It is the week of the 40th Annual Grammy Awards, and Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Haynes is kicking up a little dust from his own Grammy past. "The nine years Allen [Woody] and I were with the Allman Brothers, they were nominated for a couple of Grammys," Haynes says over a bowl of soup at Katz's Deli in lower Manhattan. "By the time we finally won in '96 for Best Rock Instrumental for 'Jessica,' it was great, but we pretty much knew that that was the end of the Allman Brothers for us."

Formed in 1994 as a side project to showcase the Allman's most recent recruits, bassist Woody and guitarist Haynes, Gov't Mule soon developed into a stubborn-minded band of its own -- one noted for its vintage blues riffs and extended live jams. By the time of the group's 1995 debut, Gov't Mule, and its sophomore live follow-up, Live at Roseland Ballroom a year later, it was apparent to Haynes which group was yielding returns and which was laying fallow. "The last three years we were in the Allmans," Haynes says, "we only worked up three new songs, so it wasn't exactly what you would call a real fertile creative period for them. There was no co-writing or camaraderie going on, we were just going out and playing the same material."

Reached a few days later during the opening leg of Gov't Mule's tour supporting its recent record, Dose, Woody is more blunt about the Brothers Allman. "Warren and I wrote 23 of the 43 songs the Allman Brothers recorded during our tenure," Woody says, "and you want -- and expect -- to be appreciated for that. But we knew it was time. Finally, we had guys like Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes coming up to us. He was like, 'Look, you guys need to focus on one band because you're about to happen, you're poised to happen, you need to do something about it.' And he was right, so we decided to do something about it."

After handing their walking papers to the Allmans last spring, Haynes, Woody and drummer Matt Abts wasted little time getting into the recording groove. They settled into Water Studios in Hoboken, N.J., with producer Mike Barbiero (Soundgarden, Blues Traveler) and began work on an album for their new label, Capricorn. With two years of incessant touring under their belt, the well-honed band quickly found its studio chops by reverting to a familiar, no-frills game plan. "We would set up in one room with monitors and no headphones," Haynes says, "just like we were playing a live show. So all the instruments were bleeding together, which meant you couldn't really punch in or out ... or utilize most modern recording techniques, which was fine with us."

From the southern rock pimp roll of "Game Face" to the Dust Bowl atmospherics of "John the Revelator," Dose finds Gov't Mule saddling itself up with songs that demonstrate the band's growth as a three-piece, as well as its increasingly experimental side. "Everyone says you have your whole life to write your first record and six months to write your second one," Haynes says. "But that's not the way Dose was. We spent so much time on the road in between records that the beast of the second Gov't Mule record was a little more snarled and wizened than the one that made the first."

"And our philosophy has always been," Haynes continues, "to try and make the kind of music you want to make for yourself, to try and make the kind of a record you'd wanna go and buy. Your audience will follow. Never try and second guess the market and try and second guess your audience, because that becomes the tail wagging the dog."

Even though the Mule believes that Dose has enough character and backbone to serve as both its new calling card and Capricorn's newest beast of burden, the group remains committed to spreading the faith via its multi-textured, raucous live performances -- which typically clock in it at two-plus hours. "Nowadays at a two-hour Gov't Mule show," Haynes says, "it runs the whole gamut. From jazz to folk to blues to psychedelia to hard rock, it's all in there. We don't pull any punches."

"We'll be playing even longer as the situations present themselves," Woody says, gloating slightly. "Most of the times in these places, you're faced with certain curfew restrictions. And that gets to be frustrating some times. So even though people might want us to play all night -- and hell, most of the times we'd be more than glad to -- you can't always do that."

DAVID BASHAM

NOTE: Don't miss our live webcast with Gov't Mule on March 13. Just head to the Live section of our site on the day of the show.