I am surprised no one posted this yet...
Butch Trucks, original drummer and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, won't let the end of ABB slow down his rhythmic drive. With plans to hit the road again with Butch Trucks and the Freight Train in December, and projected hopes to birth a new band with members of the Allmans, it seems that plans for an Allman Brothers reunion aren't too far off the map.
Because, as we all know, well, the road goes on forever...
L4LM: Butch, it’s been over a year since the last Allman Brothers shows. What have you been up to since?
Butch Trucks: I've spent most of the time since last October at our home in France. Very relaxing. And I've been catching up on my reading while I work on other projects. I have done a few dates with Butch Trucks and the Freight Train Band. I have also played Wanee Music Festival and The Peach Fest with what I am working on becoming a new band called Les Brers. This includes (ABB rhythm section) Jaimoe, Oteil, Marc Quinones, and Jack Pearson (guitar in ABB 1997-99) and his guitar mate Pat Bergeson, Bruce Katz and Lamar Williams, Jr. (son of Lamar Williams, bass in ABB 72-76). If all goes well, Les Brers will be touring and playing festivals in summer of 2016. We are already scheduled to play the midnight set on the Mushroom Stage at Wanee Friday, April 15.
Oteil Burbridge Discusses Experience With Dead & Company And Allman Brothers Band
L4LM: How does it feel to not be doing the Allman Brothers for the first time in over 25 years?
BT: I do miss the passion that the ABB brings to my life. Last March was a bit of a downer. First time in 25 years I wasn't in New York City. Otherwise, I have enjoyed the peace and quiet of Mas Les Baux (our home in France).
L4LM: It’s been said that the Allmans mutually decided to hang it up in 2014. How did you all come to that difficult decision and what was your take on it?
BT: Well I've read a few interviews from some of the guys about how we "mutually" agreed to hang it up in 2014. Then it's followed by them saying that some members (especially me) got "cold feet" and tried to keep things going. What is left out of the conversation is that when we mutually agreed to wrap it up in 2014, it was also MUTUALLY agreed that we would do, for the first time in years, a full tour that would cover the entire country.
When all was said and done, we played about 30 shows, 26 of them at The Beacon. After agreeing to the full tour, the guys doing those interviews seemed to not want to discuss this aspect of our agreement. No matter how hard we tried to put together tours, we were always met with resistance. While we had mutually agreed that 2014 was not going to be the ABB going out with a whimper, but a major tour, in reality we played fewer shows in 2014 than at anytime since our reunion in 1989. Some of the members wanted out and apparently were ready to make those agreements with no intention of keeping them.
L4LM: Do you think there's any chance of a reunion? What about for the 50th anniversary?
BT: I have no clue what I'll be doing or where I will be 2019. If we play together again, it will most likely be before then. We'll see.
L4LM: It seems as though Gregg and Dickey have recently been on the mends. In the event that ABB does a reunion show/tour, would Betts be involved?
BT: No comment. So far "on the mends" has been little more than Gregg talking.
L4LM: In its 45 years, the Allman Brothers Band has had nearly 20 members. How would you describe the evolution of the band’s sound?
BT: I wouldn't call it an evolution. That implies a movement from one form into the next. What happened was more like "reach the point where we can't get along well enough to play" then reunite with something different. Most of these reunions were most definitely NOT an evolution. They were devolutions. The reunion in 1989 was the exception and that is the main reason it lasted so long.
L4LM: You recently told us about the moment of epiphany you had on the day Duane Allman “reached into [you] and turned [you] on.” Can you tell us more about that?
BT: As you may know, I had played with Duane and Gregg about two years before Duane began putting together the ABB. I wasn't the most self-assured drummer around back then and when things weren't really in a groove, I tended to pull back. When Duane showed up with Jaimoe and began putting his band together, at some point he decided he needed two drummers. He had Jaimoe and Jaimoe kept telling him that I was the guy.
