DAYTON, Ohio — Warren Haynes is a road dog. The North Carolina native was unaccustomed to long stretches at home, but he maximized his pandemic downtime by recording two albums with his band Gov't Mule.
After more than 20 live and studio albums, Haynes and his bandmates used the time off the road to record "Heavy Load Blues," which was released in November 2021. It was Gov't Mule's 12th studio LP and its first full album of blues songs. The material was recorded concurrently with the band's still-untitled next album.
Haynes, who performs with Gov't. Mule and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave. in Huber Heights on Thursday, recently answered some questions by telephone.
Q: How did the coronavirus shutdowns impact Gov't Mule?
A: We had a lot of touring scheduled, which we had to cancel. When we went back out on the road last year, we managed to do nine weeks. We did it in a bubble with no guests backstage. Everybody was tested and exercised COVID protocols and, thankfully, nobody got COVID in our entire organization. Then, another surge came and we had to shut down and cancel all of our winter dates. It's been a crazy two-and-a-half years. It was very frustrating so it's good to be back working. We're a touring band and we thrive on that so it feels good to be taking the ankle weights off now.
Q: How did you handle the time off the road?
A: Well, it's the longest I've gone without performing since I was 15. I spent a lot of time with my family, which was great. I spent a lot of time writing music, which was great, but not being able to perform was very frustrating. We basically came up with the idea of doing a lot of recording, once we were all OK to be back around each other. We hadn't played in so long so when we got in the studio, we had to get ourselves back up to speed the first few days.
Q: What was the recording process like?
A: We made two records at once so we spent more time in the studio than we ever have, which was great. That's when the process began on "Heavy Load Blues" and the other record, which is more of the follow-up to our previous studio record, "Revolution Come ... Revolution Go." We're hoping to release that early next year.
Q: What was it like making two records at the same time?
A: We all loved the idea of making a blues record, which wound up being half covers and half original material, but I only wanted to do that if we could make another record of all original material too. I had been writing so much material so we decided to tackle them both at the same time. We needed a studio that could accommodate us making two records at once and we found this place in Connecticut called Power Station New England. We had our main setup in the main room with all our normal gear and toys. Then, in the small room, we had a completely different setup with all vintage guitars and amps and drums and microphones.
Q: What was a normal work day like?
A: We'd go in around noon and start working on the normal Gov't Mule record. We'd do that until about 9 o'clock at night. Then, we'd take a break and go into the little blues room and play blues until 1 or 2 in the morning. That became the daily routine and it was great. We recorded both records analog but we recorded the blues one completely live with us kind of standing on top of each other. I sang through a little monitor. Nobody wore headphones. It was like we were playing in a tiny little club. We were working up the arrangements for that record on the fly so in most cases we never did more than two or three takes of the blues tunes.
Q: How did that approach impact each project?
A: I wouldn't recommend that under normal circumstances but we were in such a unique time and situation. We were all in lockdown and that allowed us to maintain a different perspective on each record. We could step away from one and get into the other. They're completely different from each other in almost every aspect, sonically, production-wise and from an approach standpoint. The original material for the other Mule record is a little more complex so it was nice playing the blues at the end of the night. It was a way of cleansing your palate, turning your brain off and just playing and not thinking. We were much more analytical and applied more pressure to the other record. With the blues record, we just winged it, played it live and kept all the mistakes. We made it like records were made 50 years ago.
Q: How are the summer dates going?
A: There are so many aspects that make it a challenge for everyone but, when it's all said and done, that's what we're here to do. Playing the songs for people is the payoff. I love making studio recordings but if I had to choose between live performance and recording, I'd choose live performance, as would anyone who is hooked on improvisation. Having the audience there is something you can't replace. That propels the music to another height that it wouldn't be capable of without the audience. There's a feeling that happens collectively that I wouldn't trade for anything.
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Gov't Mule and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave.
Where: Rose Music Center, 6800 Executive Blvd., Huber Heights, Ohio
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Cost: $23.50-$77
Info: 513-232-6220 or www.rosemusiccenter.com
