This interview from our video archives was filmed August 1, 2012.
I'm not listening to this with all due respect to Butch and his memory.
Not in the mood to hear him dis on Dickey and claim Derek Trucks is a better guitarist than Duane Allman.
To me the slide and leads I hear on Fillmore East and Eat A Peach by Duane and Dickey are THE HIGH WATER MARK for ALL lineups of the Allman Brothers Band.
Also Dickey's song writing was as good as Gregg's and better than Warren and I really like Warren.
The last lineup is NOT the definitive Allman Brothers Band. The first line up is. There is NO comparison.
Don't hear the ABB on the radio as much as I used to but when I do, it's always something from the Duane era or the Brothers and Sisters era. Used to occasionally hear something from the 90's such as Soulshine, Good Clean Fun, True Gravity etc but not in several years. Maybe it's different in your area but the so called Southern bands don't get much airplay on the three stations I can pick up here including LS.
I hope this is an I interview where Butch does NOT dis Dickey. If so it's in poor taste to post that right now.
Wait a year or so.
This interview is from 2012, not 2001. He doesn't say any of that. It's actually more Butch-focused, talks about how he started and his plans for the future, life after the Allman Brothers...
Don't make assumptions, there's nothing in poor taste about this interview.
@porkchopbob Oh okay I'll take a look. Most everything I saw with Butch post 2001 was negative about Dickey and inflated about Derek Trucks who is an excellent guitar player.
@porkchopbob Well after thinking about it it's family pride. I can understand that I guess.
I've heard/saw two interviews with Butch and he made the statement " Derek can play circles around Duane. No doubt about it"
That is silly to me. Duane set the bar on how those slide parts go on Fillmore East and Eat A Peach and no one has ever topped Duane to me.
It's like saying guitar player "A" can play circles around Jimi Hendrix or Jeff Beck or Charlie Christian.
All of those players are excellent guitar players with their own styles. I just happen to like the way Duane plays slide best and his leads are hot too.
I really adore Derek Trucks especially on his latest albums which I purchased. I love Warren Haynes and Jack Pearson. They are all very good with different styles.
I saw Derek play toe to toe with Eric Clapton and Clapton knew Derek was hot. Probably wouldn't have had him on that tour if he didn't.
Toe to toe with slow hand.
@porkchopbob Well after thinking about it it's family pride. I can understand that I guess.
No. Butch loved Duane, credits him with not ending up being a math teacher and changing his life forever. He heard every show Duane and Derek played in the ABB. The fact is there wouldn’t be a Derek without Duane, but Derek just had more time to grow.
Let all that other drama go, it’s not yours to hold on to. And they let it go a long time before they left this earth.
Appreciate your take, but you’re not even discussing this interview, you got to either listen and discuss or move on.
@porkchopbob I listened to the Butch interview. He didn't say anything negative about Dickey or something silly about Derek Trucks playing circles around Duane Allman.
Talked about Derek holding a note and letting it build through three bars and he had only heard B. B. King do that.
Butch's prognosis of the band only lasting a few more years was true. Although Butch asked the guys to give him and the band five more years for whatever reason and they declined.
He does wax positive about Duane Allman and how much he owed Duane for having his career as a drummer and the success of the band.
Yes Derek is thankfully still living and didn't leave us at just 24 years old. And Derek is one of the best slide and overall guitar players today.
Personally I like Duane best on the Eat A Peach and Fillmore East albums. His energy and dynamics are incredible.
Isn't it okay for someone to like Duane better than Derek?
I can't imagine what in the sandhill Derek could do to make those guitar solos on Fillmore East and Eat A Peach better. And especially where one would say " Wow Derek is playing circles around Duane"?
What did I do? Go to shows with Derek in the lineup and Derek didn't play circles around Duane. I never heard that just as I never heard Warren plays circles around Dickey when Betts was in his prime.
Aren't we really talking about styles between these players rather than superior musicianship?
And even Butch in some previous interviews conceded the last lineup wasn't as creative as the first lineup. On stage and writing songs.
I like the original band the best. To me that is how the Allman Brothers Band played.
And Max Roach, Buddy Rich and Joe Morello can play circles around Butch Trucks!! he he.
good discussion & would agree it’s more about styles than superior musicianship - ‘better than/not as good as’ doesn’t belong in Duane/Derek discussion/dialog
the sentence said from eons ago here on the boards still holds for me
every lineup that came after, brought to the table, a variable/wrinkle/dynamic tweak to the sound, that kept me as a fan thruout
like you robertdee, everyone here likes Duane’s playing best on the Fillmore/EAP albums
re Derek, discussion of DTBand music aligned with that of TTB, would be equally cool - 🎼like Fillmore/EAP, neither are better, it’s all personal taste🎶
@stephen Well Stephen I agree with you. I fell in love with Duane and Dickey's playing and the entire band in 1970. The way Duane and Dickey too played their solos on Eat A Peach and Fillmore East is just perfect to me. The energy, emotion and technique is just exciting and perfect. I can't imagine anyone playing circles around that.
