Greg Dulli Reflects on 40 Years of Afghan Whigs

With a new album on the horizon, Afghan Whigs, an alt-rock band that draws equally from soul/R&B and rock, will hit the road this Spring to celebrate their 40^th anniversary. In a recent phone interview from his Los Angeles home, where he had just finished his regular Wednesday morning golf game, singer-guitarist Greg Dulli speaks about the milestone and the forthcoming new album.

As the band approached its 40^th anniversary, how aware were you of the anniversary? Did it sneak up on you?

We had already booked the shows to celebrate it in late 2025. And then, right around New Year’s, I was like, “Oh, fuck. It’s 40 years, you know what I mean.” I don’t really do calendar stuff like that. I look at round numbers and then it made sense.

What do you have planned for the shows?

We’re releasing our tenth album this year. We released a song from it, and we’re releasing a second song pretty soon. We’re not going to play anything from the first album. We never did, really. We will be playing songs from nine albums in the show.

Is that different?

A little bit. I’ve been messing around with a couple of setlists and on one of the setlists, the first eight songs are from eight different albums. Just having the ability to do that is cool.

Did something specific inspire your new single, “House of I”?

I’m trying to remember. I saw this clip on YouTube of, I want to say, schoolchildren in either India or Pakistan. There was a band of kids playing, and the audience was all kids too. There were teachers there to supervise it. It was like a concert. They had two drummers and were playing this polyrhythm. I kept going back to that polyrhythm. I was watching what that did to the audience and to the performers as well. I made a pass on congas to show someone what I was looking for. I showed it to the drummer, and he did it. I told him to play it for a couple of minutes, and we recorded it. I told him to play it back. When they played it back, I had my guitar on, and I started that riff. It happened like that. I was inspired by this kid band, in particular these two drummers. It was super tribal and very inspirational to me.

Those drums at the start are really aggressive.

It totally started with the percussion. I reacted to the drumbeat. That’s exactly how it happened.

You recorded the tune at Marigny Sound in New Orleans, LA?

Yes, that song was recorded in New Orleans, but the majority of the album will be recorded at Joshua Tree. I’ve been recording in New Orleans and Joshua Tree for the past 25 years. They’re my main recording places. By and large, that’s where I do most of my recording.

I think your tour ends in Pioneertown, which is near Joshua Tree.

It does. That was by design.

I have always loved your lyrics. Are there writers and songwriters who influenced your writing?

I’ll tell you. One of my favorite lyricists who does not get enough play for his lyrics is Mick Jagger. Ronnie Van Zant is a favorite lyricist. Later on, Prince. Obviously, the more poetic fellas like Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. I love Roger Waters and Curtis Mayfield. They’re very visual and storytelling.

I’m glad that you don’t write in clichés.

I forget who said this, but it’s like 10 percent what you say and 90 percent how you say it.

Have you completed writing the songs that will appear on the album that’s due out later this year?

The record is in the can. It’s been mastered and turned in.

What direction did you go in?

It’s a continuation down the abstract highway. It’s no less poignant for it and no less sensual for it and no less mischievous for it and all the fun things that can happen in the creative element.

When you look back at the years that the band was on hiatus, do you feel like you missed out on anything?

I made five albums with my other band, so I didn’t miss shit.

I think it’s so remarkable that the group emerged at a time when grunge was popular and even signed to Sub Pop, the label known for grunge. How difficult was it to develop a fanbase in those early pre-internet days?

I can tell you this. Just within Sub Pop alone, those bands all sounded different. They shared loud guitars and a punk rock ethos. But Mudhoney did not sound like Nirvana. Nirvana did not sound like Soundgarden. Soundgarden did not sound like the Fluid. The Fluid did not sound like Tad. There was plenty of individuality within the form. We weren’t from that area. We were doing something completely different, though I will say that our first record Up in It, found an unconscious pull to do that style a little bit. That’s why I consider Congregation was when we became ourselves and that’s when we began talking about how we don’t sound like anybody else. That was when we became the Whigs.

You signed to Elektra after that. Did that work out as you had hoped?

The Sub Pop run was fun, and the Elektra run was fun. If someone will give you money to make records, and you can go on tour with your friends and play the songs off those records, you’re doing alright. Maybe it doesn’t end up as the greatest situation, but I have always erred toward the sunny side. I have gotten to do some fantastic things with some fantastic people. I feel gratitude more than any other emotion.

Your voice/band sounds better than ever and your new music rocks harder than ever. What keeps your creativity operating at such a high level?

I listen to music every day. I listen to music I already loved, but there are three or four radio stations in the world that I listen to. Shazam is the most used app in my phone. I make playlists constantly. I love getting playlists from other people and getting turned on to things I don’t know about. I’m an omnivorous music lover. It doesn’t matter what style as long as it turns me on. I have loved music since I was a very young person, and I can thankfully report that that has not changed.

Will the band will make it to its 50^th anniversary?

That will depend on a lot. If you had asked me if the band would make it 40 years, I don’t know what I would have said. We broke up for 11 or 12 years. Who knows? As long as [bassist] John Curley and I enjoy playing music and doing projects with each other, I would not be surprised if that happens.

Photo credit: Royal Cream