JW: Do you guys ever just take a week off and just get away and not deal with anything? It seems like Warren’s always playing.

SS: The only time I can say we ever really took ten days off was for our honeymoon. I think I got one or two FedEx packages the whole time I was there. It was at a time in ’97 when Warren wasn’t in the Allman Brothers and “Dose” hadn’t come out yet, so it was a time when we could afford to do that. Since “Dose” came out in the spring of ’98, literally it has been nonstop. We worked “Dose” so hard in ’98. We recorded the New Year’s show in ’98 and had that record out by March. So, in two and a half months, we mixed, edited, chose tracks, did artwork and wrote all the liner notes and credits. We’re still working “Dose.” We’re working “Live with a Little Help From Our Friends.” In the midst of that, we put together a four-CD box set. Meanwhile, we’re scheduling 250 tour dates year as well as interviews and TV appearances. It’s been full on. The four-CD box set came out in the fall of ’99 and then in the spring of 2000, “Life Before Insanity” came out. Starting in February, we were doing Warren Haynes promo tour all over the country and trying to hit every morning show. I mean it was just nonstop. Basically when Woody died, it felt like being on a speeding bullet train that just like hit a steel wall. It really did feel like that. It felt like that exact analogy of being on this fast moving train, man, and just hitting this wall and everything blowing up. It was that kind of feeling.

JW: It must have been absolutely devastating. Was there any discussion of what you were going to do next or was it obvious that the band was going to keep moving forward?

SS: Yes and no. There has been and will be that discussion. The Woody thing was so devastating to me and Warren and Matt on so many levels, personally and professionally. There was a definite moment in time where I didn’t know if I could continue to be a manager of bands anymore. There was a moment where I thought that putting all of this heart and soul and effort into something that can blow up in two seconds&there was that moment, but working with Warren is so special and that was just a fleeting moment because it doesn’t take long to be inspired by him. He is such an inspiration to me that it kind of pushes me. We became inspired together and this whole new bass player tribute album came together. It’s basically the next Gov’t Mule studio record and instead of Woody or one bass player, there’s twenty-five bass players.

JW: Pretty good line-up too.

SS: Yeah, pretty good line-up. All but like two songs are originals written by Warren and/or co-written by Warren and one of the players. The way that came about is, we’d be sitting around and I’d say ‘So, any thought as to who you want to play bass with?’ He’d look at me and go ‘Well, I’m thinking about Jack Bruce or John Paul Jones or Les Claypool.’ (laughs) I’d roll my eyes and say ‘OK, that’s really realistic honey. These people aren’t going to drop what they’re doing to go on tour and be a part of Gov’t Mule.’

Finally there was this moment when it occurred to us that maybe these guys might not want to drop what they’re doing for the next two years, but they may want to drop what they’re doing for like a day and come and record a song with us. So that’s kind of how the whole thing came about. We called Les Claypool and Phil (Lesh). Those were the first two phone calls we made and they were both like ‘Sounds great. When do you want to do it?’ It really inspired us and made us feel like these people respect us and they like Warren’s playing. So we did it. We just started doing it. We recorded twelve of the bass players. We have four more confirmed for the May session and we’re working on the last eight.

JW: Is there a tentative release date yet?

SS: No that’s the other thing. We don’t have a label right now.

JW: Because of the sale of Capricorn.

SS: Yup, Capricorn went bankrupt or whatever the hell happened. It ran out of money and they sold the catalog to Volcano, which was a lucky break for us. Warren’s got so much momentum going right now, being the lead singer and lead guitar player in Phil & Friends, Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule and his solo acoustic thing. He’s got so much momentum. This was a lucky opportunity for him to go get a new situation, a new push and new everything. It’s kind of the same situation with Mule. We got a new band, new crew, new way of touring, new light show, new imaging, new logos, new merch&it’s like, now’s the time. We figure it’s such a traumatic, shitty thing to have happen, but it is fortunately a time for us to make change and that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s kind of cool to have the opportunity to do it across the board, you know? New everything. It feels pretty good. It’s a lot of pressure, but it feels good.

