Since its inception in 2010, Tedeschi Trucks Band has been a massive presence in the world of blues music. Led by husband and wife Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, the band has a powerful, classic sound which won them the Grammy for Best Blues Album in 2012. Tedeschi Trucks Band will be coming to Virginia twice this year for a show at Lockn’ Farms April 18 and performances at the Lockn’ Festival Sept. 10-13. Arts & Entertainment talked with guitarist Trucks about the band’s evolution and the current tour.
A&E: What’s your favorite part of performing at the Lockn’ Festival?
DT: It’s a lot of the bands in our circle that we really enjoy being around, enjoy them musically but hanging personally too. It’s a real communal vibe, the hang is great. And because all the bands are essentially on the same two stages, and the music doesn’t overlap — everyone gets to watch everybody else’s set. That seems to encourage a lot more sit-ins.
A&E: Is there anyone who’s going to be there this year that you would really love to collaborate with?
DT: There’s quite a few. We’re throwing a special set together one of the nights and we’re going to try to get as many people on the festival to be a part of it as we can, so there’s a lot of stuff cooking. My brother’s playing with Widespread Panic, so everybody and that crew, Jimmy Herring and the whole camp. It’s always fun to hang with those guys.
A&E: Can you talk about your band’s approach to covering songs? How you put your unique spin on them?
DT: Some songs are just tailor-made for a band like this. It’s an eleven-piece band with a horn section and background singers, so there’s tunes you always heard and wanted to approach but maybe didn’t have the band to do it. This band really gives us the excuse to break a lot of that stuff out … I’ve noticed groups will take the shortcut and never bother to learn it and just kind of approximate. With this band, there’s a lot of attention to detail and I think that gives you a better understanding of where the tune is coming from, and then if you want to change it and make it your own thing you do that … you don’t really overthink it. The drummers have their own way of playing things, and everybody on stage has really good ears so things just kind of morph into what it’s gonna be. That’s what happens when a band really comes into its own and it starts to develop a sound, and almost anything you put through it, whether it’s old music or new music or tunes you write, it kind of takes on a life of its own.
A&E: Is this something that’s taken a while for the band to develop, or pretty early on were you guys at this point when it came to performing together?
DT: There were glimpses of it from the very beginning, certain things just stuck right from the beginning, but it’s definitely gotten better as time has gone on, and it’s definitely more tried and true at this point. There’s certainly no replacement for time spent on the road together and gigs and time in the studio, and if the chemistry is right it just adds layers to it.
A&E: Are there any songs you’re excited to cover on this tour?
DT: We’re working on a record right now, so a lot of the headspace is thinking about those tunes and kind of getting across the finish line with the record. But we try to keep tunes always flowing in the set, so it really is [different] night to night … There’s been a few of the musical sections that we’ve been working on for the record that we’ve been tossing in in different tunes just to see where they fit, so a lot of the group improvisational stuff has been a lot of fun on this run.
A&E: Does that [style of production] tend to happen spur of the moment or is it loosely planned out?
DT: It happens both ways. I enjoy with this band driving it to places it’s not fully ready for because then you get a natural reaction and you find out the way the band works together. So we’re getting much more comfortable in that world of being uncomfortable! I think I’ve enjoyed that a little bit more.
A&E: What would you tell someone who’s never attended one of your shows before to expect?
DT: It’s an amazing group of musicians on stage. It really is a unique band … There’s also a serious focus on moving forward, so you know it’s different from night to night, and it’s different from show to show, and I think there’s a level of musicianship and a level of quality with this group that doesn’t seem to ever dip below a certain level. So I appreciate that about it, that every night I can look across the stage and somebody’s doing something that is exciting. It keeps us all energized.
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