Derek Trucks Band to bring blues, soul to Unity

UNITY – Despite rumors to the contrary, Derek Trucks wasn’t born with a guitar in his hands.

No, Trucks really didn’t start performing until age 9, the same year that he first bought a garage-sale acoustic guitar for $5.

Shortly after that, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. He got his first paying gig at 11 and formed his first band at 12.

Now at the ripe old age of 23, Trucks has a growing reputation as a guitar master and a major-label deal. He brings his eponymous band to the Unity Performing Arts Centre today for an 8 p.m. show.

Besides Trucks, the quartet consists of Kofi Burbridge on keyboard, flute and vocals, Todd Smallie on bass and vocals, and Yonrico Scott on drums, percussion and vocals.

The foursome comes from diverse musical backgrounds. So what makes them work so well together?

“It comes from everyone being in a situation where everyone respects each other musically and has freedom musically,” Trucks explained in a phone interview from a tour stop in Burlington, Vt. “Often in a band, everyone is working on one person’s vision, but we’re not like that. We have a common goal, and that makes it easier to come together.”

The music of the Derek Trucks Band isn’t easy to pigeonhole. Their new Columbia album, “Joyful Noise,” includes the expected blues and soul, but there’s also a Sufi chant, a Latin number and some jazz.

So what makes a song right for the band?

“We just throw it out there, work it up, see how it feels,” Trucks said. “As long as there’s some place you can go with it, it’s worth doing.”

The quartet did things a little differently when recording “Joyful Noise,” their third album. Although the bulk of it was recorded live like their past releases, they didn’t hesitate to work a little studio magic this time around.

“We didn’t want to go in close-minded,” Trucks said. “We wanted to have the back door open to do some things. If you’re in the studio, you might as well use it.”

Guests on the album included soul legend Solomon Burke, Latin sensation Ruben Blades, Pakistani singer Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and singer-songwriter Susan Tedeschi, who is also Trucks’ wife and the mother of their 8-month-old son, Charles.

Having so many guest performers added to the album, Trucks said.

“Anytime you work with musicians of that caliber, it makes the band feel good and play harder,” he added.

As if he wasn’t busy enough with his own band, Trucks also plays slide guitar for the Allman Brothers Band.

When he was approached to join in 1999, he hesitated for a moment, because his own band was just starting to take off.

“I decided to go ahead when I looked at the schedules and realized I could keep both bands rolling,” he said. “It was slightly intimidating at first, because I had to learn all the tunes. But it felt pretty natural when you were in there.”

This meant playing more than 365 dates in 2000 and 2001, and things haven’t slowed down this year.

Being married to another musician can help in such a situation.

“It helps because she does know what’s going on,” Trucks said. “But she’s gone too, which makes it more difficult on that level.”

Trucks is looking forward to some time off around the holidays.

“I’ve got a few weeks off around Christmas, and I’m thrilled about that,” he said.

Tickets for the Derek Trucks Band show are $17, and are available at The Music Gallery in Waterville or Waldo County Oil in Troy or by calling the Unity Centre for the Performing Arts at 948-SHOW.