Photo Credit: Dino Perrucci

Earlier this month, Gov’t Mule took to social media to announce that Kevin Scott would take over for Jorgen Carlsson on bass following an official shift on June 9. At the time, no reason was given for the change. However, following the release of their new album, Peace…Like a River, frontman Warren Haynes sat down for an interview with Rock & Blues Muse to chat about the recent drop and share more details behind the change.

During the aforementioned conversation, Haynes outlined the background on the shift: “Jorgen did an amazing job. His role in Gov’t Mule got better and better year after year. He sounds fantastic on the new record. I’ve always said with any chemistry, it’s great if you have a great chemistry in the beginning, but it’s where you take it if you give it time, that really matters. The fact that we were able to do this for 15 years has really allowed the band to reach a point where there’s a lot of borderline telepathy going on on stage. We’re so familiar with each other’s musical vocabulary and mindsets that we’re able to communicate in a really heavy dimensional way.”

He added, “I can’t say enough about his contribution to the band the last 15 years. Having said that, he’s been quiet-quitting the last few years. We all knew it was coming, but it is heartbreaking.” Before concluding his interview, Haynes also commented on Scott’s trajectory within the group: “To answer the Kevin Scott question, Kevin is fantastic and we’re hoping it will be more than temporary. We’ve hired him to complete everything that we have on the books at the moment, but I have a really good feeling about him for the future of this band, and I think he shares that feeling as well. Even though it’s announced it’s like he’s here for the summer, we’re all hoping that he’s here for a new chapter.”

Following the release of Haynes’ interview, Gov’t Mule outlined their fall tour in support of Peace…Like a River which will occur at select U.S. and Europe locations. Read more.