A Brother’s Revival (from left, Mike Kach, Luke Mattessich, Jack Judge, David Goldflies, Dan Goldberg and Eric Cohen) will perform at Drew University in Madison, Sept. 19.
At a time when there seems to be a tribute band for everyone except for the neighborhood trio, A Brother’s Revival stands apart from the pack.
That’s because the sextet is led by David “Rook” Goldflies, who played bass in the group he now pays homage to — The Allman Brothers Band — in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Just don’t call ABR a tribute band.
“I don’t know how I can be a tribute to myself,” said Goldflies, an Ohio native now living in Florida. “So I always think of it as more like carrying on a legacy. And pushing the legacy forward. I don’t think that it’s enough just playing the songs like the recordings — we have to do more with it.”
Rook and his band will play fan favorites from the Allmans’ catalogue and other choice cuts at The Concert Hall at Drew University in Madison, Sept. 19. There is no opening act, and the starting time — at 9 p.m., later than usual — is due to an event at Drew earlier in the day. For tickets, visit gdpresents.simpletix.com.
KIRK WEST PHOTOGRAPHY
David Goldflies performs with The Allman Brothers Band in 1980.
The Northeast was always a stronghold for The Allman Brothers Band, as it is today for A Brother’s Revival.
“I remember when I played in the Allman Brothers, we played Rutgers and we played Philadelphia and out on Long Island, and invariably had huge crowds,” said the articulate and loquacious Goldflies. “People were going nuts and just loved the music. It was the same in other places, but more extreme in the Northeast. My experiences with the audiences today is that they’re nice and rowdy in New Jersey, and I kind of like that.
“Isn’t that the funniest thing? Who would think that a Southern band, a band known for Southern blues and Southern everything — the culture — would have one of its biggest markets, if not the biggest, in the New Jersey and New York area? Pennsylvania, too.”
Three members of the group will not need GPS directions to Drew: Guitarist/vocalist Luke Mattessich is from Rockaway, guitarist Eric Cohen lives in Ridgefield and drummer Dan Goldberg is from the Succasunna section of Roxbury.
Goldflies gushed about his Jersey guys:
• “Luke — what a joy! He is a great guy first, and an exceptional guitarist second. He is just a fantastic person. He’s a very smart, trained musician, but he also has this huge improvisational sense. I have to say that Eric and Luke are the very, very best to play this music. There’s no one better than those two together (on guitar) at this point.”
• “I love Dan. I call him Youngblood, or Blood for short. Which is what (ABB drummer) Jaimoe called me. Dan, in every way you can say it, is a savant on the drums. Many nights, he walks away with the show. Not as much now, because everybody has realized that if we don’t step up, Dan will step up and be the show.”
• “Eric’s quite a musician. His improvisations and his guitar playing in the band — they’re mesmerizing. His slide playing is just fantastic. In fact, he’s the one guy who could play one guitar part, and then if someone else couldn’t make it, he’d switch over to the other guitar part.”
Joining Goldflies (pronounced GOLD-fleeze) and the New Jersey contingent in the ABR lineup are Mike Kach (keyboards, vocals) and Jack Judge (drums).
Along with the band playing familiar Allman Brothers Band songs, fans can expect to hear an original or two and the 1977 Ram Jam hit, “Black Betty.” Goldflies played bass on that song, which got a second life as part of the soundtrack for the 2001 movie “Blow.”
The Allman Brothers Band in 1979 (from left, Dickey Betts, Gregg Allman, Jaimoe, David Goldflies, Butch Trucks and Dan Toler).
During ABR’s set, Goldflies sings the songs most associated with Dickey Betts (“Blue Sky” and “Ramblin’ Man”, for example) and Kach handles vocals for tunes that Gregg Allman sang (“Midnight Rider,” “One Way Out,” “Statesboro Blues” etc.). The band also has been working up “Crazy Love,” a hit from The Allman Brothers Band’s 1979 album Enlightened Rogues, and has plans for a new album of original songs.
Goldflies has a point about his A Brother’s Revival, which he started in 2019, being legitimate torch bearers to carry forth the legacy of the Southern rock titans. (The band’s name brings to mind the uplifting Betts-written song “Revival” from the ABB’s second album, though Goldflies said that song is not the inspiration for the moniker.) Of the 10 Allman Brothers Band members from the group’s 1969 inception through the release 10 years later of Enlightened Rogues, only three are alive: Goldflies (age 69), Jaimoe (81) and Chuck Leavell (73).
“It sucks,” Goldflies said of losing many bandmates from yesteryear. “I mean, Dickey, Gregg, Butch (Trucks)! I mean, c’mon! These are all guys I knew and really cared for. In some ways, in some levels, we were very close.
“I mean, death is a bitch. You can quote me on that. It’s terrible. It just happens, and there’s not much you can do about that, you know? … It really makes you think that you’ve got to kind of do something with whatever time you’ve got left.”
Goldflies possesses another credential of authenticity that sets him apart: He played alongside Betts for some eight years, including time before and after he joined The Allman Brothers Band.
