by Chris Aaland

The region’s newest festival – the Ride – hits Telluride for the second year in a row this weekend, with mainstage acts scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Town Park. Unlike Telluride’s older, more established festivals like Bluegrass, Blues & Brews, and the Jazz Celebration, the Ride is about rock and roll. The lineup includes David Byrne & St. Vincent, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, CAKE, Steve Earle & the Dukes (& Duchesses), Son Volt and others.

What many Durango rockers are lusting for the most, though, is the return of the Drive-By Truckers. DBT will sonically assault the San Juans in a 75-minute set that begins at 3:45 p.m. Sunday.

The Truckers last played Town Park at the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival – arguably one of the loudest, most rocking sets ever at the festival.
“My memories of 2006 are a little foggy, but I remember it being a beautiful setting and the crowd being really great,” said DBT frontman Patterson Hood in a recent interview. “I’m thrilled to be coming back.”

Diverse influences – including punk, Southern rock, country and soul – fuel the band’s sound. With an extensive discography dating back to Athens, Ga., in 1996, the band’s latest album, 2011’s “Go-Go Boots,” pays homage to country and soul, genres that Hood’s father, David, advanced by playing bass in the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The group recorded with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett.

“It’s in our DNA, but I don’t expect to delve much further into that direction right now,” said Hood. “Our next album is looking like it’s going to be real good. It’s not leaning toward any particular genres or sub-genres like ‘Go-Go Boots’ did. It’s more in the realm of a straight-up DBT album ... just really good songs.”

No doubt the departure of two longtime bandmates will shape that direction. Gone are bassist Shonna Tucker, who left in 2011, and steel guitarist John Neff, who left in January of this year. The two recently formed their own band, Eye Candy. Though DBT has seen countless changes throughout its history, the latest lineup is a stripped-down, five-piece machine that includes original guitarist/singer Mike Cooley and longtime drummer, Brad Morgan.

“You have those bands that stay together with little or no personnel changes like U2 or R.E.M., which I think is amazing,” said Hood. “The fact that Cooley and I have been together for 28 years – and Brad for nearly 15 – is also amazing, but we’ve always morphed and changed. Each change-up has brought something new. Everyone has their favorite lineups from the past, myself included, but right now it’s about as good as it’s ever been, and in many ways, the best it’s ever been.”

Delving into DBT’s past is an exercise in contractual obligation and wistful nostalgia. Its long-out-of-print live album from 2000, “Alabama Ass Whuppin’,” is slated for a reissue this year. Then there are retrospectives, like “The Fine Print” and “Ugly Buildings, Whores and Politicians” which came out in 2009 and 2011, respectively.

“’The Fine Print’ was kinda thrust upon us, hence the title, but I was really happy how it turned out and I even count it as an official DBT album,” said Hood. “I’m not sure Cooley does though.”

As for  “Ugly Buildings,” Hood calls it “a straight-up greatest hits – without any hits,” hence the title. He said although the band was opposed to the idea, the album did “turn out pretty good,” with Rolling Stone giving it 4½ stars. “But I still think our music comes off better in the context of the album the songs were intended for,” said Hood.

The re-release of “Alabama Ass Whuppin’” is something Hood is especially excited about. Unlike the original, which Hood said  “never really sounded good,” the new remastered version will be based on newly discovered ½-inch mix tapes. “When we listened to them, we couldn’t believe how great they sounded. All of the muddy sound was due to the way it had been mastered,” Hood said. “It’s loud as shit and gnarly and over the top and probably the most fun record we ever made.”

The live record divulges Hood’s fascination with punk – a tough genre for a Southern kid in the early ’80s.

“I think I was one of maybe six or seven kids in my high school that listened to punk rock,” he said. His first band covered “People Who Died” by the late ’80s punk visionary, poet and author of The Basketball Diaries, Jim Carroll. The song later made it into the film version of the book, as well as “Alabama Ass Whuppin’” – and DBT still covers it to this day.

“I heard that Jim heard our version when he was still alive and really dug it,” said Hood. “That made me very happy.”

While the reissue will satisfy DBT fans who have jonesed for a new record for three years, a new studio LP is also in the works, due out in early 2014.

“This is the most excited I’ve been to make a record since 2002 when we cut ‘Decoration Day,’” Hood said. “The lineup is rock solid and the songs are some of our best ever.”

Cooley has four or five songs so far, and Hood said when he heard those, it inspired him to write a new album’s worth of songs, an addition to the ones he’d already written. “A lot of it sounds different than anything we’ve done,” said Hood. “It’s not really a departure but it is a bit of a rebirth.”
In between DBT albums, Hood and bandmates have also released solo records. Hood’s “Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance,” Cooley’s live “The Fool on Every Corner” and keyboardist Jay Gonzales’ “Mess of Happiness” have all drawn rave reviews.

“I think all of those projects have breathed new life into our band and our personal lives,” Hood said. “This is the most time off we’ve had since 1997 or so, and it has had a great affect on us all. By the end of our ‘Go-Go Boots’ touring, we were beyond burned out, and it was starting to show.

 
Part of that fallout included the departure of Tucker followed by Neff. Then, on Jan. 18, the DBT family was hit with another tragedy , when the band’s beloved merchandiser and fan liaison, Craig Lieske, died of a heart attack. “Craig was our merch guru and so much more, honestly our ambassador to our fans,” said Hood “It’s been brutal, but it’s also brought us closer together. The band has never been so focused.”