Drive-By Truckers sign new deal, slate new CD for March

"The Big To-Do" will be out March 16, 2010 as the group's 10th CD in 13 years. Long-time producer David Barbe (Sugar, Bettye LaVette) was at the helm again for the 13 songs. "It's very much a rock album," said Patterson Hood of the Trucker's upcoming release. "Very melodic and more rocking than anything we've done since disc 2 of 'Southern Rock Opera.'"

The inspiration for The Big To-Do came to the band during their time on the road. "We've often set our songs and albums in different periods of time, but this one finds us directly in our present. Riding all through the highways of America (and Europe) trying to make sense of a very different world than the one we grew up in," said Hood. "I don't write a lot of songs on the road, but I did more than usual on this album and many more were inspired by or set there, either in a literal sense or something I witnessed or heard about while I was out there."

Hood and Mike Cooley continue to be the chief songwriters of the group, continuing a musical partnership that has lasted more than 23 years. Bassist, Shonna Tucker, flexes her songwriting muscles once again by contributing two original songs. Brad Morgan (drums), John Neff (guitar/pedal steel) and Jay Gonzalez (keyboards) round out the current Drive-By Truckers lineup.

Songs on the CD are:
1. Daddy Learned to Fly
2. The Fourth Night of My Drinking
3. Birthday Boy
4. Drag the Lake Charlie
5. The Wig He Made Her Wear
6. You Got Another
7. This Fucking Job
8. Get Downtown
9. After the Scene Dies
10. (It's Gonna Be) I Told You So
11. Santa Fe
12. The Flying Wallendas
13. Eyes Like Glue
14. Girls Who Smoke (Bonus track - vinyl only)

The Drive-By Truckers will be hitting the road at the beginning of the new year. A full tour supporting "The Big To-Do" will be announced in early 2010. Current tour dates are:
Jan. 28 Huntsville, AL Crossroads Music Hall
Jan. 29 Mobile, AL Soul Kitchen
Jan. 30 Tuscaloosa, AL Jupiter Bar & Grill
Feb. 11 Greenville, SC Handlebar
Feb. 12 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
Feb. 13 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
Feb. 14 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theatre
Feb. 25 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre
Feb. 26-27 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theatre