The North Mississippi Allstars have returned. And while they look back fondly on the 25th anniversary of their first album, Shake Hands with Shorty, they refuse to rest on their laurels. Still Shakin’ shows the band looking back, looking forward, movin’, groovin’, and evolving. Luther Dickinson talks guitars, experimentation, and how women changed his guitar tone.
What’s the connection between your Shake Hands with Shorty and the new one?
It’s the 25th anniversary of Shake Hands with Shorty. At first, I was thinking, “Let’s do a vinyl boxed set.” But then I thought, “Man! Let’s just record some new stuff in celebration!” Part of what’s so inspiring about doing this is our bandmates – guitarist Joey Williams and multi-instrumentalist Rayfield “Ray Ray” Holloman. They bring so much to the table, and I wanted to feature them.
The cool sounds of Ray Ray and the blues-gospel licks from Joey rubbing against your slide creates a tasty recipe.
Ray Ray is playing bass and pedal steel. He plays guitar, as well – he’s Eminem’s guitar player. He’s also Robert Randolph’s cousin, so he’s got that sacred-steel flavor, and his pedal-steel work is so profound. The solos he composed are so deliberate. His work ethic blows me away.
Joey plays rhythm guitar in a gospel quartet. His playing beautifully harkens back to our first record. Our first bass player was Chris Chew, who was a Southern Baptist church bass player. It’s special when you have these young psychedelic rock dudes working with gospel musicians (laughs). It’s a unique chemistry that we’d veered away from over the years. So it was perfect timing to nod back to that.
You and Joey have a beautiful musical relationship, weaving guitar lines without stepping on each other.
Joey is a really good freestyler. He gets in there and floats. He said playing with us reminded him of being a kid and playing with his dad and all his friends in the basement doing gospel jams. He’s such a great weaver (laughs). It’s my newfound joy of playing with other guitar players. I had to grow into, find the right cats, and get into the right space myself to be able to do it.
Which guitars did you use?
Electric-wise, it’s mainly been guitars I’ve been making with friends of mine. We started making guitars in 2020. Those were hard times. I sold almost all my Gibsons and was selling enough s**t every month to pay the mortgage. Easy come, easy go. I still have some great guitars, and the ones I had from when I was a kid, which I got from my parents. But most of all, my tastes had changed. That neck pickup, hollow body, fat midrange sound has turned on me, and it hurts my ears. I do not want to hear it, much less play it. My friend Steve Selvidge, from the band The Hold Steady, turned me on to the Fender Wide Range humbuckers. It changed my life! We use the Lollar version, which are called Regals. He gave me a partscaster that he built with Regals, and it changed my life, so my friends in Nashville started making partscasters. I make ’em, I play ’em, and I sell ’em. We’ve sold 11 so far. We cut bodies and necks and make ’em from scratch.
What was your main electric?
The Vibratone Rufus. It’s named after my grandfather and looks like a cross between a Hound Dog Taylor guitar and a Peavey T-90 (laughs). It’s a modern pawn shop classic. My Harmony Bobkat also makes some appearances. Anytime you hear lead slide, that’s not pedal steel, that’s that Bobkat.
What inspires you to try new things?
Having daughters. As soon as my first daughter was part of the scene, she responded to female singers. It totally changed my listening habits, my output, and what I wanted to do. I started working with more female singers. If we hear some Van Halen, Hendrix, or any aggressive, loud, distorted guitars, we go, “Uggghhh!” It’s a good thing their mom likes it (laughs). Between having girls, their taste in guitar tones, quitting the Black Crowes, and working with the late Phil Lesh, I cleaned up my tone. Thank God Phil Lesh hired me!
I didn’t grow up playing The Grateful Dead; I had to learn it, and he was such a great teacher. His community was a safe space where I could learn to play comfortably clean. For decades, I relied on the distortion.
What’s next?
I have a solo record coming out featuring this great singer named Datrian Johnson. – Oscar Jordan
This article originally appeared in VG’s August 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Facts Only
The North Mississippi Allstars released *Still Shakin’* to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album, *Shake Hands with Shorty*.
Luther Dickinson is the band’s guitarist and primary spokesperson.
New band members include guitarist Joey Williams and multi-instrumentalist Rayfield "Ray Ray" Holloman.
Holloman plays bass, pedal steel, and guitar, and has worked with Eminem and Robert Randolph.
Joey Williams plays rhythm guitar in a gospel quartet.
The band’s original bass player, Chris Chew, was a Southern Baptist church bass player.
Dickinson has shifted from using Gibson guitars to custom-built partscasters with Fender Wide Range humbuckers.
His main electric guitar is the "Vibratone Rufus," named after his grandfather.
He also uses a Harmony Bobkat for slide guitar.
Dickinson’s tonal preferences changed after becoming a father and working with female singers.
He credits Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead for helping him develop a cleaner guitar tone.
Dickinson has a solo record forthcoming featuring singer Datrian Johnson.
The interview appeared in *Vintage Guitar* magazine’s August 2025 issue.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The strongest version of this narrative celebrates artistic reinvention and the interplay of tradition and innovation. The North Mississippi Allstars’ return isn’t just nostalgia—it’s a deliberate evolution, blending gospel roots with modern experimentation. Dickinson’s shift in guitar tone, influenced by fatherhood and collaborations with female artists, underscores how personal growth reshapes creative output. The band’s embrace of new members and custom instruments reflects a commitment to authenticity over commercialism.
Pattern scan: The article avoids manipulation tactics, focusing on artistic process rather than emotional appeals or forced binaries. However, the framing of Dickinson’s tonal shift as a moral or aesthetic improvement ("cleaned up my tone") could subtly imply a hierarchy of musical values, though this is likely unintentional. No overt distortion or bad faith is detected.
Root cause: The narrative assumes that artistic evolution is inherently virtuous, a common paradigm in music journalism. It also reflects broader trends in blues and roots music, where younger generations reinterpret traditions through contemporary lenses. The unstated assumption is that collaboration across genres and demographics enriches music—a valid but contestable claim.
Implications: For listeners, this signals a band prioritizing creative integrity over nostalgia. For musicians, it highlights how personal life (e.g., fatherhood) can reshape artistic direction. The cost? Potential alienation of fans attached to the band’s earlier sound, though the article frames this as growth, not loss.
Bridge questions: How might the band’s gospel influences resonate with audiences outside the blues tradition? Could Dickinson’s tonal shift reflect broader cultural moves away from distortion-heavy guitar sounds? What would it mean if this evolution were driven more by market pressures than artistic choice?
Counterstrike scan: A bad actor pushing this narrative might exaggerate the band’s "reinvention" to manufacture hype or pit old fans against new directions. However, the article’s focus on process and collaboration doesn’t align with such tactics. It’s a genuine exploration of artistic change, not a coordinated campaign.
Patterns detected: none
Sentinel — Human
This article appears to be human-written, as evidenced by its varied sentence lengths, personal voice, and lack of coordination indicators. It demonstrates a deep connection to the subject matter, which is consistent with a firsthand account.