Für Fans von: Rock und Folk & Blues.
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Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Warren Haynes was surrounded by soul, R&B and blues from an early age, picking through his older brothers’ record collection of the likes of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Smokey Robinson. By 12, Haynes had picked up the guitar, taking to it like a duck to water, soon finding himself playing at parties as he tried to emulate his hero, Eric Clapton’s sound.
By his later teens Haynes was regularly playing in North Carolina clubs, joining the popular band Ricochet. David Allan Coe’s bassist saw Haynes play and impressed, he secured Haynes a gig with the band after their former lead guitarist left. Haynes played with Coe’s band for four years (1980 to 1984), during which he embarked on several tours and appeared on three albums.
A brief stint with the Nighthawks acted as an interlude between gigs, with Haynes later joining former Allman Brothers guitarist, Dickey Betts, appearing on his album, “Pattern Disruptive,” in 1988. The following year, Betts and Greg Allman reformed their band, bringing Haynes in as their second guitarist. At this time, Haynes also formed his own band, who performed in between his commitments with the Allman Brothers.
In 1993, Haynes released his first solo album, “Tales of Ordinary Madness,” yet then formed another group the following year, Gov’t Mule, a trio with the Allman Brothers’ Allen Woody (bass) and Matt Abts (drums). After their self-titled debut, Haynes decided to focus solely on Gov’t Mule, leaving the Allman Brothers. However, the tragic death of Allen Woody in 2000 stalled the project, with Haynes rejoining the Allman Brothers. Eventually, Gov’t Mule continued as a duo, playing shows for the next few years with a revolving door of bassists. By 2003, the lineup had solidified again with Andy Hess (bass) and Danny Louis (keyboards).
Warren Haynes moved to another classic rock act in 2004, having being asked to join with the Grateful Dead, playing on their first reunion tour in 2009. Haynes then started his band back up again, whist continuing with these several commitments, forever busy as an artist. Haynes also featured on several collaborations, from Dave Matthews to Corrosion of Conformity, still highly in demand. With 2011’s “Man in Motion,” Haynes returned to his southern soul roots, released on the legendary Stax label. The live album, “Live at the Moody Theater,” followed in 2012, offering the perfect showcase of Haynes incredible talent.
Although Warren Haynes is best known for his stellar guitar playing and credits with The Allman Brothers Band, he is in fact very talented solo vocalist himself. I was unaware of this, and came across his music when researching the Brothers Band to try and get tickets to a gig. I listened to a few of his tracks on YouTube, and before I knew it, I’d gone right ahead and bought The Lone EP, and a few of his singles.
Seeing him live really makes you appreciate the talent that he has within him. The concert was over two hours long, and for every single song, he was entirely invested in what he was playing. Form track to track, the energy grew. His vocals were on top form, and the guitar solos were simply out of this world. Watching his fingers dance across the fret board was something that is simply incomprehensible to me! The addition of the symphony behind him transported the audience to another dimension entirely, and when he played Shakedown Street, every single audience member was up on their feet, jumping and dancing around like mad. The performance was of such a high standard that it simply flew by, no one wanted it to end, it was a showcase of such classic talent that was on absolute top form. I would definitely recommend seeing Haynes in concert for a fusion of great vocals and incredible guitar start to finish.