Saw on FB that Duane was in Jacksonville recording new music at Derek & Susan’s studio… hope to hear something soon.
Yes he is. Duane Betts calls it "a solo album". Johnny is on slide. And he is using Derek's studio. Supposedly they are saying Allman Betts Band needed to go on a long break. Everyone needed some space. So apparently the band hasn't broken up.
does he only have 1 solo release so far? i own the EP or whatever we want to call it
@matt05 Yes that is what they call it. It's basically "half" an album.
And that was his first solo release and first time to sing on a recording. It was shortly after it's release, he and Devon put together the Allman Betts Band. I can't figure out why that band went in hiatus as it seemed to be gaining traction with drawing decent crowds. It seems from a couple of rumors that Devon needed more creative space for awhile. But one of their fans said Berry Oakley, Jr developed some problems with the band too.
But rumors are often partially wrong or completely wrong. So I don't trust them.
It does seem clear some of the guys needed to take a break from each other.
They are acting like the Rolling Stones!:)
I kinda chuckle about the "hiatus" thing. The band has been together, maybe a little less than 4 yrs,first studio release in 2019 and the second one in 2020.Its not like they have been at for 10 yrs or more. I agree with others, I felt they were getting some momentum going. Needing space already? Who knows what happens when you get multiple personalities and etc going. Oh well.....
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
This is just my opinion and not based on anything other than my impressions of how it looks, but I seriously doubt there will be an Allman Betts Band again. Just a hunch. As I told a friend of mine recently, it isn't like they are the Grateful Dead taking the year of 1975 off after 10 years of constant touring and releasing albums. This is not like that.
@jack_frost I agree Jack. Last couple times I saw Allman Betts, they drew a good crowd for a college auditorium. It was full. About 900 or 1,000 people. They were getting surprising traction with tickets. I was surprised.
But what stuck out to me was how Duane Betts and Johnny Stachela got so much spotlight time. It seemed for about 40% of the show Devon was playing rhythm guitar and singing backup on Blue Sky etc. I thought that was big of him since he seemed to be the FRONT man in his previous bands.
I could be wrong and hope I am. But if I had to bet, that is why the Allman Betts Band derailed. Real shame too. It was the best shot Devon and Duane Betts had so far of breaking out somewhat.
Johnny Stachela should get pulled in by a bigger band I think. He is a very good slide player and good guitar player overall.
But maybe Allman Betts will come back later this year but right now, just a feeling, I doubt it.
Johnny hitting the note and quoting some Duane Allman licks from the studio version!!
I am thinking all of these guys need to spread their wings beyond Allman Betts Band and hence the break. Devon Allman is used to being the main guy for sure, and it was always odd that they had Devon as essentially a rhythm guitar player with a periodic solo here and there.
I wouldn't be surprised if they enjoyed playing together but got boxed in by the band dynamics. Gregg felt the same way didn't he?
@jonesy Yes Gregg did. Gregg needed a solo band to be happy after Duane Allman died. As we all know it got started when Gregg's masterpiece Queen of Hearts was rejected for Brothers and Sisters. Only a few years before his death Gregg was asked about that and he said "Oh that was a long time ago so I don't want to say why that happened. Well I'll say this much. His initials are Butch Trucks". I got a real chuckle when I read that.
Butch must have heard about it because Butch said it was because everytime Gregg tried to show it to the band he was so drunk and Butch couldn't take it seriously and they selected other songs.
Then in Gregg's last years Gregg revealed the Allman Brothers was his brother's band and he was into those long jams and some of Gregg's songs were arranged such by the ABB that they were so different from how he wrote them.
And Gregg went on to say the solo band he has now is the best band for him he has been in and what he had always wanted. And he likes being the only chef in the kitchen.
Apparently Gregg, Derek and Warren were ready to shelve the ABB in 2009 but went another 5 years because Butch wanted and or needed more time. In 2014 Butch according to Warren got cold feet again about retiring the band. I don't know if Gregg would have kept going but Derek and Warren made sure Butch understood they were done. They quit.
This Gregg said was closer to how he wanted Whipping Post to sound and recorded. But the Allman Brothers changed it up a lot. Most of that came from Butch and Berry Oakley. Indeed the thundering bass intro and bass line was entirely Oakley's creation.
I'll add one more possible factor into the "current situation" with the Allman Betts Band. Devon Allman also has his own record label, and he has Jackson Stokes and the River Kittens in his stable. I suspect he wants to give them a lot of face time and couldn't do it while he was in the Allman Betts Band, or at least to the extent that he wanted to. Stokes is playing lead guitar for the Devon Allman Project (which he has done in the past) and the River Kittens are on stage during the Projects show singing along with some of the Tunes (they may be opening as well, i am not sure). So could be there was no room for this activity inside the Allman Betts Band.
I think all of us, as original ABB fans, do hope they continue on some level simply cause it is a feel good story. They are actually pretty good too, in my opinion
I'll add one more possible factor into the "current situation" with the Allman Betts Band. Devon Allman also has his own record label, and he has Jackson Stokes and the River Kittens in his stable. I suspect he wants to give them a lot of face time and couldn't do it while he was in the Allman Betts Band, or at least to the extent that he wanted to. Stokes is playing lead guitar for the Devon Allman Project (which he has done in the past) and the River Kittens are on stage during the Projects show singing along with some of the Tunes (they may be opening as well, i am not sure). So could be there was no room for this activity inside the Allman Betts Band.