I saw one of the shows Eric Clapton did some years ago with Derek Trucks in his band for the tour and Derek Trucks certainly settled in my and most minds he is an amazing guitaris slide or straight lead. Clapton was dazzled I could see by the look on his face and the occasional grin.
When I say I like the original band the best ( style) that doesn't mean I'm critical of how Derek, Warren, Jack or Dan Toler play. They are very fine guitar players. Derek has evolved a lot from when he was a teen and playing Duane and Elmore James licks and he was amazing then.
I was playing my "Moon" CD by TTB this morning. It's excellent.
This was a great interview
All this taking sides about individual band members and their opinions has really ruined the site for me. It's not a sports team y'all.
If Robert Dee was a musician he'd be flogging a dead musical horse with same 4 licks while the rest of us have already left the building. But he's not, so he just posts the same repetitive stuff again and again. Every thread. 🤮
@waitinforrain I apologize for ruining this site for you.
I assumed the Butch Trucks interview posted just days after Dickey died contained negative trashing of Dickey by Butch and felt it was wrong to post that at this time and I didn't listen to the interview until Porkchop told me it didn't contain Dickey bashing so I listened to it and enjoyed it.
As to Butch's statement he said in two different interviews I heard in the 2005 and 2009 range that Derek Trucks can play circles around Duane Allman....to me that is a silly thing to say and perhaps is connected to family pride.
I'm puzzled by that kind of statement. Did Duane just have four repetitive licks?
And tell me ( anyone tell me) what in the name of guitar chops. What could Derek Trucks do to improve the guitar parts Duane Allman plays on Fillmore East and Eat A Peach??
Does anyone think the last lineup could have rerecorded Fillmore East and Eat A Peach and we would be saying the slide guitar parts now are far better and impressive than what Duane Allman played?
If the last lineup was head and shoulders better than the original lineup ( I saw both more than once) then I must be an idiot musically. I never heard/saw the last lineup top the original band but no question they did some shows that were close. Even the Chuck/Lamar lineup was darn close a few times.
And Butch Trucks was asked AFTER the ABB quit in 2014 what was the best show the ABB ever performed and Butch said the next to the last night at the Fillmore unquestionably was the best show the band ever played. Huh? That surprised me when I read it.
And not long before his suicide Butch was discussing his Freight Train band and said he was pushing the guitar players to create on the fly and take chances and go somewhere new without worrying about a trainwreck. He said that is how Duane and Dickey played.
Then surprisingly Butch said the last years of the ABB, Derek and Warren became too afraid to make a mistake. That during the last years of the band Butch knew exactly what Derek and Warren were going to do on every song.
I assumed he said that because they rejected Butch's request in 2014 to give the band five more years.
I'm not going to make another post about any of this. All these men except Jaimoe have passed away now and Derek and Warren moved on into their very, very good bands TEN years ago.
I'm just old (77) and have too much time on my hands and miss the hippy years. It's not 1970.
Y'all forgive me and I won't discuss this again.
Have a nice Sunday!!
One of my favorite Derek solos. This is very good!!
No worries b, many have said they hope there’s a robertdee posting here for many years to come, sharing cool past clips that inform today’s music or illustrate your point etc - myself, porkchopBob, Randall, Lee - also BillGraham, Rusty etc in the guitar porn thread….got your back
fine clip - Derek is simply a master
Whatever bro - enjoyed reading the pleasant exchanges between you & Robert
whatever makes you think you think the same as me😵💫😵💫recall few posts to that effect - do recall the sentence that had ‘you & I both know’ in it
believe me I know that you don’t think the same as me
now I’m gonna hijack the **** outta this thread - Bucks, the team I seem to recall as yours, history
post some of your artwork again sometime, recall a very enthusiastic response to it from b4
…..if that is a little non-negativism is allowed anywhere near here anymore, off topic or not
No worries b, many have said they hope there’s a robertdee posting here for many years to come, sharing cool past clips that inform today’s music or illustrate your point etc - myself, porkchopBob, Randall, Lee - also BillGraham, Rusty etc in the guitar porn thread….got your back
fine clip - Derek is simply a master
With all due respect Stephen, I never posted that I want to see him post more. Far from it actually.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
I think what you mean is, "oh sorry, my bad" instead of doubling down.
