Gregg Allman: My Memorable First Interview By Eric Senich

One of the benefits of being a rock and roll DJ is talking to people you’d never get a chance to otherwise, like the great Gregg Allman, who was my first big time “rock star” interview.

In the summer of 2002, I was doing the night shift at a rock station in Connecticut – 95.1 FM WRKI. I had been there for a few years but missed out on interviewing musicians coming through the area since, most of the time, they appeared on either the morning or afternoon drive show when most listeners were tuning in. When the summertime came around, however, I got to fill in for the afternoon jock. This particular summer, I landed one of those interviews and, man, I couldn’t have asked for more. 

To be honest, when I found out I was going to interview Gregg Allman, I was both excited and frightened. As a huge Allman Bros. Band fan, I was charged up but I was also a bit concerned. I remember hearing from fellow jocks that Gregg could be ornery, difficult, quiet, and moody when doing interviews.

When the day came for the interview, I was prepared. I had my questions. I was ready but I also couldn’t shake off the fear that this interview would go down like the Hindenburg based on everything I’d heard. The big, red phone studio light started blinking. This is it. It’s showtime. My hand clammy and slightly shaky as I reach over to press the button to answer the phone. There goes the click of the phone connecting, it’s Gregg’s manager on the other line. He introduces himself; I introduce myself. I asked his manager if Gregg was cool with questions about his brother Duane. He told me that was OK as long as I didn’t get too personal. I assured him I wouldn’t. “OK. I’m gonna hand the phone over to Gregg,” he said. There’s a pause. I hear the phone get handed over to Gregg. Here we go…

Over the studio speakers I hear a voice with a slow and cool Southern growl: “Hello!” 

“Hey Gregg! This is Eric. It’s great to meet you,” I nervously responded.

“Eric! Great to meet you too,” he said.

Then came my unprofessional fanboy comment: “I can’t believe I’m talkin’ to you right now.”

Now I screwed it up, I thought. Why did you just say that?! What an idiot! Think Chris Farley talking to Paul McCartney on SNL.

There was a pause… then Gregg responded with a Southern drawl: “Well, why’s that?”

I respond: “…’cuz you’re Gregg Allman man!”

Gregg let out a big belly laugh. And with that, the tension had lifted. From that point on, I felt like I was chatting with a regular dude. A regular dude who happened to have one of the greatest voices in rock history, who wrote some of the most iconic songs in rock history, who…well, you get the picture. Let’s get to the interview.

**Eric Senich**: On the phone with us right now, a very special guest, Gregg Allman. Gregg, can you hear us?

**Gregg Allman**: Just fine, Eric.

**Eric**: Gregg, what’s going on, man?

**Gregg**: Oh, we’re in New Hampshire right now. We played last night, and then we play in Boston tomorrow.

**Eric**: And then you’re ready to rock in Hartford?

**Gregg**: Yeah.

**Eric**: I’ve been to see you guys for the last five, maybe six years in a row now at the Meadows. Every show is different visually and song-wise. What can we look forward to hearing and seeing on Sunday?

**Gregg**: I don’t know the last time we were there. I think we had a real good one. We’ll be playing some new songs off the record that haven’t been released yet, and we’ll be doing some of the old, some new, and probably with a hell of a lot more energy than last year. But yeah, definitely more than the year before.

**Eric**: Nice. Warren Haynes with you guys again on guitar?

**Gregg**: Yeah, and he’s smokin’.

**Eric**: Great reviews just coming in on his play as usual. Your thoughts on him and his contribution to the band?

**Gregg**: Oh yeah, he’s really a lifesaver, I tell you.

**Eric**: I hear he’s got a lot to do with the new CD.

**Gregg**: Yeah, he co-produced it, and it’s really good. The whole vibe was there, you know? It was a real good vibe. We did it in record time. Of course, we’d been learning the songs on the road and we all pretty well knew them. We got, I think, two first takes, but we only used one of them. But it’s a real good record.

