Cover photo by Marilyn Stringer © 2012 MJStringerPhoto.com

We have all witnessed the sad saga of children achieving stardom at a young age only to later have the star fizzle out. Others manage to maintain some level of attention but never quite capture the public’s eye again. Then there are those who take their time, learn their craft and steadily build a career that, on reflection, seems to follow a natural progression with the artist engaging in a never-ending quest for those moments when they finally reach the heights of their personal artistic vision.

Derek Trucks knows all about starting at a young age. “I think the first band I had was called the Little Big Band. There was a guitar player Jacksonville, FL, an amazing player named Bob Lies. He was a big guy, probably pushing 400 pounds and I was about 85 pounds. It was quite a sight! The promo picture is pretty amazing to look at!”

Next came Derek and the Dominators. Trucks isn’t sure who came up with the name but in his own defense, he wants people to remember that he was only ten years old at the time.

Playing with veteran musicians several decades older, Trucks learned plenty about what it took to sustain a musical career. He also got a taste of how the attention can intrude on your life. “Those years, thirteen to seventeen, are uncomfortable years for everybody. But all of mine is on film, all the blackmail material. There’s no running away from it.”

Trucks credits his fellow band members from that era for opening his ears to Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James, Freddie & Albert King and Little Milton. “I was fortunate because I played with a lot of road dawgs from the very beginning. You realize what it’s about – and you realize that you are probably going to be doing it for life. Also that it’s not as glamorous as people think. If you get lucky and things work, that’s great but you don’t plan on that. You pay your dues and if you can eat plus get to the next gig, it’s’ a successful day.” Derek knew even at a young age that he was all in.

He appreciates all of the lessons and mentoring that he received. “You learn from everybody you play with, especially if it’s for any length of time….You try to take the right steps and take care of everybody along the way.” Being on the road for years, Derek has witnessed bands that get their moment in the spotlight only to crash & burn because they were too full of themselves. “When the momentum stops, no one is there to catch you because no one likes you anymore. You hate to see it but you know its coming. I’ve learned that lesson many times – you can never believe the hype because it’s a hard fall.”

When asked when he knew it was time to form the Derek Trucks Band, the guitarist commented that he gains inspiration from periodically shedding his musical “skin”. At the ripe old age of fifteen, he was listening to different things and was ready to move on. Trucks doesn’t worry about what others think he should be doing or playing. “You can’t worry about the outside noise, otherwise you become a caricature. It’s not music, it’s not art, it’s not alive. I wanted to play with people that had that mentality – anything goes! We hit the road hard for sixteen years and I really grew up the guys in that band. It’s a big chunk of your life. I couldn’t have picked better people to be around. It was an amazing run.”

The band covered a wide range of material from the deep southern soul of O.V. Wright to the jazz of Rahsaan Roland Kirk while incorporating aspects of Middle Eastern and Indian music. Derek was never concerned about connecting with an audience. “I get this from my Dad, who has a zero bullshit tolerance for music. It can be a concern when you are trying to get financing from a record label. I think I had that stubborn chip where I need it – you don’t really care. You shed audiences along the way. I remember in the beginning people saying look at the little kid playing Allman Brothers tunes. When you stop doing that, they say how dare you – what is this shit? It’s fine – for me that is fuel for the fire. Clapton went through that like twenty times. The Dominos record was panned. Same with Miles Davis. He had so many different careers within his career. Whether you are ahead of the curve or not, you have to confidence in what you are doing.”

When the music gets stale or if he feels that he has reach a plateau, Trucks finds himself getting restless and looking for a way to blow things up to restart the creative flow. One challenge he accepted was recording with legendary jazz pianist McCoy Tyner. Trucks recalled a night he was scheduled to sit-in with Tyner at a club date. All went well at run-through during the soundcheck but Derek then left to head across town for the soundcheck for his band. Tyner started his set a bit early and had called for the guitarist before Derek had made it back to the club. Tyner did bring Derek to the stage for a trial by fire as he started calling off tunes Derek had never heard before. “It was fully liberating…your ears are so wide open. Gary Bartz was playing sax that night. His solo style had a blues root feel but harmonically can go anywhere. When he would take a chorus, it would spell out the tune to me. Those are the kind of things that give you confidence. It was a highlight.”