My fellow Bob and I are cool, we were having a normal convo, even if he went way off topic. I can speak for myself, you won't do a better job of it.
This went from a simple Butch interview to maybe the dumbest thread on this site ever.
It was my fault and I apologized. I assumed, without watching it, that the interview with Butch Trucks had a part of it with Butchie Dickey trashing without watching it first. I was wrong. It wasn't a " trash Dickey " interview.
Obiviously to me it wasn't the right time to trash Dickey so soon after his death. And that wasn't what it was. My bad.
All of us here know Dickey Betts had more talent in his left foot than Butch Trucks did in his entire body!!!
And that is not a criticism of Butch as a drummer. Butch's drum style was very good and was one of the key ingredients in that classic Allman Brothers Band sound.
It was my fault and I apologized. I assumed, without watching it, that the interview with Butch Trucks had a part of it with Butchie Dickey trashing without watching it first. I was wrong. It wasn't a " trash Dickey " interview.
Obiviously to me it wasn't the right time to trash Dickey so soon after his death. And that wasn't what it was. My bad.
All of us here know Dickey Betts had more talent in his left foot than Butch Trucks did in his entire body!!!
And that is not a criticism of Butch as a drummer. Butch's drum style was very good and was one of the key ingredients in that classic Allman Brothers Band sound.
Come on, dude, you apologize and then turn around and throw daggers. Just not necessary, kind of negates the apology. Don't forget that Butch had to arrange and parse what time signature Dickey was using in so many of his songs.
This is exactly what @WaitinForRain was talking about.
@porkchopbob Yes that was an overstatement. Though I am certain Dickey was more talented than Butch.
I enjoyed Butch's blog in the 1990's but after 2000 Butch was so vicious about Dickey repeatedly for several years it became tiresome and irritating to keep reading those statements about one of my lifelong favorite guitarist, singer, songwriter and apparently it relates to drugs and alcohol abuse and it's off shoot arrogant behavior on Dickey's part because Butch would say Dickey was an addict and alcoholic. Gregg Allman also had drug and alcohol problems which affected the band.
Butch was quoted in 1975 " You can't depend on Gregg Allman for anything". So both men at times irritated Butch.
I'm sure there was more between these men I know about and they clearly had their ups and downs.
Butch has passed away and Dickey and Gregg too. I have to let this go. It just wasn't the brotherhood Duane Allman created and perhaps that actually ended not long after Duane died.
Butch had a picture of the band at the top of his home page on the internet. I had seen the picture before. Except on his blog I see Duane, Gregg, Berry Oakley, Butch and Jaimoe. No Dickey.
By looking at the picture on another site, Dickey is the last one on the right. Butch cropped Dickey off.
Reminded me of someone cutting an X boyfriend or girlfriend out of photos they yet decided to save.
I am letting it go now. Never write again about how irritated I got at Butch between 2001 and 2010.
But I wasn't in Butch's shoes. He may have had a lot to put up with to stay in the band.
This is true though!! It hurt me and saddened me when Butch committed suicide. Certainly it couldn't be that bad I thought. But again I've never had to walk in his shoes.
RIP Butch. You were a hell of a drummer and the backbone of the band.
Lee I thought you mentioned from some time ago that you enjoyed robertdee’s ‘fandom’ depicted in his writings here - due respect back at ya
PCBob, same due respect - when I look back at previous interactions between yourself & robertdee, invariably they are friendly - The Way I Read Them🤙
so that’s why I mentioned the both of you among those I figured had his back
got 0 idea what you’re talking about re I think you mean my bad not doubling down….baffled bro/am IQ-challenged/🤙
agree this is among the more thoroughly EFFED UP threads in awhile
To me the slide and leads I hear on Fillmore East and Eat A Peach by Duane and Dickey are THE HIGH WATER MARK for ALL lineups of the Allman Brothers Band.
The last lineup is NOT the definitive Allman Brothers Band. The first line up is. There is NO comparison.
hi robertdee, re the 1st paragraph, since your day when you saw em w/Duane & BO, this has been known & accepted by virtually everyone - good comment, it can’t be said enough
re 2nd paragraph, agree that the two bands are unable to be compared - one was around 2 1/2 years 1969-71, the other 13 years 2001-14 -
different time, different people, different setlists, different music, gear etc
believe most listen to dig, not really to compare - you’re right, there is no comparison
I spin the 2001-14 band as often as the 1989-00 lineups - when in the mood for comparing, those are the most logical to do so imo
🤙you GOTTA check out Derek’s WP solo from 10/1/2005, I think Raleigh (unsure - it’s an Instant Live)
the way he starts into it - have never heard one note be sustained w/such emotion & dynamics
I love the ABB🍄🎶🎸🎼
They are friendly, as they are with everyone else here. But this is not a school yard.
