Devon Allman
Encyclopedia
Devon Allman is a vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter. He is also the founder and bandleader of Honeytribe
, (also known as Devon Allman's Honeytribe). In addition to creating two albums and leading multiple tours across North America and Europe with Honeytribe, Devon has also contributed to several other musical recordings, including Vargas Blues Band
and the A Song for My Father
compilation album. Devon has also appeared occasionally as a guest musician for both Gregg Allman
and The Allman Brothers Band
.
(of The Allman Brothers Band
) and Shelley Kay Jefts. His parents divorced when he was an infant, and he grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, as well as Tennessee and Missouri, raised by his mother in a typical suburban American household.
Devon began playing music as a teen, but was not influenced by his famous father.
He did not meet his father until he was in his teens, but they then bonded instantly.
In his twenties, Allman tried various musical styles and sounds to distance himself from his father's sound and avoid obvious comparisons, though his father did not meddle in Devon's career. In his thirties, Allman embraced the blues and rock style of music that was in his blood, realizing that it was inherited naturally.
Devon grew up on classic, blues-inspired rock music, and has specifically mentioned Santana
, The Rolling Stones
, The Doors
, and The Allman Brothers Band
.
When asked if there was one record that he could cite as the definitive recording that has influenced and inspired him, Devon responded with Layla
, by Derek and The Dominos
. He explained, "Although it's not straight blues, it's obviously dripping with soulful blues guitar. Layla has always appealed to me because you can really really ‘feel’ what Clapton
was going through. That man was straight up in love. It brought out a burning passion in his throat and fingers that is undeniable, and it obviously soaked into the other players on the record. My uncle Duane
just sounds like a bird on it as well! It has so much raw energy and passion that it sounds ultra fresh every time I put it on. Front to back, one of the few records that can bring me to tears if I let it."
' Vargas Blues Band (along with Jack Bruce
, Reese Wynans
, and others), and in 2008 on the Flamenco Blues Experience recording by the same outfit. In 2007 Devon guested on Paris Luna's City Lights album. He has also made appearances at various festivals and on MTV Europe.
In October 2011, Allman began working on a project titled the Royal Southern Brotherhood, which includes Cyril Neville
. The groups plans to begin recording their first album in December, 2011, at Ardent Studios
, Memphis, Tennessee, with Jim Gaines as Producer.
, which he calls "Number One". It is an exact, custom-shop replication of a '59. It was personally signed by Les Paul
when they played together at the Iridium Jazz Club
in New York City in 2007.
Allman currently uses Fuchs Overdrive Supreme amplifiers.
In 2011, Allman was also working on a forthcoming book and a branded hot sauce. Devon's "Chipotle Blues" hot sauce will be marketed by Born to Hula Hot Sauce.
Honeytribe
Honeytribe is an American blues rock band formed in Saint Louis, Missouri. The founder and bandleader is Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, who is the lead guitarist, vocalist, and frontman. The other members are George Potsos on bass, and Justin Hanson on...
, (also known as Devon Allman's Honeytribe). In addition to creating two albums and leading multiple tours across North America and Europe with Honeytribe, Devon has also contributed to several other musical recordings, including Vargas Blues Band
Javier Vargas
Javier Vargas was born in Madrid shortly after his parents had left Buenos Aires where they had migrated some years before. Nine years later, the family returned to Argentina and it is there where Javier started playing the guitar....
and the A Song for My Father
A Song for My Father (album)
A Song for My Father is an anthology of songs from the sons and daughters of some of pop music's most legendary artists. They each put a personal touch on a classic song made famous by their fathers, choosing songs that have a particular personal meaning for each of them...
compilation album. Devon has also appeared occasionally as a guest musician for both Gregg Allman
Gregg Allman
Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...
and The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
.
Early years
Devon is the son of Gregg AllmanGregg Allman
Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...
