Category: Music
News
Jambands.com – The Allman Betts Band Announce Full-Band Livestream Performance
The Allman Betts Band have announced a livestream performance set for July 12 at 8 p.m. ET. The performance will be electric and feature the full-band, and it will be streamed from the stage of Belly Up in Solana Beach, Calif. The show will be streamed on the new platform NoCap.
According to a press release, “throughout the set, the band will play fan favorites, they’ll debut ‘Pale Horse Rider,’ the second single from their forthcoming second full-length studio albumBless Your Heart (BMG) and they will also tip their hat to their father’s music.” In addition, the show will feature special guest Marc Ford, who will perform with Allman Betts on The Black Crowes’ “Wiser Time.”
The band also announced that special edition t-shirts will be available, and that the livestream will be a “one-shot concert with no replays… Once the concert is over, that’s all she wrote.”
“After four months off the band is so ready to be together and make music,” said Devon Allman via press release. “NoCap is the new premier platform for live-stream entertainment. It’s super easy and sounds and looks top shelf. We are stoked to be together and share music again! Never miss a Sunday show!”
For more information and to purchase tickets, head to NoCapshows.com.
News
Guitar Player – The Allman Betts Band Announce New Album, ‘Bless Your Heart’
The Allman Betts Band have announced a new album, Bless Your Heart.
Set for an August 28 release via BMG, it’s the second studio effort from the band led by Devon Allman and Duane Betts, the respective sons of Allman Brothers Band legends Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts.
Like its predecessor, 2019’s Down to The River, Bless Your Heart was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio on two-inch tape, with additional tracking in Memphis and St. Louis.RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU…CLOSEhttps://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.406.0_en.html#goog_992190677Volume 0% PLAY SOUND
Its first single, “Magnolia Road,” will be premiered tomorrow, June 19.
“I think we definitely challenged ourselves, pushed ourselves artistically, and widened the spectrum on all levels,” Betts said of the album in a press release. “We wanted something that was a little more sweeping. A deeper experience.”
“I hope what people hear on Bless Your Heart is a band that’s having a love affair with being a band,” added Allman.
You can check out Bless Your Heart‘s tracklist below. To preorder it, step right this way.
The Allman Betts Band – Bless Your Heart:
1. Pale Horse Rider
2. Carolina Song
3. King Crawler
4. Ashes of My Lovers
5. Savannah’s Dream
6. Airboats & Cocaine
7. Southern Rain
8. Rivers Run
9. Magnolia Road
10. Should We Ever Part
11. The Doctor’s Daughter
12. Much Obliged
13. Congratulations
News
Glide Magazine: THE ALLMAN BETTS BAND ANNOUNCES SECOND FULL LENGTH LP ‘BLESS YOUR HEART’ OUT 8/28
The Allman Betts Band has announced their second full-length studio album titled Bless Your Heart out August 28th via BMG. The first single, “Magnolia Road” will be released on all DSPs Friday, June 19. The official music video for the track will exclusively premiere via The ABB official YouTube channel at 1pm ET on Friday, June 19. Devon Allman and Duane Betts will join the premiere and will be chatting live with fans.
“Magnolia Road” is the tie-dyed contender for summer festival favorite. A semi-autobiographical lyric shared by Betts and Allman, ironically this is the only song on the album with band collaborator Stoll Vaughan as its sole author. Vaughan wrote the song alone, though namechecking detailed parts of Betts’ and Allman’s life, respectively. Musically evokes the group’s affection for The Band and the Grateful Dead.
When The Allman Betts Band released Down to the River in June of 2019, the debut album represented not only the first time the group had recorded together but, in fact, the first time the seven-piece ensemble had ever played together. If Down to the River was the sound of the band’s combustible sparks igniting, then Bless Your Heart is their bonfire, built for the summer of 2020 and beyond; a double-album follow-up fueled by road-forged camaraderie and telepathic musical intensity, vibrantly reflecting the individual and collective experiences of these seven, all drawing inspiration from the band’s symbolic hometown- a place Devon Allman calls “the United States of Americana.”
News
The Allman Betts Band announce ‘Bless Your Heart’ – Blues Rock Review
The Allman Betts Band has announced their second full-length studio album titled Bless Your Heart available August 28. The first single, “Magnolia Road” will be released on all DSPs Friday, June 19. The official music video for the track will exclusively premiere via The ABB official YouTube channel at 1pm ET on Friday, June 19. Devon Allman and Duane Betts will join the premiere and will be chatting live with fans.
