Family.
The word “family” is applied to many bands but oftentimes isn’t much deeper than lot swag or a drunk fratboy’s “I love you, man” hug.
But in the case of the Drive-By Truckers, the family is real. The Truckers themselves will tell you: beyond the core band (guitarists Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, and John Neff; drummer Brad Morgan; bassist Shonna Tucker; and keyboardist Jay Gonzalez), it’s a family effort that keeps things rolling. Some are family by blood or marriage; others crossed paths with the Truckers and their music at some point and couldn’t turn away. In the end, it’s the efforts of all that define the band’s sound, vibe, and soul. We’ve chosen some key DBT family members and are sharing our conversations with them.
As distinctive and easily-recognizable as Stanley Mouse’s artwork for the Dead was – and in the same way that a Phish show is not a Phish show unless it has a Jim Pollock poster touting it – artist Wes Freed’s album covers and posters have become part of who the Truckers are.
As Paul Languedoc is to Phish and Doug Irwin was to the Grateful Dead, the Truckers have guitar builder Scott Baxendale.
Eddie Kramer was the man who knew how to capture Jimi Hendrix’ sound in the studio without taming it. Tom Dowd was key to the classic Allman Brothers’ recorded history. And the Truckers have David Barbe.
David Barbe
David Barbe’s relationship with the Drive-By Truckers is a unique one, as he’s contributed to their music in a number of different ways over the years. He’s the man responsible for the sound and vibe of the Truckers’ albums dating back to Alabama Ass Whuppin’, their out-of-print live nugget from the early days. In the conversation that follows, Barbe explains the “just roll tape” approach that he and the band relish and has served them well.
At the same time, Barbe has been known to strap on a guitar, sit down at a keyboard, or wield a bass to contribute to the Truckers’ music as needed – both in the studio and on the stage. In fact, when longtime DBT bassist Shonna Tucker announced she was leaving the band back in early December, it was Barbe that stepped up the plate for the band’s subsequent live performances, including their recent 3-night “Homecoming” stand at the 40 Watt in Athens, GA. (It is expected that a different bassist will be on hand for the band’s shows in March, but as of early February there has been no formal announcement.)
Since opening Chase Park Transduction studios with partners Andy LeMaster and Andy Baker in 1997, Barbe has worked with artists way too numerous to mention. (You could start with Jerry Joseph, REM, Bob Mould, and Son Volt – and then add a few hundred or so others.) He’s also made his own music over the years with bands that include the Quick Hooks, Mercyland, Sugar, and Buzz Hungry – playing guitar, bass, writing, and singing. Barbe’s most recent musical collaboration is with DBT’s Patterson Hood and The Downtown 13, recording a just-released single, “After It’s Gone” in an effort to raise awareness to help stave off Wal-Mart from moving into downtown Athens.
Of course, that’s when he’s not busy in his role as the director of the Music Business Certificate Program at the University of Georgia (UGA).
Or – most importantly of all – enjoying life with his wife Amy and their three children.
David was gracious enough to share a few minutes of his time to talk with Jambands.com about his role in the Drive-By Truckers’ family and how his relationship with the band came to be.
BR: Thank you so much for making the time to do this, David. I know your days are full and you’re probably right in the middle of something as we speak.
DB: Well, I’m actually here at the university, reading some students’ papers and listening to Miles Davis’ Sketches Of Spain that I just bought. I always try to spend money locally – at the record store; at the club; wherever. I could get a lot of free stuff if I wanted to, but I always try to spend a few bucks in the local music community … if we don’t all do that, we’re not going to have a music community any more.
BR: Ain’t that the truth. Well, I do appreciate having a few minutes to chat. When I think about all you have going on with the Music Business Program there at UGA, your music career – both as a producer and an artist yourself – and raising a family … there’s nothing average about your average week, is there?
DB: Nothing average about it at all. (laughs) I work a lot at everything – but I’m lucky to have so many great opportunities. For the last year or so, what I’ve done is just try to juggle it all the best that I can.
During the summer and during Christmas break, I’m way, way focused on being in the studio. And then during the academic year, I spend more time at UGA, which is still related to the music, of course. It’s a lot, but it’s a lot of great stuff. I just make it work.
I don’t sleep much, but I never really have. My wife Amy is incredibly patient. We stated dating 27 years ago, so she’s just used to living with me; I’ve always got something going on. I coached Little League for 10 years and I’m really into that.
I like living, man – there’s a lot to do; no shortage of it. But when the opportunity comes up, making Drive-By Truckers records is pretty much one of my absolute favorite things to do in the entire world. I can always make time for them.