I think all of us, as original ABB fans, do hope they continue on some level simply cause it is a feel good story. They are actually pretty good too, in my opinion
They are very good and their shows were fun. Devon Allman has done many things music wise and wants to continue to do that. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Devon, Duane, Berry et al performing together in some capacity.
@stratdal Just read that Duane Betts, Johnny Stachela and Berry Oakley will do some shows this summer. No word who else will be with them in this lineup. So Duane Betts, Berry Oakley and Johnny Stachela are still together it seems.
And Duane Betts is finishing his new solo album at Derek and Susan's studio in Florida.
Does sound more like Devon Allman needed to get away for awhile.
I keep coming back to Devon being used to fronting his own outfit and with Allman Betts Band he was spending too much time playing rhythm guitar while Duane Betts and Johnny Stachela wailed away.
Gregg Allman would fade into the rhythm section of the ABB in the 1990s for long stretches. Blue Sky then Jessica then Same Thing then Liz Reed then Nobody Knows after Gregg refused to sing it anymore so rather than dropping it, Dickey started singing it. I remember a stretch like that or similar several times and Butch and Woody were getting more spotlight time than Gregg. Dickey should have shelved Nobody Knows when Gregg told him he didn't like it and would not sing it again. What Dickey did was pour gas on a little fire and make it worse. Warren said that is when Gregg and Dickey put him in the middle of them not speaking anymore by asking him to tell Gregg this or tell Dickey that. Warren did not enjoy being in the middle of that failure to communicate. Epic refused to give the band a better deal so the band refused to record another album and with the tension and turmoil that developed, suddenly to Warren and Allen, Gov't Mule became more than a side project so they announced they were quitting after the 1997 Beacon run. I saw some 1997 shows at the Beacon and had no clue it would be the last time I saw Allen Woody with the band. Derek Trucks said when they got Jack Pearson and Otiel to keep the ship afloat he figured that lineup would be the last. When it ended so would the Allman Brothers.
But back to less spotlight time, Butch said in the 2000's when Gregg was drunk they would adjust the set and turn him down in the mix and purposely avoid Gregg singing for long stretches. I use to wonder if that irritated Gregg or if he didn't give a damn.
I saw the band at the Birchmere last year and they killed, BUT it seemed to be awkward. The three guitars are awkward. I hate to say it but Devon solo and the rest of the band as the Duane Betts Band might work better. That said, I'm not sure Duane is a strong enough vocalist to be the sole singer.
The other thing I've wondered about is the dynamic with BO Jr. He's a really good player, but he seems to be relegated to a second tier in this band.
I saw the band at the Birchmere last year and they killed, BUT it seemed to be awkward. The three guitars are awkward. I hate to say it but Devon solo and the rest of the band as the Duane Betts Band might work better. That said, I'm not sure Duane is a strong enough vocalist to be the sole singer.
The other thing I've wondered about is the dynamic with BO Jr. He's a really good player, but he seems to be relegated to a second tier in this band.
That is an interesting scenario. Betts and Stachela are quite good and complementary to each other. Stachela gets a lot of kudos for his slide playing, and i think appropriately so. John Ginty is a solid member of the bands sound, IMO, assuming he would remain in that structure. The drummers are Devon's from his DAP band.
Berry Oakley Jr is fun to watch and i agree, is really good. I wonder if he feels dwarfed by Allman/Betts? Devon is certainly a strong personality, Duane appears far more laid back. I guess we'll see but none of these guys are puppies anymore. They are not a new young band, they are a new band with a lot of background -- i actually think they are better together than apart, but Linus makes an interesting possiblity here.
Duane Betts and his lady and some other guitar player and his wife on vacation last October in Little Palm Island.
It says the other guitarist and his wife who also sings and plays is hoping to open for Duane Betts some later this year:)
https://m.facebook.com/100044484874188/
I think, when it comes to breaking out, Devon has a voice and guitar problem.
His singing is fine, and his playing is fine, but neither are superb such that being just “fine” at the other is enough.
Duane Betts and his lady and some other guitar player and his wife on vacation last October in Little Palm Island.
It says the other guitarist and his wife who also sings and plays is hoping to open for Duane Betts some later this year:)
Money unlikely a factor behind the hiatus for Duane --- Little Palm is NOT cheap!!! Good for them
Derek & Susan, too!
@islalala I'm getting the impression from reading what people are saying on Devon and Duane Betts Facebook pages that Devon had a kinda creative fallout with Allman Betts Band but has not left the band. Just needed to get out on his own. Maybe soon something will come out that clearly explains it.
Devon inherited a few million and 43 guitars from his father.
Duane Betts has been taking expensive vacations often for several years and has a nice condo in Mailbu, California. Dickey of course is a multimillionaire with a nice mansion in Florida so apparently he is providing for his son and I can't fault him.
