As a developing guitar prodigy Derek Trucks shared the stage with Buddy Guy and the Allman Brothers Band, joining the latter officially a decade ago at age 20. He’s gone on to be an MVP sideman for Eric Clapton and lent his slide guitar skills — firmly in the mold of Duane Allman — to discs by his wife Susan Tedeschi, Guy, Widespread Panic, and many others.
But he’s led a parallel career as one of the more adventurous bandleaders since Zappa, Bruce Hampton, and Captain Beefheart, creating a fusion of roots music, wailing free jazz and sounds gleaned from other cultures. All of that comes together on the Derek Trucks Band’s new Already Free, an album that sounds distinctly American, yet liberated from tradition by a free-ranging set of influences and Trucks’ sweet playing. Tedeschi guests, as does fellow Clapton band guitarist Doyle Bramhall II.
We caught up with Trucks by phone at a stop with his band in Portland, Maine, and discussed all of the above plus, of course, his SG-driven guitar approach.
In the past your albums have explored different styles: soul music, Eastern and African sounds, modal playing. But Already Free has a very distinctive, swampy sound of its own.
I built a studio behind my house, in the swamp, so it does come out of a place where the alligators and manatees live.
It’s the most personal record for me, too, because the band and I have honed in on a unique sound. Up to this point we’d been all over the map. And I’m glad for it. That’s been an adventure. But the band and me matured to a point where all those influences have been distilled down to what came out on this record. It is very American music, but with all those other influences thrown in — while previous records were like a trip to Pakistan or Africa or wherever.
How important is gear in getting your fat, sweet mid-range heavy guitar sound?
Gear gets in the way if it becomes your focus. Some of the greatest guitarists find a guitar they are so comfortable with it becomes an extension of them as players. You see pictures of Duane with a Les Paul and later on with an SG and it looks so right.
Once you find the right combination of guitar and amp, on a great night you’re not thinking about gear. With my own band when I’m playing my SG through an early ’60s Super-Reverb it’s such a comfortable sound for me that I’m not conscious of the amp and guitar. If you play long enough and are natural enough, that’s just gonna happen.
The only time equipment is a concern is when you’re playing outdoors, maybe, and the wind is blowing the sound around so it’s not just right. Or you’re in a room that doesn’t have good ambience. Of course, professionals work through that, so you’re still gonna have at least one or two moments on-stage that are elevated, and that’s always what we’re striving for.
Already Free has a wide variety of tones. What amps and guitars did you use?
I used a lot. I have a bunch of old Gibson and Epiphone amps, and my Super Reverbs. I have an old Airline guitar with the amp built in its case. For every tune I imagined the guitar sound I wanted to hear and then dug up some funny old guitar and amp combination to get it. I used a vintage Marshall head and a Paul Reed Smith amp on some tracks.
Doyle played the Airline on “Get What You Deserve” and I use it for some of the most distorted tracks. When it sounds like the amp is on its very last breath, that’s the Airline.
For guitars, I used SGs for the most part. Most of the solos are SGs. I have a ’61 and a ’62 reissue. I also used an old Danelectro, a Silvertone, and a Supro.
What’s the appeal of the SG for you?
When I first started playing at nine or 10 years old I wanted the sound on Allman Brothers records like Live at the Fillmore. That Gibson tone is exactly what I wanted. Originally I wanted a Les Paul, but I only weighed about 80 pounds at the time, and I had a picture of Duane with an SG.
So the SG had the tone I wanted and weighed quite a bit less. Now it’s years later and anything else I try to play feels foreign to me. When I pick up the SG it is second nature.
On my reissues, I put in stop tailpieces. That’s what I use the bulk of the time. I love the look of that big silver plate on the front, but I found I was breaking strings and my tuning would go haywire.
How does playing with Eric Clapton, Warren Haynes, Doyle Bramhall II, Jimmy Herring and other great guitarists influence your playing?
It’s like being married to a great artist. When Susan sings or plays she has such a strong connection to the audience. Eric or Jimmy or any of those guys … it’s the same thing. They are just so good. It makes you step up your game, but not in a competitive way. You just don’t wanna be left in the dust, so your floor rises.
If you’re the best player in the room all the time, your playing is going to suffer. It’s important to be the guy trailing behind so you have to step up. I’ve been lucky; from an early age I’ve had great musicians to play with and look up to.
What kind of slide do you use and what tunings do you favor?
I use coricidin bottles for my slides and play in open E pretty much all the time. When I was 10 or 11 a guitar player in Jacksonville showed me open E tuning and everything made sense. So I just stuck with it and started learning everything in that tuning — chord voicings, all the scales I already knew in standard. I’m pretty much stuck in E now. Anything else feels foreign. A guitar tuned in standard feels all slinky to me, even if it’s strung with .11s.
How do you mute strings?
It’s a combination of left and right hand. I mute with all five digits and my palm on my right hand. It’s just a feel thing. I was doing an interview for a guitar magazine in Japan and they were filming to try to get my right hand technique, and it struck me I don’t really know what I’m doing technically speaking. It’s all just feel.
One of your SGs is covered with signatures. Who’s signed it?
Willie Nelson, Les Paul, Santana, Roy Haynes, Jerry Jemmott, Little Milton, Otis Rush, Allen Toussaint, Johnny Winter, McCoy Tyner, and about 10 more. These are people I’ve been lucky enough to share the stage with. They put some good energy on that guitar.
You have broad tastes. Who are some of your major influences?
Coltrane, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan… a lot of singers: Mahalia Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Donnie Hathaway, Otis Redding. For horn players, there’s also Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, and Marshall Allen, who played tenor in Sun Ra’s band. There’s Ali Akbar Khan, the sarod player.
So what’s ahead for you this year?
Touring behind Already Free is a priority for me. I’m happy with it and proud of it. This is the Allman Brothers’ 40th anniversary year, so that’s going to be a big part of my 2009.
Now that we have the studio I’m looking forward to focusing on more recording with my band and Susan. I think we have a few great albums in us in the vein of Mad Dogs & Englishmen and Delaney and Bonnie. If we spend the right amount of time and get people like Doyle and [Derek Trucks Band singer] Mike Mattison in to write tunes, we can come up with something great.