Drive-By Truckers bring their operatic tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Knoxville
by John Sewell
Creating a masterpiece can often cause infinite problems for rock musicians. But when the stars are lined up just right and the mix of ideas, inspiration and intoxicants (or lack thereof) is perfect, magical things happen. And when this synchronicity occurs, legends are born.
Only a few bands even produce one album that fits in the masterpiece category. And when a masterpiece is created, it can be a heavy burden to follow up.
Athens, Georgia's Drive-By Truckers may have created just such a masterpiece with their last release, Southern Rock Opera (Lost Highway Records). The two-disc concept album celebrating Lynyrd Skynyrd, growing up Southern, and the sheer love of rock succeeds on a number of levels: as a concept, as a highly personal coming of age story, as separate songs, and as great rock 'n' roll.
With Southern Rock Opera, DBT outdid themselves by creating a work of art so encompassing that it's taken on a life of its own. The album was a critical home run for the band, and was mentioned in almost all critics' best-of lists from last year.
"The Southern Rock Opera really took all of us by surprise," says vocalist Patterson Hood. "We thought it was going to be less accessible than our earlier recordings, and the exact opposite seems to be true. I don't know if it's one of those freak things. What we were doing seems to have collided with the mindset of a lot of other people. It was freak accident, I guess."
As successful as Southern Rock Opera was, the Drive-By Truckers have greater hopes for their follow-up, the as-yet unreleased Decoration Day.
"To me, the new album is going to be the one that'll be hard to follow up," Hood says. "I think it's definitely a leap from the Southern Rock Opera. The new record is the big one: it's the one I dreamed about when I was a teenager.
"The new album is a lot more personal, on a truly personal level as opposed to a political personal level. It's not so much about growing up as it is about being grown up.
"The new album was composed during what was kind of the worst time of most of our lives," Hood continues. "We had a lot of personal stuff going on: I went through a divorce, someone else went through a divorce, and we had another long-term relationship break up within the band—all within a two-week period. The new record was written in the fallout of all of that, and it deals with the personal wreckage and putting our lives back together."
DBT members' lives have been in a whirlwind since the release of Southern Rock Opera. The band has relentlessly toured the country, playing over 200 shows in less than a year. Peaking these countless shows was a handful of appearances with the great ones themselves: the mighty Lynyrd Skynyrd. Hood says it was a thrill to play with his heroes, and that the band and their fans were appreciative of the DBT's.
"They [the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd] have never actually made any kind of official comment about the record," says Hood. "But they were personally very nice and very gracious when we played with them."
Hood says Skynyrd's fans accepted them on the road. "I think it was easier to see that we were truly being reverent about the whole thing. I think live, it comes across that we meant it as a great tribute. I mean, on the record you can't see the expressions on our faces and you might interpret some of it as being tongue in cheek.
"Now don't get me wrong— we are smart-asses," Hood says. "Part of what made my connection with Skynyrd's music is that fact that Ronnie [Van Zandt] had a lot of smart-ass and cynicism in the songs. That cynicism is, for me, what set his music apart from the music of his peers. He wasn't afraid to tell it like it is. So I didn't attempt to play that aspect of myself down in writing about them, either.
"So that's where we were all really afraid—that we might be misconstrued by Skynyrd's fans and particularly by them. To be honest, we were more concerned about what they thought than what their fans thought. I'm always glad when anybody gets it and appreciates it. But I was particularly worried that [Skynyrd guitarist] Gary Rossington might be offended. I have a lot of respect for what they've done and for the fact that the surviving members are still out telling their story, doing their best and putting on a great, formidable show. Lynyrd Skynyrd still puts on a great show. And that's pretty miraculous."
August 22, 2002 * Vol. 12, No. 34
© 2002 Metro Pulse
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