(of The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
) and Shelley Kay Jefts. His parents divorced when he was an infant, and he grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, as well as Tennessee and Missouri, raised by his mother in a typical suburban American household.
Devon began playing music as a teen, but was not influenced by his famous father.
He did not meet his father until he was in his teens, but they then bonded instantly.
In his twenties, Allman tried various musical styles and sounds to distance himself from his father's sound and avoid obvious comparisons, though his father did not meddle in Devon's career. In his thirties, Allman embraced the blues and rock style of music that was in his blood, realizing that it was inherited naturally.
Influences
His family’s prestigious musical history actually had little effect on him. He initially found his own way at age five while listening to the Beatles and Kiss, and from there started to learn guitar. Later in life, after meeting his dad and getting to see what was involved in a musical career, he became inspired to improve his craft.Devon grew up on classic, blues-inspired rock music, and has specifically mentioned Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, and The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
.
When asked if there was one record that he could cite as the definitive recording that has influenced and inspired him, Devon responded with Layla
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is a blues-rock album by Derek and the Dominos, released in November 1970, best known for its eponymous title track, "Layla"...
, by Derek and The Dominos
Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos were a blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends...
. He explained, "Although it's not straight blues, it's obviously dripping with soulful blues guitar. Layla has always appealed to me because you can really really ‘feel’ what Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
was going through. That man was straight up in love. It brought out a burning passion in his throat and fingers that is undeniable, and it obviously soaked into the other players on the record. My uncle Duane
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
just sounds like a bird on it as well! It has so much raw energy and passion that it sounds ultra fresh every time I put it on. Front to back, one of the few records that can bring me to tears if I let it."
Honeytribe
Honeytribe was formed by Devon Allman in 1999. In 2001, the band broke up so Allman could spend time with his newly born son. They re-formed in 2005 with their original lineup, and have since toured in the United States, Europe, and Canada, and have recorded two albums. They recorded Torch in 2006 and hit the road, playing up to 300 shows a year in 42 states and ten countries. Allman eventually grew restless with the original Honeytribe sound and pared the band down to a power trio in 2008 with bassist George Potsos and new drummer Gabriel Strange. This incarnation of Devon Allman's Honeytribe issued Space Age Blues in the fall of 2010.Other contributions
In 2005 Allman appeared on Love, Union, Peace with bluesman Javier VargasJavier Vargas
Javier Vargas was born in Madrid shortly after his parents had left Buenos Aires where they had migrated some years before. Nine years later, the family returned to Argentina and it is there where Javier started playing the guitar....
' Vargas Blues Band (along with Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
, Reese Wynans
Reese Wynans
Reese Wynans is a keyboard player who has done session work and has been a member of Double Trouble and progressive rock band Captain Beyond.- Personal life :Reese Wynans grew up in Sarasota, Florida during the 1950s...
, and others), and in 2008 on the Flamenco Blues Experience recording by the same outfit. In 2007 Devon guested on Paris Luna's City Lights album. He has also made appearances at various festivals and on MTV Europe.
In October 2011, Allman began working on a project titled the Royal Southern Brotherhood, which includes Cyril Neville
Cyril Neville
Cyril Neville , is a percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans-based band, The Meters...
. The groups plans to begin recording their first album in December, 2011, at Ardent Studios
Ardent Studios
Ardent Studios is a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee. Ardent Records/Ardent Music is the in-house label.- History :Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and was initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first Ardent Records 45's. In 1966 the operation moved...
, Memphis, Tennessee, with Jim Gaines as Producer.
Honeytribe
- Devon Allman's HoneytribeHoneytribeHoneytribe is an American blues rock band formed in Saint Louis, Missouri. The founder and bandleader is Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, who is the lead guitarist, vocalist, and frontman. The other members are George Potsos on bass, and Justin Hanson on...
- TorchTorch (Honeytribe album)Torch is the first album by Devon Allman's Honeytribe. It was originally released in 2006, by Livewire Recordings, then rereleased in 2007 by Provogue Records.-Reception:...
