Those of you that have followed the Mule's history know that our connection with the state of Georgia is a deep one. Our first rehearsals were at the one-time living quarters of the Allman Brothers Band known as The Big House (now the ABB museum) in Macon, GA. Some later rehearsals took place at what used to be the legendary Capricorn Recording Studio in Macon while recording the song GONNA SEND YOU BACK TO GEORGIA for the HOUND DOG TAYLOR Tribute CD. A lot of our earliest shows were in Georgia as well so a lot of our growth as a band took place in front of Georgia audiences.
Most Mule fans know also that two of our official "live" releases were recorded on back to back New Year's Eves (1998 and 1999) at the Roxy Theater in Atlanta. Venues like the Roxy and the Georgia Theater in Athens were staples in our early touring schedule (while watching an episode of the TV show CITY CONFIDENTIAL that took place in Athens I got a chuckle seein GOV’T MULE on the marquis as they scanned past the Georgia Theater).
Having recently been reminded of these 3 shows from '96, and of the fact that they had been recorded and mixed by Doug Oade back in the day, I found myself listening to these recordings for the first time in fifteen years. I was instantly taken with the visceral nature of the music along with the rawness of the way that it was captured. The Mule was barely two years old at this time and what we hear here, along with many songs from our first CD, are the works in progress of many songs that would later wind up on DOSE and in some cases LIFE BEFORE INSANITY. This was at a time in our career when our repertoire was small but constantly growing, not unlike our fan base.
Enjoy!
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