Guest Book

Want some irony to all of the spirited conversation that has been going on here? On the Grateful Dead sites, there is a whole lot of discussion as to...whom the lead guitar slots should be occupied by, plus lot's of opinions (pro and con) regarding Warren playing with the Dead. They feel as strongly about their Dead as we do about our ABB...What is even more ironic is that Warren is joining...Jimmy Herring, a former ABB guitarist who replaced...Dickey Betts. Confused? So are they. Want controversy? Bob Weir flipped off his drummer last night, then kicked over the drum kit. Apparently they took it to the dressing room later as well. Point? We are all obviously passionate about this music we listen to. For a fan like myself, I can only really judge whether I like what I am listening to, or not. Many folks are obviously still not happy that Betts is not playing with the ABB, and I was one of those people who originally could not even imagine the band playing without him. However not only have they pulled it off, they seem to have focused into "kicking it up a notch." I saw the ABB for the first time last fall here in Las Vegas with their new lineup (i.e. without Betts). I was cynical, and pissed about it...and then they blew me out the door. What could I say? I really dug it a lot, and to all of us who are simply fans that is the bottom line. Do we like it, and are we willing to pay to see it? It is hard for me to comment on someone like Red Dog (but I am going to). He has lived through the ABB experience in a radically different fashion than any fan. It is clear from his posts (to me) that he yearns for a simpler and better time...like many of us. He has loved and heartached with these guys for years, so no doubt the passion runs through his veins in all ways. One thing we do all have in common is our passion for all these guys who have created a brand of music as the Allman Brothers. Now---I need for the ABB and DB and GS to pay a Vegas trip!

Is this a new date? From Little Feat web site... Thu, Sep 30 - Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion (opening for Allman Brothers)

The Great Compromise John Prine I knew a girl who was almost a lady She had a way with all the men in her life Every inch of her blossomed in beauty And she was born on the fourth of July Well she lived in an aluminum house trailer And she worked in a juke box saloon And she spent all the money I give her Just to see the old man in the moon I used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory And awake in the dawn's early light But much to my surprise When I opened my eyes I was a victim of the great compromise Well we'd go out on Saturday evenings To the drive-in on Route 41 And it was there that I first suspected That she was doin' what she'd already done She said "Johnny won't you get me some popcorn" And she knew I had to walk pretty far And as soon as I passed through the moonlight She hopped into a foreign sports car I used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory And awake in the dawn's early light But much to my surprise When I opened my eyes I was a victim of the great compromise Well you know I could have beat up that fellow But it was her that had hopped into his car Many times I'd fought to protect her But this time she was goin' too far Now some folks they call me a coward 'Cause I left her at the drive-in that night But I'd druther have names thrown at me Than to fight for a thing that ain't right I used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory And awake in the dawn's early light But much to my surprise When I opened my eyes I was a victim of the great compromise Now she writes all the fellows love letters Saying "Greetings, come and see me real soon" And they go and line up in the barroom And spend the night in that sick woman's room But sometimes I get awful lonesome And I wish she was my girl instead But she won't let me live with her And she makes me live in my head I used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory And awake in the dawn's early light But much to my surprise When I opened my eyes I was a victim of the great compromise

Another great Flairism, Hemlock: "Like I tell all the ladies, you can't be first but you can be..................NEXT!" Oteil does play the Fender P-bass on a few tunes every night, but hey you don't give Da Vinci chalk to make a picture. ------------------------------------------------- "I'm going to move away from here. You can find me if ya wanna go there."

Hey I'd like to say a couple of things about Reddog's post or rereading of the first post: "Take a couple of years off." Well if my memory serves me right Betts was let go mid-tour 2000. The rest of the band, hired guns included, couldn't or didn't even want to finish the tour with Dickey. Ten years ago this October God told me if I didn't quit drinking for a year, he'd kill me. I quit for a year and my life was so much better that I have yet to start back and have a beautiful 7 year old son to show for it. No I don't know for sure, but I liken Dickey's ouster to my sobriety i.e. Things are better why go back? "Oteil spaceville stuff." Whether anybody knew it to begin with or not, Oteil was/is an incredible bass player. A virtuoso on the six string bass. So what do "they" make him do? Play a four string... like Berry did. I liken that to having a 12 cylinder Ferrari but not using 4 of them cause my old Camaro had 8. The original band was about creating new music, pushing boundaries with instramental virtuosity. They "covered" a lot of tunes because they didn't have the catelog to draw from. Remind anybody of another band? Of course the ABB today have a huge catelog of music unfortunately the majority of it belongs to the dude they fired. "Allman's not being able to draw." Personally I think the economy plays a bigger part in the equation than anything. As I remember correctly the ABB has never been that big in some parts of the country ever. Plus I think they are still being promoted like crap. Also the pop music world has changed. What passes for music these days has absolutely nothing to do with music. If rock isn't finally dead, it's sure laying down. I mean both Ron E. and I drove 2 hr.s on a week night to see pitifully attended but great none-the-less DB & GS show. Was it popularity or sign-o-the-times? "Warren guys." Warren is a 44 year old tarheel guitar playin' son of a gun. Just like me. (Well I'm more of a 44 year old tarheel wannabe playin' son of a gun but that is beside the point.) Damn right I'm proud of him! Like Rick Flair says, "Whether you like it or whether you don't like it, learn to love it cause it's the best thing going today. Wooooooooooooooo!" But Warren better watch out for Derek cause I firmly believe before Derek is through he is going to surpass all of them-Duane, Dickey, the ABB, whoever. Of course it's all JMHO. And I certainly appreciate Lana and Rowland giving me a place to state it. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that. I love ya Dog. I think we can all agree that Gregg, Warren, Derek, Oteil, Butch, Jaimoe, hell Dickey for that matter aren't living in the past. Maybe we shouldn't either. God bless all y'all. Keep it kind. ------------------------------------------------- "I'm going to move away from here. You can find me if ya wanna go there."

Luke, there's no point in apologizing to somebody or saying you have no problem with them if you're just going to slag them again. RonE says his opinion was harsh, but he stated it politely. Then you insulted him for attacking Red Dog, and there was nothing ironic about that at all. :bash:

damn....and i thought the forum was the place for all this stuff....the GB has been crazy lately!! Know this: the ABB in this incarnation and all others is still the best band in the land. peace to all, no offense was meant on my end anyway.....

musgrave if you think those numbers would be higher with dickey back in the band i would disagree with you. besides, why in the hell should we care how much money they are making (or not making)??? I go to see Dickey betts, the ABb, the Mule, the DTB, oteil and the pacemakes and Jaimoe whenever i can. it would be a hell of a lot cheaper to get some one-stop shopping now, wouldnt it?

To say that a U turn would never happen is the pea brain idea. You forget they have been through this before and before that and still got back together. A fortune huh. What is your idea of a fortune and do you have any idea of their over head. I could round it down a tad for a single week for ya. and these prices are low tour manager 3000, Drivers 3500, busses 4000, front of house engineer 2000, monitor mix engineer 1500, stage crew 5000, merch people 2000, booking agent 10% of the show take, House takes a cut of the merch, Manager takes a cut of it all, legal, insurance, accountants so where are we we are at over 20000 a week before the agnets, legal, Hotels, per diems, manager etc etc big nut to cover oh yeh then they have to pay Betts on all they sell I like that part .. So lets get close to rounding it with all the bs close to 40,000 take that out of a check and then take out tax which is big hit. So look at a venue take the capacity of that venue and dived that cost by the capacity and there is the vottom price ticket sale to break even