Gov't Mule | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Relativity, Foundation,Capricorn,ATO, Evil Teen,Provogue,Fantasy, MunckMix Live Recordings |
| Spinoff of | The Allman Brothers Band |
| Members | Warren Haynes Matt Abts Danny Louis Kevin Scott |
| Past members | Allen Woody Andy Hess Jorgen Carlsson |
| Website | mule |
Gov't Mule (pronounced "Government Mule") is an AmericanSouthern rockjam band, formed in 1994 by guitaristWarren Haynes, bassistAllen Woody (both ofThe Allman Brothers Band at the time) and drummerMatt Abts (whom Haynes had worked with in theDickey Betts Band.)
The band released their debut album,Gov't Mule in 1995, and have since released nine studio albums, plus numerousEPs and live releases.
When the Allman Brothers Band reformed in 1989, partially in response to the popularity of theirDreams box set, Warren Haynes was added as a permanentlead guitarist and vocalist, andAllen Woody was recruited asbass guitarist. The two shared a love for 1960spower trios likeCream, theJimi Hendrix Experience, theJames Gang, andMountain.[1][2] Haynes, Woody, and drummerMatt Abts, who played with Haynes inDickey Betts' band, came together as Gov't Mule during Allman Brothers breaks. They released their debut album,Gov't Mule, produced byMichael Barbiero, in 1995.Live at Roseland Ballroom was released in 1996, consisting of their 1995New Year's Eve set opening forBlues Traveler.
When the Allman Brothers Band were not forthcoming with any new material, Haynes and Woody left to concentrate full-time on Gov't Mule in 1997. Their second studio effort,Dose, also produced by Barbiero, was released in early 1998. They were joined by members of the Allman Brothers, theBlack Crowes,Parliament/Funkadelic andthe Derek Trucks Band for their 1998 New Year's Eve concert, released both in a two and four CD version asLive... With a Little Help from Our Friends. The performances exposed some of the bands' influences, coveringNeil Young,Free,Traffic,Jimi Hendrix,Little Feat,Humble Pie andBlack Sabbath.
In February 2000, the band releasedLife Before Insanity, to critical praise,[3] and although the band had already experienced previous successes, they anticipated a greater commercial success with this album. Unfortunately, Allen Woody was found dead inNew York City on August 26 of that year.[4] On September 21, 2000, a benefit concert was organized called "One for Woody",[5] with the proceeds going to Woody's daughter, Savannah Woody, intended for her education.The Allman Brothers,the Black Crowes,Phil Lesh and Friends,Jimmy Herring,Edwin McCain and several more of Woody's friends also performed at the concert. Haynes and Abts continued to do limited touring in the Fall of 2000 supportingBen Harper and the Innocent Criminals as an homage to Woody. Their subsequent "Smile at Half Mast Tour" that followed was named in reference to a poem Haynes wrote for Woody's funeral.
At the "One for Woody" performance and subsequently at other shows, Haynes began appearing with the Allman Brothers Band again. With Dickey Betts' departure from the Allmans, Haynes came back full-time to the band at the beginning of 2001 and would continue splitting his time between the Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule, and, for a period,Phil Lesh and Friends and otherre-formed Grateful Dead bands until the Allman Brothers disbanded for the final time in 2014.
The next year, Barbiero, Haynes and Abts began to record atribute album.[6] using some of Woody's favorite bass players. These sessions resulted in two CDsThe Deep End, Volume 1 (2001) andThe Deep End, Volume 2 (2002). A documentary of the recording sessions was also made byPhish bassistMike Gordon calledRising Low. Bass contributions to the CDs came fromJack Bruce, formerly ofCream,John Entwistle ofthe Who,Mike Watt ofMinutemen,Les Claypool ofPrimus,Flea of theRed Hot Chili Peppers,Chris Squire ofYes andStefan Lessard ofDave Matthews Band among others.
A revolving door of keyboardists and bassists were used to fulfill touring engagements in support of the Deep End recordings. Keyboardists includedChuck Leavell,Rob Barraco,Page McConnell and Danny Louis. Bassists included, among others,Dave Schools ofWidespread Panic,Oteil Burbridge who already had filled Woody's former place in the Allman Brothers,Les Claypool ofPrimus,Victor Wooten of theFlecktones,George Porter Jr. ofthe Meters, formerMetallica bassistJason Newsted, ex-Black Crowes member andBuddy Guy sidemanGreg Rzab, andAndy Hess, also formerly of the Black Crowes. Louis and Hess were eventually named as permanent members[7][8] of Gov't Mule.
