Beast of burden

>> Between Gov’t Mule and myriad other
projects, guitarist Warren Haynes is at
his best when he’s busiest

THE RIGHT CHEMISTRY:
Warren Haynes (centre) and Gov’t Mule

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

In 1989, singer/guitarist Warren Haynes took up the daunting guitar position in the Allman Brothers, long left vacant by Duane Allman after his passing in 1971. Haynes rose to the challenge of filling the shoes of one of the most gifted guitarists in rock, and actually breathed new life into the band. While holding down the Allman gig, which he continues to do to this day, Haynes also formed Gov’t Mule in 1994, originally as a side project with Allen Woody (since replaced by Andy Hess, when Woody died in 2000) and drummer Matt Abts, with keyboardist Danny Louis also joining the fold in 2000.

In keeping with Allman tradition, the Mule became notorious for letting it all hang out, with songs bursting into stellar improvisational moments that pushed well past the 10-minute mark. Miraculously, they were able to pull off a balancing act that refused to stoop to mere wanking, with the band expertly playing off each other and proving the old jazz rule, “It’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play.”

“I think there are exceptions, obviously,” says Haynes, “but a lot of bands associated with the jam-band scene put all of their prime focus on jamming, and not on songwriting. I think unique chemistry in an improv situation is important, but it will only get you so far, whereas good songs will always have you coming back.”

When I talk to Haynes over the phone, he is in the middle of the Gov’t Mule tour, which began directly after his tour with the Allman Brothers ended. An hour after our interview ends, Haynes would play a one-off with the Allman Brothers in front of 50,000 people, and then, later on that night, sit in with Dave Mathews as a lead guitarist, before flying off to New York to play Farm Aid the next day, and resuming the Gov’t Mule tour, which will keep him busy until December. With solo acoustic shows filling up his limited down time, as well as his position held in the Dead, with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, Haynes is racking up his fair share of frequent-flyer miles.

“I have actually found myself turning things down for the first time in my life,” Haynes says. “Not because I wouldn’t love to do them, but because I just don’t have the time. The past eight years have been really busy, but they’ve also been the most productive for me as a songwriter, so I’ve been really lucky.”

Gov’t Mule and Haynes’s other gigs may be varied, musically, but they all have one thing in common—they fly directly in the face of mainstream’s strange fascination with disposable pop ditties. With live shows that can last for up to two hours, Gov’t Mule prefer to challenge both their audiences and themselves, instead of mere placation. The Mule are true renegades in a world of lip-synching automatons hawking soda and lazy hacks using the three-chord punk rock rule as a quick road to fame and fortune, but as Haynes explains, the current state of music is just living in a dark hour before the dawn.

“Everything has just been reduced to soundbites, where people just want the singles and not the whole album. What’s next, people are just going to start downloading choruses? Thankfully, things like satellite radio are adding more musical freedom to the dial, and I really think things are going to change. Something has just got to change, because I feel art of all types is really at its lowest point right now.”

With guests at le National on Friday,
Sept. 14, 9 p.m., $25, all ages