Alan Haynes
Encyclopedia
Alan Haynes born in Houston, Texas
, is an American
Texas Blues
guitarist
. Alan has been playing professionally since the 1970s and has performed with a variety of Blues
legends that include Stevie Ray Vaughan
, Johnny Winter
, Albert Collins
, Albert King
, The Fabulous Thunderbirds
(1980's version with Jimmie Vaughan
), Robert Cray
, Bonnie Raitt
, John Lee Hooker
, and Otis Rush
among others. He now resides in Austin, Texas
and plays locally in and around Texas' major cities, especially Houston (where he performs nearly every month), occasionally in Dallas and Fort Worth, and also Europe
, where he has a large following in Scandinavia
n countries, Germany
, Denmark
, and Israel
.
, and Albert King, as well as fellow Houston native Albert Collins. However, by the age of 16, Alan decided to dedicate himself to the blues.
. Alan and the Texas Boogie Band were, by that time, the house band at the Texas Opry House, also getting radio broadcasting in Houston (on 101KLOL). Alan would later lead his own band, "Alan Haynes and the Stepchildren" and release his first EP, "Seventh Son" in 1984 under the Orphan label. Stepchildren included legendary Blues-Rock drummer Uncle John Turner, who had played with the likes of Johnny Winter during the late 1960s and early 1970s and recorded milestone Blues albums. Alan was inducted into the "Buddy Magazine Texas Tornado List" in 1980 and his band was voted "Best Blues Band" by the "Music City Austin - Music Poll" in 1985. Later on, for about six years in the 1990s, Alan was the house band at Antone's "home of the Blues." During those years, in 1994, Alan released his second studio album, Wishing Well. This time he had life friends and former Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble rhythm sections Chris Layton on drums, Tommy Shannon on bass, and Reese Wynans on keyboards. Alan also counted on Preston Hubbard from the Fabulous Thunderbirds and George Rains (Jimmie Vaughan's drummer) for this album. The result was earned Haynes a featured article in the "Guitar Player" magazine in August 1995. Alan would later continue playing locally and in Europe and would record two more albums on his own, but this time capturing the emotions of live performances. These two, "Live at the Blue Cat Blues" recorded in Dallas in 1998 with Jim Suhler and "Live at the Big Easy" recorded in Houston in 2001 would result in Haynes' last works to date.
and southern country. Haynes' tone is relatively clean and very clear as he uses no effects between his guitars and amps. The use of different dynamics and long, intense jams after singing a few verses has been a constant throughout Alan's career. His versatility and variety as a musician and guitar player are easily recognized as he mixes jazz chords with country licks while playing Texas blues progressions. Haynes is also well known for being a master of slide guitar
and usually plays a few tunes with the slide in his regular sets. Haynes' playing style is also denoted by precision on his bends, a wide range and variety of licks (often combining several scales with his own ideas) and tight rhythms that he achieves by complex chord-arrangements. Another component of his playing is his heavy and masterful use of his fingers to play (instead of a pick, which he also uses) and several pickup switches while playing licks and chords that allows him to achieve different sounds.
, and Lightnin' Hopkins
, among others. Alan has shared the stage or toured with many of these legends and has covered and recorded several covers from them. Many of those songs are still part of Haynes repertory when playing locally and abroad.
Live at the Blue Cat Blues (w/Jim Suhler, Recorded in 1998, Released in 2000)
Live at the Big Easy (Recorded in 2001, Released in 2002)
Tribute to Elmore James (1996) Masters of Blues
Telephone Road Houston, TX (1997) Mark May
Preaching the Blues (1998) Preacher Keen
Texas Minded (1998) The Tubesnakes
Before I Go (1999) The Bluesknights
Gulf Coast Blues (1999) Uncle John Turner
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Texas Blues
Texas blues
Texas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. Alan has been playing professionally since the 1970s and has performed with a variety of Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
legends that include Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
, Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
, Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
, The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...
(1980's version with Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan
James Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
), Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, and Otis Rush
Otis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
among others. He now resides in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
and plays locally in and around Texas' major cities, especially Houston (where he performs nearly every month), occasionally in Dallas and Fort Worth, and also Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, where he has a large following in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n countries, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Early life
Haynes started playing guitar at the age of 8 and approached the blues for the first time when he was about 12 or 13. Among the first influences he had were the Three Kings of the Blues, BB King, Freddie KingFreddie King
Freddie King , thought to have been born as Frederick Christian, originally recording as Freddy King, and nicknamed "the Texas Cannonball", was an influential African-American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert...
, and Albert King, as well as fellow Houston native Albert Collins. However, by the age of 16, Alan decided to dedicate himself to the blues.