Knowing Duane, I don't think he wanted an insecure player in his band and one day I think he decided to see what I was made of. We were jamming at a top 40 AM radio station outdoors. We started a shuffle and it just didn't go anywhere. I pulled my usual stunt when that happened and pulled back. Duane whipped around at some point and looked at me dead in the eye and played a very strong lick with little misunderstanding that he was calling me out. My first reaction was to pull back more and then he challenged me again. Then he did it again and I noticed that he was showing me up in front of a lot of people.
I got mad and Duane and I got into a musical fist fight for a while. I was hitting my drums like I was hitting Duane upside the head and he would keep coming back at me. After a few minutes of this, he stepped back smiled at me and said, "there ya go." The band was soaring. Duane had gotten me so angry I forgot to be scared, and that made all the difference in the power coming from the group. It was like he reached inside me and flicked a switch. The light went off in my head and I realized that I may not be the greatest drummer in the world, but I could play and from that moment on I have never played in fear. After seeing how I handled myself, Duane added me to the mix he had and I have never looked back. If that moment had not happened, I am certain that Duane would have chosen another drummer and my life would have taken another route. That was the kind of man Duane Allman was. He changed people that were lucky enough to know him.
L4LM: Tell us about “Eat A Peach”. Where did the record’s title come from?
BT: We had finished recording the album we were in the middle of doing when Duane was killed. I walked into Phil Walden's (manager) office one day soon after and he had that cover art on his desk. He asked me what I thought and I said, "That cover is great, but the title sucks." They were gonna call it "The Kind We Grow in Dixie". Duane had done a big interview with Rolling Stone not long before, and in it, they asked him what he did for the revolution. He laughed and said, "there ain't no revolution, it's all evolution." Then he told them that every time he headed South he would "eat a peach for peace." I told Walden to keep the art but call the album "Eat a Peach For Peace". That became "Eat a Peach". Was years later I was re-reading the "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot and came across the line, "Do I dare to eat a peach?" Duane loved Eliot and I'm sure that's where he got that line. Ya can't eat a peach without getting messy.
L4LM: Being the backbone of the band, you have also been called the “Freight Train” and that name kind of stuck. In fact, you’re even about to embark on a mini-Florida tour with Butch Trucks and the Freight Train. Tell us about that band.
BT: Been having a lot of fun Playing with Berry Oakley, Jr, my son, Vaylor [Trucks] (kid on the cover of Brothers and Sisters) and some other special guests. We're doing a six-show run Dec .
[Edited on 11/24/2015 by absnj]
He's consistent in that there isn't an interview that goes by where he doesn't take at least a minor shot at someone.
I would LOVE to see Butch, Jaimoe, Marc, and Oteil on the same stage again!.
Just come out and say - Gregg screwed me over.
Can't blame Dickey this time.
Just come out and say - Gregg screwed me over.
Can't blame Dickey this time.
Y'know, as I was reading Butch's comments I thought he had Derek & Warren in mind because they were fairly 'vocal' about things in interviews. In that context I thought Butch was FOS b/c I remember Warren & Derek being on board for a big summer tour and their schedules cleared to make room for the ABB. Then as the ABB wheels spun in the mud, gradually a few Mule and TTB dates would trickle out throughout that summer as ABB was missing 'deadlines' to announce a summer tour.
Makes much more sense that it's Gregg that Butchie is blaming. Lol.
Big Tour in 2014? It's nice to know that Gregg is in charge of his own well being, Maybe Gregg's health in the long run had something to do with it. I for one am glad that Gregg came out of 2014 it great health instead of crawling like a sick dog. Now everyone including Butch has a nice solo band to enjoy touring with.
He is naming his new band after a Dickey song?
Just come out and say - Gregg screwed me over.
Can't blame Dickey this time.
Y'know, as I was reading Butch's comments I thought he had Derek & Warren in mind because they were fairly 'vocal' about things in interviews. In that context I thought Butch was FOS b/c I remember Warren & Derek being on board for a big summer tour and their schedules cleared to make room for the ABB. Then as the ABB wheels spun in the mud, gradually a few Mule and TTB dates would trickle out throughout that summer as ABB was missing 'deadlines' to announce a summer tour.