“Magnolia Road” is the tie-dyed contender for summer festival favorite. A semi-autobiographical lyric shared by Betts and Allman, ironically this is the only song on the album with band collaborator Stoll Vaughan as its sole author. Vaughan wrote the song alone, though namechecking detailed parts of Betts’ and Allman’s life, respectively. Musically evokes the group’s affection for The Band and the Grateful Dead.
When The Allman Betts Band released Down to the River in June of 2019, the debut album represented not only the first time the group had recorded together but, in fact, the first time the seven-piece ensemble had ever played together. If Down to the River was the sound of the band’s combustible sparks igniting, then Bless Your Heart is their bonfire, built for the summer of 2020 and beyond; a double-album follow-up fueled by road-forged camaraderie and telepathic musical intensity, vibrantly reflecting the individual and collective experiences of these seven, all drawing inspiration from the band’s symbolic hometown- a place Devon Allman calls “the United States of Americana.”
A conflagration of influences and invention, confidence and ambition, Bless Your Heart captures a vast, panoramic scope throughout a baker’s dozen of modern rock. Ragged and stomping. Heady and frayed. Soaring and scorching. Generational and genteel. West Coast scenes and Gulf Coast shores. Gateways of the Midwest and swamplands of Florida. Wyoming’s Big Sky. New York’s Big Apple. Chicago’s Broad Shoulders.
Over a week’s time, they recorded 13 songs at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio on 2-inch tape, just as they did with Down to The River. In addition to the time in Muscle Shoals, Bless Your Heart saw additional tracking in Memphis and St. Louis. Within the eclectic repertoire are the familiar: stacks of guitars; electric, acoustic, and slide; a throttling, percussive rhythm section. And the fresh: Bassist and singer Berry Duane Oakley’s ABB vocal debut on his original song (“The Doctor’s Daughter”); Allman’s baritone vocal channeling Johnny Cash (“Much Obliged”); Betts extending the legendary family legacy of incendiary instrumentals (“Savannah’s Dream”). They tapped friends, as well, such as Jimmy Hall, Shannon McNally, Art Edmaiston, Susan Marshall, and Reba Russell for guest contributions. Then, emerged with an undeniable achievement of an album (what sophomore jinx?) worthy of its winking, unabashedly Southern title.
“I think we definitely challenged ourselves, pushed ourselves artistically, and widened the spectrum on all levels. We wanted something that was a little more sweeping. A deeper experience,” says Betts. Says Allman, “I hope what people hear on Bless Your Heart is a band that’s having a love affair with being a band.”
TRACK LIST
Pale Horse Rider
Carolina Song
King Crawler
Ashes of My Lovers
Savannah’s Dream
Airboats & Cocaine
Southern Rain
Rivers Run
Magnolia Road
Should We Ever Part
The Doctor’s Daughter
Much Obliged
Congratulations
News
Blues Music Magazine – The Allman Betts Band – Bless Your Heart
The Allman Betts Band Announce New Album ‘Bless Your Heart’ The Allman Betts Band have announced a new record, Bless Your Heart, due out Aug. 28. The first single, “Magnolia Road” will be released on all digital platforms on Friday, June 19.
The official music video for the track will exclusively premiere via The ABB official YouTube channel at 1pm ET on Friday, June 19. Devon Allman and Duane Betts will join the premiere and will be chatting live with fans.
“I think we definitely challenged ourselves, pushed ourselves artistically, and widened the spectrum on all levels. We wanted something that was a little more sweeping. A deeper experience,” said guitarist Duane Betts via press release. “I hope what people hear on Bless Your Heart is a band that’s having a love affair with being a band,” Devon Allman added.
A conflagration of influences and invention, confidence and ambition, Bless Your Heart captures a vast, panoramic scope throughout a baker’s dozen of modern rock. Ragged and stomping. Heady and frayed. Soaring and scorching. Generational and genteel. West Coast scenes and Gulf Coast shores. Gateways of the Midwest and swamplands of Florida. Wyoming’s Big Sky. New York’s Big Apple. Chicago’s Broad Shoulders.
