Over the years, the Drive-By Truckers' seemingly nonstop touring and recording schedule has become as much a part of the band's identity as the spirited Southern rock that has long pulsed through its veins. But recently, that identity has shifted. With last year's Go-Go Boots, the Truckers tamed the rock and roll beast, instead steering toward the soulful sounds of their North Alabama heritage.

With slower music came a slower pace. After the Go-Go Boots tour (the last bit of which saw the band short a longtime member in bassist Shonna Tucker, who left the Truckers abruptly in December), things came to a halt.

"We've been on the road, essentially nonstop, since '96," says frontman Patterson Hood. "We all have families, and we've just been on the road too long. I don't want it to get where it's not fun, and not special."

Road-worn and creatively weary, the Truckers decided to take it easy. But radio silence didn't mean inaction. For Hood, a born songwriter, time apart from the band meant space to pursue other endeavors. On Sept. 11, he will release his first solo album in three years, the literarily titled Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance, a new collection of vibrant, gothic country-rock.

"[I]t's totally different with the solo project," he says. "It's a different band, a different energy. In a lot of ways, it's harder work for me 'cause I'm doing more heavy lifting. I don't have [guitarists Mike] Cooley on one side and [John] Neff on the other."

And of course, there was "After It's Gone," the geographical love letter/ big-box protest tune Hood recorded with his hastily assembled group The Downtown 13. ("It was a really special weekend," Hood says about the session, which featured Mike Mills, John Bell and Lera Lynn.) The song, written in response to a planned downtown Walmart, made national headlines and sparked a vital discussion about the threat of cultural homogenization.

"I love downtown Athens," Hood explains. "We've got something really special and really unique here, and I think putting something of that size and that scale right in the middle of what we've already got [would] really disrupt a delicate balance."

The Truckers' love for their adopted hometown is obvious. Hiatus be damned, they will set up shop this weekend for their annual local multi-night stand. Once a 40 Watt staple, this year will be the second in a row that the revitalized Georgia Theatre plays host. But the yearly event does more than just energize the townies; it also exposes Athens to a slew of eager outsiders.

"Probably 75 percent of the audience at those shows comes in from out of town," says Hood. "And those people fall in love with [Athens]. We're the excuse for coming, maybe, but it's become more than that."

Regardless of that bit of modesty, the Truckers' storied show ain't a half-bad reason for folks to come to town.

"Us having a little bit of time off has only really made it better," Hood says. "It's like running a marathon while you're singing, 'cause it's pretty high-energy. Once you get up there, it's like an explosion of chaos. We don't do a set-list. You never really know where it's gonna go, or what it's gonna do."

Likewise, where it goes from here is somewhat of a mystery, even to those involved. Hood will embark on a solo tour in September with local folkie favorites Hope for Agoldensummer along for about a month. But what of the Truckers? Despite this relative flurry of activity, Hood says, the band's future is still largely uncertain.

"I don't really wanna tour much until we make another record, and I don't know when that's gonna be."

Still, as the indefinable underlying uniqueness of Athens will endure even in the face of a thousand Walmarts, fans and friends can take comfort in the fact that the Drive-By Truckers will undoubtedly rebel against indefinite stagnation. "I don't know when the Truckers will be making another record," Hood says. "But we will. We definitely will. I've got some pretty good songs here."

Read our entire interview with Patterson Hood over on Homedrone.