Gov’t Tule have made their archival release The Tel-Star Sessions available to stream in full.
The record features the band’s first demo recordings from 1994. It was meant to be a one-off project for Allman Brothers Band singer and guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody, but it quickly spawned a big audience.
Haynes tells UCR: “We had no designs on being a real band that stays together and makes a second record and a fifth record and a 10th record and tours year after year. We were just doing something for the fun of it.
“Our intention was to put out a really inexpensive, experimental low-budget record. We went into the studio with our own money and recorded these nine songs, which were virtually the only songs we knew at that time.
“There was starting to be an audience and more of a demand for what we were doing, and the feeling within the band was really strong. We were creating all of the time and I was writing more and more new material.
“It just felt like we were growing so quickly that we decided to not limit the repertoire to just those handful of songs and have the first record include a bunch of the newer stuff that I was writing as well.”
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Woody died in 2000 and the record will shed light on the early years of his music career, and explore how Haynes has grown as a musician himself.
He continues: “The sound of my voice has changed and gotten stronger through the years. You can instantly hear it’s gruffer and a little more gritty on the early recordings. Also, it wasn’t in the greatest of shape during that time period. We were touring a lot and I was beating my voice up pretty much on a nightly basis.
“I think it’s important to note that I just kept the original performances that we did. I think some people might have reconsidered that and said, ‘Oh, I can sing it much better now than I did now,’ and gone back and redone them. But I wanted to put these recordings out exactly as they were.”
Gov’t Mule will tour with Blackberry Smoke in August before their September run with ZZ Top. They’ll then enter the studio in October or November to work on a new album.
Gov’t Mule tour dates 2016
Aug 11: Portland Old Port Sea Grill & Raw Bar, ME
Aug 12: Asbury Park Stone Pony Summer Stage, NJ
Aug 13: Boston Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, MA
Aug 16: Utica Saranac Matt Brewing Co, NY
Aug 17: Philadelphia Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing, PA
Aug 18: Pittsburgh Stage AE, PA
Aug 19: Rochester Hills Meade Brook Amphitheatre, MI
Aug 20: Huber Heights Rose Music Center, OH
Aug 21: Springfield Illinois State Fairgrounds, IL
Aug 22: Peoria CEFCU Center Stage at The Landing, IL
Aug 23: Des Moines Simon Estes Amphitheater, IA
Aug 25: Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre, CO
Aug 27: San Diego Humphreys, CA
Aug 31: Rohnert Park SOMO Village, CA
Sep 01: Eugene Cuthbert Amphitheater, OR
Sep 03: Missoula Big SKy Brewing Co, MT
Sep 04: Jackson Heritage Arena, WY
Sep 09: Wantagh Nikon At Jones Beach Theater, NY
Sep 10: Concord Capitol Center For THe Arts, NH
Sep 11: Bethlehem Sands Bethlehem Event Center, PA
Sep 13: Baltimore Pier Six Box Office, MD
Sep 14: Cary Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park, NC
Sep 17: Rosemont Theatre, IL
Sep 18: Maryland Heights Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, MO
Sep 20: Kansas City Starlight Theatre, MO
Sep 23: Atlanta Tabernacle, GA
Sep 24: Saint Petersburg Jannus Live, FL
Sep 25: Miami Beach Fillmore, FL
Sep 27: Birmingham Avondale Brewing Company, AL
Gov’t Mule The Tel-Star Sessions tracklist
- Blind Man In The Dark
- Rocking Horse
- Monkey Hill
- Mr. Big
- The Same Thing
- Mother Earth
- Just Got Paid
- Left Coast Groovies
- World Of Difference
- World Of Difference (Alternative version)
