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Warren Haynes
Interview;
Playing MGM
February 13

Warren Haynes, legendary guitarist of The Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule and The Dead, will be playing MGM's Center Stage on February 13 to support his great new solo album Million Voices Whisper.

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We had the chance to speak with Warren before he heads out on the second leg of this tour.  He talks about the new album, touring and his memories of playing the Concert for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Greg Drugan:  Hey Warren, you are getting ready to hit the road again to support your latest solo record, Million Voices Whisper.  I really like that title, what is the meaning behind it?

 

Warren Hayes:  The title came from the song, “Day Of Reckoning.”  The chorus in the song is “Million voices whisper, getting louder when we sing, million spirits waiting on a day of reckoning.”  I just thought the title, Million Voices Whisper summed up the whole vibe of the record. 

 

GD:  Great, and I love that song “Day Of Reckoning” as well.  You have some special guests on this record, Lukas Nelson, Jamey Johnson and Derek Trucks, what do those guys bring to the song writing process?

 

WH:  Jamey co-wrote “Go Down Swinging” although he’s part of the recording.  But he and Lukas are both singing on “Day Of Reckoning” that Lukas co-wrote and he is also playing some beautiful guitar on that song as well.  I really love the way our three voices blend together.  We sang together on The Last Waltz tour a few years back.  We were the three singers interpreting the songs of The Band and harmonizing together we just loved the way our voices blended. I wanted to capture that in the studio.  Of course having Derek there for three songs was just fantastic. 

 

GD:  Were you all in the studio together recording or did you do the more modern thing and share files?

 

WH:  Derek was in the studio with us recording live, like we always do if we can. Lukas and I were in the studio at the same time but Jamey added his part later on. 

 

GD:  Do you like that process, like file sharing or do you prefer to be in the studio if you can?

 

WH:  I much prefer to be in the studio face to face recording live. That’s my preference, always.  If that’s not possible, you can still make some great music the modern way.  For the kind of music we all love, if you can do it with everyone in the same room, the music benefits from it. 

 

GD: I’m sure you kinda feed off each other a little bit more.

 

WH:  Absolutely. 

 

GD:  On this new record, which I really enjoy, I really like “These Changes” and “Terrified,” is there a song or two that really connects to you?

 

WH:  All of them in different ways.  I love “These Changes” that Derek and I had written together.  “Real, Real Love” that Gregg Allman had started writing and I finished and Derek is playing on as well. I’m really happy the way that one turned out, it’s just beautiful.  I think the record flows start to finish in a way that I’m very proud of. 

 

GD:    For sure! It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since you released your last solo album, Ashes and Dust, why do you feel it was time to do another solo record?

 

WH:  I’ve only done four solo records in thirty some years. I only do a solo record that if I’ve written a bunch of songs that seem quite different from Gov’t Mule that seem to have a common thread or theme and want to be lumped together in a project.  That’s an indicator that it’s time for me to do a solo record.  With this record it was coming off the heals of Gov’t Mule releasing two records back to back. We had released Heavy Load Blues which was our first and only blues record. Followed up less than a year later, Peace ... Like A River which is our most current record.  So there was no hurry for Gov’t Mule to get back into the studio so it was perfect timing for me to go make this record. 

 

GD:  Looking back on your career, how do you think your sound has evolved over the years?

 

WH:  I think as a solo artist and Gov’t Mule as a band, the sound has evolved organically in a way that represents us being able to add more and more influences to the picture through the years.  With each record we make or each record I make, the influences rise to the surface.  That’s one of the beautiful things about a career lasting a long time. You have opportunities to grow and change with every record.  I think most artists and most musicians would say that they have a lot of influences but never enough time to explore all of them.  If you stay around long enough, you can explore as many as you have time for. 

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GD:  Looking back when you were a kid, who was the first artist you ever saw in concert and how did that impact you?

 

WH:  The first live concert I ever saw was the Edgar Winter Group, when I was twelve years old. “Frankenstein” was on the radio at that time and I had the 45.  The opening act was the Marshall Tucker Band, which no one ever heard of because they just released their first record.  Just the power of the live performance was unbelievable and just inspired me. 

