Q&AQ&A with Lefty Williams, guitarist and lead vocalist for RevivalIF YOU GOWhat: Riverfront Nights concert series, featuring Revival: An Allman Brothers Experience.When: 7 p.m. Saturday.Where: Ross’s Landing, 100 Riverfront Parkway.Admission: Free.Phone: 756-2211.Venue website: www.riverfrontnights.com.RELATED LINKShttp://www.reverbnation.com/revivalanallmanbrothersexperience.
The fifth annual Riverfront Nights concert series will kick off with a tribute to one of the most influential Southern rock artists of all time.
Revival: An Allman Brothers Experience is composed of six Atlanta musicians who united around a shared passion for the music of The Allman Brothers, the band Rolling Stone placed at No. 53 on its 100 Greatest Artists list.
The idea of forming a tribute took root in 2009 when guitarists Lefty Williams and Benji Shanks hosted a concert devoted to the Brothers at a weekly jam session for professional musicians in Atlanta.
It didn’t take long to realize something special was going on, Williams said.
“We had so much fun playing … that, at the end of the night, [slide guitarist] Benji [Shanks] and I were standing there saying, ‘Man, we need to do this more often. This was a lot of fun; we could turn this into a show,'” he said.
The resulting lineup represents artists with stints in touring groups ranging from Derek Trucks Band and Outformation to the Wayside Riders. The band’s sets are drawn from a repertoire of about 30 songs such as “Jessica,” “Whipping Post” and “Rambling Man,” primarily representing material recorded before the death of co-founding guitarist Duane Allman in late 1971.
One of the things that made the Brothers such a well-remembered band was the musicians’ sprawling, improvised solos and the distinctive twin-guitar sound of Allman and Dickey Betts. Both those elements are highlights of Revival performances as well, Williams said.
“Benji is an amazing slide player, and that guy can do Duane Allman better than anyone in the world,” Williams said. “I do the Dickey Betts stuff; I’ve always been inspired by Dickey.
“We try and put ourselves in the head space of these guys. Instead of playing it exactly the way they played it, we try and approach it the way they approached it.”
Because of the musicians’ commitments to other projects, Revival has only been able to perform sporadically with just seven dates in the last year.
Despite not playing music he wrote, Williams said he embraces any opportunity to take the stage, whether as a solo artist, with Revival or in any of his other projects.
“Honestly, any time I’m holding my guitar, that just makes me happy,” he said. “I think most of the people in the band feel the same way.
“We’re not so much hung up on whether it’s our music or not; we’re just having a good time playing.”