The Dexateens roar back with whumpin' live album

Elliott McPherson and his Dexateens crew fortunately had David Barbe record their Heathens Homecoming show in Athens, GA back in February. 

Here's the scoop...
Hailing from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, The Dexateens have built an institution from their fiery brand of punk and roll. Since 1998, as one line-up or another, they’ve left jaws agape and arms akimbo as if some kind of inadvertent hypnotism has occurred. Their first two releases, a self-titled southern punk masterpiece lovingly known as “Headphones” and their sophomore effort Red Dust Rising both came out on the legendary Estrus Records label.

Since then the band has amassed an impressive discography penned largely by bandleader Elliott McPherson. 2009’s Singlewide marks the last time songwriter and original lead guitarist John Smith worked with the band in studio. The acoustic balladry of that release along with changes to the lineup opened up fresh studio approaches while live shows remained unhinged.

The sum of their parts, a bottling of rock’s essence, they keep it locked and loaded – A Voltron-esque band of brothers with several powerful conjoining pieces that can form at any time, in any variation, to wreak audible havoc on anyone and everyone within striking distance.

This past Febuary 13th the band kicked off the Drive-By Truckers’ annual Heathens Homecoming at the legendary 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. The line-up was almost back to basics with founding songwriters Smith and McPherson on guitars and vocals, original bassist Matt Patton (also with DBT) and the great Brian Gosdin (2007-present) on the trap kit.  This is one of the few times McPherson and Smith have played together in the past 10 years. The results are impeccable and it waves the spear for how deep the roots of “bandhood” can be – an unrehearsed recall of Smith-era highlights and less expected audibles.

Thankfully, Athens producer David Barbe (Sugar, Drive-By Truckers), had his mobile rig humming to catch this show in all its glory. The tracks were then brilliantly mixed and mastered by Barbe at his Chase Park Transduction studio. Barbe previously co-produced The Dexateens' Hardwire Healing along with DBT’s Patterson Hood.

The Dexateens' Live from Athens, GA - Heathens Homecoming 2020 is a Cornelius Chapel Records release, and it will be a Bandcamp only release made available on July 3rd. A phenomenal representation of barebones rock’n’roll. Pre-order it right here.

Truckers' Big To-do

The Drive-By Truckers played their fifth annual Athens homecoming shows at the 40 Watt Club on January 14, 15 and 16 where they hauled out some old faves, previewed new tunes from their forthcoming 10th album, The Big To-Do (due from ATO on March 16).
Singer/songwriter Patterson Hood says the David Barbe-produced recording is "more rocking than anything we've done since disc 2 of Southern Rock Opera" which is saying a lot. During the three-night stand, the Truckers were joined by Barbe to pay tribute to their pal Vic Chesnutt as well as Eddie Hinton which also brought out Hood's father, legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section bassist David Hood for two songs.
Before the 40 Watt gigs, Patterson Hood promised that the shows would be uplifting, stating on the Truckers blog "I'm planning on kicking off our first show of the decade with the most life affirming songs I can find." And true to his word, the Truckers kicked out the jams in celebratory fashion for three nights straight. The shows were documented with the band's permission by Southern Shelter (www.southernshelter.com) using a pair of Neumann KM-184 microphones and a Sony PCM-D50 recorder.

Drive-By Truckers @ 40 Watt, January 14, 2010

Track 1 – Used To Be A Cop
Track 2 – The Living Bubba
Track 3 – Women Without Whiskey
Track 4 – Sink Hole
Track 5 – Carl Perkins’ Cadillac
Track 6 – When I Ran Off And Left Her
Track 7 – Play It All Night Long
Track 8 – Birthday Boy
Track 9 – Girls Who Smoke
Track 10 – Dead Drunk And Naked
Track 11 – Guitar Man Upstairs
Track 12 – Home Field Advantage
Track 13 – This Fucking Job
Track 14 – Loaded Gun In The Closet
Track 15 – The Wig He Made Her Wear
Track 16 – Drag The Lake Charlie
Track 17 – 3 Dimes Down
Track 18 – Hell No I Ain’t Happy
Track 19 – The Flying Wallendas
Track 20 – E:) You Got Another [w/ David Barbe - bass]
Track 21 – Puttin’ People On The Moon
Track 22 – Zip City
Track 23 – Let There Be Rock[w/ David Barbe - guitar, Todd McBride  - vocal]
Track 24 – People Who Died

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Drive-By Truckers @ 40 Watt, January 15, 2010
Track 1 – After The Scene Dies
Track 2 – The Fourth Night Of My Drinking
Track 3 – Birthday Boy
Track 4 – Girls Who Smoke
Track 5 – Home Field Advantage
Track 6 – Lookout Mountain
Track 7 – 3 Dimes Down
Track 8 – The Company I Keep
Track 9 – Where The Devil Don’t Stay
Track 10 – Play It All Night Long
Track 11 – Where’s Eddie [w/ David Hood - bass]
Track 12 – Everybody Needs Love [w/ David Hood - bass]
Track 13 – Santa Fe
Track 14 – Women Without Whiskey
Track 15 – Feb 14
Track 16 – Get Downtown
Track 17 – (It’s Gonna Be) I Told You So
Track 18 – The Flying Wallendas
Track 19 – E:) You Got Another [w/ David Barbe - bass]
Track 20 – Dancing Ricky [w/ David Barbe - bass]
Track 21 – A World Of Hurt
Track 22 – Zip City
Track 23 – Puttin’ People On The Moon
Track 24 – E2:) Rockin’ In The Free World [w/ David Barbe - guitar]
Track 25 – People Who Died [w/ David Barbe - guitar, Damon Scott - guitar]

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Drive-By Truckers @ 40 Watt, January 16, 2010
Track 1 – The Fourth Night Of My Drinking
Track 2 – Daddy Learned To Fly
Track 3 – Birthday Boy
Track 4 – Girls Who Smoke
Track 5 – Home Field Advantage
Track 6 – Ronnie And Neil
Track 7 – Self Destructive Zones
Track 8 – Hell No I Ain’t Happy
Track 9 – Get Downtown
Track 10 – (It’s Gonna Be) I Told You So
Track 11 – After The Scene Dies
Track 12 – Loaded Gun In The Closet
Track 13 – The Wig He Made Her Wear
Track 14 -  Drag The Lake Charlie
Track 15 – Marry Me [w/ Clay Leverett - vocal]
Track 16 – Let There Be Rock [w/ Todd McBride - guitar, vocal]
Track 17 – Where’s Eddie [w/ David Hood - bass]
Track 18 – Everybody Needs Love [w/ David Hood - bass]
Track 19 – Keep On Smilin’ [w/ Mike Dillon - vocal, Kelvin Holly - guitar]
Track 20 – The Flying Wallendas
Track 21 – E:) You Got Another [w/ David Barbe - bass]
Track 22 – Puttin’ People On The Moon
Track 23 – Shut Up And Get On The Plane
Track 23 – People Who Died [w/ David Barbe - guitar]

Download MP3