Derek Trucks is about to wrap up a brief tour with the Allman Brothers Band but his guitar won’t remain in its roadcase for long. Shortly after he returns to his Florida home, Trucks and his wife Susan Tedeschi will dig in on the studio debut from their new project, the Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band. In late December the group will take time off from that endeavor for two Florida performances, including a New Year’s Eve gig in Jacksonville.
The following conversation with Derek, which focuses on the new band, among many other topics, draws on over 100 questions submitted by our Jambands.com readers.
Let’s start out with the most commonly asked question, which is when do you think the Derek Trucks band will perform together again, if at all
I really don’t know. It’s hard to tell. I put 16 years into it and I’m real proud of it but right now it’s really important for me to throw all my energy behind this new project and let it be what it wants to be. I really want to keep my focus on it. There were a lot of factors that went into this decision but a big part of it really was family consideration with Susan and kids, which is a totally different trip. So I can’t quite say. I’ve done more writing for this record than any other thing I’ve been a part of so I’m excited that I’ve taken the time and energy to do it. It’s important to keep moving.
”Since you built your own studio do you also have plans to form your own music label?” Jason M
Eventually. I’m still signed to Sony and there’s no telling what will happen in the future but I would definitely like to establish a sound down here and start putting out all kinds of records–things that we’re playing on and things that we’re producing. I’ve love to put out a label one day that has a sound you can believe in, kind of like the old days with Stax and the Muscle Shoals sound, with a handful of the same musicians turning out great music all the time. I would love to be a part of that kind of legacy at some point. So that’s something we’re definitely thinking about as we build and grow the studio. We’re always tweaking the way we work in the studio and the facility itself and that’s been a lot of fun.
Can you talk a bit about the learning curve with the studio?
It’s every bit as challenging as putting a band together. You’re constantly learning the sounds of the room and a lot of the gear we have is old vintage gear so all of it has sweet spots for everything. It really is a weird form of alchemy (laughs). We’re constantly honing in on it.
We’ve been fortunate to have Jim Scott come down here and he’s worked on hundreds and hundreds of records. It’s really astounding if you look at his Allmusic Guide list of all the things he’s engineered and produced from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Johnny Cash to whatever. He has his own studio in California and he has the same console that we have, I think the serial numbers are 30 or 40 apart so they were built within six to eight months in the 70s. He’s come down here and he knows that machine so well, it’s been great learning all the tricks of the trade from him a total pro.
So we’re learning as we go. A lot of it has been spending 15, 20 years in studios and picking up little things here and there. It really is fascinating to me. I can definitely see why someone like Hendrix or a band like the Beatles got so into the process of making records because there are things that you can do in that medium that you can’t do live. To me it’s just another side of music. I don’t think you have to recreate what you do in the studio, live and vice versa.
Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studio celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this year, which goes to show you that if you put in the time and effort to create the right vibe that a studio can have such a life and legacy.
If you take the Hendrix live tapes and put them up against his records, it’s a different world. His legend would not have been nearly the same had he not done that. He really pushed the medium. To me he was one of the handful of guys from that era who really took that on, making great records. There was Dylan and lot of other groups that wrote great tunes and pushed the envelope in other ways but Hendrix did it on a lot of fronts. He was pushing it in the way he made records and what was acceptable for a record. It was pretty adventurous stuff he was doing as well as playing like an alien and writing amazing tunes. I think that’s a big factor that people miss. I think the art of making albums has kind of disappeared for a long time, especially in our realm.
In terms of your own studio albums, is there one that stands out as a favorite for one reason or another?
I really enjoyed making Songlines with Jay Joyce, that was a blast. For me that was the first time I really enjoyed the process as something different than setting up and trying to capture what you do live. It was actually making an album, so I dug that a lot.
Doing the first one here ourselves [ Already Free ], that’s always going to stick out as a highlight for me, just the fact the fact that from the first idea to completion it was all hands on deck. It was really done in house and there’s something really gratifying about that. Also, by our standards it did really well, so that’s one that’s going to stick out. But it’s all a work in progress. I don’t feel that in any way we’ve had our peak album or peak moment.
A number of people had questions about your forthcoming album. In terms of the material will it be a blend of originals and covers? Will it skew towards one or the other?
We’ve been writing songs with a handful of songwriters we’ve had down to hang with us. So the bulk if not all of the album will be original material. That’s a shift but as far as what kind of tunes they are, that’s really across the board. On this album I do want to really focus in on songs and support the best vocal performance we can get out of Susan, really showcasing that. I feel like with her last two records it was overlooked a little bit how a great singer she is and we’re really going to focus in on that. Obviously we won’t lose site of the fact that Oteil Burbridge and Kofi and me and the band are going to be on it, so there’s going to be room to hear everybody. Tyler Greenwell and JJ Johnson play so amazingly well together. It’s really a wide and deep soundbase that they put up, so even if the focus is on the songs, there’s still going to be a lot of ear candy.
