Douglas Allen Woody (October 3, 1955 – August 25, 2000)
Biography
After having studied at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music,
Woody joined the Allman Brothers Band along with guitarist
Warren Haynes upon the group's reunion in 1989. Woody and Haynes formed side project Gov't Mule in 1994 with former
Dickey Betts drummer
Matt Abts. Haynes and Woody decided to leave the Allman Brothers Band in 1997 to put a full-time effort into Gov't Mule. Prior to that, Woody played in the 1970s jazz fusion rock band Montage, and following that with former Kiss drummer
Peter Criss in the Criss Penridge Alliance in the 1980s.
Death and legacy
Woody was found dead the morning of Saturday, August 26, 2000 at the Marriott Courtyard in
Queens, New York. A preliminary
autopsy performed was inconclusive and showed no immediate cause of death;
but he was subsequently determined to have died of a heroin overdose.
[ Dixie Lullaby by Mark Kemp. Free Press: 2004. pgs 201-2] He was survived by his wife Jenny and daughter Savannah.
Woody's death helped Haynes in his decision to return to the Allman Brothers Band. Gov't Mule continued on after Woody's death with Andy Hess assuming bass duties after a three-year period that saw a rotating group of bass players including Mike Gordon, Dave Schools, Oteil Burbridge (Woody's replacement in the Allman Brothers Band), George Porter Jr. and Les Claypool.
The Canadian band Big Sugar wrote one song "Nashville Grass" about Woody's death and funeral.
Musical equipment
Woody had a large collection of bass guitars (around 450), featured in his own bass instruction video and was held in high esteem for his playing. The
Epiphone signature bass was similar to two specially built double-neck instruments that Gibson made for him: a bass/guitar and a bass/mandolin. With the Allman Brothers, although Woody used many different basses, Gibson Thunderbirds were his preferred instruments, along with
Alembic Inc basses. With Gov't Mule, Allen usually played the Gibson EB series, particularly the hollow-bodied EB-2 and the solid-bodied EB-3. At times he played a
Rickenbacker or Gibson Thunderbird.
Ampeg SVT was his amp of choice most of the time. Epiphone posthumously released an Allen Woody Limited Edition Bass, a semi-hollow arch-top similar to the Rumble Kat. Woody played esthetically customized Musicvox 4 string Spaceranger and Space Cadet Basses with Gov’t Mule. He played a Musicvox Space Cadet 12 String guitar and Yellow Musicvox Space Cadet 12 String Bass on tour with Blue Floyd performing extended 12 string bass solos in his role as second guitarist in the band.
Discography
- With the Allman Brothers Band
-
Seven Turns (1990)
-
Shades of Two Worlds (1991)
-
Live at Great Woods (1992 VHS/LaserDisc release, 2000 DVD release)
-
(1992)
-
Where It All Begins (1994)
-
(1995)
-
(2014)
- With Gov't Mule
-
Gov't Mule (1995)
-
Live at Roseland Ballroom (1996)
-
Dose (1998)
-
Live... With a Little Help from Our Friends (1998)
-
Life Before Insanity (2000)
-
The Deep End, Volume 1 (2001)
-
Mulennium (2010)
-
Sco-Mule (feat. John Scofield) (2015) - recorded live in Atlanta in 1999
-
The Tel-Star Sessions (2016) - remixed/remastered demo recordings made in June 1994
External links
