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Drive-By Truckers Bassist Shonna Tucker (far right) has taken a more active role recently. |
BY JONAS BEALS
There's a thin line between kitsch and authenticity.
A velvet painting of Jesus, arms stretched wide above an 18-wheeler, might be downright hilarious hanging the wall of a Brooklyn loft. Set that same painting onstage next to a drum kit and a bottle of Jack Daniels, and it somehow transforms into the perfect trailer-trash icon for a Southern band hell-bent on splitting ear-drums and diving into their own turbulent Southern psyches.
The Drive-By Truckers belong in any discussion of the greatest live rock bands playing today, and not just because of their volume. Their music is a complex mix of shredding guitars and lyrics exploring the troubled underbelly of life in the rural South.
Taking the scholarly approach, one finds echoes of the same social contradictions explored by William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams. Listened to in the sweaty confines of a club, well, it rocks. Hard.
"I think we're very honest people, with each other and with our music," bassist Shonna Tucker said in a phone interview.
"People relate to that. We get up there and we don't have a set list and we're drinking a little whiskey--you never know what's going to happen. It keeps us from getting bored, and I think the crowd feeds off of that, too."
Tucker, like Truckers frontman Patterson Hood, is a native of north Alabama, and grew up playing music in the shadow of the famed Muscle Shoals recording studio. She started playing in local bands at an early age, and was doing session work by the time she was 18. In 2003, she filled the bass spot in the Truckers' slowly rotating lineup.
"Brighter Than Creation's Dark," the latest Drive-By Truckers album, was released in January. While Tucker's bass had been on the two previous records, this is the first album to feature songs written and sung by her.
"I started writing at about 18-19 years old," she said. "I was always a bass player first, but it's time for me to introduce myself as a singer and a writer in the world."
Songwriting is a serious job in the Drive-By Truckers, as primary writers Hood and Mike Cooley often tackle intense, painful and personal subjects in their tunes. Tucker's contributions on the new album bring a female perspective and voice, which might seem incongruous to fans of the band's heavier side--but she is comfortable in her role.
"I knew that all I had to do was prove myself as a player," she said. "As a young girl playing, I didn't have too many girl friends anyway. There ain't no way I could be out on the road with a bunch of girls. That would drive me nuts."
Even with Tucker, there's nothing "girly" about the Truckers, a band that comes by their hard-living image honestly. She's just one more rough edge of the multi-faceted group.
"I feel very lucky," she said. "I don't take it for granted. It's not just a great big party out here. We make it a priority to have fun, but we work hard. Still, you've got to be a little crazy to do what we do the way we do it."
Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036
Email: jbeals@freelancestar.com
| What: Drive-By Truckers do Southern rock with The Dexateens. Where: 9:30 Club, 815 V St., N.W., in Washington When: Two shows: tomorrow and Saturday; 9 p.m. both nights Cost: $20 per show Info: 202/265-0930 Web: 930.com |
