Feb. 1, 2008 \ The Clarion
ARTS & LIFE
Page 9
Interview: Drive by Truckers' Patterson Hood
By Zack Harding
Arts and Life Editor
Clarion: What was the
recording process like for
Brighter Than Creation’s Dark?
How was the atmosphere
similar or different compared to
previous albums?
Patterson Hood: Quite
different than the last one.
Very laid back on a personal
level, although we worked
extremely fast, it always
seemed relaxed. [We had] no
disagreements or even
compromises. The album
kinda put itself together and
every decision just seemed like
the obvious way to go to all of
us. [It was] really hard work,
but extremely fun album to
make.
Clarion: This time you went in
with many songs that were
road-tested on tour.
How does this compare with
the in-studio writing that went
along with the previous album,
A Blessing and a Cursel
PH: Blessingwas a weird time.
We were having some deep
personal problems within the
band. We were trying to keep
it together and find a common
ground that was becoming less
common. There was a lot of
compromise and sometimes it
[the album] felt compromised.
In the end I still like that
album, especially the back side,
I think “Space City”,
“Gravity’s Gone” and “A
World of Hurt” stand out as
really good DBT songs, but it’s
probably one of my least
favorite of our albums.
Clarion: ft has been revealed
that Shonna has three songs
on the upcoming album. Has
this been a goal for a while now,
and how do you feel this
addition will
change the band’s sound live
and/or in studio?
PH: Shonna has been writing
songs since before I met her.
She’s very private and mostly
has kept them to herself, but I
always knew they were there.
We would hear her in the next
room working on something,
but if you went in thee she
would stop. This time she
showed up the first day with
two brand new songs and then
wrote a third one at the studio.
She’s a great singer and writer
and I think it will greatly
benefit the band. Having her
singing so many harmonies
has itself been a big plus this
time. I always want to move
forward and this is new ground
for us. Everyone in the band is
very happy with this
development.
Clarion: As a whole, do you
feel that the new album comes
closer to approaching the
story-telling aspect of The
Dirty South, the contemplative
approach of A
Blessing and a Curse, or does
it take a different direction
altogether?
PH: A little of all three. There
is certainly more story teUing
than last time, but some if it is
non-linear, more a description
of a scene than a whole movie.
[There is] more subtlety.
Blessing was a response to the
three albums before it and the
way they were perceived. It
started with a list of what all
we didn’t want to do or didn’t
want it to be, then trying to see
if we could make an
album that stands on
its own without any of
our so-called
trademarks. In
retrospect, some of
that seems a little
foolhardy, but that’s
where we were at that
moment in time. In
retrospect, I can see
how that album is a
little polarizing for
some folks, but I still
think it has its
charms.
This time, there was
no agenda, except to
capture what we were
doing at that moment
and record these
songs and let it
become what it
becomes. It took on a
life of its own and we
just tried to be true to
that. It’s the best thing we’ve
ever done.
Clarion: Many interviews
around the release of A
Blessing and a Curse had
references
to the idea that the music was
approaching a new sound and
diverging from the
’’southern rock” status that the
group had often been
categorized in. Does the
new album continue that
divergence?
PH: We really enjoyed
experimenting with the whole
southern rock and arena rock
thing on Southern Rock Opera
and retained certain elements
of that on Decoration Day and
The Dirty South. We were
bored with that and tired of
hearingus labeled that way and
rebelled against it on Blessing.
This time, there was no agenda
about that type of thing at all.
We just wanted to record our
new songs as true to how they
came as possible with no
agenda stylistically. Its a little
all over the map, from primal
stomp rock and roll to old-
timey country to R&B soul to
some things that can’t really
be categorized.
Clarion: Is there anything
further you would like to say
about Brighter Than
Creation’s Darkl
PH: It’s weird because it’s
stylistically by far our most
eclectic album, yet it’s also our
most cohesive one. I think it
really reflects our
personalities and where we’re
all at artistically at this point
in our lives.
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