That is one poorly written column. So as few as one, but as many as three original members want a reunion possibly down the road someday but 45 years was enough.
That is one poorly written column. So as few as one, but as many as three original members want a reunion possibly down the road someday but 45 years was enough.
I interpret Gregg's remarks as this: The three original members would like to reunite for some "one off" reunion shows. But other than that...........45 years was enough.
for me at this point it would be great to see gregg invite dickey betts into the studio to cut a track or 2
on gregg's new record. as for the reunion, I guess one thing at a time right now.
My take on that article was that Gregg was saying there is no way there will be a reunion. Sounds like he was struggling with a way to address the question without saying "eff no!".
The ABB reunion endless bring back DB thing is getting like Alaska stink fish....buried in plastic.
They gave us our best, now lay them to rest and quick digging them up to see if they are completely fermented 'yet'.
I think another Beacon run wil happen at some point, without derek though, It may be a couple of years.
I've been watching them do this since 1973.
That's why I believe the one off shows will happen.
Not many.
It would be great to see Dickey and Jack back on stage again.
This topic makes me chuckle to myself.....I gotta think that both Warren and Derek feel like they have lost 100 pds of drama by closing this door......Did anyone else feel the emotion in Derek's comments from the latest interview thread?
"I think it definitely fuels the next thing. I know for me when finally the 45 was coming around, there was so much back and forth and misinformation and people talking out of one side of their face. It was such a mild train wreck at the end. When it was finally coming to the end, I was just like, “Can we make this go out right?†I just wanted to see the shows be strong and the things we talked about five years ago happen. And when it did, it was a huge relief and I was proud of everyone involved and then I really felt that cord being cut. I felt it strongly. It took a minute to dissipate.
I just remember for a few days after those shows being exhausted like I’ve never been. We were on the road and I was like, “Holy shit! I didn’t realize how much that was eating at me.†When that was done, we got home and started writing and making a record and it felt sooo different. I really did feel liberated from the whole thing .
Not for nothing, the last few years with the Allman Brothers, it felt like the dark cloud was hovering, whether it was Farmer passing, or the weird shit that happened on the set of Gregg’s movie, or the illnesses and people getting sick. When Farmer passed, my dad called me and said, “Promise me that you are going to get away.†He was worried! There’s just this thing around them and you feel that. I’m not superstitious but I was like, “It’s time. This is not healthy.†As beautiful as it was, it was just time. Getting away from all of that has been really nice.
Right. People were like, “it’s only a few months a year.†But no one knew how many phone calls it took, how much plotting, how many games of telephone."
In two or three years Derek may change his mind but right now he is clearly done with the ABB and if you read between the lines in several interviews, he had been ready to move on for the last 5 years or so of the ABB. And Warren too had been wanting out for the last few years. Apparently Derek and Warren thought the 40th would be the end and that didn't happen apparently due to Butch and probably some of the staff.
And it seems to me from interviews with Gregg from the last couple of years, he had been wanting to put the ABB to bed too. And Gregg has intimated more than once that one original member got cold feet about stopping after the 40th and the 45th. And now one original is trying to put a new band together to fill the void left by the ABB folding up in 2014. Is he taking about what Butch did by bringing in Jaimoe and Marc and Jack Pearson to play ABB type shows with ABB music?
What is surprising to me from some of the recent Derek and Warren interviews is that drama had continued or reared it's head again sometime after Dickey left in 2000. That one didn't know from run to the next if the band was still together and if anything was going to happen, drama played out on the phone and whether they would be at the Beacon the last few years and how many shows.
I thought the drama of what was going to happen on stage, if anyone would act up, throw their guitar across the stage, quit paying, be too drunk to play etc ended when Gregg sobered up in 1997 and Dickey was faxed in 2000.
No wonder another album wasn't recorded after 2003's Hittin' The Note.
Apparently right now Gregg is happy with his solo band, having one chief in the kitchen, not have the long jams and instrumentals which in the ABB especially if Warren sang between two instrumentals, reduced Gregg to just a organ player, so the spot light is on Gregg and his singing in the solo band.
I think Gregg would like to play a set with Dickey but word is Dickey just doesn't have it in him to play again and is retired and has no plans to work. But they may changed too if Dickey gets bored and feels better. His brother's death also contributed to Dickey loosing interest in playing any shows.
Playing in the ABB again is just not something that Gregg is in the mood to do. But he leaves the door open to something late next year or the year after as he may change his mind.
And saying there are only three of us left, me and two drummers, makes it sound as if "what is the point when it's just me and a couple of drummers left?" and saying that is not enough original members to do a reunion show especially when two of the three just play drums and don't sing and do a lot of solos. Well 2000 to 2014 was just Gregg and two drummers from the original band.
To me the last lineup, as good as it was technically, did have a feel that gave a "replacement band" vibe to me with all the front line replaced except Gregg. But I thought only us old guys who connected with this band with the original band felt that way and not the younger fans.
