In an interview with Local Spins, guitarist-singer Susan Tedeschi talks to writer Ricky Olmos about touring, musical chemistry and the band’s tendency to ‘mix it up’ on stage.
Amazing On-Stage Chemistry: Susan Tedeschi says the Tedeschi Trucks Band is “really unique.” (Photo/Anna Sink)
THE BAND: Tedeschi Trucks Band
THE MUSIC: Genre-spanning rock, blues and soul
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BAND: 7 p.m. Friday at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park with Greyhounds opening the show; 9 p.m. Saturday at the Blues on the Fox Festival in Aurora, Ill., with Los Lobos, Larry McCray and Leland
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Listening to the Tedeschi Trucks Band invokes a sense of timelessness.
All of the classic rock ’n’ roll and blues elements are present: grooving drums, vibrant Hammond B3 organ and the warmest of electric guitar tones dance around in luxurious, melodic bliss. Layer that unmatched mixture of instrumentation with not one, but two phenomenal voices and veteran songwriters, and you have yourself a powerhouse of a band.
Loving Meijer Gardens: Derek Trucks, left, and Susan Tedeschi last played Meijer Gardens in 2014. (Photo/Anna Sink)
The band – which won a Grammy for best blues album with its very first release, 2011’s “Revelator” – has become a force to be reckoned with, on stage and in the studio.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band returns to Grand Rapids on Friday to play the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park amphitheater, with Austin, TX soul band Greyhounds opening the show, which sold out earlier this week.
“I love that venue. I love the gardens up there. it’s just so beautiful and relaxing, and the fans are always great,” Susan Tedeschi said in a phone interview with Local Spins. “They have a built-in crowd and everybody’s always really nice and respectful, and the fact that it’s an outdoor venue is even better. It’s intimate too; you feel like you can talk to the audience and they’re right there.”
The band’s West Michigan stop comes right before a jaunt up to Canada and a subsequent cross-country tour that traverses the United States multiple times, running well into October.
Known for its lively and energetic set, and boasting an enormous band of 12 members, any stage that the group happens to shuffle onto turns into a spectacle. Scattered with horns, back-up vocalists, two drum sets, bass and keyboards, there’s never a dull moment on stage.
A VERSATILE BAND WITH ‘SO MANY PEOPLE INTERACTING’ ON STAGE
“We’re kind of like a traveling circus. There’s so many talented people in this band and it never gets boring because there’s so many musicians to look at on stage,” Tedeschi said. “It’s always fun to see so many people interacting.”
Members include back-up vocalists, Alecia Chakour, Mike Mattison and Mark Rivers, who Tedeschi says “sound like a choir together.” Rounding out the horn section: Kebbi Williams (saxophone), Elizabeth Lea (trombone) and Ephraim Owens (trumpet). The band also feature Kofi Burbridge on keyboards and Tim Lefebvre on bass, with J.J. Johnson and Tyler Greenwell on drums. Tedeschi and Trucks front the band on electric guitars and lead vocals.
Filling the Stage: ‘So many musicians’ populate the Tedeschi Trucks Band. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Founded in 2009, following Tedeschi and Trucks’ departure from their solo projects, the married couple hunkered down at their Jacksonville home-studio and began writing collaboratively. The band’s first show was in April 2010 at the Savannah Music Festival, and their first album, “Revelator,” snagged several awards, including a Grammy for best blues album.
Touring alongside her husband, Tedeschi noted, makes for a unique dynamic, but one she enjoys. Together, the two musicians have become one of the most successful husband-wife duos in the music industry.
“Well, we’re definitely around each other a lot more,” Tedeschi banters, with a playful laugh. “But we’ve gotten a lot closer and we’re learning to communicate better. It’s a little intimidating sometimes because he’s an amazing guitar player, but it pushes me to work harder at being a better guitarist.”
The Band: The tour heads to Canada after this weekend but continues through the summer.
Tedeschi said fans and attendees can expect a myriad of genres and musical styles throughout the show, including folk, blues, rock and jazz, explaining that, though the band plays plenty of music from its own records, the group likes to “mix it up” and throw in a number of well-known covers.
A genre-spanning set, an extensive and diverse cast of band members, and years of writing and performing a classic-sounding repertoire makes Tedeschi Trucks a mainstay in an ever-changing musical climate. And unlike other bands that have been at it for years, these musicians still seem to be enjoying themselves.
“The chemistry on stage is amazing, and the chemistry off stage is great,” Tedeschi said, admiring her bandmates. “It’s a really unique band in a lot of ways and they’re all super-talented musicians. We all keep each other on our toes and we all inspire each other to keep working at the best form we can.”
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC
