NO ONE IN THIS THREAD EVER SAID OTEIL IS RETIRING, people. This is how rumors get started, read carefully.
Although Oteil does say he wants to spend as much time with his kid as he can, now he is divorced and on the road with ARU and the Dead & Co.
Pretty sure Oteil is married to the mother of his child. Divorced from previous wife. ARU tour is short and Dead tour likely will not be extensive.
"Now Oteil says he is retired?" reads like someone is surprised that Oteil is retiring....and I read it carefully. I get it now that "he" was meant to be Dickey in that question.
Gregg's comment in December of 2013 was that Oteil was leaving the ABB and joining the Zac Brown Band (he did record with them but not join the band). Oteil quickly cleared that up....and crazy that he had to clear it up in the first place!
Anyway, not sure Oteil has done anything in the last few years that is confusing. He was in two bands, ABB & TTB, the latter which was touring/recording regularly, plus other side projects. He stepped away from the TTB (his heaviest commitment) to spend more time with his family. He's still an active musician and family man / father....I think his plan is playing out like he expected.
It is 2015. Otiel has a twitter that is pretty active. He puts pictures of he and Jess up from the Dead show. He congratulates Jess for a recent award she won. He puts up links to articles and interviews including ones where he talks about Jess listening to alot of Dead music and that he starts his Dead practice by learning her favorite songs. So.
Back to the topic at hand, the plot thickens:
Dickey Betts Offers More Hope for a Reunion With Gregg Allman
By Alan Paul
When the Allman Brothers band announced that six performances at New York’s Beacon Theater last October would be their final shows, many fans hoped that the group would reconcile with founding member Dickey Betts. It didn’t happen.
Betts, a founding member who wrote and sang the band’s biggest hit, 1973’s “Ramblin’ Man,” as well as landmark songs like “Southbound,” “Blue Sky” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” has not performed with the group since a bitter falling out in 2000. While business ties keep Betts’s manager in close contact with the band management, there has been no direct contact between the guitarist and his fellow founding members Gregg Allman, Jaimoe and Butch Trucks since their parting.
So it was striking when Gregg Allman added “Southbound” to his solo band’s setlist and seemed to take great pleasure every night declaring, “That song was written by Mr. Dickey Betts!” In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Allman extended Betts an olive branch, saying, “I would love to play with him again….There’s nothing at all wrong with forgive and forget.”
The band’s fanbase leapt on this declaration, their hopes raised that the four surviving original members may play together again. People close to Betts were also encouraged. His son Duane, a guitarist on tour with the band Dawes, texted from an Oklahoma performance venue: “My father’s response to the Gregg interview was very positive.”
Dickey Betts furthered the optimism when he released a statement through his manager saying, “I have no problem with Gregg, never have. Sure, it would be fun to play with him again. We’ll see where it goes.”
Betts, 71, has not performed since last November, at a benefit concert near his home in Sarasota, Fla. He cancelled some scheduled shows when his older brother Joel grew ill and called off all performances for the years following Joel’s March 2015 death. There have been rumors that he has retired from performing altogether.
Allman, Trucks and Jaimoe will all perform with their solo bands at the Peach Music Festival in Scranton, Pa., this weekend. Alllman will also perform Aug. 29 at the inaugural Laid Back Festival at Long Island’s Jones Beach. Betts is at home in Florida, where he responded to some emailed questions.
Did you know that Gregg was playing Southbound and crediting you on stage every night?
Yes, a lot of people told me about it. That’s very nice of him.
How did you hear about Gregg saying he would like to play with you?
My son Duane called me and so did David Spero, my manager. Duane is really excited that this could happen. I told him it is something to consider.
How did you feel about Gregg’s comments?
I’ve never had a problem with Gregg. I think he kind of got duped into a situation. You know, we had to recreate the sound of the band after Duane [Allman] and Berry [Oakley] got killed. It was Gregg and I that had to be the writers. Nothing against the other guys in the band, but that was our role. I tried to embellish his singing with my guitar playing. You know, Gregg and I were so close in the Brothers. I put up with all his warts and he put up with all mine.
You have not performed publicly since November. What have you been up to? Are you looking to play in the next year?
I just needed a little time to lay back and reassess my life and what I have been doing. I need a little recreation period. I’m still trying to figure it out.
Are you open to the idea of playing with Gregg and the Allman Brothers band again?
Well, there are no Allman Brothers anymore and I’m not sure if or when I want to play again. But if I play, I would have no problem getting on stage with Gregg again.
Alan Paul is the author of One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band.
Given that both Gregg and Dickey have recently lost some dear family members, perhaps it would be healthy for them to at least talk.
Now Oteil says he is retired?
Not so fast...I just read where Oteil is joining up with Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzman, Mickey Hart & John Mayer & Jeff (uh...whatshisname from RatDog) to do a tour.
EDIT: Well, I see there's already a thread about this. Thought I had a scoop...never mind.
You are taking this quote out of context, it was regarding Oteil mentioning that Dickey is retired in a recent interview. Let's read carefully before we lose our shit, folks. Here's the whole exchange:
[Edited on 8/12/2015 by porkchopbob]
Yes, after re-reading the quote, I read it incorrectly the first time. My apologies for the quick "knee jerk" response (emphasis on "jerk"....that being ME.)
[Edited on 8/12/2015 by chiliD]
Kinda sad that they both share similar attitudes about the situation and yet so many years and so much time has passed that it may be too late. There is a life lesson in there for sure. Disappointed that Dickey sounds like he is not feelin' it with regard to his playing. he may be in a dark place now and I hope maybe this will kick start him out of it.
Dickey' s words are haunting.
I think it is much, much easier for them to reunite for a one off (or even a little more) now that the ABB are finished. It doesn't sound like Dickey plays the guitar much, even at home these days.
"Well, there are no Allman Brothers anymore and I’m not sure if or when I want to play again. But if I play, I would have no problem getting on stage with Gregg again."
He's open to it, Gregg said he would like to play with him again, so it's just a matter of time and players. A lot of people want some immediate gratification, but it also has to be worked out in the cosmos. The players have to be available, they got to be ready to do it, wherever it takes them.
Think about what happened with the players before the historic Jacksonville jam, people were in different places, then when the time was right, that's when it came together. The universe will work things out for people's highest good, if this would be for their highest good, it will happen.
[Edited on 8/13/2015 by gina]
