Over two separate eras, Warren Haynes was an integral part of the resurgence of one of the preeminent groups in America, The Allman Brothers Band (from 1989-1997 and then 2000-2014). Haynes, who also devotes his time to Gov’t Mule and his own Warren Haynes Band (not to mention an endless list of sit-ins and collaborative performances including a long relationship with Phil Lesh), has proven himself time and again as one of the premier guitarists in the jamband and roots rock worlds.
Most recently, Haynes joined forces with progressive bluegrass veterans Railroad Earth on his Ashes & Dust album. He and the band embarked on a tour for the record, and Haynes will now be joined by drummer Jeff Sipe and string collective ChessBoxer to continue taking the album on the road. Haynes took some time to discuss the tour and his various projects, including looking back (and possibly forward) to his time with the Allman Brothers.
How was the recent tour with Railroad Earth?
Good. I thought it got better and better as it went along and we had some great shows. It was a lot of fun.
Did you guys play mostly Ashes & Dust songs?
No, we’re trying to expand the setlist as it goes. We did manage to play all but one of the songs from Ashes & Dust over the course of that tour, but we’re trying to rotate and vary the setlist as much as we can. But since that was a finite window of opportunity, we weren’t able to expand it too much, but now that I’m embarking on this tour with Jeff Sipe and ChessBoxer, we’re going to be going for a long time so we’re gonna add a lot of songs and then continue adding and continue adding.
Did you find you were trying to play songs similar to the album, or did you try to vary the arrangements?
A little bit of both. Trying to play stuff that makes sense with that collaboration, but also trying to incorporate a little more improv and jam-oriented songs into the fold. Some of the shows were long, some of the shows were festival sets which weren’t quite as long, so it kind of varied from night to night.
What has the process been like taking Ashes & Dust to a live setting from the studio recordings?
Some of those songs are not intended as vehicles for improvisation. They’re just songs that are going to be played in a fairly similar way from night to night. Others completely open themselves up to interpretation, so those songs are going to continue to stretch on a nightly basis. As with most of my projects—and most of the stuff that I like to be involved with—I like to strike a balance between the structured songs and the improv-oriented songs. I think too much of either one doesn’t allow the show to breathe as much as it could.
How did this new band with Jeff Sipe and ChessBoxer come together?
I met the [ChessBoxer] guys through Béla Fleck. Béla had told me about these guys and I checked them out and really liked them. And of course, Jeff Sipe and I are old friends; we’ve played together many times. Jeff is one of my favorite drummers. He did my Symphonic Celebration tour where I played the music of Jerry Garcia with the symphony. I was just kind of looking to do something different and still in a similar direction to what I did with Railroad Earth and the music from Ashes & Dust, but I think this band is going to be a little jazzier. Every situation should have its own personality. I’m very excited about this new band and to see it develop. We’re going to be doing a lot of rehearsal, but the real rehearsal starts on stage, and the chemistry is gonna be really exciting. I’m loving playing not only the music from Ashes and Dust, but a lot of songs that I’ve written or been involved with, or outside songs that kind of fall in to this direction. But also, as I mentioned, adding too as we go along—because that’s going to be a fun part of the tour.
Was there any kind of rearranging of the Ashes & Dust material as you transitioned from Railroad Earth to this current band?
Some of the stuff will change in its approach just based on the fact that it’s different musicians interpreting the music now. We don’t want to get locked in to doing anything a certain way. So during rehearsals, which start in a few days, and during the early stages of the tour, we’ll be doing a lot of tweaking and reinventing. I like to be open-minded about where the music goes, I don’t like to rely on preconceptions.
In this month’s issue of Relix, you mentioned that in your mind, Ashes & Dust was the first in maybe a series of more acoustic, Asheville inspired albums. Do you have more songs, and is that still your plan?
Well we recorded 25 or 30 songs in the studio during these sessions, so there’s at least one album’s worth of material in the can. And then there’s another 8 or 10 songs that I’d like to record when I go back into the studio. I don’t know exactly what the plan is gonna be, but I know there will be more material in this direction presenting itself.
Will you try to record those new songs with the Railroad Earth guys as well?*
It’s hard to say. I think probably a few different recording situations. I might go to the West Coast and record some stuff with West Coast musicians. Probably record some stuff with Jeff and the ChessBoxer guys, and maybe some stuff with some other friends that just seem to make sense.
You said that “Spots of Time” was written as a collaboration with Phil Lesh. Were there any other songs from that session?
