[Slowhand] Interview Duane Allman 1970 nice EC mentions

[Scott Wallenberg]

*The Allman Brothers Band: Rapping with Duane Allman and Berry Oakley*

* Jon Tiven*, *New Haven Rock Press*, 1970

DUANE ALLMAN and Berry Oakley are respectively, the guitarist and
bassist
for the Allman Brothers Band. Between shows at University of New Haven,
I
got to rap a bit with them, and the following is a transcript of that
conversation.

*When did the Allman Brothers first get together as a band rather than a
backing group?*

Duane Allman: I don't know, that just gradually changed over, it has no
specific date. Since the second album's done well we just stopped taking
backing gigs and stuff...not stopped taking them, you know, but we've
tried
to cool it a bit.

*When did you first meet the rest of the band?*

Duane: Down in Florida two years ago in the wintertime. Me and Jaimo got
together in Alabama and we went south and got all the other cats
together.
Went back to make it where our offices are; we're close to the business,
keep from getting screwed, you knew, keep an eye on things.

*What artists have you enjoyed most playing behind?*

Duane: Laura Nyro, John Hammond, King Curtis, and Eric Clapton.

*What's the most recent backing work you've done?*

Duane: Laura Nyro - one cut off her new album called* Beads of Sweat
*and I
didn't play much on that, just a couple of licks. It was real enjoyable
man,
she's a real outasight chick and a fantastic artist and composer.

*Where was the Clapton album recorded?*

Duane: In Miami at Criterion Studios - that's the best.

*What was the story behind your involvement in the group?*

Duane: Well, I went down there to watch them make that record because I
was
interested in it, I thought "Well now, the cat's got him a band",
because
I've been an admirer of Eric Clapton for a long, long time; I've always
dug
his playing, he inspired me a lot and I always just personally dug his
playing. Figured I'd get a chance to meet him and watch this thing go
down,
y'know, so I went down. So when I saw him he acted like he knew me, like
I
was an old friend, "Heh man, how are you" y'know. And he said "As long
as
you're here we want you to get on this record and make it with us, we
need
more guitar players anyway", so I did, I was real flattered and glad to
be
able to do it.

*What's your favorite place to play?*

Berry: Stonybrook College in New York...

Duane: Or the Warehouse in New York, man, I always get off there. Yeah,
and
the Fillmore has good sound.

Berry: In Detroit, the East Town Theatre has fantastic sound.

*Why do you have Guild pickups on your Fender bass?*

Berry: I used to have a guild bass, and I like the way it sounded but I
didn't like the bass, so I put 'em on there to see what'd happen. I just
prefer the Fender, I like the long neck.

*How did you come to use 2 drummers?*

Duane: We've had them from the first 'cause we knew we was going to be
playing loud, and both cats can play everything they need to play if
there's
two of them instead of one cat having to flog his ass of the whole
night.

*How was Adrian Barber as a producer (on the 1st album)*

Duane: He was good to us, he was outasite. Man, we were satisfied with
him,
he's a fine cat... pretty much turned the knobs for us.

*Are you happy with your second album?*

Duane: Yeah, we are. Tom Dowd - a master, an artist. We're really gonna
be
happy with the next one.

*Where's that going to be recorded?*

Duane: Partly live at the Warehouse, part in the studio in Miami. We've
got
an eight-track that's nice, and we're going to the mountains for two
weeks
to write, bringin' an eight-track with us up there and do some of it
there,
yeah, we might get something out of that. We've got some tapes already
from
the Atlanta Pop Festival and Love valley which was all recorded and if
that's any good we'll use that.

*When you write a song, do you wait for the inspiration, or do you just
sit
down and say, "I'm gonna write me a song"? *

Duane: I don't write, I don't know how, and if you ever find out please
tell
me.

Berry: Greg originally wrote all our stuff and then Dickie wrote some on
the
new album. Yeah, he sat down and tried to write, but if he didn't feel
it he
didn't write it.

Duane: Yeah, if you got something you wanna say and have people hear it,
a
song is a good way. People can really dig songs; everybody loves music
but
not everyone loves messages.

*Why didn't you use the Muscle Shoals studios as you're so familiar with
it?
*

Duane: I don't know, man, we just started recording and before we got
down
there we got done, y'know so we didn't go. I hope we do sometimes. The
Stones did a hell of a thing there, I know.

*Did you learn guitar by ear?*

Duane: Yeah, I can't read.

*Who are your influences?*

Duane: Man, everything I ever heard - WLHC radio.

*Do you listen to the radio?*

Duane: Now? No, not at all. Some records: Miles Davis (early Miles) and
John
Coltrane and Robert Johnson, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters; see, you get a
goal
in mind, a note that you want to hit with your band and then you gotta
go
out on the road and your spiritual battery runs down. You get home and
you
listen to that stuff and say "Ah, there it is, I have it before me, I
know
what to do" and you go out and do it.

*Did you have a lot of trouble getting gigs before you were a name
band?*

Duane: Yeah, nobody knew our name. People are like monkeys, you have to
tell
them "Man, this is outasight" and they say "Ah - it is, isn't it?" -
well,
nobody told 'em.

*When was your first big break?*

Duane: Getting with Atlantic Records. Atlantic, man, they dig our music.
And
Ahmet (Ertegun), the president, he loves to listen to good sides, man.
You
go right to him and bang on his door "Ahmet, Ahmet, something's screwed"
and
he says "What?" you say "This" and he says "We'll change it" and it's
done,
you don't have to fool around. There aint none of that crap, he solid
and
it's a good label.

*Do you listen to a lot of jazz stuff?*

Duane: Man, I have a pitifully small knowledge of jazz - Roland Kirk is
clean outa-sight. * Kind of Blue *album by Miles is the one that just
kills
me. There's an album called *Jazz Tracks *by Miles that's really
good...Miles' *Greatest Hits* just came out on Columbia is fantastic. *
Best
of 'Trane *on Impulse and *Best of 'Trane *on Atlantic both are
unbelievable...hear a man's life work in half an hour, an hour.

*You've played with Johnny Winter, haven't you? *

Duane: Yeah, I seen him this morning, came to our room. Good bottleneck,
good player all around. I prefer his music to his show...I prefer music
to
any show.

*You're playing colleges now, aren't you?*

Duane: All different things: colleges, concerts, ballrooms.
*
Do you get a chance to live home at all?*

Duane: Gypsies ain't got no home, I'm at home when I'm with my people;
I'm
always at home, I'm home now.

*I take it you like it.*

Duane: I LOVE it.

...and with that closing comment they left to do the second show.

(c) Jon Tiven, 1970




Scott Wallenberg