Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PHOTO BY FRANK HAMRICK "Hew / \ifmtMy %m$F 3y VwPm-3y Truclm A thens' own bunch of rowdy, wild-eyed country boys, the Drive- By Truckers, are back in town after spending the better part of the summer bringing the glory of neo-Southern rock to the masses of the Great American West The band hit Texas and the Northwest on an ear-blistering, amplifier-shattering, three-month tour that included 72 shows in 90 days, 22,000 miles and only Si,000 in van reoair. "We've got to the point where what was hard two years ago is easy now," Trucker frontman Patterson Hood says. "Any time it's not the motor or the transmission, I just take it in stride." With the van and the band rocking along, the Truckers made quite a splash with the folks out West, playing to rave reviews and enthusiastic audiences. Hood says he was surprised at how many people were familiar with the band's music, citing advance word from the Internet as the pied piper's calL "I wasn't sure how it would be received, really; they've had that hippie shit shoved down their throats so long," he laughs. "We found a lot of people who were hungry for good ol' redneck Southern rock." Actually, the Truckers are still on that tour... sort of. After this week's show at the 40 Watt, the band will be going up the East Coast for a short jaunt with like-minded Denton, Texas, outfit Slobberbone, before returning to Athens for a mid-August show that features both bands. Hood says he hopes the band can take September off to work on its third studio album, the Lynyrd Skynyrd-inspired concept album Betamax Guillotine after an "album release party" in early September for the soon-to-be-released live album Alabama Ass-Whuppin'. “Ass-Whuppin' is my favorite record we've done so far, and it's turned out beyond my best hopes," Hood says. "It actually sounds pretty good performance-wise, and it's so loud and belligerent it makes the Replacements fan in me happy. As for Betamax, we're readv to do it. We were ready to do it last year." As everyone knows, the Drive-By Truckers is the brainchild of Hood, a native of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and old running partner, guitarist and snappy dresser Mike Cooley. The pair had played in a number of bands, notably Adam's House Cat, before relocating to Athens and forming the Truckers in 1996. Members came and went before the band settled into its most solid lineup to date, which features the talents of bassist Rob Malone and drummer Brad Morgan. With the membership changes came a change in sound, from twangy alt-country to the, as one wag put it, "white trash Clash" we all know and love. "Everything's going really well right now; the chemistry is really clicking," Hood says about the band's current state. "We're rocking out; crowds are enjoying it and we're all having a blast. We're just ready to go wherever it takes us." Matt Thompson WHO: The Drive-By Truckers, Urban Henry WHERE: 40 Watt Club WHEN: Friday, July 28 HOW MUCH: $5 MUSIC for Less A FULL SERVICE USED INSTRUMENT SHOP ATHENS' LARGEST & BEST SELECTION OF USED EQUIPMENT \W^ug^Tll 613-6656 136 E C | ayton st v AUTHORIZED K dealer A/ e xt to DT's & Roly Poly Fender • Epiphone * Gibson • Peavey • Olympian • Tacoma an Exhibit of Visum Art by Athens Musicians CO-CIIATED BY MEIISSA J. llNK I llIIlE IlCKEI SllTI Union House Arts Ceiter. Athens. Georgia Iuii 20-Hit 29.2000 James Blount Marquee-'A testoment to the diversity ond rich creativity of the Athens community" Jennifer Schultz. Flogpole-"Has the heady and synergistic feel of a funked-up Algonquin round-table'' o o. r the end CLOSING PARTY July 29th, Saturday, S-8 ph BRING A PICNIC t JOIN NS FOR A CELEBRATION ON THE (AWN [just north of the dead end of Jackson at Hoyt) WITH FREE MUSIC 5:50: Flicker Orchestra 6:15:SYNCHILIA 7:15: lOHA & TATT00INS BY 1942 GAUERY IAST CHANCE TO CATCH ARTWORK RT: far, Ap* • Am Ldoond Boom • JJ Caie Don (haaitn * Yu (htuv-tt * bat Sood Mouwd* Lam Caw / Bain L Dtmr / Ian (Jem / Boon* Hirer / HtaWr Hcjntxfc / Mi Sat • \m Coiq * Din DcruFw Hit Dwyr * Hit (las Anpt Gnu * WAar Culm Has • Jadt A. lapr * Mutl ladomlo * And* ItHaat * Otcnru Hot teda H&qr * |* Kidisti • tm Nidcla • Afe nc Siuirtt • Cotj Scot Sjc Satsbtt IWue! Sopt • Swai 0. Stiff • Urry lenntf • Ytmor TWnsbtrry • Bo lorepkm Hours: tu/th 12-9 ph, wed/eri/sat 9-5 pm Cali 613-3623 for info or surf to: ARTAUDAT.COM & ATHENSMUSK.NET 4: TJKSDVW xnmun * T H J • ] N =1 MAGAZINE speakeasy OCIermont - i; *» - * GO TO WWW.4dWATT.COM FOR DETAILS AND FREE PASSES fUERY DAY! 285 W. Washington St. Athens. GA • Call 549-7871 for Show Updates We serve Righteous Juices WEDNESDAY. JULY 2G Ode to Abbey SOUP • THE PEOPLE ACROSS THE STREET doors upon at lflpin four dollars THURSDAY. JULY 27 DICTAT0RT0TS S.M.O. clours open at 10|>in three dollars FRIDAY. JULY 28 Miin-BY TRUCKERS URBAN HENRY doors open at 10pm .. five dollars SATURDAY. JULY 20 Vi FOR THE HUMANE SOCIETY NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE BAND with an all star lineup RAFFLE to win areal prizes 9am-12pm come buy or sell doors open at 9pm .....five dollars MONDAY. JULY 31 Tke Cold ]h>ocefj ODYSSEY doors open at 10pm three dollars (HHBZUG3B Stung) * 8/4&5 TEAM CLERMONT BIG WEEKEND with FIVE EIGHT, IDAHO, TRANS AM AND MORE * 8/9-12 EXPO 2000 with SUNSHINE FIX, DRESSY BESSY, ESSEX GREEN, RICHARD DAVIES AND MORE 8/17 LITTLE RED ROCKET * Tickets Available Now at Big Shot & Lo yo yo JULY 26, 2000