Drive-By Truckers' Patterson Hood

Holding Down the Home Front

On stage, Patterson Hood delivers his hard-hitting narratives with the Drive-By Truckers with a fearless, spitfire swagger that rivals his hero Neil Young in front of Crazy Horse in their heyday. Fleshed out, American gothic tales like those on Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, the Truckers’ 19-song opus released earlier in the year, are brought to life by Hood and his bandmates in marathon live sets awash with beer, sweat, and soul. Walking towards me, Patterson’s intimidating, commanding stage persona, if you want to call it that, gives way to a genuinely nice, loving southern man. Though his songs like “Sink Hole” and “The Righteous Path” paint pictures of hard living and low times, the man himself is all smiles, with a passion for the music he makes, and the legacy of music that has inspired it.

Drive-By Truckers have been on the road touring behind Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, which you have said was really birthed out of the acoustic-driven “Dirt Underneath” tour that you did. Do you feel like that experience, even with the line-up change and hard times leading up to it, served as an outlet leading to a rejuvenation of the band?

I totally feel that. Making the last record was just an amazing experience for us. We had [keyboardist Spooner Oldham] in there with us, and it was the most organic and easy record we have ever made. We didn’t plan on recording that many songs; it just happened so naturally and fast that we ended up with such a long record. Everything is moving in the right direction for us.

You have been a huge advocate of getting this album released on vinyl, which finally happened a month or so ago. What did you think upon hearing the vinyl press?

It sounds better than the CD, the way that it was supposed to. I would have liked for it to come out six months ago, but better late than never. [Laughs] I’m really happy with it.

Aside from the Truckers, you’ve been sitting on your second solo album, Murdering Oscar (and Other Love Songs) for a while now. When will we be hearing that finished album?

It’s got to come out next year. Every day that it’s not out, it eats at me a little bit. It was originally [slated for release] four years ago. Half of the record was written in ’94, and the other half was written ten years later. The songs are all about the same thing; the funny thing is your perspective [on things] changes in ten years. So the characters [on this record] are kind of me at a younger age, which is a big part of it.

At Truckers shows, there can easily be an unpredictable feeling in the crowd. In certain cases, good ol’ boys can infiltrate the crowd, and I witnessed first-hand a drunk idiot interrupt you on stage. Do you feel that there is a misconception by some fans as to what you do?

There’s gonna be some crazy people at times, people who get a little too drunk. Overall the people who come to see our shows are genuinely a pretty good bunch of folks. They’re obviously pretty open-minded, because they accept all the different directions that we veer into on any given night. They’re genuinely pretty well-read and smart; I would hate to play for a bunch of dumbasses every night.

You draw many comparisons to many different acts; the most covered usually being the comparison to Lynyrd Skynyrd via the album Southern Rock Opera. I personally have seen more that would put you in a category with the likes of The Band. On stage, I see a lot of Springsteen in a Truckers show, between the narrative slant that every show ends up taking, the marathon length, and the lack of a concrete set list.

Back in my old band with [Truckers counterpart] Mike Cooley, I’d spend thirty minutes before showtime making up a set list, and then I’d walk out [on stage] to find [the vibe] was different than what I thought it would be. I’d change the set up and Cooley would get so mad, saying, “Goddammit. Go with the set list; you’re fuckin’ it up!” Then one day, he just said, “If you’re gonna do what you want to anyway, why waste time on a fuckin’ set list?” So we just threw it out [from thereon]. I love The Band; they are probably our favorite band, if we had to pick one. They are probably the greatest rock and roll band that ever existed.

Your father, David Hood, is part of the legacy in the Muscle Shoals sound, and you now have a connection to that legacy through the Truckers’ collaboration with Spooner. You also share in part of the legacy of the Athens, Georgia music scene, as well as the Redneck Underground movement birthed out of Atlanta. Do you feel that all of these homefronts intertwine to nest where the Truckers are now?

Oh yeah, for sure. We wouldn’t be doing what we do if some of us didn’t come from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It figures very big into what we’ve become. We also wouldn’t be doing it if I hadn’t moved to Athens. I’d tried for years to do something [in music], and the missing link was being in a community that had a scene. All of a sudden, I could be a part of something. Living in Athens was life-changing for me, and for the band.