Patterson Hood

Patterson Hood may have dedicated most of his time and effort to fronting and guiding the Drive-By Truckers through a roller-coaster of musical adventures over the last 12 years, but he loves to tangle with other musicians on various side projects as well. This year, while tracking his forthcoming solo record, Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance (due in September), he formed an Athens-centric backing band called the Downtown Rumblers.

“The Truckers winded things down this spring and took a much-needed hiatus,” Hood says. “The Downtown Rumblers is mostly Athens folks who are involved with the solo album. We’re doing a few shows to get warmed up for the official release.”

The Rumblers include three of his Truckers bandmates—drummer Brad Morgan, pedal steel guitarist John Neff and keyboardist Jay Gonzalez—along with studio wiz and bassist David Barbe, cellist Jacob Morris and multi-instrumentalist Claire Campbell (of Hope for Agoldensummer).

“Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance is very piano-based, so Jay is a heavy hitter on it,” Hood says. “I can’t play piano, so I just kind of play the general idea of a song on the guitar for him, and we build it around what he does. More than half of the record is like that.”

Last month, Hood and an abbreviated version of the Downtown Rumblers taped a Mountain Stage session in Charleston, WV. It aired on public radio on May 4. The full band will play a double header at the Melting Point this week.

“I can’t take everyone on the road with me for shows, but they will all be there for these gigs in Athens,” Hood says. “Jacob played quite a few shows with me and my dad this spring. Jacob is a phenomenal player. Claire will be back in town, so she’s playing some guitar and banjo, and she’ll sing, too. It’s great to have her up there. I told her to play and do whatever she liked. I love her playing, and I’m a huge fan of Hope for Agoldensummer. It’s good to get to play with Neff again, too. I’m a serial collaborator, so I love playing with all of these guys.”