Isbell's NY Times article

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NYTimes Magazine article re: Jason and the Drive-By Truckers

Post by colodogdoc »

Great article from the NY Times Magazine about Jason. Thought it belonged here in the band thread as opposed to the Former Band Members thread, but move it if necessary, Mods. Covers his departure from the band, several quotes from Patterson. Very complementary of Jason's new album and of the DBT's. Great read.

"If you want to know how to cure a hangover, ask a musician, especially one who has recently been in rehab. “Pedialyte, that’s what you need,” Jason Isbell told me. He was standing outside a recording studio in suburban Nashville, lighting a cigarette. “It’s the stuff you give kids who are dehydrated from diarrhea. It’s like 10 Gatorades in one bottle.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/magaz ... ed=1&_r=3&
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Isbell's NY Times article

Post by rlipps »

Here's a very good article about Jason from the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/magaz ... ed=1&_r=2&

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Re: NYTimes Magazine article re: Jason and the Drive-By Truc

Post by brett27295 »

"What followed was an unhappy period of wandering. He made a few mediocre solo records. He became bloated from drinking."

What? A few mediocre solo records? Really? That's an odd choice of words. I wonder what criteria the writer used to decide his solo records were "mediocre"?

Other than that one line it's a fantastic article.
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by gepman »

Thanks for the link.

Wow, where to start?? So much good information in this article...

On Jason leaving the DBT's:
>>But the reality was more complicated. Hood called Isbell and suggested he take some time off and get his life together. Isbell replied that if the band was going to tour under the name Drive-By Truckers, he wasn’t going to miss even one show. Cooley then called Isbell and said, as Isbell recalls, “that isn’t going to work for us.” He was forced out. “It was heartbreaking,” Isbell says. “I couldn’t picture what I was going to do. But now I can’t picture things having gone differently. I love those guys, but I’m glad I’m not playing with them anymore. I think they’re glad of it, too.”<<

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Re: NYTimes Magazine article re: Jason and the Drive-By Truc

Post by gepman »

brett27295 wrote:"What followed was an unhappy period of wandering. He made a few mediocre solo records. He became bloated from drinking."

What? A few mediocre solo records? Really? That's an odd choice of words. I wonder what criteria the writer used to decide his solo records were "mediocre"?

Other than that one line it's a fantastic article.


I took this to mean his first two releases, not Here We Rest... If that is what the writer meant, its not a punishable offense IMO... :-)

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Re: NYTimes Magazine article re: Jason and the Drive-By Truc

Post by Rocky »

brett27295 wrote:"What followed was an unhappy period of wandering. He made a few mediocre solo records. He became bloated from drinking."

What? A few mediocre solo records? Really? That's an odd choice of words. I wonder what criteria the writer used to decide his solo records were "mediocre"?
No shit. Every single one of his records have gotten 4 outta 5 stars from Allmusic.com whose writers I suspect know a little more about music than a book editor from the NYT. But other than trying to squeeze that part into the narrative where it clearly doesn't fit - it's an otherwise good article and I salute Jason for getting his shit together.
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by brett27295 »

To my limited knowledge this is the first time any details at all regarding the end of his tenure with DBT have been made public.
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Re: NYTimes Magazine article re: Jason and the Drive-By Truc

Post by Clams »

Wow. That's a big-time piece. And everyone comes through smelling like roses. Great job.

But the reality was more complicated. Hood called Isbell and suggested he take some time off and get his life together. Isbell replied that if the band was going to tour under the name Drive-By Truckers, he wasn’t going to miss even one show. Cooley then called Isbell and said, as Isbell recalls, “that isn’t going to work for us.” He was forced out. “It was heartbreaking,” Isbell says. “I couldn’t picture what I was going to do. But now I can’t picture things having gone differently. I love those guys, but I’m glad I’m not playing with them anymore. I think they’re glad of it, too.”
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Duke Silver »

Wow, that was a great read. I've always been curious about how his FAME publishing deal worked. Sucks that the Dierks deal ended up costing him so much. It was awkward watching that go down in real time.
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Re: NYTimes Magazine article re: Jason and the Drive-By Truc

Post by RevMatt »

I enjoyed the article. A few things stand out for me. First, only the eponymous 400 Unit album could be considered "mediocre". I would give that album 2 1/2 or 3 out of 5 stars. Sirens in The Ditch had its fair share of great Isbell songs. The problem with that record is that it is more like a collection of individual songs than a complete unit. Here We Rest is a fantastic album. The new record? His masterpiece perhaps.

