Southern Comfort
When it comes to understanding and compassion, Southern rockers The Drive-By Truckers dig deep. For nearly two decades, their songs have demonstrated what is perhaps the noblest of human emotions — empathy. In their otherwise over-the-top way, these hard-rocking interstaters from Georgia and Alabama have persistently delved into the struggles of others, redeeming the humanity that lies at the core. All the while, they manage to keep it interesting, entertaining and, often, with a sense of humor.
Empathy likely isn’t the first thing people associate with the raucous, habitually unkempt Truckers, but it runs deeper than some might suspect. With voices and guitars as rough as the lives they evoke, the Truckers have consistently gone out of their way to lift up and shine a light on the hard-pressed and often misunderstood Southerners who populate their songs.
Original members Patterson Hood (son of famed Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood) and Mike Cooley, attribute this capacity for empathy to geography and social location. Both Southerners relate to the common man, who often is just trying to do the best he can. The end result is the raw, gut-wrenching emotion with which the two singers deliver it and their ability to tell a story through song, taking the audience on a journey to the darkest corners of the soul and straight into the heart of blue-collar America.
Sometimes described as alt-country, DBT’s sound spans from arena rock to soul, but is always rooted in regional influences. Often full of dark lyrics and sinister characters, they also seek to illustrate the other side of the Southern story: overcoming national biases, explaining the views of Southerners and shedding a light on the complex nature of “the Southern thing.”
The band’s sound has evolved through nine studio albums, yet what always remains intact is Hood and Cooley’s onstage dynamic. The perfect blend of yin and yang, they complete each other, creating a careful blend of traditional Southern rock and country tropes with a typically alt-rock self-awareness that makes their band universally accessible and remarkably enjoyable. Hood does most of the writing and singing, his gravelly voice an isolated, worn dirt road that’s not easily traveled while Cooley’s sound is more conventionally punk, albeit with a Southern twist. The two play off each other well.
Besides Cooley and Hood, the band’s current lineup includes Jay Gonzalez (guitar, keyboard), Brad Morgan (drums) and Matt Patton (bass). Hood, Cooley and the gang aren’t afraid to swerve around musical checkpoints of various genres, but what truly sets the band apart is their respect for the everyday man, the heart of many of their songs.
The fearless DBT is known to wing it in concert, flying without a net or set list as they draw from roughly 80 songs on any given night. But, don’t let the cowboy boots and the good ol’ boy vibe fool you. The DBT’s are seriously talented, story telling, rock and rolling, jamming musicians. And, anyone who has ever seen a Truckers show knows that this is one band that doesn’t know how to call it in. The concerts are always hard-rocking, heat-filled, happily frenetic dance fests.
In talking about the band a few years ago, Hood commented the band never set out to please anyone but themselves, adding the more they please ourselves, the more people like their music.
And, for The Drive-By Truckers, that sums it up nicely.
The Drive-By Truckers play Harrah’s Tahoe on Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, visit harrahslaketahoe.com. For more information on The Drive-By Truckers, visit drivebytruckers.com.
Saturday, Sept. 28 | 7:30 p.m. | $44 | 21 &older | Harrah’s Lake Tahoe | Stateline, Nev.