So yes it isn't a matter of money for Devon and Duane Betts.
Duane Betts visited Dad at Osprey, Florida Saturday March 26th.
I see part of the Richard Betts mansion in the background.
I imagine Dickey never thought he would live in such a beautiful place when he was asked by Berry Oakley to join him, Duane Allman and Jaimoe in Duane's new band!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=516105276548964&id=100044484874188
I've never found Devon or Duane to be compelling enough. Stachela and BO Jr, the more I hear the more I want to hear.
Devon sings like Cher on man hormones. I don't like the vibrato he gets. It's good on some songs but I just can't do a whole album.
@waitinforrain I could be wrong but from little tidbits I read on the internet, it seems the rub with Allman Betts for the time being is Devon was getting less and less spotlight time singing and guitar solos. So he wanted to shift back to a solo setting for awhile.
BOjr. sings, Duane Betts is singing more and Johnny Stachela gets a lot of guitar solo spotlight time.
I noticed that the last two times I saw them. Devon on acoustic rhythm on Blue Sky, Jessica etc.
His father Gregg at some ABB shows would get reduced to a sideman for good stretches at Allman Brothers shows. Even in the original band somewhat as the spotlight would be on Duane, Dickey and BO for a good stretch at times.
I think Gregg had that as one of the reasons he kept a solo band on the road too.
But if there are a lot going of people who feel like you, then maybe Devon would get further sharing the spotlight.
The Allman Betts Band was getting good traction and the crowds at gotten decent. This wasn't a good time for them to take their foot off the gas!
The A-Betts band to me is more yawwwn than anything else. Like your endless repetitive posts Robert D.
Thankfully there is lots of music I like that is new. So I don't have to sit in the past with an old soundtrack endlessly on repeat.
@waitinforrain I'm 75 and retired so much of my existence is in the past. The Allman Brothers formed 53 years ago.
But isn't this site in the past? The Allman Brothers Band hasn't been together for eight years. Many of the members are now deceased and their commercial peak was 1973, the original band ended in 1971 and their last big selling album came out in 1979 (Enlightened Rogues - 900,000 copies) and last platinum album ( 5 million copies) was Brothers and Sisters in 1973 49 years ago!!
Not much new coming out of the Allman's camp except more or less the Allman Betts Band and I guess you are right. It's not much.
Not much new coming out of the Allman's camp except more or less the Allman Betts Band and I guess you are right. It's not much.
Disagree, the Bless Your Heart CD sounds better & better w/each listen, & I've always been baffled by the ragging on Devon - he has a great voice - his Space Age Blues CD is the bomb
don't know the 1st Allman-Betts album, but again, Bless Your Heart is a great album that is still growing on me, & I really like Duane's Sketches Of American Music Too, the last part of Calif Blues is killer, great stuff
@stephen I got Bless Your Heart at one of their gigs and I like it.
Wish they hadn't taken the hiatus but that is what it is.
Duane Betts and Larry McCray in Dickey's house in Osprey, Florida.
I don't believe there will be a Allman Betts Band anymore and to be honest, like Stephen, I really enjoyed Bless Your Heart and the live shows I saw.
I find TTB more yawn than anything else myself, so your mileage may vary.
@jack_frost Yeah it seems Devon Allman has gone solo and Johnny Stachela and Berry Oakley, Jr are staying with Duane Betts.
Maybe some day we will find out exactly why Allman Betts Band fell apart just as they were getting more traction than anything Devon Allman and Duane Betts had had before.
Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck were never able to stick with a band very long and apparently Devon Allman is that way too.
Apparently Duane Betts, Johnny Stachela and Berry Oakley Jr were crowding Devon too much. Actually I thought about that a couple of times when I saw them. I was aware Devon was more or less center stage with the groups he had been with before but in Allman Betts, Devon had good stretches where he played rhythm guitar while Duane Betts and Johnny Stachela had big solos and Duane Betts and Berry Oakley Jr were doing a good share of the lead singing. But at these shows I though Devon was cool with it.
Of course they haven't said officially the Allman Betts Band is over but it sure looks like it. Duane Betts just recorded a new album at Derek's studio and he posted on Facebook he wants to thank Johnny Stachela and Berry Oakley Jr for being with him for this next chapter of his career.
I always see TTB and Gov't Mule when they are nearby but Jack I think maybe TTB is too big. Tool many players. They have almost as many members as the Tommy Dorsey Band in the 1940's and 50's.
@robertdee I saw Tedeschi Trucks Band as part of Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival in Hershey, Pennsylvania sometime before covid, either 2018 or 2019 and Van Morrison was on the bill. I went with my buddy Kevin who I had seen the ABB with on several occasions and neither one of us had seen TTB and were sort of looking forward to it based on how folks talk about them...maybe we caught them on a bad night or something. The mix was absolutely mud. The only separation was when either Derek or Kofi took a solo. The drummers did not seem to have a Butch/Jaimoe or even a Kreutzmann/Hart type of chemistry..matter of fact, they were nondescript. Please realize this is just my experience. Anyway, left a bit underwhelmed. Maybe it is too big of a band. Hard to give everyone showcase time etc
