Y’ALL:
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Returned home last night from my European / UK Tour. Really glad to be back with family in time for the holidays and glad to have a little sleep in my own bed and to recover from a very grueling but great three months.

Thanks to all the friends and fans who turned out for these shows, here and abroad. It was a truly amazing three tours.

Thanks to Will Johnson and Craig Finn for the fantastic shows and great times these last three weeks overseas. Will and I, of course, go way back as I have long been worlds biggest Centro-matic fan and he’s even played guitar in DBT when I injured my hand last year.

Craig and I have some history also, The Rock and Roll Means Well Tour back in 2008 between DBT and The Hold Steady was an all time highlight for us and this recent tour began with a lunch conversation between us last february.

Craig and Will were both incredible every single night. The stories, the songs, the voices and the banter were all top notch and I truly did have the best seat in the house every single night. (Between them). All of us have vowed to find a way to bring the show Stateside sometime next year.

I do have three more solo shows coming up before the end of the year. Playing at The Fabulous 40 Watt Club on December 8th w/ The Downtown Rumblers and special guest Don Chambers. Playing Thursday Dec 13 – Friday Dec. 14th in Nashville at The High Watt (in the Cannery Complex) w/ The Downtown Rumblers and special guests Hope For Agoldensummer. These will be my last shows for a while with this lineup of the band, as Page lives in Wisconsin and has her own album coming out soon (Dream Boat). Anyone who saw our shows in September and October can vouch of what a great band it is and I highly recommend your attendance if possible.

DBT also has some shows coming up. Our big New Years Eve three night blowout in DC is happening for a second year. We will be playing with Deer Tick on the 29th. They are a great band and it is a real treat finally getting to play with them. On the 30th we will be playing with Lee Fields who has one of my favorite albums of the year. Finally on the 31st, we play with our dear friends Luther and Cody Dickinson in The North Mississippi Allstars Duo. We have history with those gents dating back to our days in Adam’s House Cat (and theirs in DDT) but it’s a rare treat these days to get us all together and it will be a fantastic way to bring in 2013.

Finally, tickets are on sale for DBT’s annual Nuçi’s Space / 40 Watt Club Homecoming Weekend. January 17th – 19th. We have a stellar lineup of special guests to kick things off this time and it promises to be one of the best years yet. We have three Nuçi related bands this year. THUNDERCRACK, which was our crew’s entry into last years Athens Business Rocks competition. Our own Matt Defilippis channeling his inner Springsteen for an action packed set of E Street Favorites. Followed by Nuçi Space’s own stellar band who will be performing a southern soul music tribute. Of course on saturday we will have the Camp Amped Band comprised of players from this past year’s Camp Amped program. Additionally, we have Grass Giraffe playing on friday. They are one of my very favorite bands in Athens and I have wanted them for the past two years and am thrilled to finally get to have them on the bill. Saturday will also have Valocirapture. A band I’ve been watching for a couple of years that has gotten to be very stellar. They are fronted by Winston Barbe, who if I remember correctly was in our very first Camp Amped Band a few years ago. Tickets are on sale now and going fast.

Have a great and safe holiday and I look forward to seeing you at The Rock Show.

Sincerely, Patterson Hood

Drive-By Truckers