Guest Book

Here's a nice little article about the DTB with an interview with Kofi, and someone finally got the relationship between Butch and Derek correct!! DTB is in NYC tonight, still recovering from the Rads last night, might be a last minute decision for me. Fab five The Derek Trucks Band brings its soulful fusion November 12, 2004 By Tom Huntington Arts Correspondent Yes, Derek Trucks is the nephew of Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks, and, yes, he's even been a full-time member of the blues-rock stalwarts for the past five years. But those who think the 25-year-old slide-guitar wunderkind is satisfied to rest on his southern fried laurels have got another thing coming. With his own eclectic five-piece group, which settles into the Eclipse Theater on Sunday, Trucks explores everything from jazz and rhythm-and-blues to Latin and Middle Eastern styles – though it's still built upon the blues-rock foundation that he grew up on. The seemingly disparate sounds are sewn together with fluid slide work that's at times eerily reminiscent of the late great guitarist Duane Allman. Trucks has been justifiably lauded by the media: Rolling Stone last year included him in its list of "100 greatest guitarists of all time" – heady praise for the then-24-year-old, who was by far the youngest among the selections – while National Public Radio called him "one of the all time great slide guitarists." Though much has been made of Trucks' astonishing skills, little attention has been paid to his talented and diverse quintet: drummer Yonrico Scott, flutist and keyboardist Kofi Burbridge, bassist Todd Smallie and singer Mike Mattison. Scott and Smallie, who form the rock-solid rhythm section, have been on board since 1995. Burbridge, the older brother of bass sensation Oteil, joined in 1999. Mattison is the latest addition, signing on two years ago. Proof-positive that the band has become one of the most impressive and compelling groups around can be found on its two stellar studio CDs released by Columbia Records – 2002's "Joyful Noise" and 2003's "Soul Serenade" – and on its new self-released double-disc, "Live at Georgia Theater." "Joyful Noise," called "one of the most exciting records of the year" by the Boston Globe, features such special guest vocalists as soul legend Solomon Burke, salsa sensation Ruben Blades, Pakistani star Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and blues notable Susan Tedeschi, who Trucks married in 2001 (the two have a son, Charlie, who was born the following year). "Soul Serenade" was actually recorded in a couple of magical sessions in late 1999 and early 2000 but held up in contractual limbo as the band's previous record label was filing for bankruptcy. The stunning, mostly instrumental disc – Gregg Allman lends his distinctive vocals to the bluesy "Drown in My Own Tears" – includes mesmerizing versions of Bob Marley's "Rasta Man Chant," Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue," Wayne Shorter's "Oriental Folk Song" and Trucks' own brooding tribute to jazz great Elvin Jones. "Live at Georgia Theater," the first recording to include vocalist Mattison, is only available online and at live shows. According to the All Music Guide, "This performance is so inspired, so utterly spellbinding, it transcends the genre classifications it employs to get the music across. This is a band that plays like a single, flowing unit, where nuance, dynamic and intuition are the order of the evening." Last week, I conducted a phone interview with Burbridge, 43, who was taking it easy in North Carolina during a break in the band's touring schedule. Here are some excerpts from the interview: TA: How would you describe your five years in the Derek Trucks Band? KB: Biggest turnaround in my life. This band is serious about what they're doing. They have goals. They go for it. They get to it. Plus, they were all friends of mine, so that made it very easy to go on the road. It's really a pleasure to work with them. TA: "Soul Serenade" is such an amazing album, and I think a lot of it – as Derek has even said – is because of your presence on the disc, which is pretty incredible since you had just joined the band at the time. It seems like you must have really clicked with the group. KB: It was a pretty easy click. I had a few chances to play with Derek before that, and, like I said, from everyone seeing each other on a regular basis, it was easy to get to know one another. So, consequently, the music fell into place. TA: It really seems like you guys are truly a collaborative band. KB: I know I keep speaking in terms of "they," knowing that it's Derek Trucks' band, but Derek has been real, real open about wanting everyone to feel as if they have an equal say-so playing-wise and vocally. He really is an extremely cooperative person. TA: What I love about you guys is you really seem to have a jazz sensibility while also incorporating all these different styles of music. KB: That's my background and it's probably at the top of my style. Derek wants this flavor and he wants to be able to catch a lot of things, but there definitely is an influence that's been going on from jazz. He has so much material that he listens to, so it's been a great learning experience for all of us. There's always something playing on the bus that nobody has ever heard (laughs). TA: The band is so diverse, musically, that it's sort of hard to describe you guys. How would you describe the music? KB: Well, I think it's kind of still being formulated, because we're doing so many styles. I think it's coming around to a funk-blues-jazz-folk-type thing. It's kind of like we're still searching, too. We don't know what we are, but I know Derek does not want to be called a jam band and he doesn't want to be called a blues band. He doesn't want to be called any type of band, but definitely not those two (laughs). TA: Judging by the new live album, it seems like (vocalist) Mike (Mattison) is a perfect fit with the group. KB: Once again, that's just some extra flavor that Derek was going for, but the hard thing was to find a guy that really had some rapport with us and the style to be able to pull off the material that we're trying to do. TA: I understand that you guys are going to start recording a new studio album soon. Are you playing some of the new material on this tour? KB: Yeah, we are. It will be new for everyone, for the band and the audience. We don't get a chance to rehearse too much, so what you're witnessing is right on the spot. TA: How would you describe the new stuff? KB: Once again, there's a flavor of many different things. You could call that a variety or you could say that's unfocused (laughs). I think there's probably a little more soul-funk, soul-blues comin' now. There are a lot more soulful things in store, and it has flavors of Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin, that kind of stuff. That's what Derek is feeling more right now. There may be more blues along those lines and more vocal material – still some instrumental stuff; we're not letting anything else go. It's gonna be a little more soulful this time. TA: You guys seem to really shine in the live environment. KB: This band is best to see live. In a studio, you gotta hold back sometimes. When you play live, you have to push way more. You just feel as if you have to get the sound and the performance across more. Live is really where it's at