The record is the band’s second effort; their debut album, Down to the River, was released in June of 2019. According to a press release, “If Down to the River was the sound of the band’s combustible sparks igniting, then Bless Your Heart is their bonfire, built for the summer of 2020 and beyond; a double-album follow-up fueled by road-forged camaraderie and telepathic musical intensity, vibrantly reflecting the individual and collective experiences of these seven, all drawing inspiration from the band’s symbolic hometown- a place Devon Allman calls ‘the United States of Americana.’” The Allman Betts Band Bless Your Heart Label: BMG Release date: 28 August 2020 TRACK LIST Pale Horse Rider Carolina Song King Crawler Ashes of My Lovers Savannah’s Dream Airboats & Cocaine Southern Rain Rivers Run Magnolia Road Should We Ever Part The Doctor’s Daughter Much Obliged Congratulations The Allman Betts Band Online : www.allmanbettsband.com
News
Down to the River: An Interview with Berry Duane Oakley
The Allman Betts Band has just released their debut album, Down To The River. As you might expect, the group is tied to the Allman Brothers with three members being the sons of the legendary band’s original members. Guitarists Devon Allman and Duane Betts are the sons of Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts, respectively. The third tie is Berry Duane Oakley, son of founding Allman Brothers bass icon Berry Oakley.
Together they create a sound that is not a simple homage to the music of their fathers. It’s the culmination of their own musical experiences, capturing the spirit and energy of the Allman Brothers Band’s more than anything else. A fan of classic bass players, Oakley sticks to big grooves and old school gear to pin the album together. He cites Duck Dunn and James Jamerson as his biggest influences.
Sadly, the elder Oakley died in a motorcycle accident before his son (sometimes referred to as Berry Oakley, Jr.) was born. Berry Duane Oakley did, however, grow up deeply entrenched in the music scene as his stepfather is Three Dog Night’s Chuck Negron and his godfather is The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger. Music didn’t particularly interest Oakley until his later teen years when he truly began to appreciate performing music.
Oakley honed his chops on the road with the Robby Krieger Band as well as Bloodline, a fantastic band that featured blues shredder Joe Bonamassa and the sons of other famous musicians. The group had quick success, but the label’s marketing ploy pigeonholed the group and they soon split up. His other projects include Blue Floyd, the Chuck Negron Band, and Butch Truck & The Freight Train Band. All those credits add up to make Oakley the perfect bassist for the Allman Betts Band.
We caught up with Oakley to get the scoop on the Allman Betts Band, the infamous rig he recorded with, and the details of his father’s “Tractor” bass.
You’ve known the guys in this band for a while. How close is your bond?
I’ve known Devon and Duane for the better part of 30 years. I met Duane back in ’88 and Devon in ’89. I actually used to help babysit Duane and Elijah Blue when I was living in LA. I’d go to Cher’s house and when she would run errands, I would babysit them.
Devon and I met on the road with the Allman Brothers for the ’89 Dreams tour. We’ve kept in touch and been friends ever since. Duane and I spent a lot more time together. This will be our fourth band together, so we have a lot of history over the past 30 years.
All the names carry so much history. I think people wonder if you all grew up together or if you’re coming together later in life.
Not really. We all kind of spread out. Devon was more in Corpus Christi and St. Louis, then Duane was back and forth between California and Florida. We always spent time here and there while keeping in touch, but I wouldn’t say we grew up together, so to speak. We all went on our own paths in life.
You spent a lot of your childhood in L.A., right?
Yep. I was one of the Hollywood Hills babies. About ten years ago I moved here to Florida to look for something different. Plus I just like the weather. It’s a little more tropical.
It seems like you were constantly surrounded by music and musicians, with Chuck Negron being your step-father. Have you always been playing music or is it just something your family did and you eventually jumped into it?
I fought it for a long time. It wasn’t until my mid-teens that I really started to appreciate it and get into it: probably around 16 or 17. I was your basic pain-in-the-ass kid until about that time. I would race my skateboard down Hollywood Boulevard with people yelling at me. I came into it late. When it’s just part of your everyday life, you don’t really think much of it. Chuck is my stepdad and Robby Krieger of The Doors is my godfather, so spending time with him and the Doors family reinforced that.
So yeah, it was weird. When I finally got into it in Hollywood in the ’80s, I was still finding myself and playing in some of the local crazy hair bands. It wasn’t until I went on the road with the Allman Brothers in ’89 that I found my passion and love for it all. I got more of an understanding of what the music is all about.
