Warren Haynes is one of music's busiest and most beloved musicians. Having been a former member of the Allman Brothers Band and various incarnations of The Dead and Phil & Friends, he's been fronting Gov't Mule since 1994, and is constantly busy performing. His most recent endeavor features the bluegrass band Railroad Earth, who he recorded an album with titled Ashes & Dust.
Above, you can watch an in-studio interview and performance Warren did for Kansas City, Missouri radio station The Bridge, 90.9FM. The interview gets started with Haynes talking about his collaboration with Railroad Earth and the music on the album. He talks about his time with the Allman Brothers Band and how he wishes they could have made another album, but getting all the members together at the same time proved to be too difficult. He reveals that after he's done promoting Ashes & Dust, Gov't Mule will head into the studio to record another album.
After a heartfelt acoustic version of "Is It Me Or You," Warren talks about growing up with his brothers and all the different types of music that he was exposed to. His father listened to Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, and Ralph Stanley, and that led into Warren studying "storytelling" songs. They segue back into discussing Ashes & Dust, leading into an emotional performance of "Company Man" that Haynes dedicates to his father.
The conversation picks up with Warren talking about Van Morrison's 1968 album, Astral Weeks, and how it's the best example of real music he could suggest to someone. He talks about the album's influence in creating the Ashes & Dust album.
Warren accepts and embraces mistakes that he encounters as part of the music, and uses a quote that blues legend B.B. King used to say: "If I don't make 10 mistakes in a night, it wasn't a good night."
Working with Railroad Earth, Warren would bring the music into the studio without any rehearsal. He would pick up the guitar, show it to them, work on an arrangement, record it, and move on. Doing so created a "freshness" in the music.
He touches on two of his albums, Man In Motion and Sco-Mule, before sharing that he has more music written that he's planning on recording, and is hoping to make a traditional blues album soon.
Warren mentions his collaborations with Grace Potter for their cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman" and Shawn Colvin on "Wanderlust," which Haynes originally wanted Emmylou Harris to sing harmony on. The interview wraps up with a performance of "Spots Of Time," a song Warren co-wrote with Phil Lesh and performed with the Allman Brothers in concert before the band decided to call it quits.
Pick up Ashes & Dust on Amazon (Vinyl, CD, MP3). You can also stream the full deluxe edition album and read our review here on Zumic.
Recently, Gov't Mule announced New Year's concerts for New York and Philadelphia as well as the 27th annual Christmas Jam set for December in North Carolina. For more information about that, as well as the latest music and news from Warren Haynes, check out his Zumic artist page.
Source: 90.9 The Bridge YouTube