The first CD with Louis and Hess,Deja Voodoo, was released in September 2004. The album won the Jammy award for Best Album and was the last studio album involving Michael Barbiero as producer and engineer. Additional material from those sessions was released in 2005 asMo' Voodoo. The new lineup's second full release,High & Mighty, was released on August 22, 2006, and it was followed in 2007 by a dub/reggae album calledMighty High – including versions of covers and original songs with special guest appearances byMichael Franti,Toots Hibbert, andWilli Williams.
Gov't Mule appeared at music festivals, includingBonnaroo,Wakarusa,Mountain Jam,Vegoose,All Good, and their annualNew Orleans Jazzfest night show, where they filmed and recorded the last show of the Deepest End tours, with 17 guest musicians in a six-hour show.[citation needed]
Every year since 1989, Warren Haynes hosts theAnnual Christmas Jam in his hometown ofAsheville,North Carolina.[9] The concert usually takes place the first weekend in December at theAsheville Civic Center, as a fundraiser forHabitat For Humanity. Many artists who play at the Christmas Jam also perform separate gigs in various Asheville clubs, usually the day before the Jam proper. The Pre-Jam, as it is called, features many of the same artists, in smaller clubs. The 19th edition of the Jam took place on December 15, 2007[10] with performances byGrace Potter and the Nocturnals,Shelly Colvin,Jason Isbell,Jackson Browne,G. Love,Bruce Hornsby,Peter Frampton, and others. Gov't Mule headlined.
On June 28, 2008, while keyboardist Danny Louis was drafted byCheap Trick[11] to revisit Sgt. Pepper at the Hollywood Bowl, Gov't Mule performed as apower trio[12] for the first time since 2000, this time with its regular bassist Andy Hess. The band titled their set "Old School Mule" and ran through some of their older songs such as "Wandering Child" and "Thorazine Shuffle".
On September 15, 2008, Haynes' wife, Stefani Scamardo[13] announced on herSirius radio show[14] thatAndy Hess would be leaving the band and a new bassist would be in place for the fall tour. Hess was subsequently replaced by Jorgen Carlsson,[15] who had been rehearsing with the band for six months.
On August 17, 2009, it was announced on the band's official website that Gov't Mule's eighth studio album,By a Thread,[16] would be released on October 27, 2009.[17] On the same date, the first track of the new album, "Broke Down on the Brazos", featuringBilly Gibbons ofZZ Top, was made available for listening on the website.[18]
On October 31, 2009, Gov't Mule gave a special Halloween concert at theTower Theater outsidePhiladelphia. From the Gov't Mule web site: "Following in the tradition of 2007'sHoly Haunted House and last year'sPink Floyd spectacular, the band, once again, has something very special planned for the occasion."[19] This third in their series of Halloween shows featured a first set of over two hours, composed entirely ofRolling Stones covers. Previous sold-out shows had featured covers ofLed Zeppelin'sHouses of the Holy and an assortment of Pink Floyd compositions.
Gov't Mule played at the "Island Exodus" inNegril, Jamaica in January 2010, at theall-inclusive resort The Grand Lido Negril. The First Island Exodus consisted of three Gov't Mule shows and a Warren Haynes solo show. Also appearing at this event wereGrace Potter and the Nocturnals,Ron Holloway, andDJ Logic.[20]
Gov't Mule also played at theHangout Music festival on Saturday, May 15, 2010, and at theAzkena Rock Festival inVitoria-Gasteiz,Spain, on June 24, 2010. The band also opened up for theDave Matthews Band on Friday, July 30, 2010, atCruzan Amphitheatre, inWest Palm Beach, Florida.
In October 2010, Gov't Mule celebrated Halloween at theFox Theater in Oakland, California. Warren Haynes and company used their first set to coverthe Who's albumWho's Next in its entirety.