On the subject of vocals, a few people were curious if Mike Mattison [Derek Trucks Band vocalist who is also in the new group] will be singing more leads
We’re trying to find more and more places for everyone in the band to step out, Mike included. This year the line-up was constantly in flux. The real core of the band has only done maybe 8 or 10 ten shows together, so a lot of it has been working in new musicians on the fly. When you have a band that big and you’re trying to put a new group together, you have 10 schedules that are constantly conflicting, so it was a lot of ambiguity and we didn’t really get to settle in. But next year will be a completely different ballgame.
You mention the line-up being in flux. Was that by design, harkening back to certain jazz combos? What exactly was your intent?
It was a combination. Before we decided, “Hey we think this line-up is going to be great, let’s lock it down,” we wanted to try different things out. It’s one thing to sit in a room and play and have it feel good and it’s another thing to get on the road and have it feel good. So for the first part of the year knowing that with the core being myself and Susan and the Burbridge brothers that it was going to fly one way or the other, we really wanted to try out different things to check out the chemistry. So part of it was by design and part of it was life giving us a lot of moving pieces.
You close out the year with two shows that will culminate with a New Year’s Eve performance. Some people were curious how you approach that night and whether that differs if at all from your approach to other gigs?
A lot of things go into it. You kind of have the liberty to play things you normally wouldn’t play. Certain covers would otherwise seem a little cliché or bar-bandy in a normal show, where on New Year’s, all bets are off.
Another part of it is with New Year’s, is you kind of assess where you are and what progress you made or didn’t make throughout the year. It’s kind of the great unwinding of the year and usually it’s a total celebration. You feel really good about where it is and where things are going and this year I think we’re really excited about that. It’s a new band, a new start. We’ll be coming out of 20 days in the studio recording, so the band should be pretty tight, there’ll be a lot of new material and we’ll have time to rehearse a few things. So I’m excited about it this year as much as ever.
What about tour plans for 2011?
As of now we’re thinking about doing some festivals in Australia and possibly Japan and then a pretty solid tour of the States. We’re definitely planning on working more next year than we did this year, with a solid line-up and a new album and new material. This year I felt like we were just getting our sea legs. There were some amazing shows, some amazing moments but a lot of it is a feeling out process and next year is really a launch. So between now and the first tour, there’s going to be a lot of rehearsal, a lot of writing, a lot of growing with the band.
In terms of global touring, what did you take away from your travels with Eric Clapton that may have opened your eyes?
One of the things you take from it is just how amazing it is to tour the world. You always love coming home but to be in Italy for a few days then France and a week later you’re in Japan. And the one thing you realize is that Eric is an international artist, he can play anywhere and the crowds are constant wherever he goes. A lot of bands in the States are pretty much stuck in the States and that’s not a bad thing but they can’t tour around Europe like they do at home. A lot of that is commitment because on the financial side at least at first, every time you go is a losing proposition. It’s really a matter of starting over. We’re trying to head over there early with the hope of becoming an international act. There’s something beautiful about it, visiting places around the globe but you do have to plan accordingly.
As for building an audience in Europe, have you found playing in front of smaller crowds energizing, a bit deflating or is that irrelevant because ultimately it’s just about creating music regardless of the audience size.
It’s extreme, some nights you’ll play and think you made zero headway: “I don’t know if we got anybody over to our side.” And then there are other nights when it’s just magic. With the DTB we had one of our greatest shows ever in Spain. It was a free show in the town square and about a half hour before there were about 20 people wandering around. But I guess everybody knows exactly what time to show up because by the third song it went from a few hundred people to a few thousand and it was just one of those great happenings. We played one of those true encores where they are just not going to let you not come back to the stage or something will be broken (laughs). It was a religious festival and there were fireworks after, so in those moments it really is like playing in front of completely virgin ears. You’re going to have to win people over on merit, there’s no preconceived notion. They don’t know who you are at all. They don’t know your back story and there’s something really nice about that because in the States with a new band, you’re not only dealing with people not knowing the material but they’re coming with expectations from another group.
Although in certain respects, that’s been true of your entire career.
Yeah and I enjoy it. The Allman Brothers connection has been an amazing thing for me but there are some people who just want to hear you play “Statesboro Blues.” That’s how it’s been from age 9…though age 31 (laughs). Certain people don’t want to hear anything else, so it it’s part of having to overcome people’s expectations. But I think it’s good for you, you need to little carry a little bit of a chip on your shoulder to keep slugging away. I think everybody works well when they’re trying to prove something.
Speaking of the ABB, a number of people asked about the possibility of another studio album and others were curious about 2011 tour plans.
As far as a studio record I’m not really sure. I think most of the Allman Brothers Band feels like it’s a real chore going to the studio. They don’t love it as much as touring. So I don’t know if that’s going to happen. That’s one of things where I listen to Eat A Peach or one of the early records and I’ll say, “You guys make great records, there’s nothing wrong with doing a record.” But they’d really prefer to just get out and play, so I don’t know if I see one in the near future. But with that band I wouldn’t count anything in or out.
The same with touring next year. I’m pretty certain the Beacon will happen. Beyond that I’m hearing rumors of tours all the time but nothing’s set in stone.
