Guitar master Warren Haynes is never one for a dull moment. In the midst of his Ashes & Dust fall tour, which sees Haynes collaborating with ChessBoxer and drummer Jeff Sipe, the guitarist is relentless. With a new Gov’t Mule album on the way, not to mention his annual Christmas Jam event and recently getting inducted into the North Carolina Hall of Fame (!), it’s only getting bigger and better for the great Warren Haynes.

Our own Rex Thomson got the exclusive with Haynes, who also spoke about the Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead with us. Read on for the full story!

L4LM:  Percentage wise…how much of your day is there a guitar in your hands?

Warren Haynes:  Well…we do a long sound check, and then a long show, so minimum I would say about four hours…usually more.  

L4LM:  Be honest…you’re holding a guitar right now aren’t you?

WH:  No…I’m holding my cell phone, which is not nearly as fun.

L4LM:  You have a very distinct guitar tone.  Was it a sound that you heard in your heart or mind that you sought o bring out, or was it something that you found?

WH:  I like a big sound.  I always thought about Sonny Rollins’ tenor saxophone, and that sound…I tried to emulate that.  Also…the sound of my voice. When I think about people like B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt, they sing and play with a similar voice.  When you hear B.B. his guitar sounds like his voice and his voice sounds like his guitar, and the same with Bonnie Raitt.  So I tried to do that…where my voice and my guitar sound similar, because they’re coming from the same spirit.  

L4LM:  When did it first become clear to you that playing guitar was your true calling? 

WH:  I started singing around seven or eight…and I started playing guitar around eleven.  A lot of people stop in the first couple of years, but I remained obsessed with it.  My dad could tell that I had this sort of obsession, so he would continue to get me a little bit better guitar, a little bit better amplifier.  I guess when you’re a kid EVERYBODY thinks they have the calling but at some point that seems to dissipate, but with me it never did.  I started playing bars and night clubs and stuff when I was fourteen years old, and it was such a thrill that I just wanted to continue to play live music.  It became this huge motivation for me…and has remained that way since. 

L4LM:  That had to be fun as a kid…sneaking into the adult world and getting a peek behind the curtain so to speak. 

WH:  Yeah…exciting on so many different levels…not the least of which…it was against the law.  (Laughs)  I think when you get bit with the performance bug, playing in front of an audience is such an intense feeling…there’s nothing like it.  The energy you feel coming from the audience.  You get anxious in a good way…nervous in a good way…excited in a good way.  Of course, live music is such a big part of my life, even, I daresay, much more than making my studio recordings.  I’m very proud of all the ones I’ve made, but still…on a day by day basis it’s all about live performance.  

L4LM:  Speaking of live performances, at many of the festivals you play, it seems like your work schedule is a headlining set or two, and then about 74 sit ins.  Do you sleep?

WH:  (Chuckles)  Yeah…sometimes you just have to pick your hours…they may not be normal.  When we travel a lot of times we travel at night and we sleep on the bus or at the hotel the next day but my schedule revolves around a lot of spontaneity so sometimes…we’re not as much on an actual schedule as we would like to be.  

L4LM:  Have you ever dreamt of sit ins? 

WH:  Probably, yeah.  I can remember dreams of onstage stuff.  Not necessarily realistic in that it’s something that actually happened that way, ’cause of course the dream version is completely different.  It’s not something I can remember happening often, but yeah, I can remember dreams about collaborations. 

L4LM:  You’re out on the road right now supporting your new Americana/Bluegrass disc, “Ashes And Dust.”  That’s a direction not a lot of folks saw coming for you.  What was the impetus behind this project?

WH:  I grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, which is in the mountains in the North part of the state, surrounded by Appalachian music, mountain music, Celtic music, folk music…and was exposed to all that before I even picked up a guitar.  I didn’t think that I liked that kinda music when I was a kid…I was probably thirteen or fourteen before I realized I actually DID like that kind of music.  It became a big influence on me, especially as a songwriter…so…I’ve been writing songs in this direction all my life…I’ve accumulated dozens of them through the years, including some that are brand new.  A lot of the songs on “Ashes And Dust” are anywhere from brand new to twenty or thirty years old and everywhere in between.  We recorded about twenty five songs.  We only released about half of them so there’s another albums worth of material still in the can and another albums worth of material that I still haven’t recorded yet.  So…this could be the start of kinda like a series. 

L4LM:  The last we heard you were planning on heading into the studio in the spring with Gov’t Mule.  Is that still the plan? 

WH:  Yeah, that’s probably accurate.  We haven’t made definite plans…which we hardly ever do, but we’re overdue to get back there so we’re all excited so I would imagine the next project for me would be that.

L4LM:  A lot of people will be happy to hear that.

WH:  Me too.

L4LM:  It’s been about a year now…do you find yourself missing the Allman Brothers?

WH:  Yeah, I think we all miss it…we knew we would.  It was a group decision, contrary to how it got portrayed in the press.  It was a group decision for the band to stop touring after forty five years…but we all knew we would miss it.  The wonderful chemistry the band has…of course…The Allman Brothers is one of the greatest bands of all time.   The fact that I’ve been able to be part of it for over twenty five years is an amazing, overwhelming opportunity.  The incarnation since 2001 was quite amazing and we continued to get better and better and better but I think we all knew that a some point the smart thing to do would be to discontinue the touring schedule.  I’m sure we’ll all find ourselves playing together in different projects, and end up on the same stages and sitting in with each other.  Right now everyone is enjoying doing their own things. 

