Warren Haynes of the iconic band Gov’t Mule chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about their first-ever blues album “Heavy Load Blues” and being an artist in the digital age.
On the song selection process for “Heavy Load Blues,” he said, “I had been compiling a list of cover songs that I would like to do for a couple of years now as well as writing a handful of songs that fall into the blues format which is not the norm for me. Was very pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be half original songs and half covers. I wanted to represent a lot of my favorite blues artists that I had not covered in the past while just picking great songs.”
When asked about his personal favorite song on the album, he said, “From a personal standpoint probably ‘Heavy Load’ which is stripped down to just two acoustic guitars and vocal. It tells a very universal story that I think we can all relate to right now.”
Regarding his music and songwriting inspirations, he said, “I listen to a lot of different types of music and am influenced by all of it. I think it’s important for musicians to not only listen to genres of music outside of their own but to study instruments other than their own as well. As a songwriter, I’m influenced by all the great songwriters that I’ve listened to through the years which is a completely different list than that of musicians to study.”
The digital age
On being an artist in the digital age, Haynes said, “The music business has certainly changed a lot in ways that affect all of us differently. My music has always been outside of the mainstream and driven by touring and live performance so in some ways we were able to adjust a little easier than artists who depend on airplay or record sales. I think in the long run ‘live’ performance will be the most in-demand commodity. As it gets cheaper and easier to make uninspired recordings those who can connect with a live audience will rise above.”
For young and aspiring artists, he said, “To not only study the previous decade of music but several decades back. The more you do that the more you can connect the dots and see where it all comes from.”
Regarding the key to longevity in the music business, he said, “Persistence has always been a good formula. That combined with striving to create music that doesn’t have a date stamped on it.”
On his definition of the word success, Haynes said, “Success to me is being able to make a living doing what you love. I would much rather do that than make tons of money playing music that you don’t believe in.”
Haynes concluded about “Heavy Load Blues, “The feeling you get when emotion-packed music washes over you is something I was inspired by from a very young age when I first heard ‘Black gospel’ music coming over the radio in North Carolina where I grew up. I’ve always chased that feeling ever since and hopefully people will get a similar feeling from listening to this.”
“Heavy Load Blues” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about Gov’t Mule, check out their official website.
