

One morning, Gregg and his wife Shannon got up early to go to Church. I was helping arrange some chord voicings for Gregg on a tune that he and Scott were writing, called “My Only True Friend,” which debuted on the “Southern Blood” album, which we recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals. I was down in Savannah working with Gregg and Scott Sharrard, Gregg’s guitar player and music director.

We absolutely fell in love with the Trouble at Your Door track off of the new album! What’s the story behind this incredible piece of music? I do believe it is always a good idea to be able to have a second set of ears to help. You can lose the scope of music, miss minor hiccups on the songs, etc. Also, after writing, recording, and then producing the record, your ears need a break, and you run the risk of washing out on it. The danger of self-producing is that the music could become a bit self-indulgent. Ironically though, this can also be a drawback. You don’t have to worry about bumping heads with anyone over anything, which is a good feeling. It’s your project, you are self-funding it, and all the decisions, musical and otherwise, are entirely up to you. The pros of self-producing are somewhat obvious. But overall it was all me, which I enjoyed very much. Joey Williams from the Blind Boys, Lenesha Randolph from Lauren Hill’s band, and Robert Randolph’s Family Band helped with some vocal production.

So it was a combination of good, honest personnel and a good business model.Īs a highly respected producer in your own right, did you do the producing honors on the new LP? And, if so, what are the pros of self-producing? And when he described how the company worked and what he had been doing for it, it just felt like a good fit. Charles told me about what he was up to with Solaris and seemed interested in helping me finally get the record off the ground. Then in November of 2021, I had my heart transplant and was out of commission for a while. COVID halted my momentum on finishing the album. We were both on a post-COVID writing session with Marcus, and I was telling Charles about my record, and how I had 18 songs all done, with great special guests, but I had stalled on it. I met Charles Hedgepath, musician and Partner at Solaris Entertainment, through our mutual friend Marcus King. What made Solaris Entertainment the perfect home for you and the new album? It was a combination of sounds and styles from both groups that gave the overall musical arc to the project the Bluesy, R&B influences of Gregg’s music, and the Gospel / Soulful influences of the music of the Blind Boys. The main inspiration came from my work over the years with the Gregg Allman Band and The Blind Boys of Alabama. Major congratulations on the brand-spankin’ new album! For those not in the know, could you talk about the inspiration behind the new LP? I’ve also, as you know, been putting the finishing touches on my album, “Saturday Night / Sunday Morning,” which will be released soon – September 15th to be exact. Hi! So happy to be here and thanks for chatting with me! This summer has been great! I’ve been busy performing around the country with a few groups: The Highwomen, Trouble No More, and my group, the Peter Levin Band. We’re very excited to be speaking today with the acclaimed Grammy-nominated musician, producer, and songwriter, Peter Levin greetings and salutations, Peter! Before we meander down the Q&A musical pathway, how has the summer of ‘23 been treating you?