L4LM:  Speaking of legendary bands, you’ve taken up some of the biggest mantles in music history, speaking of course of your run with the Dead, covering Jerry’s spot.  Earlier this year Trey Anastasio followed in your footsteps for the Fare Thee Well shows.  How do you think he did?

WH:  I haven’t heard the shows.  I was on tour, actually, at that time, but, I’m sure he did great.  Trey and I have known each other a long, long time and played together many times.  These kinds of situations there are reasons, or a group of reasons why people are chosen to be in a certain position…usually because…they’re gonna be the right person.  I think, with that music, it’s nice to see different people interpreting it different ways. Bringing in their own personalities, but also bringing with them the influences that came before, y’know?  I look forward to hearing those shows, but I haven’t yet.

L4LM:  John Mayer is up for the job next…any advice for him?

WH:  No.  He doesn’t need my advice. 

L4LM:  Yeah, it seems like the right move when you’re trying to replace someone so distinctive is to bring in someone different and try to make something new. 

WH:  When I first started playing with Phil Lesh in the late nineties he was very adamant about interpreting the music differently than it had been in the past.  He wasn’t looking for someone to come in and necessarily play or sing like Jerry Garcia.  He was, at that time especially looking for new voices to take the music in another direction.  Which is a thing that all those guys love to do.  If you look at the projects that Bobby and Mickey and Billy do, even when they’re interpreting Grateful Dead music they’re interpreting it in ways that nobody would expect.  There has to be some sort of a balance between that and giving the audience, at least a part of the audience, what they want, which is familiarity.  Striking that balance is the real challenge.  But I think…from a musician standpoint…you don’t look back. 

L4LM:  You mentioned Phil…we’re all rooting for him here at Live For Live Music following his recent announcement about his cancer.  Did you know about this, or was it a surprise to you as well?

WH:  I didn’t know about it til the last few days.

L4LM:  Nothing but love to him.  Since you’ve had experience filling some of the biggest musical shoes, I kinda wondered…if Paul McCartney and Ringo came to you and asked for help restarting the Beatles, which one of the slots do you think you’d be better suited for?

WH:  Whatever they asked…I would be happy to oblige!

L4LM:  You recently got inducted into the North Carolina Hall Of fame.  How surreal was that?

WH:  It was quite surreal actually.  being in there with Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs…it’s a bit…overwhelming.  I…I was kinda at a loss for words when I got up to speak.  It’s a huge honor, but I don’t really think it’s…in a musicians mind I don’t know if we ever reach that point where it feels like that would be in the realm of our influence.  I don’t think so.  Honors, words of accolade and all that stuff…it’s a bit confusing.

L4LM:  In a way I like to hear that sentiment.  Humility is a wonderful trait.  But, on behalf of pretty much all observers, you earned that one sir.

WH:  Well…thank you.

L4LM:  You’re welcome.  You just sat in with country star Eric Church for The Band classic “The Weight.”  How did that one happen?

WH:  Well, we were on the same festival line up together…it was actually his festival in Raleigh.  We had played together once before at the “Love For Levon” concert and there’ve been a couple of times where we have had a moment to chat here and there, and actually we share a lot of common influences.  

Watch Warren Haynes Sit-In With Eric Church On ‘The Weight’ In Raleigh

L4LM:  Your annual Christmas Jam is coming up in Asheville North Carolina and you mix music with the holiday spirit of charity.  Through your actions, you’ve helped many folks have a home for the holidays.  How does it feel to have helped give people a mantle to hang their stockings on with care?

WH:  Well, when you take something that’s as easy as playing music, which is something we do every day anyway, and turn it into building homes for people…musicians giving back, it’s kinda a no brainer.  We love to play music, and if we can turn our love into houses for people that can’t afford them…It’s an easy thing to do.  Now, I say WE because it’s all the wonderful musicians and artists and bands that have been part of Christmas Jam make this possible.  And also because it reminds us of why we started playing music in the first place, which was for the joy of music.  That’s one of the things that makes the music at Christmas Jam so special is because everyone is there with that sort of spirit and mind set. I think the music benefits from that in addition to the money that we can raise for habitat For humanity.

Warren Haynes Releases Exceptional Lineup For 27th Annual Christmas Jam

L4LM:  Your New Years Eve cover sets have reached legendary status.  Any chance you’ll give us a hint as to what you’ll be doing?

WH:  No…We’re getting closer, but we’re not ready to announce anything yet. 

L4LM:  I assumed you wouldn’t…but you gotta ask, y’know?  (Chuckles)  So, normally I reach out and ask artists fans for their questions and on almost all of the places I asked, I noticed an unusual response.  A lot of folks started just asking me to thank you for making the music that has had such a big effect on their lives…so I feel obligated to say “Thank You” on behalf of everyone!

WH:  Thank you.  Y’know…being able to play music the way you wanna do it, and to have an audience who wanna listen to it is a wonderful thing.  Without people to listen, it would be a much lonelier experience.  So I appreciate the people that are like minded and love music in a similar way to myself.

L4LM:  Well sir, thanks for taking the time to chat with us this afternoon.  We look forward to seeing you out there on the road doing your thing. 

WH:  Thank you.  My pleasure.