When the outside world slowed down, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks finally made time for each other.
That’s what happens with married couples, right? You go, go, go, and before you know it, you find yourself drifting. If you don’t stop the outside noise, you lose track of each other and things fall apart.
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In the case of Tedeschi and Trucks, that meant each running hard with solo musical careers, balancing one project against another, working as a guest on this tour, playing with another friend on that record.
Finally, the married couple carved out time for each other.
Each put a solo career on hold, which meant a lot less time on the road. Being home together created sparks.
The result is “Revelator” by the Tedeschi Trucks Band. It’s a swampy, bluesy and at times strikingly beautiful record that debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 in June, and earned a series of four-star reviews in high-profile publications.
The success of the first single, “Learn How to Love,” made The Tedeschi Trucks Band into one of the most compelling touring acts of the summer. The 11-piece band, led by Tedeschi on guitar and vocals and Trucks on guitar, performs Friday at Ocean Gateway in Portland.
In a recent phone interview, Trucks, 32, said the experience of making the record and touring with a huge band has been both revealing and rewarding.
“The shows have been over the top,” he said, marveling at the chemistry. “It’s one of those things, everyone in the band feels a thing happening, and the audience does as well. L.A. can be a tough crowd. You know, there is that element of, ‘Show me what you got. Show me something.’ But we had by the far the best response. It was nice. It was really nice.
“We’ve had a lot of old grizzled veterans coming out to see the show, and we’re hearing things like, ‘I haven’t seen a band like this in years, decades maybe.’ It makes it all worthwhile. It takes a handful of those moments to keep plugging away.”
The band has found its groove, and is dosing the live show with choice covers (Sly and The Family Stone) and the “tunes that are really fun to play with a big band,” Trucks said. “The band is just getting to the point now where we can be more adventurous. With this many people, you have to stay close to the script until everybody knows it. Then you can veer off a little. We’re now doing that. Every night is a new adventure.”
The band includes brothers Oteil Burbridge (bassist with The Allman Brothers Band) and Kofi Burbridge (longtime keyboardist/flutist with The Derek Trucks Band), drummers J. J. Johnson and Tyler Greenwell, trumpeter Maurice Brown, tenor saxophonist Kebbi Williams, trombonist Saunders Sermons, and harmony singers Mark Rivers and Mike Mattison.
“It’s crazy touring with a band this big,” said Trucks, who, when not playing in this group, plays guitar with The Allman Brothers. “It really is a beast of a band to take on the road. It’s a major logistical undertaking. But at the end of the day, it’s worth it.”
There is no telling where this project will go, but Trucks said he and his wife look at it as a long-term commitment. Their solo careers are effectively over — or at least on hold for the indefinite future. They are fully committed to recording and performing as husband and wife.
“I had a solo career for a long time with some die-hard fans. Susan did too. We knew we would ruffle some feathers. We knew there would be some blow-back, but we anticipated it,” Trucks said.
Besides that, he added, music requires change. No one wants to play the same thing over and over again, and bands that do that without challenging themselves quickly find themselves on the oldies circuit.
“If your music is the same, you are not pushing yourselves,” he said. “With music, you should be changing. You should be growing.”
“Revelator” feels like a sum of influences. Both Tedeschi and Trucks are steeped in the blues but versed in a range of styles that include rock, jazz and world music. Their band reflects those influences. It’s got some Delta blues, Memphis soul, ’60s rock and ’70s funk.
It has moments of elegant quiet and large swaths of big, robust sounds, particularly when Trucks cuts lose on the slide guitar.
An interesting piece of trivia: Last year, both Tedeschi and Trucks received Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary Blues Album: Tedeschi for “Back to the River” and Trucks for “Already Free.” He won the Grammy.
With any luck, next year both will take home honors for “Revelator.”
“It’s kind of nice to take a moment and put a project together and see what we can do with it,” Trucks said. “We forced the issue, and we’re really happy with the results.”
Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:
bkeyes@pressherald.com
Twitter: twitter.com/pphbkeyes
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