JW: You had mentioned something a while back about a possible Mike Gordon film documenting the album. What’s the latest on that?

SS: It is so cool. Mike Gordon, the bass player from Phish is the director. He is documenting the whole thing. He is documenting the history of Gov’t Mule, the making of this record, all of the behind-the-scenes stuff and all of the recording. He’s actually in the room while they are recording. It’s serious footage. We’re doing it all to film. We have the DP (director of photography, Elia Lyssy) who did the Phish movie (“Bittersweet Motel”). It’s killer. Mike’s personally doing all of the interviews with all of the bass players. You know Mike. He’s totally quirky and crazy. It’s Mike. He’s being creative. We pretty much told him ‘You do what you see.’ It’s really cool because I’m not sure if a lot of people could get away with it. You know, is Jack Bruce going to put up with someone he doesn’t know or have respect for filming him while he’s recording? It’s great to have someone that all of these bass players respect and admire talking to them and doing the interviews and being the one behind the camera. I don’t think we could have asked for a better situation. He’s such a sweet person and so great to work with as well as everyone in the Phish camp, really: his manager, John Paluska, Elia and Mike’s producer. It’s really a great experience. I’m actually learning a lot. Warren and I were very excited because we’ve never made a movie. It’s very exciting seeing the dailies and everything. We’re actually enjoying that a lot.

JW: What are the plans for the film? Is it going to go straight to video and be released through your website or is it going to be shown in theaters?

SS: Without having a record deal in place and not having that all in place, our intentions are full on to use the footage for a DVD, for commercial release, E.P.K., which is an Electronic Press Kit, and for website streaming. We’d like to think that VH1 or HBO or someone would be interested in doing something on the band. We’re kind of looking at it like the sky’s the limit. We’re paying for all of this now. We made a conscious decision knowing that it was so much more expensive to go to film, we decided that we don’t want to be limited as to the use of this footage because it’s gonna be killer. I mean, the footage is killer. By putting it to film, we’re assured that we at least have a shot at large cable networks or a high quality DVD.

JW: With the New School of Gov’t Mule, obviously you’re going to lose David Schools pretty soon because of Widespread Panic’s touring plans. Has there been any talk of Mike or any other bassist doing a tour with Mule?

SS: Yeah, of course. There are a few other bass players too. Every one of the bass players that we’ve worked with to date has agreed to do performances with us in support of the release of this record. One of the things we’re looking at for the fall, and I’m probably going to start working on it shortly, even though we don’t have the deal intact, is the supporting tour for the release. It will probably be like ten to fifteen shows worldwide: Tokyo, London, Sydney, Vancouver, Montreal, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and L.A., something like that. We’re planning to have a handful of bass players, maybe more anywhere from five to fifteen, at each of those shows and try to make a big deal out of a short amount of time. We want to make a really big deal out of these fifteen shows and make them really special, something to never be repeated, a little piece of history, you know?

JW: All of those bass players are amazing, but one of the things that Warren and Matt had with Woody or that any band has that plays together for a long period of time is the chemistry that you get from performing with the same people day in and day out. Has there been any decision on if there will be a permanent new bass player with Gov’t Mule?

SS: That’s a tough one. There is discussion, but as of right now, that permanent member is not known to Warren or myself. Warren has developed a lot of great relationships over the years and he’s been playing with a lot of great people. He’s one of the few guys that’s just so open-minded both musically and personally that he really gets along with all these different types of musicians and players. He’s really lucky in that way, from the Grateful Dead, to the Allman Brothers, to Primus, to Dave Matthews&So right now what he feels good about is playing with these people that he knows and loves and that he thinks kick ass. I mean, Warren and Woody always wanted to bring Claypool out, before Woody died, just because they think he rules, you know? (laughs) They love him. They had never even met him and they loved him. Since Woody died, we’re all about taking things at a very organic approach. I don’t even know if Warren knows if Mule exists after this record, as Gov’t Mule. We don’t know. We’re pretty sure that it’s going to work itself out over the course of this year.