 

GD:  I’m sure back then it was just straight ahead rock and roll.  No frills, right?

 

WH:  Yeah, it was live music at it’s best. 

 

GD:  Speaking of legendary musicians, you have played with so many legendary musicians over your career, who do you think has influenced you the most?

 

WH:  I was a huge Allman Brothers fan all my life.  My brother had the first Allman Brothers record when it came out and I was nine years old. I had already singing at that point and I was enamored with Gregg’s voice. I hadn’t picked up guitar yet but I loved the overall sound of the music. A couple of years later when the Live At Fillmore East record came out, I had started playing guitar a little bit. It was such a fertile time for guitar music.  Everyone was releasing extended versions of songs with extended solos. I was starting to play at a wonderful time period to be a young guitar player.  The Allman Brothers were a huge influence and of course I would never imagine that at some point I would end up in the band, let alone for twenty five years. 

 

GD:  That’s amazing. In all this time through out your career and all these amazing people that you’ve played with, what has been the most rewarding part of your musical journey?

 

WH:  I think being able to pursue so many different projects and so many different aspects for my love for music and my musical personality. A lot of people don’t get the opportunity to explore all these different musical directions that I have been lucky enough to be able to do. Also, to work with and be surrounded by so many great musicians. It’s a career that’s allowed me to write and record hundreds of songs… it’s quite amazing and I’m forever grateful.

 

GD:  You are going to be coming to Cleveland soon, you know that we love you here and you play here quite often. The first time I saw you was for the Concert for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when you were in the Allman Brothers. Do you have any memories of that day?

 

WH:  Absolutely, that was an amazing day!  The one at the old stadium, that was fantastic. There were so many amazing artists there.  Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, John Fogerty, James Brown and Little Richard.  All these amazing acts there but one thing that stands out in my mind was Aretha Franklin sitting in the corner at catering trying to enjoy a bit to eat.  One by one, all these huge stars wound up lining up to meet Aretha.  It was a heavy moment seeing everyone paying respect to the Queen of Soul. 

 

GD:  That’s amazing, I love hearing stories like that.  I’ve never heard that before.  Did you get to see any performances that day?

 

WH:  Yeah, I watched a lot of stuff.  It was wonderful. 

 

GD:  Having a thirty plus year career, do you approach playing new material live differently than older songs?

 

WH:  Yeah, I guess so.  With the new material, in some cases it’s still growing.  You record the songs in the studio but over the next couple of years it’s still growing in the live interpretations. It’s interesting to watch that process. You let go of the blue print and the studio arrangement and let the song change on their own a little bit.  It’s kinda good to do the same treatment with some of the old songs. We’re doing that a lot on this tour.  We’re reinterpreting some of the old music in a way that suits this particular band. It’s really fun. It’s like reimagining the songs. 

 

GD:  How many members are in the touring band this time out?

 

WH:  It’s myself, Kevin Scott on bass, Terrance Higgins on drums, Greg Osby on saxophone and Matt Slocumb on keyboards, so it’s a five piece band. We started about a year ago in Europe and we’ve done quite a few shows at this point and it’s really a blast. 

 

GD:  Do you have any pre-show rituals or routines that you do before you hit the stage?

 

WH:  Not really.  Not anything that I fell like I have to do.  It’s nice to have a few minutes by yourself to kinda collect your thoughts. When that doesn’t happen, it still seems to work out somehow. 

 

GD:  So you will be playing MGM’s Center Stage on February 13.  What can fans expect from the show?

 

WH:  We’re doing a lot of songs from the new record.  The setlist is different every night but not as different as it would be with Gov’t Mule, but we still vary it from night to night. It covers a lot of ground, songs from my solo records a few Mule songs, some Allman Brother songs, an odd cover here and there.  Kinda just whatever feels good for the night. 

 

GD:  Warren, thank you so much for your time.  I’m looking forward to seeing you next week and wish you safe travels on the road!

 

WH:  Sounds good!  Thank you! 

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Make sure to catch the Warren Haynes Band live at MGM's Center Stage on February 13.  You can purchase, stream and download Warren's latest solo record, Million Voices Whisper on all major platforms.   

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