Your father was a huge name in this kind of music, but you weren’t in the same kind of circle of musicians that he may have been in growing up. Do you count him as one of your main influences, still?
Again, later on once I got a little older and more mature and understanding the music [he was a bigger influence]. I always knew about him and the legacy of the Allman Brothers, but just being young and naive I didn’t quite “get it” for a while it until I really got into it. Then I understood the type of player he was and what it meant. The contributions and what he did in such a short amount of time before his passing made a huge impact on the music community.
When I started diving into bass and all my bass heroes, he became one of the tops. I’m into that old school stuff: Donald “Duck” Dunn, James Jamerson, John Paul Jones, and those good old “lay it down” kind of bass players.
I can hear that in your playing.
Thank you. I try. It’s tough. I always tell the younger guys, “I know there are a million cats out there that can do the Jaco stuff and that’s awesome, but as a bass player it’s always best to learn restraint.” If you listen to those old James Brown songs, those simple bass lines made such a big impact. There’s something to be said for a good, simple, solid bass line.
I get the feeling that you’re just as happy to sit in the pocket.
Definitely. I’m always learning and I always want to keep an open mind to new things and new styles. I’ve found my niche, which is an old school sound without a lot of effects or anything like that. I’ve always stuck to that take on bass, especially in a band this big. There are seven pieces including three guitars and a keyboard. I don’t need to be up there in that register. As they say, I like to pick my battles, so I’ll just throw a little run in every once in a while. [Once I do,] the guys in the band will say, “It’s so cool that you did that!” and I’ll say, “Trust me, I’ve waited for that for hours!” [laughs] Restraint, restraint, restraint.
There are a lot of small things you do that make a song pop, too. Just a simple slide up the neck to hit the octave can tie a transition together.
It’s a lost art. The simplicity is getting lost in a lot of songs nowadays. A simple slide up to a single note can say so much more than thirty notes to a bar. For me, anyways.
What was the band’s formation like?
We’ve been talking about it for a few years. A lot of it was more about the timing of things. It’s always been tough for us under the umbrella of our fathers and the Allman Brothers Band. We’ve all been through these projects before and it can be tough because the shadow of your family’s umbrella can overshadow anything you’re trying to do. For instance, when I was in Bloodline with Joe Bonamassa in the early ’90s, it went really well but it didn’t last long. Everyone was so focused on me, and Miles Davis’s son was the drummer, Robby Krieger’s son was the guitar player, and Joe being the prodigy he was, it just overshadowed anything we were trying to do as a band. It made it tough for us as a band to really lock.
That’s not happening here, which is really nice. We know where we come from, we know the legacy, and we all love it, of course. We love our fathers and what they’ve done, so we’ve found a way for us that makes us happy to pay our respects. I know a lot of people thought we were going to come out and just play a bunch of Allman tunes in honor of the 50th anniversary of the band. But we’ve all been trying to make our own mark on the world. We’re making a happy blend of the songs we like and our new original material while paying homage to our fathers. So far it’s been working out really great. We’ve had a great response.
It’s tough with new music, too. We’re getting a lot of Allman fans, but fortunately, everyone is receiving us really well. We still get the occasional yelling out for “Whipping Post,” though. [laughs]
How often do you oblige that?
We haven’t actually played that yet. We did it last year at the big family revival that we do every year at the Fillmore in San Francisco. That was the last time we did that. We had Marcus King there, so we had him sing it. There are a few songs we mixed into our set just depending on how we’re feeling that night.
Speaking of singing, I wasn’t really aware of Bloodline before this and it was a great band. I was impressed with your singing as well as your bass playing. Are you going to be singing with the Allman Betts Band?
Between me, Devon and Duane, we’re all singers and frontmen. I’ve been singing and leading bands for decades. I fell into singing on accident. After the Dreams tour, I started jamming around town with bands. My godfather, Robby Krieger, hired me and his son to play with him in the Robby Krieger Band. On every other show, Robby would have me sing a different Doors song. By the end of the year, I was singing about 80 percent of the Doors songs plus playing bass.
The same thing happened with Bloodline. We had a few potential guys including Sammy Hagar’s son to be the lead singer. Lo and behold, the whole band ganged up on me and said, “Berry sings. Let’s just make him the singer!” I’m grateful for that because it’s pushed me a long way. Then I had the Blue Floyd project with Allen Woody, Johnny Neel, Matt Abts, and Marc Ford. They were all singers, but nobody wanted to learn all the lyrics so they said, “Well, Berry can sing most of the tunes.”
