The original notes for my interview with singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi were pretty much what you’d expect: my questions focused on the nuts and bolts of Revelator, the new album from the Tedeschi Trucks Band.
Revelator finds Tedeschi and her husband, guitarist Derek Trucks heading up a new 11-piece ensemble that melds soul, funk, blues, country, and vibes from around the world into a sweet gumbo. The key word to describing TTB is “family” – the Tedeschi Trucks Band simply feels like a family that’s been playing together for a long, long time.
So, armed with my rough notes and trusty recorder, I waited for someone to call me at the designated time. (Usually in a case like that it’s a PR person who will then patch in the artist.) The time came and went. 5 minutes went by; 10; 15. “Huh,” I thought. “Guess I should shoot someone an e-mail and see what’s up.” Which I was about to do when the phone rang – with a very apologetic Susan Tedeschi on the other end, sounding just a tad breathless.
“I’m so sorry,” she began. “I knew the last interviewer was running way over and I finally had to say, ‘I’ve got to go!’ and now the next person is on hold … I’m really sorry, but could I call you back in 15 minutes? After that, we’ll have a little extra time to talk before I have to go pick up the kids from school.”
I thanked Susan for her concern, assured her that everything was cool, and said I’d be waiting for her call. “Thank you so much,” she said. “Talk to you in 15 minutes.”
After she hung up, I just sat there shaking my head and grinning. Does it get any more real than that? No – no it doesn’t.
And to be offered the extra few minutes before she needed to go pick up 9-year-old Charlie and little sister Sophia (who’s 6) seemed like a great gift.
I looked at my notes. The word “family” was underlined – I must’ve done it while Susan and I were talking.
By the time she called me back, I’d trashed my notes. I knew what I wanted to talk about – the real family.
BR: Susan, do you remember the first time you laid eyes on Derek?
ST: Oh, yeah. (laughs) The first time I actually met Derek was backstage at a show in Atlanta. I was with Sean Costello at the time and Derek would not look at me because I was Sean’s girlfriend. (laughter) He said later, “Well I don’t look at other people’s girlfriends.” And I was like, “Oh, okay …” (laughter)
BR: A true gentleman.
ST: Uh-huh! (laughs) But I remember Derek as very composed. He had this aura about him – very serious, very intense … and very quiet and shy. The next time we met I was opening for the Allman Brothers during their tour in the summer of ’99. Our first show was in New Orleans and I remember being on stage with my band for soundcheck, looking out into the audience … and there were Derek and [bassist] Oteil Burbridge. I said to myself, “What are they doing sitting there? This is the scariest audience I’ve ever had!” (laughter) You know: there are these two amazing musicians sitting there …
But it was great; and Derek and I hit it off – made acquaintances; became friends; started trading music and hanging out before shows – really became good friends that summer. We started dating in August.
BR: Cool. I remember seeing photos of you playing with Derek’s band at Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam that December. My wife and I had no idea that you and Derek had been dating at that point and I remember us saying, “You know, those two would make a nice couple.” (laughter)
ST: Oh, that’s sweet! (laughs) Well, we were dating – and about a month after Christmas Jam, we bought this house here in Florida together.
BR: Oh, cool.
ST: And then I got pregnant … and then we got married. (laughs) That was in December of 2001.
BR: I remember some great pictures from your wedding with Col. Bruce Hampton …
ST: That’s right! (laughs) Charlie was born in 2002. And Sophia was born in 2004.
BR: Wow – just like that. Perfect! (laughter) So, you mentioned your home in Florida; to me, part of the vibe of Revelator is the fact that you recorded it in your home studio, Swamp Raga. Just to clarify – is the studio in your backyard?
ST: It is. (laughs) Literally: I’m standing between the two buildings right now on a little pathway.
BR: I know from experience that having a workspace at home has both the advantage of convenience and the disadvantage of being too convenient. How do you and Derek manage that?
ST: Well, it’s really about knowing your role in different things. When I’m in the house, I’m “Mom.” I’m taking care of the kids; I’m cleaning; I’m cooking; I’m doing the dishes … or maybe we’re out in the backyard for playtime. But when I’m in the studio, it’s time to work on music. Just the atmosphere itself helps me to change between the parts.
BR: Who’s more likely to be out in the studio at 1:00 AM?
ST: Derek. (laughter) But that’s because he’s awake at that time no matter what. I’m tired and I’m going to be up at 6:30 every morning with the kids, you know?
I mean, I’ll work late sometimes, but Derek’s always up late and his mind never stops. The poor guy – he dreams about stuff while he’s sleeping … he’s still working in his dreams. (laughs) He’s just a workaholic who loves music.
But there are nights when we’ll sit down and watch a movie together or do something totally different. You can’t just write or play music all the time; you have to have life experiences.
BR: Like …
ST: Well, yesterday we went fishing about 50 miles offshore with our son and Derek’s brother – caught some mahi and cooked them up here for dinner.
