Patterson Hood, Truckers doing time in studio

Patterson Hood has a lot on his plate these days.

His band, the Drive-By Truckers, released "The Fine Print (A Collection of Rarities)" on Sept. 1.

In June, Hood released "Murdering Oscar and Other Love Songs," a solo album that included songs penned some 15 years ago, to rave reviews.

In July, the Drive-By Truckers played two shows at the Shoals Theatre in Florence, performances described by long-time fans as "the best sets ever."

Hood and his wife welcomed their second child, a son, on Wednesday morning. He's also cutting tracks for the next Drive-By Truckers record set for release in early 2010.

In late August, lifelong friend Byron Wilkes, a Shoals artist who supported Hood's musical endeavors since his days with Adam's House CAT!, died.

So it's no wonder Hood sounded out of breath during a recent telephone interview.

"I'm in the studio trying to finish our record," Hood said. "We've cut 25 songs. It will be coming out in February. We're really happy with it."

Hood said the new album, which does not have a name yet, is more of a "big, loud, rock record" than the swampy feel of the Truckers' last release, "Brighter Than Creation's Dark."

"It will be fun to tour with it," Hood said.

In the meantime, Truckers fans can satiate their appetite with "The Fine Print," which includes 12 tracks culled from the vaults of New West Records.

Hood likens "The Fine Print" to one of his favorite REM albums, "Dead Letter Office," which is a collection of rarities, oddities and B sides.

"I always loved it because it was so loose," Hood said. "We kind of took that attitude about this one."

New West Records sent Hood 15 unreleased tracks and he selected 12 that for various reasons never ended up on previous Truckers' albums.

Hood wanted to release "George Jones Talking Cell Phone Blues" as a single, but it wasn't to be.

" 'TVA' has always been my favorite song Jason (Isbell) ever wrote," Hood said. "It's a bummer to me that it never ended up on an album."

Hood calls "The Great Car Dealer Wars" a "good local urban legend" based on a fictional character who helped local car dealers put each other out of business.

"The Fine Print" includes two tracks written by his longtime partner Mike Cooley, "Uncle Frank" and "Little Pony and the Great Big Horse," and another Isbell song, "When the Well Runs Dry."

There is a Truckers' cover of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers "Rebel" with Hood on vocals and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone."

Hood said he has been pleasantly surprised by the success of his most recent solo album, "Murdering Oscar and Other Love Songs."

The majority of the songs were written after Adam's House CAT! broke up and Hood sought inspiration in Athens, Ga.

"This was a really good batch of songs when I wrote them in 1994, and I felt really strong about it," Hood said. "I felt it was some of the best stuff I'd ever done, but at the time I didn't have a band, didn't have access to a band, no access to studio time and I didn't have any money."

He recorded the tracks on cassette in his bedroom and gave copies to anyone who would take one.

"That's really as far as it got," Hood said.

He began writing tracks for "Pizza Deliverance," the Drive-By Truckers first album and "Southern Rock Opera," which brought the "duality of the Southern thang" to the world.

Hood said he came across the cassette while searching for songs for "A Blessing and A Curse," and while they did not fit what the Truckers were doing at the time, he decided to try to release them as a solo project.

He enlisted the help of several musicians, including members of the Denton, Texas, band Centro-Matic, and fellow Truckers John Neff, Shonna Tucker and Brad Morgan.

Hood added a few new tracks that served as counterpoints to the tracks written 15 years earlier.

"Murdering Oscar" turned out to be a conversation between the Hood of his late 20s and early 30s and the Hood in his mid 40s, now a husband and father.

"I'm thrilled with how well it's been received," Hood said. "It's received better reviews than I ever could have hoped. It's actually sold pretty good."

What also sold well were tickets to two long-awaited performances by the Drive-By Truckers at the Shoals Theatre in downtown Florence, the same theater where Hood used to watch Walt Disney movies as a kid.

"We'll definitely come back and play," Hood said. "It's where I'm from, and it's where Shonna lives."

The one thing he doesn't want to do is come back too soon, unless the timing is just right.

"It was such a good memory," Hood said. "I don't want to ruin a good memory by making it a lesser memory if we come back six months later."

Hood said he considers the shows the first time the Truckers were able to bring the full rock show to the Shoals. Previous shows were held at bars, Wilkes' comic shops, Muscle Shoals High School or at friends' homes.

"The was the first time to be in a real venue with a real sound system, lighting," he said.

On Aug. 20, Hood's friend, Shoals artist Byron Wilkes, died.

Wilkes provided artwork for the booklet included in the Truckers breakthrough double-disc, "Southern Rock Opera."

"I've known him since I was three," Hood said. "We became friends when I was 14."

Hood said Wilkes worked the door for numerous Adam's House CAT! shows and was "very much a part of our inner circle."

"He was one of the few people who liked the band and what we wanted to do," Hood said.

Hood said his friend's sudden death still hasn't sunk in.

"I considered him a part of my family," he said.

Staff Writer Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.