Except for its regular festival appearances, the band was mostly on hiatus during the early part of the decade while band members pursued other projects, particularly Haynes and his Warren Haynes Band. In the summer of 2013, the band gave details on their albumShout!, their first studio album in four years and their first release onBlue Note Records, which was released on September 24 of that year. In what Haynes contends is a first, the album included a bonus disc consisting of covers of the album's tracks by artists includingElvis Costello,Dr. John,Grace Potter andSteve Winwood.[21]
On December 31, 2013, Gov't Mule performed withRobby Krieger, the guitarist fromthe Doors, at theBeacon Theatre in New York City.[22]
The following year, they performed at the Beacon Theatre again withMyles Kennedy ofAlter Bridge. They performed 18 classicAC/DC songs in a second set with Kennedy on vocals for the New Year's Eve "Back at the Beacon" show.[23]
On June 9, 2017, Gov't Mule released their tenth studio albumRevolution Come... Revolution Go on Fantasy Records. Following theRolling Stone premiere of "Stone Cold Rage", "Sarah, Surrender" was premiered exclusively atKBCO, and the album launched for pre-orders on April 12. When talking about "Stone Cold Rage", Haynes points out that the song represents "the divide that's going on in our country right now." He explains that "even though it was written before the election, it was written knowing that whichever way the results went, we were going to have close to fifty percent of the nation very angry. Musically, it's an aggressive up-tempo rock song that reflects the anger of the lyrics, but with a sense of sarcasm and humor."[24]
On the heels of the release of their new record,Revolution Come... Revolution Go, Gov't Mule kicked off their extensive tour, including stops atNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival withSoulive, New York and Philadelphia withChris Robinson Brotherhood, a return to Europe, 14 dates withGalactic up and down the East Coast/Mid-West, a night atRed Rocks, festival sets atThe Peach Music Festival,Lockn' Festival,Summer Camp Music Festival and Del Fest, and four shows withBlackberry Smoke. Appearing as festival-closing headliner for theKing Biscuit Blues Festival, the band was joined in a 40-minute encore by blues musiciansLarry McCray andBob Margolin. In 2019, the Mule released a full-length concert film and accompanying recording,Bring on the Music, which was recorded at Port Chester, New York's Capitol Theatre.[25]
Peace... Like a River followed in 2023.[26] Days prior to the release, Jorgen Carlsson announced he was departing the band, to be replaced on tour by Kevin Scott.[27]
Current members
Former members
Following is a listing of Gov't Mule's major releases. Nearly every concert that Gov't Mule plays is recorded and sold online in both high- and low-resolutionMP3 format, and in the losslessFLAC format.[28]
| Title | Album details | Chart peak positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [29] | US Ind. [30] | US Rock [31] | AUT [32] | BEL (FL) [33] | BEL (WA) [34] | FRA [35] | GER [36] | NLD [37] | SWI [38] | |||
| Gov't Mule |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Live at Roseland Ballroom |
| — | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Dose |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Live... With a Little Help from Our Friends |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Life Before Insanity |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| The Deep End, Volume 1 |
| 128 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| The Deep End, Volume 2 |
| 117 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| The Deepest End, Live in Concert |
| 153 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Déjà Voodoo |
| 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Mo' Voodoo (EP) |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| High & Mighty |
| 62 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Mighty High |
| 106 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Holy Haunted House |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| By a Thread |
| 34 | 5 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Mulennium |
| 49 | 8 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| The Georgia Bootleg Box[40][41][42] |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Shout! |
| 32 | — | 11 | 28 | 100 | 116 | 69 | 16 | 66 | 36 | |
| Dark Side of the Mule[43] |
| 99 | 7 | 10 | — | 161 | — | — | 55 | 91 | 65 | |
| Sco-Mule(featuring John Scofield) |
| 96 | 14 | 16 | 52 | 95 | 106 | 158 | 37 | 48 | 50 | |
| Dub Side of the Mule |
| — | 23 | 38 | 60 | — | 165 | 135 | 28 | 81 | — | |
| Stoned Side of the Mule Vol. 1 & 2 |
| — | — | — | 54 | — | 190 | — | 35 | — | 91 | |
| The Tel-Star Sessions |
| 104 | 6 | 11 | 28 | — | 91 | 145 | 24 | 93 | 35 | |
| Revolution Come...Revolution Go |
| 35 | — | 5 | 44 | 101 | 121 | 165 | 20 | 67 | 19 | |
| Bring On the Music: Live at the Capitol Theatre |
| — | 30 | — | 38 | 83 | 64 | 121 | 11 | 87 | 49 | |
| Heavy Load Blues | 158 | 27 | 22 | 25 | 72 | 102 | 126 | 16 | 70 | 33 | ||
| Peace... Like a River |
| — | — | — | 20 | 95 | 154 | 140 | 12 | — | 8 | |
| "—" denotes albums that were released but did not chart. | ||||||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
