To hear Duane Betts talk about this point in his life is to hear a man that at once has had already a career’s worth of experiences in rock and roll, yet is back at the beginning with his new group Brethren of the Coast. Growing up the son of music legend and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, Dickey Betts, and having played in a slew of Malibu-based bands, from Backbone69 to Whitestarr, that saw varying degrees of success- including a short-lived record deal with Atlantic and a New York Times piece spotlighting the emerging scene- not to mention a near-decade stint playing guitar in his father’s Great Southern outfit, Betts has done more than most dream possible. Yet, here he is at 36, loaded with optimism for upstart Brethren of the Coast, prepping plans for a debut record and tour. We spoke to Betts shortly after Brethren completed a four-night, late-August run through California as an opening act for Great Southern.
What can you tell me about Brethren of the Coast?
Brethren of the Coast is something that Pedro Arevalo, Damon Webb, and myself put together. Pedro and I play in my dad’s band together; Pedro plays bass in that band, and in Brethren he plays guitar. It was just a loose kind of thing and it developed into what it is now. We have Jamie Douglass on drums, and we’ve added a keyboard player (Steve Taylor), and the vision we had for it, it’s slowly developing into that. It seems like it took a while, but it’s starting to come together now.
Has your obligation to your father’s band, Great Southern, been a reason why Brethren hasn’t been playing more often?
That, and other things. I was doing things with other people, studio bands, so I was recording some of the songs I play (in Brethren) with other musicians backing me, just because I had opportunities to do so. For instance, I did a few songs with Steve Cropper in Nashville. At that point, we (Brethren) were rotating drummers, and things that any band goes through, those kinds of common obstacles.
The repertoire for the band is made up of your own material, and some covers?
We will throw some covers in there. Pedro has a repertoire of a lot of really cool, old-time songs, plus he is writing some really cool original tunes, too. It depends on the gig, really. If it’s a long gig, we’ll play more of that stuff to fill it up. The songs that I do are songs that I’ve either written or co-written. More or less, they have all been written in the last year or two. There are one or two old songs, actually one I wrote when I was 21, that I’ve polished up and changed. Pedro has tunes that he’s played in other bands that take on a new life.
Is the next step to try and extend the band’s reach beyond the Los Angeles-metro area?
We’re starting to play outside of the general Southern California area. We’ve played a few places down south and have gone up to Santa Barbara. We played in the Bay Area, opening up for Great Southern at Sweetwater Music Hall, and we had another gig up there at Terrapin Crossroads with Grahame Lesh’s band Midnight North, and another in Humboldt. So, we’re starting to branch out and get out there a little more. I think our next goal is to get something recorded that is good, and then from there we can get on tour and start making our dreams come true. (laughs)
The name of your band, Brethren of the Coast, is that in any way a nod to the Allman Brothers, or is it a reference to the pirate term?
Honestly, I heard it on the History Channel. I like that Henry Morgan didn’t call his inner circle, ‘pirates.’ They referred to themselves as brethren of the coast.
In addition to Brethren, you have also been doing some studio work as of late?
I do all kinds of stuff. I’ll play just about anything. I’m not a session player. There’s a lot to learn. I have to make a living playing guitar. I enjoy doing it.
But Brethren of the Coast is your main project?
This is the project I’m working on now and I’m seeing progress. I feel like whatever this is, I’m pushing ahead. I’ve had the opportunity to write with a good friend of mine, Stoll Vaughan, and I’m really happy with that. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s getting there. I want to get on the road and do all that. I don’t know what the future holds, but this is the focus.
You have done some recording with Marc Ford of the Black Crowes producing. Will you do more?
I’d like to go back and do some more work with Marc. I was really pleased with the results. He’s just an authentic, cool guy. He gets it.
When you first started out, the goal for most bands was to get a record deal. Now, record deals seem like an afterthought. What’s the game plan for Brethren of the Coast?
We’re just trying to get out there with something we’re really, really proud of. If you have a vision, you just want to fulfill that vision, however it works on the business end. We’re trying to do it organically.
