From the Dirt Underneath 2015 Tour thread, ElGordo reported the following from last night's Portland show:
ElGordo wrote:So, uh, awesome show in Portland tonight. Not quite together enough to have a comprehensive set list available. However, I will dutifully report that Patterson announced that he and his family are moving to Portland in a few weeks! No late April Fool's joke, either; apparently they're pulling up stakes in Athens and heading out west. Not sure what that means for the band in the long term, but for sure that will mean much more frequent shows from Mr. Hood on the west coast. Sweet!
I thought I'd start a new thread about Patterson and his family's move as to not hijack the Tour thread.
Is this real? Hopefully Athens will remain a home for the band even if it is no longer the home of the front man!
I don't see this as much of a complication. I would assume Cooley and EZB spend the better parts of a day commuting to Athens for band stuff. Now Patterson will too. He'll just be commuting by plane.
I'm thinking that the change of lifestyle, scenery, people, etc will probably be pretty energizing for PH, and that's usually a good thing for creative-minded people. So I don't see how the Truckers as a band can suffer from this. If anyone is going to bear the brunt of the move, it's going to be the town and people of Athens - huge loss for that community.
Iowan wrote:I don't see this as much of a complication. I would assume Cooley and EZB spend the better parts of a day commuting to Athens for band stuff. Now Patterson will too. He'll just be commuting by plane.
Matt Patton is also commuting, coming from MS to Athens.
Congrats to Patterson and family on the upcoming move!
Jay Gonzalez - the Swiss Army Knife of Musicians - Patterson Hood
The only thing I can think of it affecting are the little solo shows Patterson would play in Podunk towns in Alabama & Georgia; doubt it'd make sense financially to fly all the way down here to play Summerville or Selma. Of course there'd be less "appearances" made at Athens shows & get togethers, but I can't see that it'd necessarily have to affect the DBT's (not saying it won't, though).
I guess that show in Birmingham May 7th is looking more tempting. Who still actually lives in Georgia in the band? Jay? Might as well move the home base to Memphis or St. Louis. Birmingham is an up and coming city too.
Bill in CT wrote:Someone in a DBT Facebook group is whining about this move as if Patterson is somehow betraying Georgia by moving to Portland. Unreal.
For those not on FB, Patterson just posted the following:
Howdy folks.
While I appreciate everyone's concern, I can handily assure everyone that the end is not near. We have 2 tours planned for fall (electric) including dates w our friends Alabama Shakes, who hopefully will have the #1 album in the nation as of tomorrow. We have massive live thing coming out in fall (including a boxset) and we are working on material for another studio album that we'll be making early next year.
My family and I are taking an open-ended trip to the beautiful northwest. It's a personal thing that has been in the works for over 2 years. It may be for a year, maybe longer. Who knows. All of that has been with total and full support of my band. Especially Cooley, who continues to be such an awesome partner.
Especially all of them. I play in the greatest band in the land with my 4 best friends. I couldn't imagine more supportive band mates.
I appreciate everyone's concern but I've eaten tofu (and catfish) for over two decades and suspect my dietary preferences won't change much, although I do hope to get into better shape.
Much love and see you at a future DBT show (Rock or otherwise).
We got messed up minds for these messed up times...
Patterson is clever (and rather awesome.) The tofu / catfish bit is in an immediate and direct response to a fan's comment on Fbook. Not sure you'd get that from many other bands.
Thanks dude for talking some of us off the ledge.
By the time you drop them I'll be gone
And you'll be right where they fall the rest of your life