Makes much more sense that it's Gregg that Butchie is blaming. Lol.
Oh it's Gregg. The truth is that Gregg had tired of the endless guitar solos. He has mentioned it in interviews over the last few years. People always used health for miscues and lyric issues but perhaps a lack of attention is more the issue. You can't really blame him as 45 years of 10-20 solos would likely have that effect on most. Look at video of Gregg during solos especially when Derek takes off sometimes. In another world completely.
Jaimoe follows along. Marc is in Gregg's band. Butch was pissed no shows, Derek and Warren both talk about inactivity and things falling through and Gregg had poor Oteil leaving the band prematurely. In a game of Clue, that leaves Gregg. Did it with the candlestick in the library. 😉
As for the issue of Gregg's health in the situation, he played plenty of solo shows all through the time that they would have toured. Health was not an issue for Gregg's ability or desire to tour with the ABB. Jaimoe's band opened the shows for him.
Even the year before I have tickets for two solo shows that Gregg postponed and then cancelled due to health. Then played shows in the South on those dates.
Gregg could have done everyone a favor and just be honest and speak. Has never been his style. It lead to tension. Whether it was for the musical angle and/or financial, he should have come clean. Then he would back peddle and throw out the concept of new guitarists and possibly the hope of keeping Warren. In fairness to Butch, this put him on a yoyo ride.
Notice Derek's distancing himself from the ABB. Don't think that is a coincidence. Notice Warren telling Derek if you are ever going - let me know and I am gone too.
The plot twists around and involves others so I am not at liberty to drag some into the mix.
It came down to Gregg.
Not all true Canadian. Lots of broad brushes there, and Gregg's health was a legit concern in final year.
Not all true Canadian. Lots of broad brushes there, and Gregg's health was a legit concern in final year.
Not all wrong either. 😉 There are obviously plenty of twists as I mentioned not my place to mention some of it. Pretty sure we both agree there. It also depends on who you talk to. Again I know you are aware of that too.
Have to paint with broad strokes otherwise I would be writing a book and I leave that to the pros like you. 
More complex obviously. Lack of communication is the ABB way which is why there are always a number of versions.
Gregg was healthy enough to tour solo. His health will always be a concern regardless of who he plays with.
The year before he was healthy enough to play shows on dates that he had cancelled. As much as I respect the seriousness of his health, hard not to notice him playing on the same date as my cancelled tickets.
PR, openness and honesty are not Gregg's strong points and never have been. So many examples that again I would have to write a book. 😉 Maybe you are working on that one? 😛
Never a dull moment. All have moved on and are happier except maybe for Butch but he holds a grudge longer but seems to be on the right track now.
Historically speaking, the faceoff Duane and Butch had, was at WAPE (Orange Park/Jax)
It was a Sunday Jam and second time we saw Duane's brother in action and
beginning of the ABB.
WAPE played the Second Coming's (I Feel Free) record all the time and
created the following via AM radio.
It ran its course.
This is nothing more, really, than the friend you had as a kid and spent the whole weekend with - and by the end of the weekend, you couldn't wait for him to leave.
I still have the HTN magazine from 2003, when it was all brand new...
I still haven't managed to finish My Cross to Bear.
And let's not forget who was the one who blocked any more Archive releases.
I still haven't managed to finish My Cross to Bear.
Spend too much time looking at the signature? 😛
I figured that he was talking about Derek & Warren as they had done many of the "set the record straight" type interviews.
I figured Gregg's health at the Beacon in March and his injury at Wanee in April made everyone unsure if it was even possible.
So far, Oteil & Marc have played with Butch at Wanee. Gregg, Warren, Jaimoe & Marc played together at Peach fest. Gregg, Derek, Jaimoe & Marc played together at GOTV. Did I msss another? Butch had Jack Pearson back. They seem in pretty good standing with each other.
Final album is probably a bigger disapointment for me.
One more would have been nice.
Pretty amazing that the band pretty much stumbled into the last shows and now has the rock world increasingly clamoring for more.
If things keep intensifying at this pace, all of the gripes about "how it all ended" could turn out to be a genius brushstroke.
