A Brother And A Friend
Warren Haynes completely at ease with busy schedule
By Lynn Farris
Creative Loafing - August 1, 2001

Yeah, I'm pretty busy, but it's all good." That's guitarist Warren Haynes' assessment on his current touring situation.

Over the past several months, the Asheville native has been touring with Phil Lesh & Friends, and he's also found time to play select dates with his former band, the Allman Brothers Band. And when the two groups come to Charlotte for a show together on Saturday, Haynes will pull double duty as both a Brother and a Friend. As he explains, Charlotte's one of the few exceptions where he'll actually be appearing with both bands. "There's only four dates that overlap, but it'll be good. It's like playing a sport: When you're done, you're tired, but in a good, satisfying way."

But the Friends and the Brothers aren't the only acts keeping the guitarist busy. Fans of Haynes' full-time gig, Gov't Mule, will also be glad to know there are two new albums on the way, and a fall tour is already scheduled as well. With all that in mind, it's not hard to figure out why some may call Haynes the busiest man in the music biz. "I feel fortunate to have these kinds of opportunities," he relates. "I never thought there would come a time where I would have to turn down work that I really wanted to do, but these days, there are things that come up that I would love to be a part of, but I can't because they don't fit into my schedule. But that's the small downside to being as busy as I am," he adds modestly.

The dates Haynes will be performing with the Allman Brothers Band may mark his return to the group he spent nearly a decade with previously, but he's the first to admit it's completely different this time around. Last year, fans of the Southern jam pioneers were shocked when guitarist Dickey Betts was relieved of his duties. The Brothers then recruited a handful of replacement players, including guitarist Jimmy Herring (also of Phil Lesh & Friends) and, of course, Haynes, to play alongside Derek Trucks since Betts' dismissal.

"The Allman Brothers without Dickey Betts obviously is a changed animal, there's no question about that, but those guys agree to disagree," states Haynes. "They've made up their minds that they don't want to get back together, and with that in mind, it's really a matter of, does the Allman Brothers institution go away or does it continue in a different light? That's the only two choices. I would have loved to see Dickey come back into the band, but that's not going to happen. "It's a completely different situation for me [rather than Herring] because I was there for nine years, but I was there standing next to Dickey. Now it's different, so that's a little awkward, but Derek and I are having a great time playing together. Derek's a marvelous musician and it's been a great experience in that way. I've known him since he was 11 years old and we've played together many, many times. So we've been working on our musical rapport for years and it's getting better all the time."

Trucks isn't the only longtime friend Haynes will be keeping company with on stage. For the upcoming Gov't Mule tour, Haynes has tapped Dave Schools of Widespread Panic and Chuck Leavell of Rolling Stones fame to join in with him and drummer Matt Abts. Allman Brothers bassist Oteil Burbridge will be filling in for Schools on a few dates that the Widespread bassist isn't available to do. "When [Gov't Mule bassist Allen] Woody died, Matt and I weren't sure if and how we could continue," Haynes explains. "Dave and Chuck made that possible. It's kind of being referred to as the 'New School of Gov't Mule.' They're both old and dear friends and it's been a real pleasure to play with those guys."

After the untimely passing of Allen Woody last year, Haynes and Abts decided to ask several of their peers to play on their new albums as well. In addition to Schools, Burbridge and Lesh, the new records will feature an array of famous bass players including Les Claypool, Bootsy Collins, John Entwistle, Mike Watt and Flea. According to Haynes, the new albums, titled The Deep End, will be released in two parts -- Volume One and Volume Two. The first volume is scheduled to be released in September and the second is due in February 2002.

"There are still a couple of people we'd like to get on the second volume," clarifies Haynes. "Other than that, everything else is done and we're extremely proud of it. It's showcasing even more of our diverse influences than we have in the past. "I think with each Gov't Mule release, we were showcasing a little bit more of how across the board our influences ran. By the time we got to Life Before Insanity (2000), you could see it was spreading out into a lot of different directions. The new record is even more that way and in some ways maybe a little more than it would have been had Woody not passed away and we had done a regular Gov't Mule CD. But we felt like when we worked with all of these guys, we needed to showcase their personalities as well. It really was a wonderful experience because all the people we're talking about are people we all respect and admire. The main mission was to match the song to the bass player."

Haynes admits he'll take a little time off before the tour with the Mule begins, but he's not one to rest for too long. "I don't ever see a time when music won't be a huge part of my life, but I don't expect to be as busy as I am right now forever. It's just a situation where I'm taking advantage of this opportunity that's presented itself. I think I'm especially fortunate because your knowledge of music increases every time you play, and I've been lucky enough to play with a lot of great musicians."

Phil Lesh & Friends and the Allman Brothers Band will perform at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Saturday, August 4. For ticket info, call Ticketmaster at 704-522-6500. *

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