Another memorable moment happen a year ago when Derek finally had a chance to sit down with B.B. King. The two guitarists had never sat and played together. Derek loved being able to play a few notes and feel King respond. “That’s more fuel for the fire. It makes you dig in in a different way. Those are things you don’t take lightly.”

Even Derek was surprised at the reaction some people had when he formed the new band with his wife, Susan Tedeschi. “It was a mean angry. If they were fans of my band, Susan was Yoko Ono and had no right to be on-stage. There were people spewing bile on the internet. I use it as fuel. I’d like to see somebody say it to my face (laughs)! But you know if your intention is right. If you feel good about it and it’s pure, then you cut it loose and however people receive it, you can’t help that.”

The Tedeschi Trucks Band is a work in progress. Both Derek and Susan had developed chemistry with their bands over the years. Derek admits that when you stop that and start something fresh, you won’t have the same musical ESP out of the gate. “Just relax. Give it some time and once we get on the road for six months, this ship is going to be just fine. Now it’s at a point where the band is playing at such a high level that it’s actually great. The talent onstage, the way everybody plays together and listens, their attitude and what everybody gives to it, is so strong that our perception now is take it or leave it.”

While acknowledging that each individual has their own tastes, Trucks is quick to point out that the band should earn a level of respect for accomplishing what they set out to do. When the music gets stale or if he feels that he has reach a plateau, Trucks finds himself getting restless and looking for a way to blow things up to restart the creative flow. He is excited about the possibilities the band presents, stating that they have just scratched the surface in the last two years and if it keeps rolling as hard as it is, the band could go on for a long time.

“With this band, it’s not even an option to play a song the same way. Everyone is so comfortable and free the way they play. It is a challenge to constantly feed the beast. It is my duty as a band leader to always shake it up. It’s like an NBA team when it is peaking. What is exciting to me about this band is that it would work musically even if we didn’t have a great vocalist. But when you throw Susan, one of the greatest vocalists of our generation, up there along with Mike Mattson, Mark River and Saunders Sermons, our trombonist, who sings as good as anybody I’ve been in a band with. It’s a rare thing and makes me think of the great Bobby Bland band where everything was crushing – the rhythm section, the soloists – I don’t feel any weak spots!”

“Trucks also mentioned that the band’s two drummers – Jarrod Johnson and Tyler Greenwell – are making magic together, stating that Johnson ”.. can go Al Jackson (drummer for Booker T. & the MGs, Stax Records) like no other drummer I’ve played with. Sometimes the groove is so deep and good that you just start laughing, which is a great place to be. It wears you out.”

The members of the Tedeschi Trucks Band tend to be very animated on stage. That is just fine with Derek as he has never had the urge to cut loose on stage other than through his guitar. “One of the beauties of this band is that no one is bitching any more about the band being visually boring. People can forget I’m here and I’m fine with that.”

Trying to juggle the ABB along with his own group meant Trucks was never home for long stretches. That was fine with Derek but once he married Susan and the children arrived, the allure of the road faded. Family life is of paramount importance to the both parents. In the beginning, often one of them would be on tour while the other was home with the two kids. “The ABB thing is winding down and our new band doesn’t tour as much as our other bands did. But we still have to tour a lot to support the eleven piece band, which is almost impossible because with a band this big you have to work!” After a tour with Eric Clapton, Trucks used his pay to build a world-class recording studio in his backyard. That allows for a normal family life as Derek and Susan can work but still have their children close by.

When asked about the Gibson SG guitar that he uses for slide playing, Derek says that Duane Allman was his first big influence. He once saw a picture of Duane playing an SG. “It was mythical picture someone gave me as a kid and I just loved the look of that guitar!’ Once Trucks saved enough for his first non-pawnshop instrument, he bought his first SG, which worked better than a Les Paul model for the youthful Trucks due to the SG’s lighter weight. “For slide, you can get way up on the neck of the SG. For me, once you get comfortable with an instrument its second nature. Even if I fall in love with another guitar, after a while I notice that I am back to playing the SG.”