One more would have been nice.
A major letdown indeed. Derek recently said "Him and warren would of crushed a new Allman Brothers studio album" . Just makes wonder what direction the band would of went in.
I still haven't managed to finish My Cross to Bear.
Worst book I was never able to get through. And I did read Phil Lesh's book. That was a weird read.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
I couldn't make it through Phil Lesh's book.
I couldn't make it through Phil Lesh's book.
He is a very intelligent guy but my God, the writing style was like he was still on acid.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
One more would have been nice.
A major letdown indeed. Derek recently said "Him and warren would of crushed a new Allman Brothers studio album" . Just makes wonder what direction the band would of went in.
It was my wish years ago and still is - a Haynes/Trucks release. If it had just been them and not the entire ABB world, they would have had 3 or more releases since HTN and still done all their other projects.
Hopefully in the future sometime.
One more would have been nice.
A major letdown indeed. Derek recently said "Him and warren would of crushed a new Allman Brothers studio album" . Just makes wonder what direction the band would of went in.
It was my wish years ago and still is - a Haynes/Trucks release. If it had just been them and not the entire ABB world, they would have had 3 or more releases since HTN and still done all their other projects.
Hopefully in the future sometime.
If I were a betting man, I would think Derek & Warren will collaborate on something in the future. I mean, how well do they play off each other in The ABB? I frankly wouldn't care what they did but it sure would/will be nice. 
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
May I ask who is supposed to have blocked archive releases?....And yeah is it some nasty irony Butch & co name their band "Les Brers," but more importantly, is it all instrumentals or does Oteil do the singing (when he's not with Dead & Co. of course)
Try Phil's in audio book form: he reads it himself!?!?
As long as he doesnt sing it....
Hasn't added anything new since 1973? That is not true. Win Lose of Draw came out in 1975 with good stuff on that, Enlightered Rogues came after that, Reach For ther Sky, Shades of Two Worlds, Back Where it All Begins, An Evening With the Allman Brothers etc. etc. lots of good stuff came after 1973. The band transitioned losing some players, adding others, how can you think nothing happened since 1973?
ABB hadn't said anything new since 1973 - it was time for them to go away FOREVER!
I think you can make a pretty strong argument that where it all begins is one of the best studio albums they ever did... a lot of those songs made there way into pretty consistent rotation on the live show set lists
For what its worth, I find all of them pretty much as you would expect a bunch of rock stars to act. I find it amazing that they have got to this far - period since 1989.
Gregg is the patriarch, a little crazy but loves the band / family that bears his name; Jaimoe is the reliable older brother that doesn't get in the way; Butch is that brother that has always challenged the others and of course regardless of whether he is right or wrong stands by his opinion; Dickey is the displaced brother that messed up and of course is stubborn and is never invited to family functions any more and if he is all know full well he will not show up (see stubborn), Oteil and Marc are the quiet nephews that do what they are told and never make waves, Derek is the prodigal son that can do no wrong that everybody loves and Warren is the cool Uncle that appears at the holidays and special occasions and then he is gone again for months at a time. Pretty normal family in my view!
Don't get me wrong I have enjoyed the ride, but at the end of the day, like any band regardless of the money, ya really have to want to do it. They are all well enough off to do whatever they want at this stage and Warren and Derek are more than established to do just fine on their own. I think the way they went out was good and a reunion at this point would be nothing more than a cash grab IMO. They all seem to be pleased with their solo projects and I agree that it was Gregg that had enough. His set at Wanee in April this year was the best of the entire festival. He was on fire vocally and the band was tight as a top. I will say that a couple of years ago at Wanee Derek came up and jammed about 4 tunes with Mule and it was incredibly powerful. The Haynes - Trucks Band would be epic IMO. It just plain rocked. Either way, the current solo projects are just fine with me other than the fact all of us aren't going to the shows at the same time as they are all over the place. For as much as it was crazy that we all had to travel to see them in the last few years it was incredible to meet the people that I did with the same love for this band that I have and that my friends is priceless!!
