1 post tagged “9/11”

The Drive-By Truckers released their epic double-CD "Southern Rock Opera five years ago today-the day after 9/11. Today group co-founder Patterson Hood sent out a cool email with his memories of that album's inauspicious debut, which I'm posting here in lieu of posting my own memories of 9/11/01, which I didn't last night due to the need to post yet more pictures of my cats.

Y'ALL:

It was five years ago today that we first released SOUTHERN ROCK OPERA.
September 12, 2001 was the second worst day imaginable to release a
project that we had all worked 6 1/2 years on and all of us feared that
it was all some kind of terrible omen. Wednesday's, of course are never
release days, as the industry ALWAYS releases albums on tuesdays,
however at that point in our lives, there was no industry. We had
showcased at SXSW before a sold out crowd, previewing our then almost
completed magnum opus before a sold out crowd of industry fucks to no
real avail. Folks kept coming up to us wishing us well and telling us
how much they liked it, but no one was making any offers of any kind. A
month or so later, we received our only bid, and it was so horrifyingly
bad, that upon doing the math, I realized that we would be bankrupt
within a year if we took it. (At that time all of our income was based
on merch sales and the wording of that offer combined with the high
wholesale price we would have paid, rendered that impossible). We
turned the offer down and set out to find a way to put it out
ourselves.

While raising the money from private investors (all of whom we promised
to pay back in a little over a years time plus 15%) I also booked our
fall tour, 75 shows in 90 days. The first booking was to be in
Murfreesboro TN on Wednesday September 12th. We were hoping to have the
CDs pressed, artwork printed and all of the package put together in
time. My sister took the artwork that Wes Freed did, compiled it with
the art of the other contributors (Felicia Graham, Patrick Hood, Byron
Wilkes AKA Rev. Rex Ubu, Jeff Owens, and Kathleen Judge), designed the
package and hired the printers and the folks who actually put the discs
in the cover and shrink wrap them. On monday the 10th, Lilla called me
to tell me I could pick them up in Birmingham on Wednesday.

On Tuesday the 11th,, we were all glued to the TV all day like most
Americans, terrified of what was happening and trying to reach friends
in NYC to make sure they were all OK. The next day we had to decide
whether there would be a show or not. The club informed us that they
would be open regardless, as folks were starting to come out for a much
needed drink and diversion. I think we were all feeling the same way,
so we headed north and spent the next three months or so touring the
eastern half of our beautiful shellshocked country.

Its been five years, three more albums and countless tours since then.
We leave this Thursday for the fall leg of our latest tour. The band
has never played better (or even as well) as right now and this one is
putting us in some amazing great rooms in some of our favorite towns.