Barbe on bass with Patterson Hood & The Downtown 13
BR: Nice segue to the Truckers – you’re good at this. (laughter) I’m guessing you might have crossed paths with some of the Truckers themselves before you got into their music.
DB: Well, yes – sort of. I knew Patterson as a soundman in a club here in town called the High Hat. The guys at the bar told me, “You ought to come and check out Patterson sometime when he’s playing – he’s really good.”
And I thought, “Well, sure – he seems like a cool guy; I’m sure his songs are good.” When I heard him play, I was immediately impressed.
BR: Do you remember anything in particular that Patterson played that first time you saw him?
DB: No, but I’m sure there were some Truckers’ songs in there. This would’ve been in ’96 or so, and Patterson was always talking about his band. Even before he had the band together, he still had a vision – a really clear idea of what it was that he wanted to start.
The first time that I saw the Truckers, it was Patterson and Mike Cooley on guitars; Barry Sell on mandolin; Adam Howell on the bass; and Matt Lane playing the drums. Cooley had on a white t-shirt that was, like, two sizes too big for any person he’s related to and had a fresh, super short buzz cut. I remember watching him play and thinking, “This guy looks like he either just escaped from prison or the lunatic asylum.” That was my first impression of Mike Cooley – and at the same time, he was really, really good.
We finally got to know each other about the time that they were getting the band together.
BR: How did that evolve into you doing production work for the Truckers?
DB: Well, they recorded their first album – Gangstabilly – at Chase Park, but with Andy Baker and Andy LeMaster producing. Patterson hung drywall when they were building Chase Park to earn credit for studio time to make the record.
The next album was Pizza Deliverance – and that was another case where Patterson had a clear vision of what it was going to be and talked about as if it were done before they ever recorded it. They recorded Pizza Deliverance themselves at Patterson’s house and then Andy LeMaster, who’s still my studio partner, mixed it at Chase Park.
In the case of both of those records, I was around some while they were doing them, but I didn’t actually work on the records myself. I would kind of listen and tell them what I thought about things if they wanted to know, but the Truckers just happened to be working with those guys at the time, and I was busy with other bands.
When they recorded Southern Rock Opera, the Truckers went over to Alabama and tracked the music in a building owned by … I think it was Cooley’s wife’s family, maybe? While they were doing that, Patterson would play tracks to me here and there. In the meanwhile, they had recorded a live album, Alabama Ass Whuppin’, and they asked me, “Hey, how would you feel about mixing this?”
I loved the band and loved those guys, so I said, “Sure – of course!”
I did the mix and they really liked it a lot. I remember they stopped by the studio one night when they were about to leave on tour and it was one of the first times I can ever remember having much of an individual conversation with Cooley. I mean, we knew each other, but I knew Patterson a lot better.
I remember we played to the album for a little bit and Cooley said, “I’ve been listening and you made the guitars sound really good.”
And I was like, “All right – great! I really appreciate that.”
Mixing that live album is what I think convinced them that they could really use somebody outside to make and mix their records for them. That’s when they asked me to get involved mixing Southern Rock Opera. That’s the album that got them signed to their first proper record deal and as a result of that, they then had a budget to make a full-blown record in a real live studio. That’s when we did Decoration Day pillar-to-post at Chase Park.
The Dirty South came next: we started at Chase Park, went down to Muscle Shoals and did part of it at FAME, then came back to Chase Park to finish. We had John Agnello come in to help mix with a set of fresh ears. A Blessing And A Curse was done the same way: we started tracking at Chase Park; did the bulk of the record at Fidelitorium in Kernersville, NC; then came back to Athens and finished it at Chase Park.
By the time we were starting Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, we realized that we really loved the way that Decoration Day sounded with just me and them at Chase Park, the whole way. And that’s how we’ve done everything since then.
That’s the not-so-brief history of my recording history with the Drive-By Truckers. (laughter)
Barbe with the Truckers on Letterman
BR: So how do you approach an album of tunes? How much time do you spend listening to demos or song ideas before you actually start rolling tape?
DB: Not too much. I mean, I’ll listen to anything they send me. Patterson will e-mail me a long way in advance with what he’s got going on and we’ll spend a little time working with the demos … but the Truckers really like to capture that moment where everybody almost knows what to do – which is a pretty special moment.
It’s usually the take where somebody says, “Okay – that feels good; let’s record it.” You probably should’ve recorded the one before that, because that’s the one where they’re not as self-conscious. The Truckers understand that and they really value it; so we’ll jump into recording early on.
Some people have a real hard time understanding that part of what takes so long is the band wanting to capture what happens early on. We don’t go half-assed into things and then try to make a record out of it; we basically set it up so that everything counts – all the time. You never know what you’re going to get.
