Guest Book

in case you don't want to 'register' with another website: Posted on Fri, Feb. 13, 2004 THE SKINNY WOODY MITCHELL From Asheville to Allmans, Haynes runs with big boys In the mid-'70s, I was playing with a psychobilly band in the N.C. mountains called Loafer's Glory. Asheville was the nearest center of civilization, so when we weren't on the road, we'd barnstorm up there and play pizza parlors and such -- there were no music rooms back then. One night while we were setting up, an ol' boy came up and said, "We got this kid out here, he can pick a guitar like a man!" "Who is he?" I asked. "His name's Warren Haynes. Only trouble is, he ain't but 16." I assured the clubowner Warren was 18 (the legal beer-drinking age at the time; North Carolina didn't have liquor in bars then) and when we cranked it up, he knocked everybody's socks off. After the set, a young female friend of his came up to me and said, "Wow, Warren can play with the big boys, can't he!" Within 10 years, he was an Allman Brother -- and he's been playing with the big boys ever since. He's opening eight dates for Kid Rock, including tonight's show at Cricket Arena, with his innovative rock outfit Gov't Mule. The band's bouncing in and out of the studio, working on an album slated for a fall release. He plans to tour with the Dead this summer, after the Allmans' tour in the spring. He'll likely do some shows with Phil Lesh and Friends in the fall. The Mule's last album, "The Deepest End," is a virtual who's who of great bass players, from the Who's John Entwhistle to Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea. So, yeah, not only can Warren play with the big boys, but these days, a lot of big boys are hot to play with him.