something. They played it on tour a couple times, then they never played it again. It's an overlooked masterpiece. When Gregg passed away, that was the first song I added to my show, even before I started playing “My Only True Friend”. I started playing that because he and I had been working hard on trying to come up with an arrangement for it for the Gregg Allman Band live show. We hadn't really gotten it to- gether yet. I felt like that was going to be a really important piece of the show once we went out to tour the Southern Blood album, which of course never happened. But that's my favorite of what I've been doing lately. We've also been playing Buddy Miles’ version of ” Dreams. “That is a funk masterpiece. It’s unbelievable. It’s in four instead of six. It's like what Gregg did with Whipping Post, which is what I liked about it, where he took it from a waltz feel to a straight four four funk feel. It works great, he's got the horns on it, his face is just burning man!


Brennan Carley: Are there any special songs that you're really looking forward to playing at the City Winery show? Scott Sharrard: When I played with Gregg, there was never a night where I was “there we go, an- other show.” I have never once played “Melissa” and thought “okay, now I'm just playing a song.” It's just such a good song. Every note. Every time you pay tribute to Gregg, you've gotta mean every note. There's nothing allowed to stick out. The whole performance is like one big note in a way.


But that said, the most emotional song for me in the entire catalog that we're going to play is “Once I Was”, because that was a song that he used to play all the time, just he and I. Even when we were doing writing sessions, he used to warm up with it and kind of get a feel for his gui- tar and his voice with it. There's something about the sentiment, the melody, the chords, the vibe of that song. That song is the most Gregg song in the world to me, outside of “Midnight Rider” and” Melissa.” That’s Gregg at 150%. But “Once I Was “is brutal for me, man, and I'm going to sing it because I don't want anyone else to sing it, because I feel an emotional ownership


over that song now, because of the attachment to Gregg. That's the hardest one for me. Everything else is a celebration. But that one, every time I play, I have to take a deep breath. I've played that song on stage about three times. Every time I have ended up crying at the end of it. Now that it's been two years, I'm hoping that I will finally be able to get through it without breaking down by the end of it.


Brennan Carley: Last question, what do you most miss about Gregg? Scott Sharrard: I miss all the things you would miss about a loved one. I missed his laugh. I miss his friendship. I miss his advice. I miss going out to dinner with him. I miss living on a bus with him. Then after that, I miss what we all miss. I miss that guy who had that magic that only certain people from the ‘60s and ‘70s got, where he would walk from the side of the stage from being a human to being a channel. Every time he performed, he was a perfect channel of energy. As a musician that's what I tried to learn from and try to hold and perfect the best I can. When I was sharing the stage with him, writing with him, living with him, and now living with- out him, I try to carry that energy. Even though he was a perfect channel of energy, he had a free- wheeling spirit on stage. He would just bring people up to sit in and change the setlist. It was fun for him. It wasn't like he was a channel and it was all serious. Nah, man, this is a jam! This is fun. Then he flipped to the mic and have you on the edge of tears. And then he turned around and have you laughing. I'm trying to figure out what that is. I'm trying to embody that the best I can but I don't know what to say. The man was pure magic. He was a great guy. He was a con- flicted guy, he had his problems. I really love the guy on all levels. What I miss the most about him is really hanging out with him. That's just me, you know.


Chank Middleton: Oh man, talking to him on the phone, hearing him laugh… everything. But he’s right here in Macon, Georgia, I can go see him any time I want.•


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