And as far as you know you’ll be part of them?
As far as I know (laughs).
I suppose that was phrased a bit akwardly.
I’ll be there.
Here’s a question on an altogether different topic: ”What was it like playing with Michael Houser from Widespread Panic?” Brent P
I was really young when I played with him. Those guys were always great to me but the interaction with him when I was 11,12,13 years old, I don’t remember a whole lot of it. But I always enjoyed playing with him, he’s a very melodic player which I always appreciate, where it’s not just about what they’re playing or how many notes they’re playing and there’s also a real focus on the melody and the song.
“The musical connection you have with Jimmy Herring is remarkable. What is it about playing with Jimmy that seemingly pushes your playing to new places. Will we ever see a full time project with the two of you together?” Tim C
Yeah I really hope so. I have had connection with Jimmy going back to when I first saw Aquarium Rescue Unit. We personally get along so well and I have a huge amount of musical respect for him. He’s one of my favorite people to be around and play music with. There’s a difference between people playing together where you’re pushing each other and when you’re trying to outdo each other and with Jimmy there’s never sense of that. It’s always just playing music and it can be really serious or really playful, it can be a lot of things. You can’t predict who you’re going to have your chemistry with but with Jimmy it’s always been that way.
The two of you often have a similar reserved demeanor on stage. Do you think that reflects your compatible approaches?
I think that says something about our personalities where certain aspects are similar and usually we only have one goal in mind when we’re up there. I can remember being backstage with Jimmy when the Dead were playing Madison Square Garden. It was the first time he’d played there and right before they went on he was showing me this picture of a massive blue fin tuna that one of his friends had caught. He’s about to play Madison Square Garden and he’s just as interested in talking about fish. There’s something beautiful about that. For most people it’s all about where you play and what you’ve done but with Jimmy it’s very humble and honest. He’s one of those people where you know for a long time that their career is going to change and take off but the person at the center of it doesn’t shift, which is a rare attribute.
Speaking of fishing, someone asked, “You, Duane, and Eric, all like to fish. Did you ever wet a line with Eric or talk fly fishing?” Jake
Nope, not yet. We talked about it but we haven’t done it.
“I have seen you live a few times and watched plenty of videos of you performing. I notice you spend a lot of time with your eyes closed. Does that help you focus on the sounds and where the music is taking you? I’m a guitarist myself and find the “inside” view more conducive to creativity. What is it like for you when you “in there?” Dave M
I think it’s a way to keep out distractions. When my eyes are wandering and I try to connect more outwardly with people, I find that I’m not digging in quite as much. So when I’m deep into a solo or playing behind a solo or just supporting a tune, I think my best musical work is when I’m totally locked in.
It’s like if you’re recording in a studio, you’re not trying to impress anybody outwardly, you’re trying to get the sound down to tape as perfectly as possible and I guess it’s that kind of approach in the live setting. Of course when you talk about it with label people or people in the industry they’ll say you’ve got to move around (laughs).
“I know you don’t listen to much regular rock music but what are some of your favorite bands or one’s that you like the most when you do listen to straight rock music?” Brent
The band I play with, the Allman Brothers would certainly be high on that list. Then the obvious ones: the Allmans, Hendrix, the Beatles. The classics. Some of the Zeppelin stuff I like—Bonham and Jimmy Page together, there’s certainly magic there. Every once in a while something else will pop up but then I’ll go back to a Sly Stone record or something else (laughs).
A couple people asked whether you might consider putting out additional archival live releases from the DTB?
I think eventually it would be nice to do that. There’s something to be said for airing it out and putting out shows that you remember to be great for whatever reason. So I’m sure in time we’ll start digging back into them. For our last live recording [ Roadsongs ], I enjoyed going back and listening to how great Todd Smallie was playing, how great Rico was playing, just hearing different things from a different perspective. There was a freshness to it.
Have you seen Todd play with JJ Grey?
Yeah, we were in Telluride together. That was blast, to see Todd on the road. I was pumped he ended up taking that gig and I was glad it worked out.
A couple folks were curious as to whether you had a hand in helping him get that gig with JJ and Mofro?
I don’t know if I had a hand. When I heard JJ was asking around I had nothing but good things to say but Todd got that on his merits.
I was listening to Roadsongs just the other day and I was really struck by Todd’s playing on that disc.
Todd is a total team player and I think Roadsongs may be the biggest example of that. His sound is massive. He played his ass off and one of things I noticed when we were making that album was how well Todd played and how central he was to what was going on.
Since you mentioned that much of the impetus for the new band is your family, I have two final questions in that general regard: “Derek, How did you convince Susan to move to Jacksonville, considering she is a big city girl from Boston?” Lisa W
There’s something romantic about living in the swamp. [Laughs].
And finally, some people were curious about your kids’ interest in music and to what extent you encourage them?
They both have great tastes in music which I’m really happy with although I’m sure the neighbor kids’ tastes in music will eventually seep in (laughs). They both show enough where it wouldn’t surprise me but my son’s in total sports baseball mode right now, so I’m not going to push him…yet. (laughs)
