Playing Dead: Haynes Gets Behind The Mule
By Christopher Walsh
billboard.com
It has indeed been a long, strange trip for Warren Haynes.
For over 20 years, he has maintained a rigorous touring schedule with artists including the Allman Brothers Band, David Allan Coe and Phil Lesh & Friends, as well as Gov't Mule. The latter group, formed in 1994 with drummer Matt Abts and the late Allen Woody, quickly outgrew its status as an Allmans side project as the trio drew a large and fanatical following.
Haynes and producer Michael Barbiero are currently mixing Mule's upcoming album, set for September release on ATO Records, at New York studio Soundtrack. The still-untitled set will be the band's first with bass player Andy Hess, who succeeds a cast of players on Mule's recent "Deep End" albums. Those sets -- two volumes of studio recordings and "The Deepest End: Live In Concert" CD/DVD package -- paid tribute to Woody, who died in August 2000.
The Mule is rounded out by longtime sideman Danny Louis, now a permanent member, on keyboards.
Between upcoming Mule tours, Haynes will, as previously reported, tour this summer with the Dead, featuring Grateful Dead members Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, as well as Jimmy Herring and Jeff Chimenti.
In an exclusive interview, Haynes discusses Mule's new lineup, the new album, and the frenetic touring schedule that shows no sign of abating.
"I've been going back and trying to figure out if there's a theme to it," says Haynes of the 13 tracks recorded at Water Music in Hoboken, N.J. "A lot of the lyrical content has changed. I feel like whatever I needed to get off my chest in the past is now gone, and I'm able to look at other issues and subjects, different angles and perspectives. It seems to be a lot about life, and moving forward, gaining a new perspective on life. Not all the songs, but a few of them are like that.
"There's a lot of departures on this record," Haynes adds, "songs that are different than anything Gov't Mule's ever done. Although they may not be such a stretch for us, the audience may see it as quite a departure because we've never gone down that road before. But I feel like, this is our sixth album, it's our fourth 'band' album, and we really owe it to ourselves to just explore all the different directions that we feel in touch with."
While fans will certainly recognize the band -- a sample of the mixes confirms that Mule's ferocious rock/blues assault hasn't wavered -- Haynes promises new textures and sounds.
"There's some cleaner sounds, some sounds I haven't explored a lot in the past," he reveals. "I've been playing Gibson Firebirds a lot, and the Firebirds are much cleaner and brighter. Some of the songs take on a new direction because of that. A few of them were written [with guitar] tuned down a half step or more. Some of them [are played] with a capo.
"But especially keyboard textures," Haynes continues. There's a lot of different keyboard sounds. Danny's presence is very much felt throughout the record, mostly old school sounds: clavinet, B3 organ, Wurlitzer. Those are his main three, but there's acoustic piano on one song, and some stuff with the organ run through an amplifier on a couple of songs that adds a whole different kind of texture."
At the conclusion of mixing, Haynes will join Gov't Mule for a tour that begins April 14 at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Ore., and concludes April 29 at Stubbs Barbeque in Austin, Texas.
Between Mule performances at the "Superfly During Jazzfest" concert series in New Orleans (April 30-May 1) and the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis (May 2), Haynes will rehearse with the Dead. Both groups will perform June 12 at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn.
Haynes believes he's ready for the challenge of playing with the Dead.
"In Phil's band, there was a huge repertoire," he says. "A lot of Grateful Dead stuff, a lot of covers, a lot of original stuff. I wound up singing a lot of the Jerry Garcia songs, which was totally fun, and it looks like I'm going to be doing some of that in the Dead as well, which I'm extremely honored to be doing."
Filling the shoes of Garcia, arguably the leader and soul of the Grateful Dead, could be a daunting task, considering the late artist's legacy to the legion of Deadheads.
"That's always the fine line to draw -- how much of your own input to interject," Haynes admits. "Luckily and fortunately, in this situation, like in the Allman Brothers, they usually leave it up to the individual to draw that line. I have so much respect for the original versions, I tend to pay a lot of homage. But at the same time, try and make it my own.
The Dead's tour runs June 15-July 3 and July 23-Aug. 19. About half of the dates will feature Haynes performing in a solo acoustic setting as the opening act (Dead lyricist Robert Hunter will open the balance of the dates).
Haynes will also perform with the Allman Brothers, who will tour July 3-July 17 and play selected dates beginning Aug. 20.
"It's going to be a nutty year for me!" Haynes remarks. "This is four in a row that are really, really crazy, and five or six in a row that have been fairly nuts. This is probably going to be the craziest of all, but I'm really looking forward to it. To be blessed with these kinds of opportunities and challenges is pretty amazing. I definitely don't look at it lightly."
For the moment, though, Haynes is focused on Gov't Mule's upcoming release. He is clearly excited about the band; it has not only persevered in the wake of Woody's death, but is creatively flourishing with Hess and Louis on board.
"Andy just fits in so well," says Haynes. "He's definitely got his own thing that he does. It's similar to Woody in some ways and completely different in others, but they both occupy that same space, that huge bottom end that I think is missing in a lot of music these days. That big [Paul] McCartney sound that just takes up such a big part of the record -- I love that." |