Coming into this new project, it’s a little strange not singing that much. I’m doing backgrounds and they’re bringing me up front more and more. I’m singing about two songs per set. We’re trying to find a balance. Between the three of us, we have such unique voices. I lean more towards the blues and soul, Devon is more rock and roll, and Duane has that country thing. It’s nice taking turns. I’ll probably start taking on more tunes as it goes on.
What was the writing process like for the new album?
A lot of it was already done before I jumped in on the project. They had been working on some songs. When the time went to get into Muscle Shoals, they had a lot of the material laid out. I kind of missed out on that part of the first album, but this next record I’m going to be more involved with as far as writing and singing. Fortunately, it all worked out. It’s a strange thing because a band usually rehearses for months before they come into the studio to record. We came in there cold. I hadn’t heard half of those songs in my life. They said, “Here are the songs. They’re gonna hit the red button, so let’s figure it out.”
In a way, it was nice to get that raw perspective that got caught on tape. We’re already planning the second record, getting our songs and ideas together.
Did recording in Muscle Shoals carry any weight for you?
It was very cool. Just walking in there, you could feel the vibes and energy. It was very calm and serene. God, it’s such a tiny room, too! You see all the pictures in documentaries, but you get struck by what they could do with what they had. It just goes to show that sometimes you just need a little room with good energy. Everybody walked in with great respect for the room and its history. We just embraced it and used it to our advantage.
I know you like old school gear, so what did you use to record the album?
I actually got to use David Hood’s old bass rig that was in there. That was pretty cool. It was a Fender 300, I think. Whichever one he’s had there for decades and decades. I brought my vintage ’66 Jazz Bass. It really gave me that old school tone I was looking for.
I really loved the groove to “Down to the River.”
Yeah, that was a lot of fun. I was trying to lean towards a Duck Dunn kind of thing. Just keep accentuate the notes and keep it as simple as possible. Even though I didn’t know a lot of these tunes, they let me have my way with them. I always play to the drummer, so once I knew what kind of groove it was, I had free range to find my space in the song. That one, in particular, I could tell it was a cool, greasy feel.
Do you have a method for locking in with drummers or do you follow your gut?
For me, I follow my gut. As we bass players know, you’re only as good as your drummer. When you’re locking down on that groove with your drummer, you have to work with them – not against them. I’ve seen a lot of guys who fight their drummers, playing-wise, instead of falling in line with them. Fortunately, I’ve had a great career and gotten to play with some really cool drummers that have taught me a lot.
The same thing happened with, John Lum, the drummer for this band. I hadn’t really known him before the project. I knew him for about a year before I got involved. I got to see how he would play things. Now we’ve found a good groove together and a good way to lock. I’m more of an aggressive bass player, for sure, so I’m not standing in the back being quiet. I tend to push at times. As long as you have a good relationship it works really well.
I’ve gotten to play with a lot of great drummers: Matt Abts, Butch Trucks, Cody Dickinson… I could go on and on. You play a little differently with each drummer. For instance, if I play “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” with Cody Dickinson or Matt Abts, it will be totally different because of their styles. I just have to lock in with them.
When I was touring with the Butch Trucks Band, a lot of my dad’s bass playing made so much more sense to me. After all these years, the pieces fell into place because that was his drummer. I know so many bass players who would ask how my dad played different things and I’d give explanations, but I didn’t realize until I played in a band with Butch that it was because of his drummer. His drummer gave him that energy and space to do it. It kind of messes it up for other people because I’ll say, “Well, Butch did this, so if you do it then I can do that.” [laughs]
It’s hard for anyone that wants to play like your father did because you need a Butch Trucks on your side.
Exactly. A lot of those early Allman lines, it was Butch and Jaimoe that made them what they were. It gave my dad and the guys the space to be wacky like they were. Dickie Betts always told me, “We never had a bass player. We had two little guitars and one big one.”
He started on guitar, didn’t he?
Yeah, he did play guitar. I do as well. He fell into bass somewhere and history was made.
You have his Tractor bass, don’t you? Are you using it much?