**Eric**: I can’t wait to hear it. It’s not finished yet, but almost. You said it’ll be out in early 2003?

**Gregg**: Oh yeah.

**Eric**: Beautiful. Allman Brothers fans are loyal, man. We want to hear some stuff. Alright, and we look forward to it. Will we hear a lot of the songs from the CD Sunday night or just a few?

**Gregg**: You’ll probably hear four of them, that’s for sure.

**Eric**: Nice.

**Eric**: We’re talking with Gregg Allman here on the Home of Rock and Roll, I 95. CTnow.com Meadows Music Center, Hartford, Sunday night. Tickets are still available, so go out and get those tickets. You won’t regret it when you go see an Allman Brothers Band show.

**Gregg**: That’s right.

**Eric**: If you had to pick one Allman Brothers Band song you love to play live, what would it be?

**Gregg**: “Whipping Post,” sometimes.

**Eric**: Yeah? So, we will hear that Sunday?

**Gregg**: Probably so.

**Eric**: Beautiful. We make up the sets daily and we never play the same set twice, so we’ll just see what rolls around on Sunday. But I’ll keep that in mind.

**Eric**: Yeah, yeah. That’s a request from I 95.

**Eric**: I also hear you guys have formed your own label, is that true?

**Gregg**: Well, not really. I don’t know. That’s hard to answer.

**Eric**: Yeah, it sounds like a complex one.

**Gregg**: Yeah, we’ve formed our own record company. I don’t know about the label part of it.

**Eric**: Right, right. Because I know my brother’s a huge fan as well, and I was just talking to him off the air about how he got something in the mail from the official website. You’ve got some news, some releases of old concerts coming out?

**Gregg**: Oh yeah, very soon.

**Eric**: That got me thinking, I wonder what’s going on with the label. But it doesn’t matter to us, man, as long as you get it to us.

**Gregg**: Right, we don’t care.

**Eric**: To this day, your brother Duane’s work is just talked about endlessly. He’s considered one of the greatest musicians in rock-and-roll. That’s got to be nice to know he’s still remembered as much as he is after all these years.

**Gregg**: Well, it is. It really is. There’s not a day goes by I don’t think of him. He had a very original way of playing and a real neat touch. For the short time that he had in the limelight, he left quite a legacy.

**Eric**: What’s the one thing that you took from him that you still take out there on stage every night? The biggest thing, I should say, because I’m sure there’s a lot.

**Gregg**: I go out there like it’s my last one. You never know.

**Eric**: Yeah.

**Gregg**: I think about that just about every night.

**Eric**: We’re talking with Gregg Allman here. Allman Brothers Band at the CTnow.com Meadows Music Center Sunday night. Tickets are still available. Here’s something I’ve always wondered about the “Brothers and Sisters” album. Who is that kid on the cover?

**Gregg**: Butch’s son.

**Eric**: Okay, that’s what somebody had said once. That’s Butch’s son. But that’s interesting because I don’t think it says it anywhere on the album.

**Gregg**: I don’t know if it does on the big ones.

**Eric**: Some of the hardcore fans, we think about that stuff. The fans need to know everything.

**Gregg**: Yeah, man.

**Eric**: Gregg, we thank you for taking a few minutes out of your time. We can’t wait for Sunday night. What would you like to say to anybody who is on the fence right now thinking about getting tickets to that show?

**Gregg**: Come on over, man. We’re there. We’re loaded for bear. You’ll get your money’s worth.

**Eric**: Well, I’m looking forward to it, Gregg. Thanks for your time.

**Gregg**: Okay.

**Eric**: Alright, you have a good one. **Eric**: Gregg Allman from the Allman Brothers Band. CTnow.com Meadows Music Center, Hartford, Sunday night. Go out and get those tickets. Here’s “Whipping Post” on the Home of Rock and Roll, I 95.