,
And to your point, it can change by the day,
for sure.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
You know, yeah, you know, because people ask me a
lot about favorite albums, favorite artists and if the lists
are so long that you know, it depends on what
mood I'm in, what creeps up to the top of
the list on any given day. I get it.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I get it. We had this chap on the podcast
previously named Devin Almond and had a wonderful chat with him,
and it's funny. I was just remembering the interview and
I wanted to I wanted to validate it. And we
can talk about AI separately, but I went to this
(03:19):
thing called Claude AI and I said, during the Devin
Almond Taking a Walk episode, tell me what was discussed
about Warren Haynes. And it came back like a flood
of great energy. Not a flood is the wrong word,
it said, Yes. Devin Almond brought up Warren Haynes multiple
(03:41):
times on the Taking a Walk podcast. He discussed sitting
in with the Almond brothers and described having to stand
between Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks or Warren Haynes and
Dicky Betts while playing songs like One Way Out, calling
them the Jedi Masters of guitar. And I even think
(04:01):
he texted you in the midst of the interview, asked
you a question, but how does it make you feel
being referred to as one of the Jedi Masters of
guitar by Devin.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Well, that's quite a confliment. You know. When I joined
the Allman Brothers in nineteen eighty nine, it brought on
such an overwhelming amount of recognition and acceptance and respect
and reverence, because you know, I was a huge Allman
(04:33):
Brothers fan my entire life, and I assumed that other
people were as well. But I came to realize the
amount of respect that comes with being in that band,
not just by listeners but fellow musicians. You know, every
(04:55):
door imaginable open for me at that point, and every
musician that I would meet that I had grown up
listening to and admiring when instantly put me on a
level of respect, you know. And that's in some ways,
(05:19):
I guess I wasn't expecting that or prepared for that,
but the Allman Brothers music touched so many people, but
among musicians, you know, the the amount of respect that
fellow musicians have for that music is pretty uncanny.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I remember that period, that early period when you when
you joined, and in fact was fortunate enough I live
outside of Boston, so I was fortunate enough when you
came through for one of those amazing It was called
Great Woods back then, and so I saw those early days,
and I saw the band's performance, and I saw your work.
(06:00):
How did you make that integration into the band appear
so easy?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Well, I think it had a lot to do with
the fact that I was in Dickie Betts's band for
two or three years prior, and he and I had
spent all that time kind of honing in our thing,
and we had really learned how to play together in
a great way. And it also forced me to kind
(06:31):
of up my game in a lot of different ways,
regarding my tone, my style, my note selection, how to
come across on a bigger stage, and playing next to
him night after night after night was intimidating, but it
was also the best lesson possible for me to be
(06:52):
prepared for joining a band like the Almer Brothers. So
by the time eighty nine roll around it and I
found myself and the Almand Brothers, I had had that
initiation and learning period. There was still a lot of
learning to be done, but I felt more relaxed and
(07:13):
ahead of the curve a little bit, you know, And
the fact that they allowed me from day one to
interject my own personality. You know, they were very good
about saying, hey, we chose you to play like you.
You know, we don't expect you to play more or
(07:34):
less like Duwayne Almend than you choose to play at
any moment. You're here to be yourself. And that was
very important because you know, I was very influenced by
Dwayne Alban, but I also didn't want to be copying
what he had done, and that's not what they wanted either.
They wanted somebody that had reverence for that music, but
(07:57):
that would bring their own personality. And I think in
hind that music demands that you.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Did a beautiful job of it. I really admire the
way you made that all work. An incredible fan. So,
after nearly a decade away from solo albums, what made
this the right moment for you to return with a
Million Voices Whisper? What changed your life or perspective that
(08:24):
sparked this particular collection.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Well, I think it was mostly the COVID lockdown, and
not just because of the emotional impact that it had
on everyone, but because it forced songwriters to go into
hibernation and write more music. Than any of us had
written in decades, you know, and for speaking for people
(08:49):
that have been writing songs for a long time, I
wrote more music during that time period than I've written
since I was probably thirty years old or something, and
it wound up turning into two Government Mule records. But
then I also had all these songs that I had
written that didn't seem like government mule songs, which inspired
(09:10):
me to keep writing in that direction and record Million
Voices Whisper. You know, I only do a solo record
when it seems like I've written enough songs that work
together that kind of want to be part of a
collection of songs, but they don't necessarily sound like government
(09:34):
mule songs. Are going back to when the all my
brothers were recording that don't sound like all my brothers songs.
