Instructors
“Forty five years ago Duane Allman reached inside of me and flicked a switch, and changed my life forever. I’d love to share my Allman Brothers experience with you”
CLICK HERE TO WATCH “Fishin’ With Duane” as told by Butch Trucks
Butch Trucks is one of the founding members of the legendary Allman Brothers Band and considered to be the rhythmic backbone of the band for over 40 years.
One of Trucks’ first bands was local Jacksonville band The Vikings, who made one 7-inch record in 1964. Another early band was The 31st of February which formed and broke up in 1968. This group’s lineup eventually included both Duane Allman and Gregg Allman. They recorded a cover of “Morning Dew”, by 1960s folk singer Bonnie Dobson.
Trucks then helped form The Allman Brothers Band in 1969, along with Duane Allman (guitar), Gregg Allman (vocals and organ), Dickey Betts (guitar), Berry Oakley (bass), and fellow drummer Jaimoe.
Together, the two drummers developed a rhythmic drive that would prove crucial to the band. Trucks laid down a powerful conventional beat while the jazz-influenced Jaimoe added a second laminate of percussion and adlibitum cymbal flourishes, seamlessly melded into one syncopated sound.
He has had a long interest in philosophy, politics, and literature; in 2005 he published a letter in the New York Times Book Review criticizing a review of a decades-old article about the band. When not touring or recording with the band, he spends his time at his restored 15th century farmhouse in Sauve, France writing his memoirs, tending to his vineyard and stretching canvases for his wife Melinda, a painter.
Oteil Burbridge is a Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, specializing on the bass guitar, who was trained in playing jazz and classical music from an early age. He has achieved fame primarily on bass guitar during the current resurgence of the Allman Brothers Band from 1997 through the present day.
He was also a founding member of the band the Aquarium Rescue Unit, and has worked with other musicians who include Bruce Hampton, Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Bill Kreutzmann and The Derek Trucks Band. Burbridge is most notably recognized for his ability to incorporate scat-singing into his improvised bass solos. His bass style is influenced by Jaco Pastorius, especially his use of bass chords which are used in his bass improvisation.
The North Mississippi Allstars were founded in 1996; a product of a special time for modern Mississippi country blues. RL Burnside, Jr. Kimbrough, Otha Turner and their musical families were at their peak; making classic records and touring the world.
Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson soaked up the music of their father, Memphis music legend Jim Dickinson, and absorbed the North Mississippi Blues legacy while playing and shaking it down at the juke joints with their blues ancestors. Luther (guitar and vocals) and Cody (drums and vocals) formed the North Mississippi Allstars and pioneered their own blues infused rock & roll through the filter of generations of Mississippi Blues men. After more than 15 years as a band, 3 Grammy nominations, and over a dozen records to their name, the North Mississippi Allstars have earned the reputation as one of the most intriguing acts to emerge from the loam of Southern blues and roots rock.