Adult Life and Career
In the late 1970s Alan joined the Texas Boogie Band as a second guitarist first but eventually became the main guitarist. Alan would make his move to Austin, TX in the early 1980s. While playing with the Texas Boogie Band, Haynes got to open and share the stage with legendary Blues artists such as Muddy WatersMuddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
. Alan and the Texas Boogie Band were, by that time, the house band at the Texas Opry House, also getting radio broadcasting in Houston (on 101KLOL). Alan would later lead his own band, "Alan Haynes and the Stepchildren" and release his first EP, "Seventh Son" in 1984 under the Orphan label. Stepchildren included legendary Blues-Rock drummer Uncle John Turner, who had played with the likes of Johnny Winter during the late 1960s and early 1970s and recorded milestone Blues albums. Alan was inducted into the "Buddy Magazine Texas Tornado List" in 1980 and his band was voted "Best Blues Band" by the "Music City Austin - Music Poll" in 1985. Later on, for about six years in the 1990s, Alan was the house band at Antone's "home of the Blues." During those years, in 1994, Alan released his second studio album, Wishing Well. This time he had life friends and former Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble rhythm sections Chris Layton on drums, Tommy Shannon on bass, and Reese Wynans on keyboards. Alan also counted on Preston Hubbard from the Fabulous Thunderbirds and George Rains (Jimmie Vaughan's drummer) for this album. The result was earned Haynes a featured article in the "Guitar Player" magazine in August 1995. Alan would later continue playing locally and in Europe and would record two more albums on his own, but this time capturing the emotions of live performances. These two, "Live at the Blue Cat Blues" recorded in Dallas in 1998 with Jim Suhler and "Live at the Big Easy" recorded in Houston in 2001 would result in Haynes' last works to date.
Style & Technique
Haynes' style is a soulful mix of Texas blues that includes musical ideas from different genres, essentially jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and southern country. Haynes' tone is relatively clean and very clear as he uses no effects between his guitars and amps. The use of different dynamics and long, intense jams after singing a few verses has been a constant throughout Alan's career. His versatility and variety as a musician and guitar player are easily recognized as he mixes jazz chords with country licks while playing Texas blues progressions. Haynes is also well known for being a master of slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
and usually plays a few tunes with the slide in his regular sets. Haynes' playing style is also denoted by precision on his bends, a wide range and variety of licks (often combining several scales with his own ideas) and tight rhythms that he achieves by complex chord-arrangements. Another component of his playing is his heavy and masterful use of his fingers to play (instead of a pick, which he also uses) and several pickup switches while playing licks and chords that allows him to achieve different sounds.
Musical Influences
Haynes' main influence is Johnny Winter, who he was introduced to at the age of 15 by fellow Houstonian, Benny Valerio. This influence is evident in both his fluent and aggressive playing and growling vocals which he tends to harmonize with his guitar. Albert Collins is another big influence that can be traced on Alan's huge bends and vibratos as well as his fresh tone. Other Blues legends that have tremendously influenced his career and style are Albert King, Muddy Watters, Freddie King, BB King, T-Bone WalkerT-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
, and Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
, among others. Alan has shared the stage or toured with many of these legends and has covered and recorded several covers from them. Many of those songs are still part of Haynes repertory when playing locally and abroad.
Equipment
Alan's sound is characterized by a warm tone achieved by playing vintage Strats thru vintage Fender amps. His main axe is an old beat up 1960 Fender Stratocaster, with a C-Profile rosewood neck and a Dakota Red body, Previously owned by Stevie Ray Vaughan and before Stevie it was owned by Eric Johnson. The guitar has also been played by Billy Gibbons, Carlos Santana and Johnny Winter. Pickups on this guitar are stock and therefore have a vintage sound, especially the bridge pickup which Haynes uses intensively. His favorite amp setup includes a Fender Vibroking which he cranks up to get natural overdrive from the amp as he uses no pedals or stompboxes at all. Previously a heavy strings user (11's and 12's), Haynes now employs any 10-46 set of strings and prefers standard tuning.Live Albums
Live at the Camelot Club, Tel Aviv, Israel Not Official (w/ the Carl Peterson band, Recorded in 1998)Live at the Blue Cat Blues (w/Jim Suhler, Recorded in 1998, Released in 2000)
Live at the Big Easy (Recorded in 2001, Released in 2002)
Contributions
José Blues (1988) David LindholmTribute to Elmore James (1996) Masters of Blues
Telephone Road Houston, TX (1997) Mark May
Preaching the Blues (1998) Preacher Keen
Texas Minded (1998) The Tubesnakes
Before I Go (1999) The Bluesknights
Gulf Coast Blues (1999) Uncle John Turner