A Brother’s Revival enjoys another measure of legitimacy via Kach, who was in Betts’ Great Southern band for about a decade and during two short runs when Betts briefly came out of retirement in 2018.
“He has a beautiful, soulful voice, and his keyboard playing is exemplary,” Goldflies said of Kach. “Couple that with the fact that he played in Dickey’s band … and he is my touchstone for keeping me honest. If it doesn’t feel right — for whatever reason — Mike will say, ‘Are you sure about that, Dave?’
“Mike has been there with Dickey — and Dickey was a major force. That’s what Mike brings to the band.”
Goldflies is one of only four musicians who played in the ABB and both Betts’ and Gregg Allman’s solo bands. Brothers Dan and David Toler and keyboard maestro Johnny Neel are the others; all are deceased.
DAVID GOLDFLIES
Goldflies’ journey from being in a bar band to being a member of The Allman Brothers Band is right out of a Hollywood screenplay. “It was just a wild time in life and around that band,” said Goldflies, who also plays violin with ABR. “It was like walking in at one of the peaks of that band. It was just an amazing experience. It was good. I’m not sure that I was completely prepared for it, being that young.
“It took years and years to process that (experience) after it ended for me.”
While on tour in the Midwest in 1977, Great Southern needed a new bass player in a hurry. Indiana native and drummer David Toler remembered jamming with Goldflies, who then was invited to audition. Betts hired Goldflies after he played “a minute” — and the bassist was given two days to make it to Nashville for rehearsals. When Goldflies, then 20, went to board the tour bus, guitarist “Dangerous” Dan Toler said, “Welcome aboard, rookie. The Rook!”
Thus, Goldflies’ nickname — which endures to this day.
Gigs that Dickey Betts & Great Southern played during the late 1970s included stops at The Capitol Theatre in Passaic (see video below).
Two years after joining Great Southern in 1977, Goldflies got the job playing bass for the re-formed Allman Brothers Band. Initially, the resurrected band generated enthusiasm with their live shows and the well-received Enlightened Rogues album (certified gold). One underrecognized gem from that release is “Try It One More Time” (listen below), which Goldflies co-wrote with Betts, and which features rare co-lead vocals by Allman and Betts. Another highlight is Goldflies’ pulsing bass during a guitar-drenched passage midway through, and then again as the song closes.
The cover of The Allman Brothers Band’s 1981 album “Brothers of the Road.”
Yes, the magic was back — for a time. However, the band’s record company, Capricorn, soon declared bankruptcy and the Brothers wound up trying to update their sound on two albums with Arista Records. Both had some good material, but the overproduced recordings were poorly received due to the band straying from its musical roots. However, when played live, cuts from Reach for the Sky and Brothers of the Road were more in line with the familiar ABB sound than they were in the polished recorded versions.
Musical tastes and trends were changing, and Southern rock was fading. Still, in June 1981, Goldflies and the rest of The Allman Brothers Band played with other brethren groups as part of The Roundup concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, opening their set with a spine-tingling rendition of “Don’t Want You No More” into “It’s Not My Cross to Bear” as the sun-baked crowd of 100,000 swayed along as one.
After the ABB parted ways in early 1982, Goldflies began playing bass as part of BHLT, featuring Betts, Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie, Leavell and Trucks. (A well-done 1983 concert film of the band is available on eBay and YouTube.) BHLT was determined not to be pigeonholed into playing only Allman Brothers music, though four members had been in that group. However, they were not able to land a record deal.
“It was a great opportunity to work with some guys I had not worked with before,” Goldflies said, referring to Hall and Leavell. “Jimmy — what a performer! Strong, strong, strong! … And of course, Chuck. Just a brilliant player. And a brilliant guy.”
KIRK WEST PHOTOGRAPHY
David Goldflies performs with Dickey Betts, left, and Betts’ Great Southern band in 1978.
Of course, no conversation with Goldflies is complete without his remembrances of Betts, who was legendary for working hard — and playing hard. (He died last year at age 80.)
“Well, Dickey was a colorful character. I’m quite sure everyone is well aware of his pluses and minuses,” Goldflies said. “He took an interest in my playing and brought me along incrementally. … He was a real education for me.
“Sometimes he’d be on one of his tears, and you really wouldn’t want to be around him much. But when he was what I call the ‘good Dickey’ — which he was most of the time, frankly — he was a real joy to be around, because he was creative, he was down to earth, he was funny as hell. Oh my God, the guy had a sense of humor — out of this world.”
After his series of high-profile gigs ended, Goldflies largely faded from the public eye but stayed busy with a variety of musical and other projects. In the early 2000s, though, he took a six-year break from music.
Among his many endeavors is founding and serving as CEO of CYber SYtes, a website development firm. In 2011, he earned a certificate in electronic music from the renowned Berklee school. He also is the principal bassist for the Panama City Symphony in Florida.
With those many years of experience under his belt today, the versatile guy nicknamed “the Rook” back in the day now can be called “the Veteran.”
For more on A Brother’s Revival, visit abrothersrevival.com.
Tom Skevin is an award-winning journalist and music publicist who resides in Sussex County. He can be emailed at tskevin@live.com
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