The New School of Gov’t Mule tour has been going great. I went to opening night in Raleigh and it was the most exciting thing I had done in a very long time. The band walked on stage and had a standing ovation. There were 1,500 young, young kids there screaming and bouncing off the wall. They opened the show with “Thorazine Shuffle,” which begins with a bass intro. It was a total balls-to-the-wall kind of move, since it was the first show since Woody died. But that’s the deal, you know? It’s like ‘We’re back and we’re bigger than ever.’ They’re having fun and they’re playing their ass off. The one thing that so many people commented to me is that they sound like a band. That’s a hard thing to pull off, to do your first show with these people and come off sounding like a band. Granted, they did “One For Woody” and the “Warren Haynes Christmas Jam” with Dave Schools and Warren has worked with Chuck (Leavell) a lot in the past. They just did the Beacon together, so there’s a lot of history and a lot of love there, but never have they done a Gov’t Mule show together. They killed man. It was so tight. By the end of “Thorazine Shuffle” the place was so ballistic, it was like this huge drama. Matt had already done a drum solo. It was like completely out of control. It was the first song of the show, first song since Wood died and the song ended, the whole place was going crazy. I looked over at the president of this record company I was standing next to and I was like ‘Dude, first song!’ and the guy looked at me and was like ‘Oh my God, I love these guys.’ He was freakin’ out. It was so exciting. If you didn’t know our history, you wouldn’t know that was the first song they ever played. You would have thought these guys were playing together for ten years. That has a lot to do with how professional those guys are. You’re talking about some of the best players in the world.

JW: How were the Beacon Theater shows with the Allman Brothers? It was the first time that Warren had played a multiple night run with the band in a long time. What was the experience like? What’s the future look like?

SS: The experience itself was killer. I mean it killed. Warren was really pleased. One of the reasons that Warren quit the Allman Brothers was to pursue Gov’t Mule, but the situation was also stagnating: no new records, no new songs and the same set lists. Warren’s all about new things all the time. That’s what Mule’s about. Their repertoire was hundreds and hundreds of songs and they were constantly adding in current hits and old hits and obscure stuff. That was a big part of Warren and Woody leaving. One of the things that the Allman Brothers mentioned in talking to Warren this time around was that they wanted him to write songs and change the setlists and sing more and that’s what really happened. They brought back all of the songs he wrote on the first few albums, the two studio and two live records. He also wrote four new songs with Gregg Allman down in Savannah, which is great because I think Gregg’s an amazing songwriter and Warren’s one of the people I think he works best with, so it’s a very fruitful relationship that they have. During the Beacon run, Warren sang about a third of the songs and that is what he wants. You know, Warren got to write the setlists every night and he changed everything around. It does look like Warren will be doing the summer tour and potentially the future as well.

JW: With the Allmans?

SS: Yeah.

JW: With all the Phil & Friends dates it sounds like he’s going to be a busy man this summer It certainly seems like everyone wants to work with Warren these days.

SS: Well he works really, really hard. I feel like there’s something big coming for him. I feel it right now. I feel it in the phone calls. I feel it in the response from people. I feel it in the ticket sales. I feel it in the merchandise. It’s not going to be one thing that Warren does, but it’s going to be the combination of things. He consistently puts out really beautiful songs and amazing music. Life Before Insanity won three major art awards, including one of the most prestigious for artwork. It may not be just that we’re the featured music on the Sony 2001 NASCAR game or the fact that we’re in a couple movie soundtracks, but he’s going to continue to put out this music and all of these events are going to continue to happen. At some point, it’s going to click and the whole world’s gonna realize what an amazing talent he is.

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Jeff Waful is the manager and lighting director for Uncle Sammy. He is also the news director at Jambands.com and co-host of radio program “Jam Nation” on radio 104 in Hartford, CT.

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