Photo: Jef Jeffares

by Ashley Thompson

Randall Bramblett’s name has become synonymous with exhilarating powerhouse performances, and he’s played with some of the nation’s most respected artists. With almost 40 years in the business, he’s been in the game long enough to have seen a few things and perfect his best stuff. But what does any good player do when everyone can anticipate his next move?  He throws a hell of a curve ball.

Athens Blur Magazine recently caught up with Bramblett while working at his home studio and discussed the exodus his upcoming album takes from his previous records, his renowned live shows and why this weekend’s performance at The Rialto Room will reveal a new side of the rock legend.

Your upcoming album, The Meantime, has a more romantic feel. How is this album different from Rich Someday or It’s Now Tomorrow?

Well, there’s a grand piano, upright bass and drums. We still have some strings on some things. No guitars, so it’s not an electric guitar record. It’s much simpler and quieter— more melodic and much more space. (The record) has a lot of songs that were not really for our band. They’re not big power songs or rock songs. They’re really a breath of fresh air.

Did you find inspiration for this record in a different way than you have before?

Oh yeah, just sitting at piano at John Keane’s [studio] gave me the inspiration to try some of these songs with this stripped down version – just hearing the grand, really. It kind of opened the door for doing this concept. I think I really just had to hear the grand, because it showed me the possibilities for this. And I think I was just yearning for something subtle…hearing the brushes, the sizzle cymbal, and the upright bass —just wanting to hear that kind of stuff, needing to hear it. The piano really broke things loose for me and I thought “Oh, I can do it this song, and do this…” I was able to think of these songs in an entirely different way. I’ve never done a record like this before.

Is this the first time you’ve produced an entire album?

I’m always co-producing with whoever’s working with me. I’m always involved, probably too involved. I’m always involved with everything — the way we put the songs together and all that stuff. This was the first one when I’ve done most of it myself. But we always kind of work together, we’ll all listen back to the tape and put our two cents in. It’s always a cooperative thing, but I chose the songs on this one and made the arrangements ahead of time.

Is there a formula that guarantees a great live performance?

You start with good songs and good players, and I think everyone gets into it and we feed off the audience.  It just goes back and forth. That’s the formula: To have a good crowd, good songs and good players, and go out and give it everything. Let the thing build, let the excitement build and play and it gets better. You even have to restrain yourself some. This thing we’re doing at The Rialto will be totally different thing, you know, because a lot of things we do with band we do try to rev up the excitement.  This record has a more pulling in and inviting sound. It’s a totally different way to approach it. It’s going to be inviting people to be pulled in to the ballad. It’s going to be quiet and it’s going to be subtle. You know, it’s a different approach. It’s a lot of space and it requires just really of listening. It requires getting into the mode rather than a big rock show. But I needed to do this; I needed that kind of change.

The Rialto Room has quickly become a favorite venue to get an up-close experience with an artist. Are you as excited as we are about the show?

Oh yeah, that’s why we chose it: because it is a listening room. This record is a little bit sophisticated and this room is sophisticated. We’re able to bring some guests in and do some things I think that are going to be great. It’s a nice and small listening room. I can’t imagine a better place for it.

What are some things you hope fans will get out of this performance?

Well, I think it’s just presenting songs that people may not know about. And it’s also very melodic, and in a way romantic, although none of the songs are about my normal topics of loss or things like that. There are some romantic songs in there, so we thought Valentine’s would be a good time to do this. It is romantic in the big sense of the word, not necessarily about love. The songs are deeply melodic, and it will be a chance to feel the beauty of the songs, not like a rock show. And we’re looking for beauty on this record—subtlety and beauty.

You’ve worked with an array of artists in your career from the Allman Brothers to the Greatful Dead. Are there certain characteristics or traits from the artists you have performed and recorded with you’ve taken along with you in your career?

I guess I’ve learned a lot from each one. (Chuck) Leavell taught me that a lot of it is just about playing music and having fun and not getting too serious about everything. (Steve) Winwood is such a high-quality guy all the way around as far as musically and the way he handles things, as well asthe quality of his voice and his playing. Everybody I’ve worked with I’ve learned from. Widespread Panic is like “get out there and do it and have fun and jam.”

You’ve been in the business long enough to see it change over the years. What are some key changes you’ve been effected by? What in what ways are you excited to see the industry moving towards?

The whole idea of being able to build a whole community online is nice, really nice. Being able to contact your fans and spread the word online and let people hear your stuff online —that’s doing a lot for us lesser-known artists. How else would we reach them? You’re just not going to get it on radio these days. It’s great to be able to build your audience online and build an email list and things like that,all that is enabling artists like me to eek out a living when we might not have been able to before. The bad news is you can’t really sell many CDs anymore, I mean, I can’t—not that I ever sold a hell of a lot of CDs anyway. Overall CD sales are down and the budgets we used to get for making records are gone. Back when I was playing with groups like Sea Level, we were able to announce a pretty good promo thing and have a lot of gigs and tours afterwards and sell a good many records. That’s hardly ever possible now. There seems to be a big gap between the people who went to the Grammy’s and are selling tons of records and then the rest of us aren’t. On the other hand, there’s a lot more groups now that are doing what we’re doing and get a fan base together and play live shows. It comes down to playing live, for us as far as us making a living. That’s where you sell the most CDs and that’s where most of your money comes from.

To what do you contribute to your longevity as an artist?

Not dying. (laughs) I think not abusing substances helps a lot and enables you to stay focused. I think just trying to push a little bit as far as doing something a little new rather than just going for the old stuff. I think mainly just hanging in there and continuing to work at it and not getting lost in the side show—whatever craziness that goes on around the music business. That at least gives you a chance to show up for work.

And,you know, the most important thing is having good people around you. I’ve had really great support from my wife and my manager and people like that who really care and work really hard at trying to get things going. They keep me supported and encouraged and do a lot of the stuff I can’t really do. And fans these days are doing a lot of work, too. That’s something that’s changed. Fans will promote shows and help you do things.

Could you peg a few of your favorite things in life right now that have directly manifested from your career in music?

I’m doing a lot of solo things these days —traveling by myself. I’m empowered a little by that. I get to do my own shows and that’s been good. Just having a nice place to live and I have a studio down in my basement now I can work at and that’s helped me out a lot: being able to do the music thing. It gives me a place to work every day.And I actually got a good used car this year (laughs).

Randall Bramblett appears at The Hotel Indigo’s Rialto Room Saturday Night. For more information, visit www.therialtoroom.com/events.html