Devon Allman
Interview conducted on August 2018
by Mary Andrews
Devon Allman has cut his own path in the music business in spite of being the son of the legendary Gregg Allman. Allman has played in several bands most notably the Royal Southern Brotherhood and founding member of Honeytribe. His immense talent as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist can now be experienced with the Devon Allman Project with special guest Duane Betts tour. The tour made a stop in Tucson recently and Devon Allman took some time to chat. Here are the highlights.
Mary Andrews: You were here recently and gave a stellar performance that had a great vibe. Are you working on a new album of new music now?
Devon Allman: My last album was in 2016 and since then I’ve lost both of my parents. They both died and I haven’t gotten into a recording studio yet. I took a year off and it happened to be my son’s senior year. So, I just unplugged from the music world entirely for a year. I spent time with my family and it’s been really nice to take a break from the touring, the writing and the recording. I really didn’t pick up a guitar much. When I came back I really wanted it to be a love affair all over again. It certainly was.
We’re looking to get into the studio in the fall. I want to put a new record out the top of next year. I’m really excited about that. I always wanted to be that artist who put out a new record every year. Life happens and I think you have to live some life in order to write. I am playing a couple of songs in the live show though that will be on the next record. Things are happening. The one we played in Tucson was “Don’t Matter Anymore.”
It’s really hard to lose one parent, but to lose two parents in such close proximity of time has to be really tough. I’m surprised you bounced back in just a year. Can you tell me more?
I think we all carry around a significant amount of pain from some corners in our lives. That’s what enables us to do the art in the first place. When you do the art whether you paint the painting or do the show or when you write the song, it is medicinal. That’s what got me back after only a year off. I felt I needed to take my “medicine” and the people would help me do that. It’s healing and I am very glad to be back to work.
The songs in your show were very diverse. You covered the Otis Taylor song “Ten Million Slaves” and your vocal was very powerful. In the same set, you did an acoustic version of Tears For Fears’ “Everybody Wants To Rule the World.” It all worked well. How did you come up with your song choice?
Thank you for your comments. I had been kicking around the idea of coming out for the encore and doing a song alone. That was the first night I had done it. I really love that Tears For Fears song. That’s something I’m going to do a lot more of. I decided to do it right before I went on stage. I said let’s throw this song in.
The songs all seemed to “fit” even though the songs came from many different genres. From what I’ve heard, you listen to many different genres of music.
I’m just a music freak and aficionado. I have pockets of music that are polar opposite that I’m into. I would say that my vinyl collection is pretty diverse. I really love heavy metal from the 80s. I really love metal from the 70s, jazz from the 40s, 50s, even African jazz, Nigerian jazz, and Ethiopian jazz. I love a lot of alternative, true, hard-core punk from the 80s. There’s a lot of records that I love just because of the production like really big pop records like Madonna’s True Blue, Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall. My taste is really diverse including a lot of blues.
If you had to live a year with only three albums, what would they be?
Golly, a year with only three records? Curtis Mayfield’s first record, Curtis is the first one that comes to mind. It’s unbelievable. I would have to have something soulful, something heavy and something ‘islandish.’ I would have to have something like Master of Puppets by Metallica. And finally, something by Sade would be the last album. I’m thinking I would need all the moods.
You seem to be really into Motown and you did a great rendition of the Spinners’ song “I’ll Be Around.” Shifting gears a bit, I read somewhere that you like to read books. What is your favorite kind of ‘read’?
I have this battle because I feel like if I’m reading, I should be learning something. Reading fiction can feel like a guilty pleasure. In the non-fiction world, I gravitate towards travel narratives especially exotic when you are dealing with places like Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Africa, or Arabia. I really like bios in general and astrophysics, metaphysics and philosophy. When it comes to fiction, I love the classics for sure. I really have a soft spot for Stephen King. I think he is often overlooked for actually how good he is. A lot of people don’t realize that “Stand By Me” and “Shawshank Redemption” and all these wonderful films that became instant classics were his short stories.
Who is your favorite biography subject?
The Keith Richards one was way up there for me. Also, Buddy Guy’s bio was incredible. It talks about how he leaves the farms in Mississippi and saves all his money because he heard the ‘cats’ in Chicago were playing the blues with electricity. It’s the mind-blowing, wonderful coming of age tale.
Dead or alive, who would you like to meet?
John Kennedy, I think JFK was the last president that really gave a sh*t. I think he was the last one that gave a sh*t about the direction of our nation as a whole instead of lining the pockets of the rich, playing the bullsh*t game. I think that’s been going on since him. I think he was the last one to hold the hopes and dreams of those in this country in his hands. I’ll go political instead of musical on this one.
Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform?
You know I never got to see Tom Petty perform. It’s going to bother me until the day I’m dead. I would certainly like to have seen the Doors. Also, Hendrix, and my uncle Duane, without a doubt, are on my list.
How many children do you have?
I got 19 children from 4 marriages. I do it old school. I forget three or four of their names.
You’ve got to be kidding. You’ll be performing until you die.
Come on darlin’, you know I don’t have 19 kids. I have one son and he starts college this year. His name is Orion like the constellation. He is my breath and my life. He is my world.
Is he musically inclined?
That is like the $64,000 pyramid question. He can play his ass off on keyboards. When I was 13 I had punk bands in the garage already. The bug has not to bit him as it bit me. We’ll see. He could totally turn it around in college. You never know. I told him to do what makes him happy and be the best at it that you can be.
What is the best advise you have ever gotten?
The best advice I ever got was from Warren Haynes’ wife. She is a manager and a record label owner. I called her and I said, I’m 33 and I want to start touring and making records. I want one bit of advice from you. Just something I can hang my hat on. She said, “Half of it is staying out there. Stay out there. Stay out there. Stay out there. Tour, tour, tour. The minute you take a break, somebody else will take your fan base.” It makes a lot of sense.
Who is your biggest influence?
It’s a tough question. I would say Curtis Mayfield is a big influence. Add Tom Petty, Lindsey Buckingham, David Gilmore, Jimi Hendrix, and lots more. It seems like it’s a guitar-heavy list of influences, but Curtis was quite a producer, vocalist, and writer. Hendrix never got the props that he deserved for his vocals and he was an astounding songwriter as well. His guitar eclipsed that he was just as bad assed as a singer and a writer. I most admire people who come as a ‘triple threat’ influence me the most.
What is the worst job you ever had?
It is a tie between working in a sweatshop printing tee shirts. The interior temperature was 125 degrees and I worked there for four years. The second part of the tie is when I worked at a steel factory. I worked the third shift from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. making concrete reinforcements spools of metal. Both of those jobs were absolutely soul-sucking, brutal, and humbling experiences. That said, I’m really, really grateful that I did that.
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