A Message From Patterson Hood

Latest notes from Patterson Hood on what’s going on in Drive-By Truckers’ world....

Y'ALL:

Decompressing from our late October run.

Very happy with the shows on all levels.

Don't think the band has ever played better than we have in the last six months.

As we are winding down The Righteous Path Tour of shows and starting to gear up for next years' new releases and tours, we are all very excited about what we did this year in the studio and out on the road and really fired up about going out and playing these new songs next year.

This month, the band is tying up some loose ends and starting our preparations for next year.

We are about to announce our annual Athens GA / 40 Watt Homecoming Shows and annual Nuci's Space Benefit.

I'll go ahead and spill a few of the beans to Y'all now:

The weekend will be Jan. 14th - 16th.

We will be announcing when ticket sales begin in the next week or so as well as details like support and other related events.

This past year, all three nights sold out and we raised a ton of money for Nuci's.

We're going to have to dig deep to top it but I feel confident we will.

I'm playing a small handful of solo dates this month.

Starting tonight, I'll be doing a Wednesday night residency at The Caledonia Lounge here in Athens.

I'm playing 3 Wednesdays in a row, with 3 different lineups, and 3 very different approaches and set lists.

Tonight it is me and Jay Gonzalez playing a stripped down set of piano, organ and Wurlitzer, guitar and two-part harmony.

The songs will tend to veer towards the more outre' ends of my catalog with some very rare rarities and some world premiere new ones.

We practiced yesterday and I tell you it's gonna be a good one.

Jay will be playing an opening set on his own and that's something great to behold.

Next week, (Nov. 11) I'll be hitting the more country influenced songs in my catalog accompanied by John Neff and Brad Morgan.

This is essentially the core band of the majority of solo shows I played from 2003-2007.

Again, expect some golden rarities and some premieres.

Athens' own Bo Beddingfield will open and he's fantastic.

The third week (Nov. 18) I'll be bringing the Murdering Oscar show to town.

I'll be playing with The Belvederes (John Neff, David Barbe, Jay Gonzalez and Brad Morgan) we'll be reprising some of the fine times I had this summer doing the Screwtopian Tour.

David Barbe and The Quick Hooks will open the Nov. 18 show. They are as good as any band you will ever see. 

I also have solo shows in Thomaston GA, Atlanta GA, and a hometown show in Florence AL on the night before Thanksgiving.

Tickets are on sale for all three of these now and as they are in small venues, they should all sell out so get on it.

pattersonhood.com

BTW: Congrats to Will Johnson, who is out drumming for The Monsters Of Folk this fall. KICKASS!!!)

THAT EVENING SUN is an amazing movie written and directed by Scott Teems.

It has been winning festivals all over the country and getting rave reviews for it's writing, directing and Hal Holbrook's amazing performance.

Our friend Ray McKinnon (The Accountant, Crystal) co-produced and plays a very large supporting role in it.

I contributed 2 songs to the soundtrack and am honored to be a small part of such an astounding film.

It opens this friday in NYC with more cities to be announced soon.

THAT EVENING SUN
WHEN: Starting Friday, November 6, 2009
WHERE: City Cinemas 123 on the Upper East Side -- 1001 Third Ave (@ 60th St.), New York, NY 10022
TICKETS: Purchase through www.fandango.com (or 1-800-FANDANGO Code #2705 )

As usual, the DBT Store is open and we have some new merch items working it to pry you away from your hard earned cash.

We also have a new DBT iPhone App that is available HERE

Finally, since we're winding down our year (and gearing up for next) I will leave you with a few parting thoughts.

It's been a crazy whirlwind of a year. DBT hasn't played as many shows as we have most of the last twelve years, but we've still zig zagged around the country three times plus we toured Australia for the first time.

We released 4 albums (Booker T's ‘Potato Hole’ / my Murdering Oscar album / DBT's ‘Live in Austin (ACL)’ DVD and CD / and ‘The Fine Print’) and played some wonderful shows with Booker.

I toured with The Screwtopians and got to perform at Madison Square Garden at Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Bash.

I had a baby boy and DBT made a great album (as good as anything we've ever done). Look for release info in the not too distant future.

This band has been down some pretty rough roads but persevered and I feel so blessed to still be able to do what I love with my best friends.

Some folks say our songs are dark and depressing, but to me they are a joyous noise.

The blues has always been about taking your problems and turning them into something you can dance to, drink to and fuck to.

We're certainly not a blues band in any kind of purest sense, but to me Rock and Roll has always had it's roots in that tradition.

My musical tastes are eclectic to a fault, but most of the music I've loved the most comes from that common ground. 

We get to support our families by doing what we love best. We try to earn that each and every night.

Our band has never believed in throwaway nights and we treat each show like it could be the last one we'll ever get to play.

One night it will be and I'd hate for it to not be glorious.

FINALLY: Happy belated Birthday to Traci, who has just completed her tenth year of working for us.

Ten fucking years of putting up with our sorry asses and we forget her birthday. Jeez!

We'll make it up to you yet, I swear. 

And THANKS to Jenn for coming down to New Orleans and making us all into Ace Frehleys.

I didn't see KISS at Voodoofest (but I sure saw George Clinton) but Ace was always all of us' favorite. 

Have safe travels and a safe holiday season.

See you at The Big To-Do. 

Patterson Hood / DBT

Traci Thomas sent this along to me today, and I thought I'd spread the word...

James Calemine

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