OFF: Gov't Mule

[Darrin McKeehen]

In that vein, the very latest rumor is that Warren and Matt will tour this
year with Dave Schools of Widespread Panic on bass (he filled in during the
"One For Woody" benefit), and Page McConnell of Phish on keyboards.
Apparently, Page filled in for Gregg Allman during a Beacon show one time,
and actually handles the material really well.

The only hassle I can see with the above tour is that all the damn Phish
heads will buy up all the tickets so they can see Page, and we long-time
Mule fans will be left SOL... :-(

(Or is it only Trey about whom they are fanatical?)

Cheers,

Paul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Careful w/ That Axe Eugene!

There are Hawkfans out here that are Phisheads too.

Believe it or not!

Yes, we Phisheads can be like Deadheads when it comes to tickets. BTW, I am
a Deadhead too. But you know as well as I do that if something like this did
happen, you would have just as much of a chance to get tix to the show(s) as
any Phishead. The event would certainly be listed on the MULE website.

It does not matter what band you like. If you want to go to a show bad
enough, you will take the needed measures to make it happen. The past 2
Hawkwind events are a case in point.

Therefore, your statement is LAME!

And there is no need to slam fans of a certain style of music or a certain
band, just because you may not like it.

Actually, it's rather interesting. Fans of Phish and other jambands don't
always go for bands like the MULE and another high octane band from New York
called moe.
Seems as these 2 bands are a little too aggressive and heavy for some folks
that are into the hippie thang.

moe. actually goes well into the realms of Spacerock. For Halloween they
performed a perfect version of Dark Side Of The Moon, while showing "The
Wizard Of Oz" on giant screens. At the same show they performed a 39:33
minute version of their song MEAT!

Take Djam Karet, get rid of the keyboards and give them another great
guitarist and the spacey quality of the Spacious Mind w/ the energy of "Mind
Of A Brother" and a strong penchant for improvisational jamming and the
humor of Frank Zappa and you will start to understand the moe. sound. Of
course, they play San Berdino on occasion, as well ")

I have seen them perform "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" and
"Interstellar Overdrive". Many of their own songs go deep into the realms of
space. Their percussionist is actually a multi-instrumentalist that will
play flute when they go off into these awesome spacejams. I think many
members here would enjoy them. Every now and then they will play "Godzilla"
or "Don't Fear The Reaper" as encores, so there's something there for the
BOC fan too.

Most of us like this heavy schtuff!

It's kinda cool to see some discussion about the MULE here. And I would just
like to pass along what I know....

The rumor about Dave Schools is just that: a rumor.

Warren and Matt opened for Phil and Friends for New Years and Mike Gordon of
Phish sat in on bass and then jammed w/ Phil later on. They played some MULE
along w/ Soulshine. Warren is filling the void w/ ABB for the Beacon run in
March because Jimmy Herring is sticking w/ Phil, who is playing shows in
Frisco and Denver.

Dave Schools sat in w/ Warren Matt and Friends at the "One For Woody" show
on 9/21/00 at Roseland Ballroom in NYC, but so far that's the only time.
Dave is working on staying clean, playing better than ever and the Panic is
taking some time for their upcoming release. They actually have all the
tracks done and put them on disc to shop for a record label. Someone in the
band let this multi-track studio recording out and there are a few that
already have it. One of my friends has it. I have heard it and it's great,
but he won't let me burn a copy. It features alot of the new tunes that they
have been playing live like, Little Lilly, Imitation Leather Shoes, Casa and
more. WSP can get as heavy or heavier than the MULE. For instance, to open
their Halloween Run in New Orleans they opened w/ a kickass version of Sweet
Leaf!

Word is they have signed w/ the "Sanctuary" label in Europe. Can anyone tell
me if this label has anything to do w/ Iron Maiden?

Like I said the Panic kicks ass! I could see them on the same label as Iron
Maiden.

It's more likely that if a tour or even some shows were to take place that
Mike Gordon would get the nod, since Phish is taking some time off. Also, on
12/6/00 Warren, Page and Mickey Raphael- the harmonica player for Willie
Nelson and Neil Young, to name a few, performed a one-off show at Irving
Plaza in NYC. This was a very small and intimate benefit show for for about
200 people to celebrate the release of "When the Iron Bird Flies" a photo
chronicle of the Tibetan Freedom Concerts from
'96-'99. All money went to the Milarepa Fund a non-profit organization
co-founded by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys.

This was a short, but very soulful show. They performed:
Back At The Chicken Shack/Further On Up The Road, I've Been Loving You Too
Long, Who's Been Talkin', She Said, She Said, One (by U2) and Little Wing.
Warren handles all the vocals.

I don't think that there will be another Government Mule. Woody was just to
integral a part of that band to ever be replaced. He was a great fellow. I
had the opportunity to meet him when he sat in w/ Colonel Bruce and the
Aquarium Rescue Unit back in '94 in Gainesville. You could not have asked
for a nicer guy. It's a great loss to the music world.

I have some very crisp MULE shows on disc, including the "One For Woody"
show (5 discs) as well as the above mentioned benefit show (one disc). I
also have lots of moe. and Widespread Panic on discs too.

If anybody wants to trade high quality schtuff, just Let me know.

Peace,

Darrin


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