Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
And it was one of the happiest hours of my life, Hood says of the set.
The Drive-By Truckers dont chase perfection in their live shows anyway.
Rock and roll should go off the rails, Hood says.
It also informed the bands 14th studio album,Welcome 2 Club XIII, out today.
Club XIIIis named after one of the venues where the band came up, around Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Its also a shift from the Truckers overtly political previous three records: 2016sAmerican Bandand2020sThe UnravelingandThe New OK. After all, the Truckers are a rock band first.
Welcome 2 Club XIIIsong that most reminds you of the early days.
Patterson Hood:Welcome 2 Club XIII.
Its sort of our anti-glory-days song.
Cause they werent that glorious, you know.
And its a fun song, and its good to have a fun song.
So much of the last few records were so weighted.
So its good to have a song that reminds us of that.
Worst early show.
Mike Cooley:It depends on what you mean byworst.
Like, the show itself or something that happened before or after.
The one in the song was actually one of the better ones.
That was one of the better memories.
:Our first band together, Adams House Cat, was not beloved.
We never really, properly got the thing on the road.
We didnt get far enough to even get there.
And where we lived at that time, there was nowhere for us.
Favorite song written by the other.
:Every Single Storied Flameout is absolutely, right now, my favorite Drive-By Truckers song.
Ive always been a bigZip Cityfan.
I dont know if hes ever really written a song that I didnt at least really like.
:I like a lot of his stuff on the new record.
Wilder Days is one of my favorites;I think its one of his best ever.
Im pretty proud of the stuff on the new record.
They are fun to play; thats always important.
Sometimes you dont do both.
Song you most regret.
:If I had to do it over again, Demonic Possesion wouldnt have been on that record.
I can maybe think of one exception, and that persons not here, and I wont say it.
Those are the two records that I felt like we really, top to bottom, got it right.
:Yeah,Brighter Than Creations Dark thats a good record, but we puttoo damn many songson it.
I knew it almost as soon as we put it out.
:Yeah, we wereending a record deal.
We had gone in and just cut all we had.
:There wouldve been a really good outtakes record to put out out of those sessions.
:And thereended up being one,anyway, even without any of those songs!
:Yeah, I know.
:Were still putting out records!
M.C.:Reissues!
The New Coke of the music business.
Favorite song to play lead guitar on.
:Wow, I dont know.
And then theres kind of a hybrid of both.
Lookout Mountain, how can you fuck that up?
Well, never mind, Ive done it.
But thats always fun; thats a little bit of a hybrid.
Righteous Path is a fun one.
Jason Isbell song you miss playing.
But he did it with us and it was awesome; it was magical.
One week, I did a request show, and somebody requested that I cover an Isbell song.
So I covered that song, and I actually learned how to play it.
It was hard for me to cover because I sing a harmony almost through that song.
So it was fun playing it with him because I got to do the part I like to do.
Song that most made people mad.
P.H.:[Laughs.]
:Well, the first one wouldve been Puttin People on the Moon, back fromDirty South.
:Its very true.
Fortunately, we were really loud, so we really didnt have to hear it much.
Theyd rather look backward than forward.
To me, its not even so much political as, you know, being a decent person.
Dont be a fuckin piece of shit.
Thats how quickly we were headed in that direction at that time.
They drummed up this whole overturningRoev.Wadeand made this rallying cry.
:Ive taken to referring to Reagan as the first President Trump.
So he was nicer and more well mannered?
Trump was a con man; Reagan was a corporate pitchman.
Southern music legend you most want to work with.
:Thats pretty much,Oh, lets get into the whos still alive file.
:My dream passed away last year.
I always wanted to make a record backing up Tom T. Hall.
And the other one was Bobby Womack, and he passed away a few years back, too.
Those are the two that got away that I most wanted to do something with.
I came out the other end a better musician and better songwriter.
And Id love to do something else with him too.
Ive stayed in touch with him.
Famed session musician (and Pattersons dad) Dave Hoods favorite Truckers music.
:I dont know.
Hes proud of what were doing, and he wasnt easy to win over.
He couldnt believe it.
But he really likedSouthern Rock Opera.
Hes like, You know, you might be onto something there.
It was kind of nuts.
But you know, hes really proud of what we do.
