Patterson Hood talks about the band's history and its future

Patterson Hood, writing partner Mike Cooley and their band, the Drive-By Truckers, endured 12 years of ups and downs to finally have the year of their career in 2008.

The band released its most successful album to date with "Brighter Than Creation's Dark," had a late night rendezvous with The Hold Steady at George Clinton's Mothership and had what Hood describes as "the happiest year as a band."

As the Truckers enter 2009, Hood took the time to talk to Preview about the band's past, the future and more.

The past

Eight-year-old Patterson Hood began rummaging through his father's record collection and writing his own music based on what he heard. David Hood was a bass player, producer and founder of the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals, Ala., and an eventual Alabama Music Hall of Fame inductee.

Throughout his career, Patterson's father worked with some of music's biggest names, including The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson and Cher, creating a worldwide buzz about the little-known town that is still being heard to this day.

Of course, Patterson was unaware of the magnitude of such a thing back then, but he liked what he heard and there would be no stopping his love affair with music from those days in 1973.

"At that time, Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' and Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' were obsessions," says Hood. "Later, (it was) Springsteen and late '70s punk rock. In my 30's, I became obsessed with loud soul and country records. I can honestly say I get the same joy when I connect with something now as I did as a kid or teenager."

For Hood, becoming a musician himself was just a natural progression. It started as a child idolizing his father and extended into his youth with a series of garage bands, punk mostly. And then, in 1996, Hood and longtime friend Mike Cooley decided to join forces to try something completely different.

The duo were reaching into their 30's and the struggles of a string of unsuccessful bands were beginning to wear on the two friends and their families. But Hood and Cooley really had no other options. Music was all they knew and, besides, it wasn't just a hobby, it was a way of life.

"Music is just what I do," says Hood. "If I understood it or ever tried to second guess it too much, I'd probably be in a lot of trouble. It's best not to think too much about all that and just do what you do."

Building a buzz

Through two studio albums, "Gangstabilly" and "Pizza Deliverance," one live album and five years trudging around the country earning fans one by one, Drive-By Truckers built a name for itself as the epitome of DIY musicians.

But while the band was well-respected, it was not well-known until the band's 2001 "Southern Rock Opera" was released to a flurry of critical praise and an ever-expanding fan base.

The album's gritty and greasy painting of rock, punk, country and, at times, spoken word, catapulted the Drive-By Truckers into a new realm of songwriters.

Rolling Stone gave the album a coveted four-star rating and even compared the album's complexity to The Who's "Quadrophenia."

The success of "Southern Rock Opera" led to the band signing its first major record deal with New West Records and, also, the addition of guitarist, vocalist and co-songwriter Jason Isbell following the departure of Malone.

With Isbell, DBT received a youthful, more refined voice. Songs such as "Outfit," "The Day John Henry Died" and "Danko/Manuel" brought DBT into the consciousness of a more mainstream audience and lifted the band's Billboard chart success into the Top 150 for the first time in its 10-year career.

Moving forward

With conflicting personalities and the divorce of Isbell from bassist Shonna Tucker, tensions within the band came to a head in 2006. Isbell left the band to pursue a solo career following a tour with the Black Crowes to support the band's 2006 release, "A Blessing and a Curse."

The turmoil behind the scenes had worn on the band members so much so, Hood says, that if they had not taken time off in 2007, the band would have most likely broken up.

"We were certainly busy," says Hood of the time off. "We did 'The Dirt Underneath Tour,' which was supposed to be three weeks, but ended up growing to about 10. We made 'Brighter Than Creation's Dark,' I did about three weeks of solo touring, we made the Bettye LaVette album and I spent a little time with my 2-year-old."

With the break and personnel changes came a fresh spirit and motivation for the band.

The 2008 release of "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" led to the band's second four-star album review from Rolling Stone and the band's highest chart position at number 37. The success of 2008 is one that Hood still revels in.

"We're definitely at an all-time great place," he says. The future

As far as the future is concerned, Hood and the band are as busy and ambitious as ever. "There could be as many as seven Truckers-related projects on the horizon for the next 15 months," says Hood. "Lot's of shows, Booker T.'s album and some shows with him. Maybe a cartoon and a documentary, which is kinda a cartoon also. I love cartoons."

And if you thought Hood might be losing his edge as he prepares to turn 45 in a few months, the outspoken songwriter makes it clear that he is still as sharp and fierce as he was when he began his rebel-rousing music journey 37 years ago.

"We don't bow down to anyone, life's too short. We're only what we are because we've fought hard and long to be exactly that. We don't compromise with each other too much so we sure ... don't to anyone else," he says. "In the end, if we can please ourselves, which is a major challenge, then there's going to be plenty of folks who will like it. And if not, as long as we can please ourselves, we're gong to be alright."

If you go

Who: Drive-By Truckers with Bloodkin.

When: 8 p.m. today.

Where: Music Farm, 32 Ann St. Charleston.

Cost: $20, drivebytruckers.baselineticketing.com

Hear the Band's Music: drivebytruckers.com.

Info: 577-6969, musicfarminfo@gmail.com.