Yeah, I do. I use it every now and then. It’s just tough now with touring because I get so nervous about traveling with it. We don’t have a huge crew still. I’ll bring it out for specific gigs and big events.
It’s a really cool bass. The main gist of it is that it’s a ’62 Jazz that he took the neck pickup out of and mounted it behind the bridge pickup. He left the bridge pickup intact and putting the neck pickup next to the bridge made it sound interesting. Then he ripped apart one of those Guild Starfire basses and took the BiSonic pickup and put it in the neck position. Then he added an extra volume and tone knob to that.
When I was hanging around with the Brothers for a long time, I got to know Joe Dan Petty, who was the guitar tech from the beginning to just about his passing. He was the one who helped my dad actually build the thing. So it was good to get how things went down from the horse’s mouth. Really, a lot of the Tractor came from my dad and Phil Lesh being close and talking shop whenever they got together. My dad just got tired of always hearing about Phil’s cool new bass features like sending each string to a different amp. That was kind of the inspiration to make the Tractor. He thought, “I’m in a big touring band and I need a crazy sounding bass that can do a lot of things, too.” One night, he and Joe Dan Petty got drunk at The Barn in Macon, Georgia and just started ripping them all apart. It’s really interesting, too. If you take off the pickguard where that BiSonic is, you can tell they literally just chiseled out the wood. It looks like they used a flathead screwdriver and a hammer to get that pickup in there. It’s pretty wild.
He’d swap necks all the time. I hear it from fans all the time: the picture has this or that. As a lot of people did with Fenders, my dad would swap the necks a bunch. The last one he put on it was the neck from a ’65 he had with block inlays. That’s what sits on it now, but I do have his other bass which is a ’65 with a ’62 neck on it. It used to be in the Hall of Fame in Cleveland but I was able to acquire it again.
You’ll be on the road for most of the rest of the year. Is there anything you can share about the next Allman Betts album?
There are some cool tunes that everyone’s bringing to the table. We’ll work it out, but it’s really in the early phases of it. I’m really curious to see how it all fits together when we hit the studio again, which should be sometime in December. I’m hoping between now and then we’ll have some pretty neat stuff. Photo Credits: Chris Brush @ Smoking Monkey Photo
Allman Betts Band Tour Dates:
| Date | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 8 | Ocean City, NJ | NJ Music Pier |
| Jul 23 | Cologne, GER | Kantine |
| Jul 24 | Amsterdam, NL | Paradiso |
| Jul 20 | Maidstone, UK | Ramblin’ Man Fair |
| Jul 25-28 | Scranton, PA | Peach Music Festival |
| Jul 25-28 | Breitenbach, GER | Burg Herzberg festival |
| Aug 10 | Duluth, MN | Bayfront Blues Festival |
| Aug 11 | Fargo, ND The Hall | Fargo Brewing Co. |
| Aug 22-25 | Arrington, VA | LOCKN’ Festival |
| Aug 29 | St. Charles, IL | The Arcada Theater |
| Aug 30 | Fort Wayne, IN | Sweetwater Performance Pavilion |
| Sep 1 | Lakeville, PA | Cove Ent Resorts |
| Sep 5-8 | Las Vegas, NV | Big Blues Bender |
| Sep 13 | Colo Springs, CO | Pikes Peak Center |
| Nov 1 | Auburn, AL | Jay and Susie Gouge Performing Arts Center |
News
Rolling Stone | 5/30/2019
News
The Devon Allman Project Lights Up The Music Instrument Museum
Devon Allman started things off and had the crowd in the palm of his hand in in short order. He had them hooked the second he walked out on stage, bonding with the fans with his witty jokes, comments, and entertaining this quiet crowd.
https://www.americanbluesscene.com/the-devon-allman-project-lights-up-the-music-instrument-museum/
News
Rolling Stone – June 18th, 2018
In this candid interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Devon shares about the road to this summers tour.
For the first few months after Gregg Allman died, his 45-year-old son Devon was unable to perform in public. “I called up my agent and canceled every date,” he says. “I said to him, ‘I’m not gonna be able to concentrate. The energy in the room is not gonna be about the concert. It’s gonna be about, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry your father passed.’ I knew I couldn’t do it.”
But in August of 2017 he gathered up the courage to walk onstage at the Peach Fest in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and belt out an emotional rendition of the 1972 Allman Brothers Classic “One Way Out.” “I was just fighting back tears,” he says. “I was missing my dad and thinking about how badly I wanted to hear him sing, and knowing that I never would again.”
