Note From Cooley…
This was just posted on The DBT Facebook Page:
There was this heavy box I carried around with me for years. I would
pick it up, put it in the truck, haul it to the next place and that’s
where it stayed until it was time to move again. It was full of small
caliber handgun and rifle cartridges, and shotgun shells of various
size and shot patterns. It wouldn’t be considered a stockpile by
today’s standards, and I didn’t have any use for it then, but I
inherited it and the guns that went with it from my father. So I would
toss it into the pile with the rest of the baggage I wasn’t ready to
part with and pretend I was moving on.
My Dad owned a store. Similar to a convenience store, but located in
the rural community where we lived, so it still functioned like a
traditional country store,complete with a set of regulars that stopped
by almost every day to chat. And without cable tv ( it’s still not
available there), 24/7 news , and the internet still over 20 years
away, country stores and old ole boys had a wireless bullshit delivery
system nonetheless. And good old boys never talk long without talking
about guns.
I didn’t think much about it at the time, but every now and then my
Dad would come home convinced something was about to happen with
regard to guns and ammo that required “stocking up.” There were going
to be limits on the number of boxes you could by. The price was going
to reach unaffordable levels. “They” were going to make it so that you
couldn’t even buy guns any more or be able to use the ones you had.
And this information was never reported in the news because “they”
don’t want you to know it. That’s how that heavy assed box came to
be, and would eventually come to me.
One night before I inherited all those bullets, I got shot at. They
wouldn’t have done me any good since I was trespassing. I’m pretty
sure firing shots at the owner of the property you’re trespassing on
makes it worse. Anyway I was with a couple of friends and we were
rolling this guys yard. His house was on a hill at the end of a long
driveway with woods in between. We heard the door open and the lights
came on and we ran through the woods toward the road. He fired 2 maybe
3 shots and I could hear the bullets going through the trees alongside
us. I don’t know if he was actually trying to hit us,and I’m not even
sure if he could see us, but he didn’t just fire in the air either. It
had to be obvious we were running away even if it wasn’t obvious we
were just kids pulling a prank.
On another evening I was home with my parents and some of my friends
thought it would be funny to steal the hubcaps off my car. We heard a
noise and my Dad could see someone moving around outside. He got his
gun, threw open the door and yelled “I’ll blow your head off you son
of a bitch”. One of my friends stood up from behind the car with his
hands up saying “don’t shoot Mr Cooley it’s me”. My Dad was red and
shaking all over from fear and embarrassment. He’d almost shot a kid
pulling a prank.
The inability to defend ones home or even the thought of that level of
helplessness brings to mind images that are frightening for anyone,
and my father and the man who shot at me belonged to a class and
generation of men that were especially motivated that very fear.
Robbing a man of the ability to defend his home was the last
degrading thing the world could do to him. A world that many of the
men of my dad’s generation and class saw as having it in for them in
the first place. And that was enough to make anything less than an
armed response, a weak response.
I never told my Dad I got shot at pulling a prank, and the man who did
it outlived him.
I got rid of that box of ammo. If I need to do some shooting, I can buy more.
And there was never a time when I couldn’t.
– Cooley
Marry Me…
Congratulations to Jenn and Matt who got married this past Saturday night at The Fabulous 40 Watt. Jenn and Matt were lucky enough to have Slobberbone and DBT play their reception. Here’s a bit of what you missed if you weren’t lucky enough to be on the guestlist. Thanks to Sloan for the audio(you can download both sets from Saturday night over at Southern Shelter) and especially to Jenn and Matt for being such a kick ass couple that they wanted to share some of their special night with all of us.
But I Saw Thundercrack! Motherfuckers…
In honor of this week’s shows here’s one fresh of the presses from the opening night of this year’s homecoming run at the Fabulous 40 Watt. Turn it up as the audio sounds killer. And look out for this new version of DBT on tour on the East Coast this week. See y’all at the Rock Show!
Let There Be March Tour…
The Rock Show will be on the road this March. Starting out in Macon before winding up the East Coast with a bunch of shows in the New England area and a stop at the newly renovated Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Tickets are now on sale the official DBT site. See y’all at the Rock Show:
Sat Mar 2 Macon, GA The Big Bird Bash
Tue Mar 5 Saxapahaw, NC Haw River Ballroom
Wed Mar 6 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater
Thu Mar 7 New Haven, CT Toad’s Place
Fri Mar 8 Providence, RI Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
Sat Mar 9 Portland, ME State Theatre
Sun Mar 10 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Wed Mar 13 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
Thu Mar 14 Northampton, MA Calvin Theatre
Fri Mar 15 Chester, NY The Capitol Theatre w/ Old 97s
Sat Mar 16 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theatre w/ Old 97s
Sun Mar 17 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live w/ Old 97s
We Like Tramps…
Straight from Athens and hung off the line Thundercrack will be making a rare appearance opening Thursday night’s rock show at The Fabulous 40 Watt in Athens(where the beer is always cold and sold at a reasonable price). Comprised from members of DBT and their crack road crew led by DBT’s minister of sound and organization the mighty Mattador this is a Springsteen tribute band guaranteed to bust The 40 Watt in half. While tickets for Friday and Saturday’s shows at The 40 Watt are sold out tickets are still available for Thursday. Don’t miss it.