You know, some of these songs obviously could be interpreted
that way, but they all have their own kind of
vibe and personality and fit together. So I really attribute
it mostly to that, and I'm I'm glad that I
(09:58):
was able to find the the positive in such a
dark time period.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
And as someone who has just been you know, the
epitome of a live performer and you and others like you.
That must have been just like chopping your arm off.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Yeah, to know that we couldn't travel, we couldn't tour,
we couldn't perform on stage, and wondering in the back
of all of our minds when and if that's going
to change. You know, we all thought, is this the
new normal, the new music business where people aren't going
(10:38):
to be willing to be in live crowds like that?
And that that was a scary factor because that's what
we do. So as soon as we were able to
be around each other, we're all vaccinated and willing to
go into the studio, we just decided, Well, the path
(10:58):
forward were for us was to go make a couple
of records back to back and kind of feel normal again.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I want to talk about the special Real Real Love
including lyrics, you know, initially started by Greg Allman and
brought you back into the studio with Derek Trucks for
the first time since the Allman brother Band had the
final sunset. Take us inside the session and what it
(11:29):
meant for you to complete Greg's words.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, let's go back to I got an email from
Bert Holman, who's the Alma brothers manager Love Burt, and
he had photo copied the handwritten lyrics that Greg had
written for that song and sent it to me and said, hey,
do you remember this song? And I remembered Greg showing
(11:57):
it to me, but we never worked on and he
never completed it. It just got put on the back burder.
But it all started coming back to me when I
saw the lyric and it was incomplete and there was
no music as far as anyone knows. So I instantly
(12:21):
started writing music for it. And then I started tweaking
the lyric and and and wrote some additional lyrics to it,
and it all came about really quickly. So I called
Derek and told him about it, and I said, I
really think we should record this song together, and of
course he was very into that idea. And then the
(12:46):
talk turned to, well, why don't we get together and
write some other songs and maybe think about recording half
of an album or something, you know, because in my
mind I was inspired to make another solo, so I
talked to him about maybe co producing some stuff with me.
Initially it was going to be at his studio in Florida,
(13:10):
but his studio was under construction and wasn't going to
be ready in the timeframe that we needed, so we
decided to just bring him up to Connecticut where we
were recording the other stuff. And it was great to
have him in the studio for those three days. And
(13:30):
we spent three days at his farm in Georgia writing
and then three days in the studio recording, and a
lot of magical stuff happened, real real love. You know,
it sounds a little tried or cliche or cheesy to say,
but Greg's presence was felt through that entire process, you know,
(13:52):
and the fact that Derek and I are in the
same room would sing I'm singing, and he's trading with
me on the slagh guitar, and we're recording live as
it should be. It just all came together in a
really wonderful way, and that kind of inspired us to
(14:14):
want to do a lot more stuff to go.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
I love it, And I was going to ask you,
did you feel the presence of Greg? So you answered
the follow up question because I would imagine that that
would be possible.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Yeah, no question about that. And I wanted to for
the first time ever to honor someone else's style to
that extent, you know, down to the chord changes and
the melody, and the way I approached the vocal harmonizing
(14:53):
with myself and the intro similar to what he did
on some of the songs on Laid Back. It gave
me the perfect reason to go a little further down
that path than I normally would. As far as utilizing
someone else's influence.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
It's fantastic. Then there's this little band called Government Mule,
which is celebrating thirty three to zero, thirty years since
that self titled debut. What is the secret to that
band's longevity?
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Good question. I think probably the fact that we all
know that we have a unique chemistry in the way
we play together and we all still get along, which
is pretty uncanny for a band that's been going as
long as we have. And I think part of it
(15:49):
is also that since we didn't start out as a
real band. We started out as a side project to
the Almen Brothers, thinking that we are going to make
one record, do a short too, or then get back
to life as normal. It kind of caught fire and
took off on its own, and so we were faced
(16:10):
with the challenge of making decisions about our future one
step at a time. You know, whatever felt good at
that moment, That's what we did. And we were never
trying to second guess what we thought people expected from
us or what the music business expected from us. We
just were making decisions based on what seemed like the
(16:33):
most fun and knowing that, you know, this might be
our last record. We didn't know we were going to
make a second record, or a third record, or a
fifth record, or now we have thirteen studio records. We're
about to play our twenty five hundredth show in a
few days, And that's just something I never would have
(16:58):
ever guessed.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Congratulations, my god. I want to talk about community, and
in particular after the terrible Hurricane Helene, the Christmas Jam,
which was an amazing act of generosity and bringing community
together and soul shine in particular. I mean they you
(17:21):
know at the garden with Dave Matthews and so many others.
