Drive By Truckers have a model year

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 20, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Jason Thrasher

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Drive By Truckers are no strangers to rave reviews, but Brighter Than Creation's Dark catapults them from Athens, Ga., band to new levels of acclaim. And it comes after a year when they could have broken up af- ter losing songwriter Jason Isbell. In- stead, they were nominated for a blues Grammy for backing Bettye LaVette on The Scene of the Crime. Their literate, Southern roots rock expands on the album, finding a con- fident new voice and sound. Guitarist-songwriter Mike Cooley recently spoke with Rocky pop music writer Mark Brown by phone from his home.

How seriously did you consider disbanding after Jason left?

We didn't really go too far down that route of breaking up the band. We worked this hard and we're mak- ing a living now; my Maserati doesn't do 185, but my Toyota is paid for. We needed to figure out what we're going to do. This record became it.

How did you write so many songs this time?

When we came off the road and had a good amount of time not tour- ing, that had more to do with the creative streak than anything. . . . I've been really dried up for a long time, and it started to really bug me. What we would do is tour, come home, tour, come home. Every time you come home you've got your per- sonal stuff to catch up on. By the time I'd get things to a manageable level at home, we'd hit the road again.

How did you get the elegant, atmospheric sounds on songs like Monument Valley?

One of the things I'm most proud of on the record is that those kinds of sounds sound a lot more relaxed and less forced than in the past when we've tried to shift in those lower gears. We did a lot of touring using acoustic guitars. . . . We were a lot more prepared to shift into different sounds.

You've done concept albums in the past. On this album there's this sense of hanging on just for the sake of hanging on, even if things don't make sense. True?

Right. I think you end up writing a concept album if you want to or not. If you write more than one song in the same month, you're probably in the same frame of mind. We all live the same lifestyles. It stands to reason we'll come from a similar point of view.

Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife and You and Your Crystal Meth are harrowing songs about lives going completely off the rails.

(Crystal Meth) was done a long time ago. It was left over from one of the previous records. It's a crazy, haunting song that didn't fit on any of the records before. It definitely ties in with the 'That could have been me' thing with the rest of the record.

What's it like working with keyboard legend Spooner Oldham?

It's been life-changing and career highlights for all of us. Spooner was on a couple of songs on (2003's) Decoration Day. We had him in the studio for one day. We had him on the Bettye LaVette record. . . . He's kinda been a member of the band ever since. He's great on every level. . . . He's just one of the most decent human beings I've met. He's had this amazing career and not one ounce of arrogance or pretension. . . . It really keeps you in check. If you start acting like a rock-star (expletive) you look at Spooner and say, 'I need to behave myself.'

Are you enjoying this moment in time: your best album, the most success and fun you've had?

It's been a great year. I've had great years before and I've managed to top them. So I have to top this, too. I think we grew up some, and not in a bad way. This record has been referred to as more mature, and it makes me uncomfortable just to use that word. But it's accurate. We grew up in some ways that made us better, not older.

Brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2674

Drive By Truckers

* When and where: 9 p.m. Friday, Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave.

* Cost: $25

* Information: 303-830-8497

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