For more than ten years, Gov’t Mule has been kicking out its fine-tuned blend of Southern rock, jazz and improv across the country. On April 25, the band will show off its chops at Stephens Auditorium. Pulse had the chance to talk with Gov’t Mule keyboardist Danny Louis, who joined in 2002, about his experiences on the road with the internationally renowned jam band.

Tyler Barrett: What were your first impressions in joining Gov’t Mule?

Danny Louis: Well, I had been playing with members of Gov’t Mule even before [guest appearing with the band] because Warren had a solo record called “Tales of Ordinary Madness” and I was in the band that supported that record. So we knew each other 14 years ago. We had played music together and had a really good time, and our relationship basically continued through Gov’t Mule’s three-piece involvement. [It came] to the point where I would sit in whenever they would come to New York, and Warren and I would hang out and write songs together. So it wasn’t really a fresh impression when I actually joined as keyboard player, we were all pretty familiar with each other. That said, it was like electro-shock therapy learning all those songs in such a short amount of time.

TB: How would you describe Gov’t Mule’s sound to someone who hasn’t heard you yet?

DL: I kind of find it difficult to label music. Warren [Haynes] has played with the Allman Brothers, and the Allman Brothers are patriarchs of what would become known as Southern rock. But I don’t think Gov’t Mule is necessarily Southern rock. Basically, at any point during our shows we can be playing jazz or reggae or real hard, straight rock, so I don’t think a label is applicable.

TB: The name Gov’t Mule seems to have somewhat of a political connotation to it. Do you feel politics have a place in music?

DL: We’re all for voter registration. We actually do stuff at our shows – we did this last time around – for that. A particular organization that set up registration at our shows was called Head Count and the record company that represents us was quite involved with it as well. So from that standpoint, I think everyone in the band agrees that the world would be a better place if more people went out and spoke their political mind, whatever it may be. After that, we don’t really get into propagating one point of view or another.

I certainly would love to see the world be a greener place, and I think everybody in the band feels that way. As far as if politics should be a part of music, I think music is art and I think subject matter is an expression of an artist or band. If you’re an artist and you become wealthy and well known, and you want to go out into the world and speak your mind about things you think are important, that’s great. It’s certainly better than just buying a bunch of stuff for yourself and making a mess and not cleaning it up.

TB: Does Gov’t Mule let audience members record your performances?

DL: Yep, we do.

TB: Do you run into any problems with your record label for that?

DL: We offer a downloadable version of our shows very shortly after we perform them, usually within 48 hours. And that recording is generally done with a lot of care and sounds really good, and the label is involved with this. The tapers have always been there, and before a band sells a lot of records or gets a lot of press, one of the best ways to become well known is to let people share music. If [a band] doesn’t have a product out there or it’s not relying on product to make ends meet, then it’s nice to have people share its music however they’re going to do it.

One of the drawbacks that comes along with that is if you have a bunch of new material on a record that hasn’t been released yet, you certainly don’t want people compiling the new songs you’ve been doing at the shows and putting together a version of the album before it comes out. So we hold off on brand new, original material until we release it.

TB: What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had on the road since you’ve been with the band?

DL: The Deep End concert in New Orleans from which the “Deep End” album came of. It was six hours on stage, with more than 23 special guests. There were only three of us as permanent members at that point, and it was before we had Andy [Hess].

So we had a bunch of different bass players, all sorts of legends – like George Porter Jr., Jack Casady, Alphonso Johnson – I mean everybody, there were so many great bass players. And this particular concert that was documented was six hours on stage with all these great musicians and it was like out of time, – out of space. It didn’t seem like a long time, even though it was. When we finished it, it was like a dream. It was really a very special time.

TB: Do any of you have day jobs or is music your main income?

DL: Everybody in the band does musical activities outside the band. I think Andy [Hess] is auditioning for soap operas as a leading man role.

TB: What has been the key to Gov’t Mule’s success through the years and across the country?

DL: It’s probably been a combination of things.

I think from what’s available in the mainstream pipeline is not necessarily serious enough for some people to really like a lot of their music. I think [Gov’t Mule] is pretty serious about its music and is very, very honest.

The quality of musicianship I feel very proud of, and I feel very blessed to be playing with my other three bandmates on a nightly basis and being playing on such a high level. I think that the people that come to hear us think of music as listeners in the same way that we think of music as players. That’s how we connect.