There are things like “Do It Yourself” – that’s the practice take; the learning take of that song. About halfway through, I was about to adjust the mic level and I caught myself – “This is pretty good.” They had to punch in the bass and the guitar on the bridge; everything else is as it went down on the practice take of that song. “Pin Hits The Shell” is a scratch vocal. “Lisa’s Birthday” – that’s everybody live on one of the first passes. The song “Go-Go Boots” is a real early run-through of that.
There are other ones – like “Two Daughters And A Beautiful Wife”, which was built off of a demo we did at the studio with Patterson standing there, playing guitar. We do a lot of things where the quick demo we make of a song is so cool that it’s like, “Let’s see what we can do with this.”
“I Hear You Hummin’” was recorded with one microphone in the room. We just work in a different way than everybody else does.
BR: Any time in particular that sticks in your mind where an arrangement ended up being totally different than what Patterson or Cooley brought to the table?
DB: Oh, yeah – “Buford Stuck” is the perfect example. We had the weirdest thing where the reverb return or something was way up from the studio, so I couldn’t really hear Patterson playing. “Buford Stick” was more like a two-step country song when he was playing it, but I heard it wrong – all I was hearing was the reverb or something and it was completely different. I ran out of the control room: “Hey – check this out!” I played it for Patterson the way I had heard him playing for me, okay? And Patterson’s reaction was, “Hey – that’s cool. Let’s play it like that.”
Another one was “Aftermath USA” – we were in North Carolina working on A Blessing and A Curse and that wasn’t even a song. The band came in to work on something else and just jammed for maybe a couple of minutes. I came in the next morning to listen to what we’d done the day before, heard this little 40-second jam come up, and thought, “Hey – that’s pretty cool!” So I spent maybe 30 minutes putting this thing together and rearranging it a little bit. I played it for the band, when they came in and they said, (long pause) “That’s great … what is it?” (laughter)
And I said, “It’s you guys, yesterday afternoon.”
And they were like, “When did we do that? ”
“It was just a little jam you did – but I’m telling you: write some words, come up with a bridge, and you’ve got a song.” And, of course Patterson did – and there you go.
But, yeah – they’re pretty open to my ideas.
BR: You have also contributed musically – everything from jumping in on bass when Shonna was going to take a vocal to beating out a rhythm on a mic stand. Who has made the decisions in the past for you to get involved on that side of the glass, as well?
DB: Everybody. It’s just one of those things: sometimes it’ll be somebody else’s idea; or I’m at the point where I’m perfectly comfortable with saying, “Hey, here’s an idea, how about if I …”
But usually it’s at their request. For instance, on Shonna’s song “Dancin’ Ricky”, she was going to play the piano, so she said, “Well, maybe you should just play the bass on this.” And, of course, I love to play the bass, so you won’t have to twist my arm … (laughter)
BR: You also play a pretty mean six-string, as well. One of the band’s highlights for 2011 was their appearance on David Letterman’s show with you sitting in on guitar for “Everybody Needs Love”. Watching the video, it sure looked to me like Letterman’s request for the Truckers to do an encore at the end took you all by surprise.
DB: Oh, for sure – we weren’t expecting that. Plus, Patterson couldn’t hear Letterman coming out of the monitors very well, so he wasn’t sure just what was going on.
The way that appearance came about was, Letterman heard “Everybody Needs Love” on the radio and called into his office: “We need to get these guys back on the show – this song is great.” It was his request that they come on the show and play that song. I was going to come along just to watch and tape, but Patterson said, “Hey, as long as you’re coming up here, why don’t you play guitar with us, too?”
But, yeah – that was genuine moment for Letterman to ask us to do an encore; we didn’t discuss it in advance or anything. We were very much surprised and flattered that he asked us to do it.
BR: On the clip I’ve seen, Patterson looks like he’s just been hit in the head with a 2×4 when he realizes what Letterman’s asking. Cooley leans over to you and it looks like the two of you were trying to figure out what to do – in a second and half. (laughter) And then Patterson launches into the chorus a cappella and the song takes back off into a beautiful jam.
DB: I don’t remember exactly what was said, but it was probably something like, “What are we doing?” “Well, we’ll figure it out …” (laughter)
It’s one of those things that I like about working with the Truckers – they’re pretty good on their feet. Patterson started singing and we just knew what to do.
BR: David, I think I know what you’re going to say, but I’m going to ask you regardless: do you have a favorite Trucker project out of all you’ve done together so far?
DB: Honestly, it’s whatever I’m working on with them at the time, man. I love ‘em like I can’t tell you.