What did that teach you, maybe that you already didn't
know about the power of community and how music is
so important.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Well, it brought into focus and solidified my belief that
musicians loved to give back because not solely because but
partially because we all appreciate and are extremely grateful to
(17:57):
be able to do what we love for a living,
and so something as easy as playing music on a
night off to raise money for charity, it's so much
easier than people might expect because that's what we do.
Musicians love to play music, whether it's work or behind
(18:20):
the scenes or whatever the case, and it reminds us
all of why we started playing music in the first place.
It was for the joy of doing it, and so
if you can turn that into helping others in your community,
it's just not only a win win, but it's an
easy thing to do. And that's why I encourage people
(18:42):
to get involved and charity work, not if it's a hassle,
but find a way of doing it that works with
your life and that makes you feel better. That Soul
Shine experience at Madison Square Garden was fantastic, and we
knew that the music was going to be special. Be
(19:04):
those people coming together to help other people always is.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
There was another special Medicine Square Garden moment, Little Moment
twenty twenty five, the Brothers showing up at that amazing venue.
What did that moment mean to you?
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Well, you know, Jamo was the catalyst for that, bringing
us all back together. He called everybody and said we
need to play and everybody agreed that. Everybody was instantly
on board, and we knew in twenty twenty when we
(19:44):
did the one show right before COVID it was an
extremely special thing, emotional but cathartic and inspiring, and that
group of musicians playing that music is just special. Doesn't
do it justice. You know, we all felt it even
(20:05):
more than any of us expected right from the beginning
of the rehearsals, and this time around, doing two nights,
it seemed even a step beyond where we were in
twenty twenty. It just felt so natural and so beautiful
and so much the right thing to do for ourselves,
(20:27):
for the audience. You know, it was just two nights
of music that I'll cherish forever.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
So you've been a Gibson man your whole career, and
in twenty twenty five you finally got your signature Less Paul.
What took so long?
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Well, it's a bit confusing because I we Gibson worked
with me in the past on a signature Less Paul
and on a signature is three thirty five that they
were limited edition, and this is the first time we're
making them readily available, which means a lot, because I
think it's wonderful that a young guitar player or not
(21:09):
so young guitar player can take my suggestion that I
think you might enjoy playing this guitar. It's beautiful, it
sounds great, it plays great, it's it's comfortable in my hands.
And if someone uses that as a reason to try
it out and and really loves it, then then that's
(21:30):
that's an amazing thing. And yeah, you're right. I've been
a Gibson guy my entire life. My first decent guitar
was a Gibson and almost every guitar I've played since then.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
So you've worked with everybody from from Dave Matthews to
the Dolly Parton to Chris Stapleton to the Grateful Dead Family.
What do you personally look for when you consider that
art of collaboration.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Well, it has to be something that I enjoy. I'm
lucky enough at this point in my career and have
been for quite some time to be busy enough to
where I'll always do something if it's appealing to me.
You know, in the old days when I was doing
(22:22):
studio work, when I first started out, you take every
session that comes along the way, regardless of how you
feel about it musically or emotionally. But I was fortunate
enough to make the decision that that's not what I
want to do. I want to play my music and
pursue what I love, and I've been fortunately successful with that.
(22:46):
And so now if a situation comes around that is
really appealing to me, I'll make time to do it.
But otherwise my schedule is pretty packed, so whenever I
do something, it has my stamp of group.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
So in closing the subtitle for a Million Voices, Whisper
could be questioning, certainly, how to make things better in
love and in life, in the in the world, at
this stage of your great career in life, what are
the biggest questions that you're wrestling with and can you
(23:24):
share with how music has sort of helped you find
some of those answers.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Well, speaking for myself, you know, how to be a
better person, a better father, a better friend, a better husband,
a better artist and musician and singer and songwriter. You know,
I think those of us who choose to do what
(23:49):
we love are it's a blessing, you know, but we
also put a lot of pressure on ourselves. You know
and so, and that's a good thing. In healthy doses,
it's definitely a good thing. But I also feel like
people have to come together at this point to make
(24:11):
the world a better place. It's not going to happen
if we're waiting on politicians to change it. It's going
to be up to the people to demand that we
make the world a better place and a more loving
and caring place and leave the planet in good shape
for children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. You know, I
(24:36):
know that answer went all over the map, but I
kind of feel like that's where my head is these days.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
I am so grateful for this opportunity to sync back
up with you and talk to you. Such a fan,
and so grateful for all you continue to give us warnings,
and thank you for being on the Taking a Walk podcast,
and thank you for everything.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
My pleasure good to see it.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk Podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
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