Welcome To The However Many Annual New Year’s Eve Reinvention Shows At The 9:30 Club…
This is what happened when the Rock Show evolved on Saturday night at The 9:30 Club. First song in and boom!
Exit Stage Neff…
John Neff who goes back to the beginning of DBT announced that he was quitting DBT today on his Facebook page. All I know is that with Luther Dickenson will be on hand for New Year’s Eve and Jay Gonzalez can play guitar and write songs and that this weekend at The 9:30 Club will be like none other as the Rock Show continues to evolve. The official statement from Patterson is copied below from the DBT Facebook page:
Note from Patterson – 12/27/2012
As I guess most of you have heard or read by now, John Neff has left
Drive-By Truckers. Effective immediately.
I was actually first informed by my sister who was up earlier than me
and read it on Facebook.
In all fairness, he did send me an email saying he was quitting his
“job” and wouldn’t be going with us to DC this weekend a few minutes
before he posted it, but I was attempting to sleep in.
Kind of a sad way to end a sixteen year relationship, but we’ve all
known that things have been strained on that front for over a year now.
He made no mention of future plans, a player as fine as Neff will have
no trouble ever finding work.
He would be an asset to whatever situation he applied himself to.
We certainly appreciate the incredible work he’s done with us and as I
said, we wish him nothing but the absolute best.
DBT will continue onward, as we always do.
There are no plans to try to replace John.
I’ve never considered anyone ever to be replaceable in this band.
We have constantly changed and morphed and this will be no exception.
We always say, play every show like it’s your last, it could be.
But not right now.
DBT is making definite plans towards starting a new album in the
spring and I’m always excited about recording new songs and seeing
where that leads the band.
This band has been a big part of my life for nearly 20 years. It’s
never been a job to me and I’d rather quit and move on than have it
ever be that.
We’re a big, sometimes dysfunctional family, but we’ve always drawn
strength from each other and the big glorious noise we make.
I always try to treat every new year as a new beginning and this will
certainly apply this weekend.
Onward and forward and may everyone have a safe and prosperous 2013.
See you at The Rock Show.
Yours Truly,
Patterson Hood
Drive-By Truckers
More Patterson Dates Rumbling Into 2013…
A weeks worth of 2013 Patterson dates in Georgia,North Carolina,and Tennessee were announced today on Patterson’s book of face page. Patterson will be joined for six of those by The Ezy-B and Jay Gonzalez. This weekend Patterson Hood And Downtown Rumblers play the Fabulous 40 Watt and the following weekend in Memphis. These will most likely be the final Downtown Rumblers shows for awhile so don’t miss your opportunity to see this special line up before it’s in the distance. Get your tickets by clicking here.
Sat Dec 08 Athens, GA 40 Watt Patterson & Downtown Rumblers w/ Don Chambers
Thu Dec 13 Nashville, TN The High Watt Patterson & Downtown Rumblers w/ Hope For Agoldensummer
Fri Dec 14 Nashville, TN The High Watt Patterson & Downtown Rumblers w/ Hope For Agoldensummer
Sat Jan 12 Birmingham AL UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center Patterson Hood Solo
Fri Feb 08 Atlanta, GA Eddies Attic Patterson Hood Solo
Sat Feb 09 Atlanta, GA Eddies Attic Patterson with Jay Gonzalez & Brad Morgan
Tue Feb 12 Carborro NC The Arts Center Patterson with Jay Gonzalez & Brad Morgan
Wed Feb 13 Charlotte NC McGlohon Theater Patterson with Jay Gonzalez & Brad Morgan
Thu Feb 14 Asheville NC Grey Eagle Patterson with Jay Gonzalez & Brad Morgan
Fri Feb 15 Asheville NC Grey Eagle Patterson with Jay Gonzalez & Brad Morgan
Sat Feb 16 Knoxville TN Bijou Theater Patterson with Jay Gonzalez & Brad Morgan
One Belt Loop Away From One Of These Days…
On the other hand here is some great 3DD video(and audio) from Cooley’s recent show at The Slipper Room in New York City. If you can tune out the enthusiastic crowd who think they can do anything they want you’ll get a little taste of what his new live record will be like.
Solo Acoustic Gold…
And just like that we find out there is a new live Cooley solo record coming out December 11th. Called Fool On Every Corner,the live set was recorded by David Barbe over three shows earlier this year with just Cooley,his guitar(and maybe a bottle). If you want to join in on the discussion or find out about other Cooley live shows then join us over on our message board where other people are also looking at the track list and wondering where the fuck Zip City is.