Gregg Allman on Dickey Betts

[Blurry]

Was reading the London Free Press this morning and there's an article/interview with Gregg Allman about ABB/Moe playing in London. Here's a quote that stood out to me;

"There's no boss, there's no bully, there's no leader of everybody else - we fired that." - Gregg Allman (London Free Press - Aug 16, 2005)

[CyberHippie]

youch

[Super Freak]

But said with grace.

[Hux]

Narc!!!

[Tenenbaum]

did any1 hear/notice last week late at night that Dikey Betts was the house band for Carson Daily.

Carson made some humorous reference to the Dukes of Hazzard and they cut to Dickey wearing some hick hat.

Anyway, when they brought out the next guest (the new Dr Doom in the Fantastic 4 flick), Dickey launched into one of the most beuatiful heartfelt solos (that only lasted a mere 15 secs) which even caught the guest off guard (not your typical run of the mill house band, y'know).

[Chewie]

here's the article

Jams Brothers' jelly

But Gregg Allman says his group also relies on 'tight arrangements.'

Free Press staff 2005-08-16 02:15:14

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gregg Allman wants to set the record straight.

"We're a band that jams, we're not a jam band," he said with a smile at the suggestion the legendary Allman Brothers Band is a pioneering big brother to today's stretch-it-out jam outfits.

"It's like seven people doing a jigsaw puzzle. No, that would be harder," Allman said of the long-running U.S. blues rockers' approach to jamming.

The band's stellar guitarists may make eye contact after a solo, indicating it's time for the jamming to shift in another direction.

"We have arrangements, tight arrangements," leading into those jams, Allman said.

The group, including original members Allman (vocals, Hammond B-3 organ), Butch Trucks (drums and tympani) and Jaimoe (drums), plays the RBC Theatre at the John Labatt Centre tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.

Allman and long-time London fans say it's the band's first gig here, although some of the musicians have been here with other groups. Fans recall guitarist Warren Haynes's band, Gov't Mule, opening for Big Sugar at the Drink, likely in the late 1998, and playing an amazing set. A fan also reports Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks played the old Kiplings club early in the 1990s, when he was in his early teens.

Guitarist Warren Haynes won't be at the show due to a crisis at home, but he'll be replaced by guitarist Jack Pearson and sax player Ron Holloway. Pearson is no stranger to the band, having replaced Haynes from 1997 to 1999. Holloway has jammed with the Allmans and with Gov't Mule.

It's all very democratic, free, but definitely not easy or slapdash.

"There's no boss, there's no bully, there's no leader of everybody else -- we fired that," Allman said.

Also among the Brothers are Marc Quinones (percussion and vocals) and Oteil Burbridge (bass). Tomorrow's opening act is moe., a jam-minded outfit that isn't completely sold on the jam band label, either.

The Allman Brothers Band formed in 1969, when guitarist Duane Allman and brother Gregg began playing together in the southern U.S. The band released two albums before its 1971 breakthrough, Live at the Fillmore East.

Shortly after, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident. Bassist Berry Oakley died a year later, also in a motorcycle accident.

But the other band members decided to continue, becoming a huge touring success and releasing more hit albums. The band was also known for legendary tracks such as the live version of Mountain Jam featured on 1972's Eat a Peach.

The group's other successes include 1973's Brothers and Sisters, which produced the Top 40 hit Ramblin' Man. But inner conflicts and squabbling led to breakups in the late 1970s, when Gregg Allman was married to Cher, and early 1980s.

After its 1994 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the group found new fans on the road. The band released Hittin' the Note, its first new studio project in nine years (and 24th overall) in 2003. It won a Grammy nomination for the track Instrumental Illness.

Just out is American University 12/13/70 (Sanctuary Records), a classic live concert from 1970. Its lineup includes Duane Allman and Dickey Betts as the two guitar stars.

"It's the original Allman Brothers Band. We thought the hardcore fans would probably dig something like that. The old and the new don't fight each other," Gregg Allman said of the way the band mixes older, classic recordings with newer releases.

Betts was given the boot -- or "(asked) to take the summer off" in 2000, as the group's website says -- because of "creative differences." He tours with his own band.

Because of its extensive recording of live shows and studio material, the Allman Brothers Band has a "room full of tapes," Allman said.

Among the possible releases is a humour album of out-takes. Its classic moments would include Allman repeatedly flubbing his entry into a new piece. "Just slap me when my part comes," he finally says.

The fun goes way back to the earliest days of the band. Out of the blue, Duane Allman told Gregg -- an accomplished guitarist, singer and keyboard player -- he'd need to play the Hammond B3 organ in the group. Gregg didn't believe Duane was serious.

To introduce him to the organ, the other band members led him to it -- blindfolded. But Gregg came around to the sound his brother must have heard somewhere inside.

"Playing a Hammond is like making love with a beautiful woman, playing a piano is like fighting Sonny Liston," he said.

SAMPLE SET LIST

This set list is from a concert May 19 at Tupelo, Miss., but more than most touring bands, the Allman Brothers Band changes its set lists nightly.

1. Don't Want You No More

2. It's Not My Cross to Bear

3. Statesboro Blues

4. Every Hungry Woman

5. Hoochie Coochie Man

6. Midnight Rider

7. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

8. Hot 'Lanta

9. Desdemona

10. Good Clean Fun

11. Rocking Horse

12. Black Hearted Woman

13. Soulshine

14. Southbound

Encore

15. One Way Out

IF YOU GO

What: Concert by U.S. blues rockers the Allman Brothers Band; also on the bill is moe., a jam band with its roots in Buffalo

When: Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m.

Where: RBC Theatre, John Labatt Centre

Tickets: $56.25 plus applicable service charges; they're available at the centre box office, by calling 1-866-455-2849 or online via www.johnlabattcentre.com or www.hob.ca

[guigsy]

warren and the mule OPENING for big fuckin' sugar.... wow. warren's come a long way, huh? :crazy:

[zero]

Yeah I've been meaning to mention for a while that Dickey Betts Band is the Carson Daly house band, seems like an odd fit but that's an odd show to begin with. I've heard a few quips when I've caught it about Dickey sobering up.