Oh wait. Gregg is one of those old guys too. And I just wonder if Gregg wasn't really into the ABB since Duane died. He just felt he had to do it for his brother. Well Gregg and the other originals were really into the revived ABB in 1989,90 and 91. No question about that. I remember DanToler being disappointed with Gregg deciding to abandon his solo band in 1989 because he was so into the ABB again.... but that began to dry up soon after and conflicts began again. And Derek hints sometimes that drugs is the problem and he won't have that in TTB. One can't know for sure about how Gregg etc feel unless you really know these guys and I don't.
But it doses seem clear the lack of communication, pulling in different directions and dysfunction in the ABB didn't end when Dickey was faxed. Like the reunion in 1989 the 2000 faxed brought a new zeal for the band but apparently the dysfunction and drama returned in a few years and I am surprised. Those who said that wasn't all Dickey were right I guess.
The band also had/has some questionable management which only added to the communication problems.
Amazing how good they were on stage because it seems like they weren't on the same page off stage. Definitely professionals at work.
[Edited on 3/31/2016 by WarEagleRK]
knew that was coming.
Maybe they could make it interesting & add a Halogram of Duane Allman onstage
I still wonder what the whole deal was when Gregg announced oteil was leaving the band, then next thing ya know Warren and derek
announced there departure...I still believe that band will show up again eventually without derek.
My cousin is attending a wedding in Napa this Sunday and Gregg is going to be there. I'll tell him to ask Gregg to give him the lowdown.
Biggest issue I have with the interview is the new album release date of January 2017. This probably means his live shows scheduled for the rest of the year will most probably be very similar to the shows he's been playing for the last 2 years . When Low Country Blues was released he included -7 of the new songs in his live shows . He quickly abandoned those set lists when The Brothers closed up shop at the end of 2014.
Biggest issue I have with the interview is the new album release date of January 2017. This probably means his live shows scheduled for the rest of the year will most probably be very similar to the shows he's been playing for the last 2 years . When Low Country Blues was released he included -7 of the new songs in his live shows . He quickly abandoned those set lists when The Brothers closed up shop at the end of 2014.
This is exactly why I stopped seeing Dickey and will need a perfect alignment of the convenience stars to see Gregg (unlock Dickey, I've only seen Gregg solo once)
Seems like 80% of Gregg's show has been the same for 30+ years now and unlike the ABB there are not large improv sections to keep you guessing.
However, the WORST part is Gregg has lots of material and has played it in the past, but always drops that stuff. I LOVE that R&B version of Statesboro he did when Ribin Ford was in the band. Oceans Awash the Gunwhale too. How about doing Let Thos Be a Lesson to Ya or Feel So Bad? Some unexpected ones like Desdemona or Who To Believe? How about covering more of his favorite songs by others?
There is plenty he could do to expand the setlist and mix up the rotation but unfortunately I get the feeling Gregg just doesn't have the stamina for it. Wish he did and certainly wish him the best.
I think the draw and the appeal to an Allman Brothers concert compared to that of Gregg's band are totally different. For Gregg's song list, show to show, it looks like there are a core half dozen songs and then maybe 20 others that get rotated in and out. So if you go to back-to-back nights you won't see the same set list, but if you go to say 4 shows in a row you are going to have seen all you can - I think that is still pretty good. Alot of acts do play the same show night after night. Gregg is not doing that right now - and really that isn't his bit to play totally different shows throughout the tour.
When you go to a Gregg show, the way I look at it, I'm going to be entertained and relive old stories. No matter if I've heard those stories 100s of times, I love them and they never get old to me sung by my favorite story teller.
When you go to see an Allman Brothers show, I go not only to be entertained, to be wowed, to be amazed at what I am witnessing and to see dynamic arrangements and creativity and sometimes guest appearances that they became very well known for. It was more about being part of an exciting and unpredictable moment.
Honestly, I am not sure I would want them to reunite. Something about it might seem forced and fake. If the original members want to do it, I have no objections it is their right, but I think it would be hard to pull off "magic" figuratively speaking. Ultimately health and age is going to get in the way the more time that passes.
[Edited on 4/10/2016 by nebish]
From the mouth of the guy who always says, "I'm writing a lot of songs and we are going into the studio soon".
From the mouth of the guy who always says, "I'm writing a lot of songs and we are going into the studio soon".
Actually he was just in the studio in Muscle Shoals last month.
However, the writing a lot of songs is suspect.
From the mouth of the guy who always says, "I'm writing a lot of songs and we are going into the studio soon".
Actually he was just in the studio in Muscle Shoals last month.
However, the writing a lot of songs is suspect.
If he follows the same pattern he has over the past 40 years, any "new" album will include at least one and possibly 2 re-writes of either: Whippin' Post; Please Call Home; Midnight Rider; etc. etc.
I for one have always felt cheated when he promised new material and then resorted to this cop-out. Once is MAYBE forgivable. More than once is not.