So ramble on with your own stream of self consciousnesses, for it is yours exclusively and no one else’s.
@porkchopbob Hi porkchopbob. When you mentioned Butch had to arrange and parse Dickey's time signature on many of Dickey's songs, I remember Butch talking about that and his patience running thin.
This wasn't happening when Dickey wrote is songs and played then before the late 1990's when for whatever the reason ( drugs + alcohol is my guess) when Butch had to arrange and parce the time signature to make it fit and sound at least decent during those 1999 and 2000 live shows when Dickey was struggling to even play songs he wrote.
I'm not aware of Dickey being unable to write his songs in a time signature that worked without Butch and play them before the last couple of years of Dickey's time in the band. .
I am aware Butch contributed to the time signature and the arrangement of the drum solo on Elizabeth Reed.
And I remember Butch talking about Dickey trying to compose Les Brer in A Minor and coming to Butch a couple of times for advice about where the piece should go next.
Butch said he gave Dickey some tips on that song and even suggested the title "Les Brer in A Minor" which Butch said Dickey used.
Butch said on his blog it is broken French for " less brothers" and a reference to Duane's death.
I put on my head phones today and listened to At Fillmore East which defines the Allman Brothers sound live and the tapestry of sound on the album is coming from all six of them. All of them has a part in the sound of the band coming off the Fillmore stage.
@stephen Hi Stephen. I'm looking for the solo you are referencing by Derek. Several of Derek's solos on the old songs I've heard are exceptionally good. Standback was always exciting when Derek played it.
Derek Trucks was always very polished and impressive everytime I've seen him. I saw him with Clapton some years ago and Clapton was clearly impressed. More than once did Clapton looked over a Derek during a Derek solo and shake his head and or smile.
Derek Trucks is unquestionably one of the best guitar players out there today and probably the top slide player.
My thing is the Allman Brothers Band sound is unique and was established and refined by the original six way before Derek and Warren became fine musicians. They did the same as Duane and Dickey for TTB and Gov't Mule. I can't imagine Derek or Warren and Otiel playing the songs on Fillmore East and Eat A Peach BETTER than Duane, Dickey and Oakley. What could they do to make those performances better? Nothing is my answer. Only different but not better. But very, very good with their take on the songs. I'm not big on a player being advanced technically but more interested in the emotion and feeling the passage in a song does to me and the listener.
A lot of those post 2000 shows have very good and impressive versions of the songs played by the original band.
The Chuck/Lamar version of the band in the mid 70's was the most successful commercially.
This version of WP from 1973 live is very good in it's own right. Listen to the lullaby Dickey plays toward the end of his solo. Just dripping in emotion. Let me know what you think?
Nice, like it👂- great playing by Dickey, boy the tone he had in those days - always really, but esp those mid 70s shows - playing to the heavens🎸
on this last day of April - RIP bro
Lee I thought you mentioned from some time ago that you enjoyed robertdee’s ‘fandom’ depicted in his writings here - due respect back at ya
I probably said something along the lines of respecting it, which I do, he is obviously a big fan. Now. Reading about it incessantly is a totally different thing. We all know his experiences. Why constantly read about them? Makes me not want to post anything music-related as it will likely get spun in a different direction.
Guess I should stick to the sports threads. 
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
robertdee, Really wish I could recall the when/where of that show - certain it was fall 05 - that WP may have been from the Atlanta show from then - had a couple of ILs from that time, that one I sent to a friend
but Derek’s intro - low on the neck, holding that low note a good 2 min or so into his WP solo, gaining sounds … unreal - like you said he’s unquestionably one of the best guitarists out there today
at least that IL is in good hands
hi Lee, they’re both 17-13, look out😮 ⚾️ - 🏒am nervous, I hate Tor🏀it’s Bs & Cs time now
🎼don’t get the rub w/topics changing mid-thread - music/sports are wide-ranging things & can quickly/happily go from one genre/sport to another
🤙friendly xmpl, Lukas Nelson’s Moonlight in Vermont at a Neil Young show in Vt a few years ago - 🎹discussion naturally imo would slide into Frank’s version as well, then perhaps on from there🎶
🎸Again bro, just sayin - realize it’s not like that all the time🍄
great comments by Butch
