Oui bien sr , quand je dis que c ' est lui le responsable je pense au fait qu ' il ait chop le sida , qu ' il ait souffert psychologiquement , etc . <| sep |> DriveBy Truckers artist picimg 2 . akamaized . netiu 252 a 9 d 3 c 5 d 19801461 f 86 a 8 b 9 ed 5 ff 05 ac 4 . png DriveBy Truckers are an alternative country band which formed in Athens , Georgia , United States in 1996 . Currently , the band consists of Patterson Hood vocals , guitar , Mike Cooley vocals , guitar , David Barbe bass , John Neff guitar , Jay Gonzalez keyboards and Brad Morgan drums . Cooley and Hood are the only original members of the band remaining . Among the band ' s former members are Jason Isbell vocals , guitar who left the band in 2007 , and Shonna Tucker bass , vocals who left the band in 2011 . Noteworthy for their three guitars lineup , the ' Truckers ' are often associated with the Southern rock movement of the 70 s and jam bands but are too cerebral and irreverent to sit squarely in either genre . Their lyrics often revolve around the working class trying to survive in economicallydepressed small towns of the South . Cofounded by Patterson Hood son of bassist David Hood of the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and longtime friend and musical partner Mike Cooley in Athens , Georgia , in 1996 . The two men had played in various other bands including Adam ' s House Cat which was chosen as a top ten Best Unsigned Band by a Musician contest in the late 1980 s . Together with a revolving group of musicians , DriveBy Truckers put out their first two albums , Gangstabilly 1998 and Pizza Deliverance 1999 . Following their second release , the band embarked on a nationwide tour , resulting in a live album called Alabama Ass Whuppin ' released in 2000 by Second Heaven Records , rereleased in 2002 by Terminus Records . They had an entertaining and informational website long before most bands had begun taking advantage of the internet as a promotional tool , and together with constant touring , they quickly developed a large and dedicated fan base both on and offline . After three years on the road a tightknit group of musicians emerged and they began work on 2001 ' s Southern Rock Opera . Southern Rock Opera is a double album executed as a song cycle . The album loosely uses the rise and literal fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd as a metaphor for the culture of the American South . Self released on their own Soul Dump Records on September 12 , 2001 , Southern Rock Opera , quickly accumulated praise from fans and critics alike , including a fourstar review in Rolling Stone . To take advantage of the positive reception , Southern Rock Opera was reissued by Mercury and Lost Highway Records in July 2002 . Soon after , DriveBy Truckers were named Band of the Year by No Depression . Before they could record a followup to Southern Rock Opera , guitarist Rob Malone left and was replaced guitarist and songwriter , Jason Isbell . Originally from Greenhill , Alabama , during his five years with DriveBy Truckers , Isbell contributed a number of significant songs to the albums he worked on . Due to changes at Lost Highway , the Truckers were released from their contract and signed with Austinbased record label New West , for the followup to Southern Rock Opera , 2003 ' s Decoration Day . Like its predecessor , the album received broad praise from fans and critics alike . Although it isn ' t a concept album , the songs of Decoration Day explore a common theme of hard decisions in the context of marriage , incest , breakups , revenge , murder , and suicide are major themes . After years of producing and playing with DriveBy Truckers , bassist Earl Hicks left the band on December 22 , 2003 . Hicks was immediately replaced by studio bassist Shonna Tucker , then wife of guitarist Jason Isbell . Tucker had previously guested on Decoration Day playing upright bass on the Cooleypenned track , Sounds Better in the Song . In 2004 , DriveBy Truckers released The Dirty South . Like Southern Rock Opera , The Dirty South was a concept album . The Dirty South further explored the mythology of the South , with songs focusing on Sam Phillips and the Sun Records crowd , John Henry and his hammer , and a threesong suite about Sheriff Buford Pusser . After touring throughout 2004 and 2005 , DriveBy Truckers found their way to the Fidelitorium Recording Studio in Forsyth County , North Carolina during late 2005 . These recording sessions , once again produced by David Barbe , resulted in the band ' s seventh LP , A Blessing and a Curse . Released on April 18 , 2006 , A Blessing and a Curse showcased DriveBy Truckers ' ability to branch out into new territory , and can be seen as the band ' s attempt at shaking labeling by critics , detractors , fans , and followers , particularly the Southern rock label that has haunted the band since Southern Rock Opera . The album sounds less like Skynyrd , and more closely resembles the barebones British rock of the early 1970 s such as The Rolling Stones and Faces . Tom Petty ' s influence on the band ' s sound is more prominent on this album as well . In 2006 , DriveBy Truckers reunited , both onstage and onrecord , with Athensbased pedal steel guitarist , John Neff . Neff first played with the band on their 1998 debut LP , Gangstabilly , and played pedal steel on three subsequent albums , 1999 ' s Pizza Deliverance , and 2003 ' s Decoration Day . Neff was featured heavily on the 2006 release , A Blessing and a Curse . During the next year , Neff began touring with the band as an unofficial sixth member . On April 5 , 2007 Jason Isbell announced that he was no longer a member of the band . The following day , Patterson Hood confirmed the break on the official site . In his letter to the fans , Hood described the parting of ways as amicable and expressed the hope that fans would continue to support DriveBy Truckers as well as Jason ' s solo efforts . In the same letter , Hood announced that John Neff would become a fulltime member playing both guitar and pedal steel . Shortly after Isbell ' s departure , on April 20 , 2007 , Patterson Hood announced via the band ' s website that a longtime friend of The Hood Family , Spooner Oldham , would be joining the band playing keyboard for a string of acoustic performances called The Dirt Underneath Tour . DriveBy Truckers performed as backup musicians for Bettye LaVette ' s 2007 album , The Scene of the Crime . The album went to # 1 on Billboard ' s Blues Chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album . Partly as a result of this collaboration , the Truckers went on to act as the backing band for Booker T Jones for his first recording in more than a decade . The album , Potato Hole , was well received by critics and it resulted in numerous shows together . On January 22 , 2008 , the DriveBy Truckers ' eighth album , Brighter Than Creation ' s Dark named after a line in a Cooley song entitled Checkout Time in Vegas , was released in the US and went to # 37 on the Billboard 200 album charts . Once again , David Barbe produced the album and artist Wes Freed provided the artwork . The album has nineteen tracks and features the first song contributions from bassist Shonna Tucker . The band ' s ninth album The Big ToDo was issued on March 26 , 2010 on ATO Records , the label founded by Dave Matthews and home to such artists as My Morning Jacket , Radiohead , The Whigs and Brendan Benson . Read more on Last . fm . ByTruckers 247 , 994 listeners , 6 , 765 , 937 plays tags Altcountry , Southern Rock , rock , americana , seen live Please downvote if incorrect ! Selfdeletes if score is 0 .