Realizing it was now his obligation to keep his father’s music alive, Devon reached out to Dickey Betts’ son Duane to see if he’d join him for a tour this summer where they’d play their own music before teaming up at the end of the night for a mini set of Allman Brothers classics. During downtime from the road, Devon phoned us up to talk about the tour, losing his father and what it was like growing up the son of rock royalty.
How old you were you first started playing music?
I started playing in garage punk bands when I was 13, much to the dismay of my neighbors. And we were horrible. But we had this profound love for everything from R&B, Otis Redding, Al Green to Motörhead and early Iron Maiden. I think I was probably 19 or 20 when I joined my first serious band.
You didn’t meet your dad until you were a teenager, right?
I was 17 when I met him, about four years after I first picked up a guitar.
I imagine you always knew he was your father, though.
Yeah, definitely. My mom was really cool. She knew he was having issues with drugs and alcohol and the lifestyle, and didn’t want to raise her kid in that environment. I was really grateful that she approached it that way. She always told me, “Hey, when you’re old enough, you’ll meet him. You guys will get along great. He’s a good guy.” She never once shit-talked him, which really is a testament to her character.
Did you resent him when you were younger for not being in your life?
I didn’t resent him. I think that I was bummed out that he didn’t reach out. But later in life I became a father myself and began to understood my dad’s story. His father was murdered when he was two or three years old. He was scared to death of the role of a father. But it was tough sometimes, growing up without a dad. But when I met him, it wasn’t like I was ready to slug him. I wanted to know him. And he wanted to know me, too. I know he felt a great weight off of his shoulders once we forged a relationship.
It’s great you had that chance. So many kids who grow up without a father never get that chance.
I sought him out, man. And I really tried to be the glue for the Allman family, and get us together for holidays even though we were really scattered. But I really, really tried for the last 20 years to keep some semblance of a normal kind of family vibe.
When did you first play one of his songs?
I was 17 and I quit high school to go on an Allman Brothers reunion tour [in 1989]. On the final night, they didn’t bother telling me, but they put me on the spot, and introduced me to come out and sing “Midnight Rider.” It was in front of like 3,000 people in Miami. And thank the lord, they caught me so off guard that I just went out there and did it. It was a great response from the crowd. I really fell in love with that, that energy exchange.
Were you really familiar with his songs at this point?
No. I did not grow up studying the Duane [Allman] licks and knowing my dad’s catalogue. I liked heavy metal. I liked the Cure and the Smiths. I loved blues. I loved B.B. King; I loved Buddy Guy. But I didn’t want to just study his music, you know? I wanted to find my own path in music, something that I could call my own. I specifically didn’t study that music. Of course I respected it.
What made you want to play his music after he died?
I think that it’s important that the music live on. But there’s also a balance that has to be kept. I’ve got nine albums out. I’ve toured 25 countries. I have my own fan base. They do not want me to come out and play two hours of Allman Brothers songs. That’s because me and Duane [Betts] aren’t the Allman Brothers. But to come out and not do any, is not very respectful also. So I started to envision how I could do both.
I’ve known Duane for years. He’s been a guitarist for his dad’s band and for Dawes for the last decade plus. He’s finally coming out and being his own leader, writing his own material, putting out his first record this year. So he really needed some type of way to go out there and tour and play his material. So I was like, “Man, why don’t you come out and open for me? Do 40 minutes, I’ll do 70 minutes, and then let’s do an encore together and tip our hats to the dads and some other musical heroes.” We’ve thrown a Prince song in. We’ve thrown in Tom Petty songs. It’s been wonderful. And for the first time in my life, I studied [Allman Brothers] deep cuts. I did tell my band to go back and I said, “The people that love that music, they fell in love with the studio versions of the original records, so study those, and let’s do them really good justice.”
How did you guys prep for the tour?
We spent six months woodshedding. Now we’re six weeks into the yearlong tour. It’s really starting to jell. We’ve been doing some amazing songs, like “Dreams.” We’ve been doing “Multi-Colored Lady” off his [1973] solo record Laid Back. Everyone’s just really playing in top form, and it’s really starting to jell now that we’re a month or two in.
Tell me how your friendship with Duane started.
