Non-Glorious Animal - Gov't Mule
Episode notes
What do you call a band that describes themselves as "a slow, hard-working, non-glorious animal" — and then responds to the death of their founding bassist by calling in Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Flea, Les Claypool, Phil Lesh, and Jason Newsted to record a tribute so massive it took two albums to contain? You call them Gov't Mule, and this is the story of the most extraordinary act of collective grief in the history of Southern rock.
In this episode, Schecky traces how Warren Haynes and Allen Woody left the Allman Brothers to build a power trio in the Cream tradition — rehearsing at the Big House in Macon, releasing their debut in 1995, and going full time in 1997 — before Woody's sudden death in August 2000 sent the band into the studio to make The Deep End, one of the most ambitious tribute projects rock music has ever produced. We break down why Soulshine is the one song every new listener needs, dig into the full Deep End story and Mike Gordon's Rising Low documentary, and make the case for why Gov't Mule — thirty years in and still kicking — is one of the last truly great working bands in American rock.
Subscribe, drop a comment telling us your most powerful Gov't Mule live memory or the first time Soulshine hit you the way it's supposed to, and share this episode with any Southern rock or jam fan who needs this band in their life right now.