(2006) - Devon Allman's HoneytribeHoneytribeHoneytribe is an American blues rock band formed in Saint Louis, Missouri. The founder and bandleader is Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, who is the lead guitarist, vocalist, and frontman. The other members are George Potsos on bass, and Justin Hanson on...
- Space Age BluesSpace Age BluesSpace Age Blues is the second album by Devon Allman's Honeytribe. It was released in Europe on October 12, 2010, and in U.S.A on October 25, 2010...
(2010)
Other contributions
- Pinkeye d'Gekko - Rhythm & Westrn (2002)
- Vargas Blues Band - Love, Union, Peace (2005): Vocals on "Dance Away The Blues", "How Verso Are You?", and "Magic of the Gods"
- Paris Luna - City Lights (2007): Guitar on "Sick of Yourself" and "No Good For Me"
- Vargas Blues Band - Lost & Found (2007): Vocals on "One Way OutOne Way Out (song)"One Way Out" is a blues song first recorded and released in the early-mid 1960s by Sonny Boy Williamson II and Elmore James, an R&B hit under a different name for G.L. Crockett in the mid-1960s, and then popularized to rock audiences in the early 1970s and onward by The Allman Brothers Band.-Song...
", "Statesboro BluesStatesboro Blues"Statesboro Blues" is a blues song in the key of D written by Blind Willie McTell; the title refers to the town of Statesboro, Georgia. Covered by many artists, the version by The Allman Brothers Band is especially notable and was ranked #9 by Rolling Stone in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar...
" and "LaylaLayla"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
" - A Song for My FatherA Song for My Father (album)A Song for My Father is an anthology of songs from the sons and daughters of some of pop music's most legendary artists. They each put a personal touch on a classic song made famous by their fathers, choosing songs that have a particular personal meaning for each of them...
(2007): Midnight RiderMidnight Rider"Midnight Rider" is a popular and widely covered song by The Allman Brothers Band, from their album Idlewild South. Written by Gregg Allman and Robert Kim Payne, the song has become a fixture of the band's live performances and an enduring standard... - Vargas Blues Band - Flamenco Blues Experience (2008): Vocals on "Blues In My Soul"
- Vargas Blues Band - Comes Alive With Friends (2009): Guitar and vocals on "One Way OutOne Way Out (song)"One Way Out" is a blues song first recorded and released in the early-mid 1960s by Sonny Boy Williamson II and Elmore James, an R&B hit under a different name for G.L. Crockett in the mid-1960s, and then popularized to rock audiences in the early 1970s and onward by The Allman Brothers Band.-Song...
", "How Verso Are You?", and "Down by the RiverDown by the River"Down by the River" is a song composed by Neil Young. It was first released on his 1969 album with Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Young explained the context of story when introducing it in New Orleans on September 27, 1984. It depicts a man who catches his woman cheating on him,...
"; vocals on "Blues In My Soul" - Dan Bruder Band - Act of Kindness (2010)
Musical equipment
Allamn's primary guitar is a Gibson Les PaulGibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
, which he calls "Number One". It is an exact, custom-shop replication of a '59. It was personally signed by Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
when they played together at the Iridium Jazz Club
Iridium Jazz Club
The Iridium Jazz Club is a jazz club located on Broadway in New York City. The club hosts weekly performances by John Colianni, and also featured weekly performances by Les Paul for nearly fifteen years.- History :...
in New York City in 2007.
Allman currently uses Fuchs Overdrive Supreme amplifiers.
Miscellaneous projects
Allman appeared in the rock comedy series called Who the Hell is Dan Bruder which launched online June 2010. It is the story of a slightly delusional, middle-aged wannabe rocker who can not let go of the dream of stardom.In 2011, Allman was also working on a forthcoming book and a branded hot sauce. Devon's "Chipotle Blues" hot sauce will be marketed by Born to Hula Hot Sauce.