There’s another song that we wrote around the same time period that I actually have recorded as well. I haven’t finished it, but just those two that I remember.
What’s it like writing with Phil?
Each writing situation is different. My friend Gregg Allman says “There are as many ways to write a song as there are songs.” Every song somehow comes about from a unique approach. A lot of the stuff that I’ve written with Phil, he had already written the music and he had asked me to write lyrics and melody. But that’s not every song, that’s just the majority of it.
Changing gears a little bit, do you have some upcoming plans with Gov’t Mule?
We’ve talked about what the next studio record is going to be like. We haven’t gone into rehearsals or gone into serious writing mode, yet but we’ve had a lot of discussions about making the record completely different than Shout!, which we all love and are very proud of. But I think Shout! was a culmination of 20 years. Shout! was a record that was perfect leading into celebrating our 20th anniversary and how it honored all of our influences and touched on all of our influences to a certain extent. Now the 20th anniversary is over, so I think we’re going to find ourselves going back to square one a little bit, but also trying to embark on territory we’ve never touched on before. And I feel like the next batch of songs is going to be a little more instrumentally adventurous and experimental and in some ways revisit our early records. I feel like the chemistry the four of us have right now is really strong, and embracing that and incorporating it into the writing process is going to be a big part of the upcoming record.
You recently did the Gathering of the Vibes 20th anniversary Super Jam. What was it like, the process of putting that set together?
It was great. We actually started putting the setlist together weeks and weeks in advance, and a lot of thought went into it. We knew we didn’t have a ton of rehearsal time, so we wanted to do as much connecting the dots on the front end as possible. But of course, with that group of musicians, we knew it was gonna be great. Individually, everybody has a strong musical personality, but you never know until you actually play together what the collective personality is going to be like. And from the very beginning it was great. It was one of those things where the overall picture was more than the sum of the parts which is always a plus. I think we all had a blast and would love to do it again if the situation presents itself.
I know you’ve performed a few Allman Brothers songs with your solo band. Do you think you feel responsibility to keep playing those tunes live as the band is officially not playing anymore?
I don’t think there’s a responsibility. I think it’s a nice nod to the legacy to play some of the songs. The crowd wants to hear ‘em, I enjoy playing them, they’re beautiful songs and it’s nice to interpret them in a completely different way.
And you recently sat in with Gregg and Marc and Jaimoe at Peach Fest. Was that spontaneous or something you planned before?
It was spontaneous. I’m sure we all knew the possibility existed, but I was in and out. I had to leave immediately after the show so I wasn’t able to stick around until the next day. Any time any of us can play together it’s always fun. I thought it was really cool. I wish we could’ve done more.
How do you feel being in the first year without the Allman Brothers in 15 years?
I’m sure for all of us it was a strange feeling to have March go by and not be at the Beacon Theater. We all knew we were gonna miss it, because it’s such a great band, and the legacy that comes with that music—we’re all honoring the original version of the Allman Brothers Band. But that band that was together for 14 years is an extremely powerful incarnation as well. And we all enjoyed playing together. Every night was a strong performance. The last year or so—when we knew it would be winding down—was emotional, but I think we all, for the most part, agreed that it was the right decision. And again, I’ll reiterate, it was a group decision that was made. The decision was not made by myself and Derek Trucks, which is kind of the way it got portrayed in the press. There were a lot of conflicting stories, so it was kind of hard to grasp what really happened. We had been talking for three or four years about making the 45th anniversary the final tour. And of course Derek and I had been making plans beyond that, and when some people started getting cold feet and second guessing the decision, he and I had already solidified it to the point that it wasn’t an option for us. But I think the entire band agrees that we made the right decision and that we’ll all miss it. The Allman Brothers Band is one of the greatest bands of all time.
I was interviewing Butch Trucks around the time that you guys would have been at the Beacon, and he was talking about how during that last show, he just felt like you guys were on point and playing as well as you ever have.
That was a special show. Everybody brought 110% individually, but also the collective mindset that night—everybody locked in to each other and tuned in. Listening and responding on stage was that band at its finest, and an example of what that band does and can do. That’s a big part of what we’re all gonna miss.
He also mentioned that there wasn’t a zero percent chance that you guys will play together again. What are your thoughts on that?
My thoughts have always been that I don’t close the door on anything, ever. I look forward to playing with any of those guys any time we can. And if something comes up here and there and it makes sense for us all to do, I would never rule it out. I always point out when I’m asked this question: at the moment there’s no plans to do anything collectively. But that doesn’t mean it’s never gonna happen.
