Guitarist Doyle Bramhall II putting focus on his own music

There comes a time when the most gifted and complimentary of collaborators needs to strike out on his or her own. For Doyle Bramhall II, such an opportunity presented itself in 2016. After years of juggling duties as guitarist, producer and sometimes both for the likes of Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Elton John, Gregg Allman, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy and others, the son of Texas roots music royalty decided it was time to bring the spotlight back on his own music.

“I had been accompanying other artists for the last 15 years, basically,” Bramhall said. “So I started playing my own shows about two years ago. I was just really having fun performing. I was having a connection with the audience that I’ve never enjoyed before. So I just wanted to focus on that.

“I was still playing with Eric Clapton a little bit. But he wanted to play more in the UK and Europe and use a local band there. Since he wasn’t going to be touring the world as much, I thought it was a good time to dive into my own career again. I felt like I had gathered enough inspiration to finally make the record I wanted to make.”

That project surfaced this fall as a sprawling blues-soul album called “Rich Man.” Its sound is majestically broad in its sense of roots-driven groove (“Your Mama Can’t Help You”), gospel-esque folk-blues (“Harmony”) and global accents of the Arabian oud (“Saharan Crossing”).

“Even though I was working with a lot of other artists, I was still woodshedding and writing songs for myself,” he says. “I would experiment with each one until the song revealed itself.”

One tune, “November,” had its intent set directly into the lyrics. The song is a tribute to the guitarist’s late father, Doyle Bramhall, a drummer, singer, songwriter and celebrated member of an Austin blues and roots music scene that gave rise to artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

“Listening to my father sing and play drums was such a huge part of my upbringing because I was around music so much. Back then, that’s all those guys did — the people I grew up around, my family, (Fabulous Thunderbirds alumnus and current guitarist/solo artist) Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Vaughan and (guitarist) Danny Freeman — all those people that lived in Austin at that time. They didn’t really have jobs other than playing. When they weren’t playing gigs, they were playing around the house or they were learning songs. It was constant music.”

The collaborations ensued quickly with Clapton and Waters offering Bramhall his highest musical exposure outside of Lone Star country. With Clapton, he recorded numerous albums including the just released “Live in San Diego,” and was subsequently introduced to some of his foremost musical inspirations.

“Through Eric, I got to play with some of my favorite artists. I’ve played with Billy Preston and got to know him really well. I got to play with Paul McCartney through that connection. I got to play with Derek Trucks. The list keeps going on of these different experiences that were all just really dreamy for me because these were people I grew up listening to. With Eric, there was such a rich, full musical collaboration all the time.”

With Waters, Bramhall was placed in a more ordered musical world. He toured with the Pink Floyd co-founder, singing and playing many of the leads originally handled by David Gilmour, for performances preserved on the 2000 live album “In the Flesh.”

“You see Roger’s confidence in the way he constructs his music and the whole concept that surrounds it,” Bramhall says. “It acts out like opera, in a way. This is where I learned to be a team player. I grew up just playing whatever I wanted and improvising all the time. So to actually stick to parts where you step up into the light, have your moment and then step into the background was a real interesting process for me. Roger is a brilliant person and also one of the most quick-witted people I’ve ever met.”

As cherished as those experiences were, Bramhall is thrilled the musical sagas he will be spinning this fall on the road will be his own.

“It’s very easy for me to embrace the new record because it’s telling my story,” he says. “Plus, it’s the truth, so it’s really easy to believe in when it is the truth. It’s all me exposed in sound and color.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2016 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Guitarist Doyle Bramhall II putting focus on his own music."