We have a lot going on all the time, but we also try to make room for doing other things: we swim, we surf, we golf, we hike, we fish, we bike, we do yoga … whatever. The two of us like to keep active, but when Derek broke his ankle last year, he had to stop for a while.
BR: I remember him out on tour with the Brothers last year after that …
ST: That’s right – hobbling, the poor guy. (laughs) But we try not to do anything too crazy – just be active.
BR: I’ve admired the way you two have balanced your separate bands and road schedules with family. Now with TTB being your main gig, the two of you are more in sync than ever – which is probably great for you as a couple, but how do you work it with Charlie and Sophia?
ST: Well, it’s interesting – on one level it really is great because we spend more time together. We’re not both on different continents with our kids in a different state. But the only thing that’s tough right now is when Mommy and Daddy both go away together and the kids are in school.
Charlie and Sophia have this ongoing thing with me: “Mom, when are you going to home school us?” And I really can’t – I have just enough time to get them to school, come home and do my work, and then pick them up and get him to baseball and her to music lessons, or whatever. It’s a busy enough life for anyone just being a mom and I’m trying to work in the middle of it all. I just wouldn’t have the time to home school – nor the cash. It takes time and money to do it properly.
Personally, I believe in social development around kids at a young age. Our kids are amazing around adults, because they’ve always been around them … they’re friends with Herbie Hancock and Eric Clapton, you know? (laughter) Sometimes I stop and say, “Wait a minute, when you’re growing up, it’s one thing to have those be household names – but it’s another thing to have them as buddies.” (laughter) You know?
They’re kids, and I don’t think they have a huge understanding of the whole picture on a certain level, but generally they’re very respectful of all people – every color, creed, religion, whatever. I think they have a very good head start there from the things they’ve been exposed to, both from the music world and from going to public school – they’ll thank me later. (laughter)
And then in the summer, they get to come on tour with us. They’ll be with us during school vacation this year except when we’re in Europe for 10 days. It’s so expensive. And it’s not like it would be fun for them either – we’re not traveling on an awesome tour bus where you can sleep and everything. We did that a couple years ago with my band, but it was a much smaller group.
This is a much bigger band to travel with, so now it’s “B.B. King-style” with the Greyhound bus going from country to country. It just wouldn’t be fun for the kids where they’re still little – six and nine. They do love adventure and they love to travel, but there’ll be plenty of chances for that … they’ll be going to Iceland with us in August, for instance. They definitely have big adventures. (laughs)
BR: Are either of the kids into music?
ST: Yes – Sophia’s taking violin lessons and loves it. And Charlie’s been playing guitar on his own …
BR: Oh, man – here we go!
ST: I know, I know. (laughter) But he’s also a big baseball player and a math guy, so I don’t know what he’s going to do …
BR: You know what he’s going to do, Susan?
ST: What?
BR: He’s going to do whatever he’s meant to.
ST: Exactly – and we’ll support whatever either of them want to do. They’re both great artists; they’re both straight-A students in school; they could do anything. I just tell them, “Try your hardest at everything and when you find something you love, then focus on that. Until then, enjoy everything.”
BR: Speaking of those kids, I know we’re getting close to when you have to go pick them up from school. One thing I wanted ask was what you feel is the basic difference between the Soul Stew Revival project you and Derek put together for some live shows in 2008/2009 and the Tedeschi Trucks Band? How would you describe the core – the soul – of TTB?
ST: You know, it’s really an all-star cast, for one thing. I think it’s a much better band all around, just because we’ve been able to play together a lot more and write together with this band, whereas we never really had the time before. Practice makes perfect – it pays off. Everyone’s really talented and we have some good songwriters in this band … we’re just scratching the surface, I think.
There’s a lot of power in this band – a lot of power to move people; to energize people; to bring some joy when times are hard. It’s exciting – it makes people feel like they’re a part of it.
BR: When I first listen to an album, a lot of times I‘ll write down quick gut reactions to songs. Here are some of my notes from Revelator that I scribbled down at the time: for “Midnight In Harlem” I wrote “beautifully lost”; “Bound For Glory”: “hallelujah”; “Until You Remember”: “church”; and for “Shelter” I wrote down “hope.”
ST: Aww – perfect! That’s what you’re supposed to get from it. Real life human emotions and the things that people go through … and to know that there is hope and joy in the world, at a time when it can be very depressing and dark – and you don’t know what’s coming.
Look around at what’s happening in Japan, New Zealand, Africa, New Orleans … all these situations where people rise up and work together and overcome horrible tragedies.
What happened in Japan with the tsunami isn’t a Japanese issue; it’s a world issue. And I think the world is going to come together more in the next years than they ever have. With resources running low and tragedies running high, we really need to work together. It’s not a competition anymore – it’s not about “me, me, me.” It’s about we – “we, we, we.” There’s no more time for excuses – it’s time to work together.
BR: Listen: I don’t want you to stop playing music, but if you ever want to run for office, I’d vote for you in a heartbeat.
ST: (laughs) I’ve thought about it. Some day I might have to do it – and I’ll need your vote. (laughter)
