GEORGE A. JOHNSON - It's A Wonderful Life
(May 26, 1920 - October 24, 2011)

My beloved Great Uncle passed away yesterday. He was actually more like a second father to me. As a child, I spent every single weekend of my life with him on his farm from before I was two until I was a teenager and became too busy trying to chase girls to want to be out at the farm riding go-karts anymore. I'm sure he was sad when that happened, but he never made me feel bad about it as he knew that it was the way of the world and how it was supposed to be. See More

Criminal Records Benefit

Patterson Hood, Brad Morgan and Jay Gonzalez will play the Criminal Records Benefit on Oct. 15 at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA. See More

Patterson Hood & Jay Gonzalez - "Uncle Disney" at Music in the Hall 22

Patterson on Hopscotch Panel

Hopscotch Festival
Friday, Sept. 9
Raleigh City Museum, 3–5 p.m.

Simple Words: The Power of Narrative Songs

The number of ways you can write and then record a song are infinite. But some songwriters seem to find a way to tell us a story that, though it may be personal to them, feels personal to us, too. The Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood is among the best ever with these sorts of songs; he’ll join this panel of fellow standout writers and the head of a record label built on such traditions to talk about why narrative in music can be so very compelling.

WITH
Patterson Hood (of Drive-By Truckers)
John Vanderslice
Dolphus Ramseur (of Ramseur Records)
David Menconi (of The News & Observer)
Heather McEntire (of Mount Moriah, Bellafea)
James Jackson Toth (of Wooden Wand)
Ross Flournoy (of Apex Manor)
Moderated by: David Klein

Support Taxi Cab Verses - a new project Patterson Hood is involved with

Y'ALL:

I'm writing this to tell everyone about a project I've been involved in for a couple of years now that is hitting a crucial time.

My friend Jim Wilson plays drums with Don Chambers (among others) and has been working on this multi-continental collaboration with some really incredible musicians in Ghana and in our hometown of Athens GA.
He has been going over to Ghana a couple of times a year and doing field recordings of some amazing musicians there, then writing lyrics and recording with some of our very talented friends here and so on.

His lyrics are based on sayings written on the backs of the taxi cabs over there. They are really supercool. (Examples below).
The music fuses elements of western and African music and is stunning.

I am acting as a co-producer along with Drew Vandenberg, who has assisted on the last three DBT albums. Drew is Engineering and Mixing the project.
Jim is raising money for the project through Indiegogo (link below) and also has a Facebook page devoted to it.
Please check out what he's doing, as it is very cool and I am very thrilled to be a part of it.

Yours in Rock (and Multi-Cultural Soul),
Patterson Hood

PS: Some of you long time friends may remember Jim from when he used to work for DBT as our Merch guy (before Craig). Also noted, Craig Lieske plays guitar on this project.

HERE IS JIM'S LETTER:

Hey Patterson,

Here's the link to the Indiegogo page: http://www.indiegogo.com/TaxicabVerses

The link to our Facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Taxicab-Verses/138570902886238

- couple things that I'm loving about this project -

1. Lyrics.
I'm stoked that these words are found on the back of taxicabs. It has been a blast taking the words and forming them into a story line. I am pleased to find that, without force, the stories give a little peek into Ghana and what the people are actually like. Here are some words from "Zero to Hero," for example:

It is good and it is bad to be a man
It's hard oh yeah so hard
Getting a wife is beyond human wisdom
Be bold, don’t rush and
Keep no regrets (2X)
Lover Boy
I am telling you
Watch your step
You must fear woman!
(Girls, tell me how crazy they are)
Women are sweet, not always
Yes, tender and wonderful
And can bring you
Serious naked delight
Good God!
Don’t worry, be positive, Virgin Boy
Next time,
Honest love
Will shower you with the blessings
Of a true cassanova (2X)
From a zero to a hero you will be

2. The trip.
I will be in Ghana from Sept. 13 through October 8th. I will have almost three full weeks of living, playing, and recording with the musicians I had the pleasure of working with last year. This will mark the third time I have been to Ghana since 2008. (Last time was in hopes that my friend Kofi was still into doing this, had to find out face to face, and this upcoming trip is all about the music.) Being a drummer, I am most excited about the lessons in drums and rhythm I will definitely be getting. This experience will be amazing!

3. I am proud to say that my friend and I are taking a conversation we had three years ago and turning it into a real international musical experience/project: truly collaborative, back and forth, and in person. I love that this is happening in a day and age when music can easily be created and shared through computers and modern technology. I am happy to say that we are doing it on our own with the tremendous help of our peers. We are all creating this naturally, in person, and one step at a time. That's exactly how I want to create. Anything.

The fact that all the crazy talented people here in Athens and there in Ghana are in it with me is bad ass beyond words and I am happier than can be.

Hope this is helpful. As always, I am grateful and honored that you are in this with me, Patterson. Let me know if you need anything.

All The Love,

James A. WIlson (as the face bookers know me)

THAT EVENING SUN released on DVD and Blu-ray
'That Evening Sun' featuring Hal Holbrook and Ray McKinnon, directed by Scott Teems, and including music by Patterson Hood will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 9/7. Pre-order now! Add this great film to your collection.

Both the DVD and the Blu-ray come loaded with a bunch of special features, including a director's commentary, cast and crew interviews, and a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes. Check out That Evening Sun on Facebook and at the website too!

NEW - DEPRESSION ERA VIDEO
Watch Patterson Hood discuss and perform 'Depression Era' from the film That Evening Sun. That Evening Sun is an amazing film that Patterson contributed original music for. The film won many film festivals around the world and is now making stops at theaters nationwide. Check out www.thateveningsun.com for more information about when it is playing near you.

Written and directed by Scott Teems, stars Hal Holbrook (Academy Award nominee for Into The Wild) and is co-produced and co-starring Ray McKinnon and Walton Goggins (The Accountant, Chrystal, Randy and the Mob).

Sign up for Patterson Hood's mailing list and get a free download of "Depression Era"!

Videos: Patterson Hood & the Screwtopians