We were both on that reunion tour in 1989. One day I got on the bus and I see this cool-looking kid with long hair and a Sony Walkman and I’m like, “Hey, dude.” It’s gotta be Dickey’s son, he looks just like him. I’m like, “What are you listening to, man?” And he’s like, “Testament.” And I was way into Megadeth and Metallica, the early stuff. So immediately I was like, “This kid is cool. He’s like 12 years old, thrashing to Testament.” I really felt like we were pretty simpatico right out of the gate.
Just fast forward through the years. We would run into each other backstage in England, or at an event, or down in Sarasota where his dad lives. We’d shoot the shit, catch up, do a little jamming. We always had it in the back of our minds, like, “Aw, man, it would be cool to join forces someday.”
Your fathers obviously had a pretty nasty split. Did that ever impact your relationship with Duane?
[Laughs] It never did! It never even made it awkward. We laughed about it. While the world was gasping at the big split we were like, “Whatever, it happens. It’s families and families become estranged. Families have their ups and their downs.” I do know that my dad always loved Duane, and Dickey has always been down for me and loved me. I do know that before my dad passed, he and Dickey had a conversation that really meant the world to my dad, and they were cool. Everybody likes to kind of magnify the drama, right? But, at the end of the day, we’re all dudes playing music, and there’s nothing but love at the core of that.
What got you through those first few shows after he died?
The fans. This is the soundtrack of their lives. It’s the soundtrack to their good times, it’s the medicine for their bad times. You try not to get on the cerebral side of things at all when you perform. You really try to get into that headspace where there’s really no thoughts going on. But that was so heavy, it’s pretty impossible to rise above that.
The first few times, I’ve gotta say, it was overwhelming. But then time marches on and you realize that people do wanna hear these songs. They wanna experience those feelings again. It’s been a trip to start the intro to “Blue Sky” and see tears roll down people’s faces. That means so much to me.
I take it you see it as your responsibility to keep these songs alive.
It’s a gift. I’m really proud of my family. I’m proud of everyone in my family, from my dad and Duane, to my sister Brooklyn who plays music, to [my half-brother] Elijah Blue, who plays music. We have a wonderful family of musicians, and to be able to cap my night by playing the songs of my dad for the people, it means a lot to me.
Is the Allman Brothers Band name gone forever? Is there any scenario you’d maybe revive it with Duane, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Jaimoe and possiby even Dickey?
I don’t think that that would be very respectful of the legacy. It’s always going be a balance, and my number one thing is integrity and class. So is there a way to kind of perpetuate it within a loose framework? Yes. But to come out and use their name, or the mushrooms and the peaches after they worked hard for all that? No. It’s one thing to play a handful of songs and tip your hat to them and give the people that nostalgia. It’s quite another thing to open up shop on a business that wrapped up their shop already.
It’s been a really rough couple of years for classic-rock figures with your dad, David Bowie, Tom Petty, Glenn Frey and so many more. Do you think as time goes on, more and more children of these people will begin playing their dad’s music on the road?
Absolutely. And I think that’s the thing that people are realizing. There’s tribute bands out the ass. It’s a big, money-making deal. But wouldn’t you rather see a Bonham beat the shit out of the drums? And wouldn’t you rather hear an Allman and a Betts do “Blue Sky” and “Midnight Rider” instead of a tribute band? Hell, yes, you would!
As time marches on, it does become important for the next generation to carry the music on or else it’s just gonna die. Nobody is gonna play that anymore, and if they do, it’s gonna be a sloppy tribute band. I think the people deserve more than that. I think the people deserve to hear it from the bloodlines of the musicians that turned them on in the first place.
Not all the children of rock stars feel that way. Some of them resent always been seen through the lens of their parent.
I tempered that outcome by really being hard-headed, and being into alternative music and punk rock and putting out my own records. It was important for me to not fall into that trap and that when I go to play a show that people know my songs.
But I know my place in all this. I’m not at a John Mayer–like level, but I’ve toured 25 countries and I make a good living. I’ve got a great fan base. And that’s before my dad’s name was ever even thrown into the mix. So being able to do this for my fans and then to be able to also do something for his fans is the best of both worlds. Like I said, it’s really about maintaining that balance. You’re not gonna see me come out and do three hours of Allman Brothers’ songs because me and Duane aren’t the Allman Brothers. But we’ll do a little bit and that means a lot to us.
~Andy Green, Rolling Stone Magazine