— The lyric inscription on what is no doubt the most psychedelic
security gate in these parts — “And The Road,” it reads, wrapped around
an enormous mushroom, “Goes On … Forever” — wasn’t entirely accurate
outside the
The Brothers themselves were in town for a gig — their first
And it seems they can still stop traffic. Or at least slow it down.
A public works crew barricaded a lane of
“We’re all just knocked out by this,”
“This has been a long time coming,” he said. “It sat
here for about 10 years and kind of got done and kind of got done …
and we’re done.”
One of the band’s founding members,
Said Trucks: “We came here, and for seven years we tore this place to pieces. Any of you guys remember
that into town so he kind of told the cops to leave us alone, just keep
us from killing each other. Once we figured that out, we took full
advantage of that. And then about 1976 they got a new mayor, and he
changed his mind and we all moved. So now we’re back.”
Fans from as far away as
“God bless you all. God bless the Allman Brothers.
This has just been a magical life,” Trucks said. “There is something
about music that nothing else can do. I walk onstage (for concerts) a
62-year-old really old guy and about halfway through the first song I’m
an 18-year-old Super Butch. And then about three hours later, I’m a
90-year-old
Drummer Jaimoe Johnson, reminiscing about his years
in town and the renovation of the Big House, said, “I lived here for 19
years. I came here
this (museum), and when I walked in that door there, it took my breath
away. It’s unbelievable what they’ve done in there.”
Someone in the crowd hollered, “God bless the Allman Brothers!”
When it came time to snip the ceremonial ribbon,
Trucks made it sound more like they were cutting a record. In a voice
deep and cool enough to kick off a blues lick, Trucks said, “One, two,
three, cut it!”
the yard below of his ancestral ties to the group. Or at least to one
its song’s namesakes.
“I’ve got one more connection to the
Then, with mid-afternoon traffic crawling past, the
mayor handed the band a key to the city, which bore the inscription
“For the
———
(c) 2010, The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.).
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