Are there any aspects about the way music gets to people these days, via social media and the Internet, that appeal to you in contrast to how you did it when you first started out, through a record company?
It’s open for the taking. If you have something to say, something that people will connect with, it will happen regardless of the exact route.
Are there other producers you’d like to work with in the future?
For producers, I’d love to work with Dan Auerbach. Jonathan Wilson and Blake Mills are two others. I also like what Jamie Candiloro did on Ryan Adams’ Easy Tiger.
You were a major part of the Malibu scene of the early 2000s that was essentially the starting point for the artists like Dawes and Blake Mills. Did you think at the time that this is where you all would be 10-15 years later?
I thought something would come out of it. I didn’t think it would be this explosion of Malibu bands. I knew there was talent there. Cisco (Adler) is a really talented guy. He has his hand in about 20 different cookie jars at a time, so I knew he’d do something. I knew that between Blake Mills and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), they were probably going to do something. Did I think that there was going to be a nationally recognized scene in Malibu? No, I didn’t think that.
How did it come about that you joined Great Southern?
The whole Whitestarr thing was on hiatus, and didn’t seem like it was going anywhere at the time. I needed to get out of L.A.. I went back to spend some time on the road with my dad, sitting in. Then the job was offered to me, so I took it. That’s been a steady gig ever since.
Were you ever concerned that taking the job would get in the way of your own career?
I never thought not to do it. I would like to get to a point where I’m doing my thing. In all honesty, my dad is probably not going to tour much longer. When he does tour, it’s 20-25 shows a year, so I don’t see it as being much of a conflict.
And, I’m sure you have learned a lot.
Playing in that big of a band, especially with three guitar players, you learn you have to leave holes. I learn a lot from listening to people. I pick up on things Andy (Aledort) is doing, or what my father does, and I try to take a little bit of that and mix it with what I like and naturally have. Hopefully, it becomes something of my own.
As the son of such an iconic guitar player, was the career path for you inevitable?
At first I started playing drums. I wanted to play drums when I was really young. I was given a guitar first, but it seemed really difficult and foreign to me. I’d see my dad’s band rehearsing in a warehouse or whatever, and I just thought the drums were cool. I played drums on stage, sitting in with the Allman Brothers. I switched (to guitar) when I was 13. Growing up on the road, I was actually into the business side of things. I maybe could’ve done something like that, too.
Seems like many acclaimed guitar players- Stevie Ray Vaughan, Trey Anastasio, Carlos Santana- were drummers, too.
My father could play drums a little bit. I know Warren (Haynes) is a good drummer.
Has having a father who is a famous musician been something that has made it difficult for you at times to trust the intentions of people you have met?
In the grand scheme of things, my dad is not Cher, you know what I mean? A lot of people have been really affected by his music, and he’s a legend, my hero, too, but most people don’t know who he is. The history of the band, being named after Duane, it is an honor. It is special, and hopefully I can carry that torch proudly and make good on that.
The Allman Brothers Band members and families have produced quite a tree of musical talent; Derek Trucks, Duane Trucks, Vaylor Trucks, Devon Allman, Berry Oakley, yourself. Has anyone ever proposed the idea of getting you all together for something?
Yeah, there is stuff that we talk about. I’ve talked to Devon about stuff like that. Devon has a lot of really amazing ideas. Nobody, officially, on the business end has come to us with an offer. That hasn’t happened. Devon I sit in with anytime I am at the gig, which is nice of him. I love playing with Derek. I’m down for anything. I just want to play music. A lot of people ask about it, but it would have to make sense.
You are in your mid-30s, but it seems like you have lived a lifetime already in the music business. Any moment that stands out as particularly special?
A lot of great moments. A lot of fond memories. As far as a magical period of time, it was probably when Backbone69 had done their record. It was summer in Malibu, and it was like the Summer of Love. There was a very tribal, communal vibe and everybody would be together all the time. It was 15 years ago, but that time stands out as really special, that felt a certain way.