I've spent 25 years sober. One thing I've learned is this: the last couple years of drinking and drugging are spent trying to cover up how much you are doing. The first two years of sobriety? You exagerate how much you were drinking and drugging, mainly to impress the women at the meetings. Is Jason an alcoholic who needed help? Yes. Were the past several years of his life a total trainwreck? Not from what I could see at shows or the times I met the man. He wasn't exactly Johnny Thunders in 1982 (When I met Johnny he tried to bum money and drugs off of me. When I said I had neither his comment was, "Then what fucking good are ya, get the fuck outta heah!") or Keith Richards in 1977 or George Jones on the riding lawn mower. He and his band put on great shows. I don't recall any posts on here where he was too drunk to put on a good show or delayed a show because he had to sober up. But that is not the requirement for membership in a twelve step program. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking and you are a member of the program when you say you are. If you look closely at the songs Jason wrote for Here We Rest it is obvious that he was getting tired of alcohol. At some level, perhaps, he realized that if he kept going he would end up like the guy in "Alabama Pines". In many ways that song is autobiographical, like the ghost of Christmas future. I've also considered "Go It Alone" to be his mea culpa to Shonna.

I don't think his calling out Dierks Bentley was the result of an alcoholic's resentment. The only differences between the choruses is due to the difference in the lyrics. Otherwise, he lifted it. Dierks is a Nashville hack who, in the years prior to that song, name dropped Drive By Truckers regularly in interviews. Apparently, being a Nashville hack wasn't enough for him. He wanted respect from the likes of us. He would have gotten it from me if he admitted that the chorus was the same and promised to make it up to Isbell (and us, his fans) by making "Outfit" his next single. But instead he tweeted something along the lines, "The best songwriters in Nashville and L.A. are out of ideas and have resorted to stealing Jason songs." Without realizing it, the first part of that tweet is absolutely true. Show me a single Nashville songwriter who, in the past decade, wrote ten songs as good as "Outfit", "Decoration Day", "Danko Manuel", "Goddamn Lonely Love", "Dress Blues", "Cigarettes and Wine", "Alabama Pines", "Codeine", "Elephant" and "Travelling Alone". Usually I don't take sides in musicians feuds but what Dierks Bentley said was a total lack of respect. I will NEVER listen to his music UNTIL he makes things right with Jason Isbell. These Nashville millionaire hacks have no right to belittle working musicians who bust their asses every night for a four way split of the door. Dierks can't carry Jason's jockstrap. Rocky Marciano indeed.
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by 'Scratch »

Good interview and worth the read. Now I want to more about his friendship with Ryan Adams and how Ryan influenced him to dry out.

Great. A grown man talking about favorite musicians like a teenage girl reading Tiger Beat.
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Duke Silver »

Nice tidbit on Ryan Adams bailing on Southeastern at the last minute, too.
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

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I'd have to disagree with him on Spotify. I've bought a lot more music since I started using Spotify.

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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Iowan »

Duke Silver wrote:Nice tidbit on Ryan Adams bailing on Southeastern at the last minute, too.


I greatly enjoy his music, but I'd have to imagine Ryan Adams would be an incredibly frustrating person to deal with. Even when he's sober he's a total fucking flake.

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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

Iowan wrote:I'd have to disagree with him on Spotify. I've bought a lot more music since I started using Spotify.


Me too, but I think we're the exception as hardcore music geeks. I think a lot of people use Spotify as a substitute for buying downloads or CD's. Myself I usually buy vinyl or CD and use Spotify both to check out new music and as my portable option.
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Gang Green »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
Iowan wrote:I'd have to disagree with him on Spotify. I've bought a lot more music since I started using Spotify.


Me too, but I think we're the exception as hardcore music geeks. I think a lot of people use Spotify as a substitute for buying downloads or CD's. Myself I usually buy vinyl or CD and use Spotify both to check out new music and as my portable option.


This article was pretty eye opening, especially regarding his exit from the band. And, I didn't realize the extent of his drinking problem. He seemed okay to me the couple of times I saw him before he quite drinking. I thought it was a little harsh calling his first few albums mediocre. Maybe, they weren't the best but some pretty kick ass songs came out of those albums.

Regarding the Spotify? He might have a point, but, in reality, I can't afford to download all the music I want to listen to. And, I've downloaded a shitload of music I don't even listen to anymore. With Spotify, I can sample as much music as I want for a flat fee. Sorry, Jason, reality is so hard, but I'll down load your new album and buy the cd.

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Re: NYTimes Magazine article re: Jason and the Drive-By Truc

Post by Gang Green »

RevMatt wrote:I enjoyed the article. A few things stand out for me. First, only the eponymous 400 Unit album could be considered "mediocre". I would give that album 2 1/2 or 3 out of 5 stars. Sirens in The Ditch had its fair share of great Isbell songs. The problem with that record is that it is more like a collection of individual songs than a complete unit. Here We Rest is a fantastic album. The new record? His masterpiece perhaps.

I've spent 25 years sober. One thing I've learned is this: the last couple years of drinking and drugging are spent trying to cover up how much you are doing. The first two years of sobriety? You exagerate how much you were drinking and drugging, mainly to impress the women at the meetings. Is Jason an alcoholic who needed help? Yes. Were the past several years of his life a total trainwreck? Not from what I could see at shows or the times I met the man. He wasn't exactly Johnny Thunders in 1982 (When I met Johnny he tried to bum money and drugs off of me. When I said I had neither his comment was, "Then what fucking good are ya, get the fuck outta heah!") or Keith Richards in 1977 or George Jones on the riding lawn mower. He and his band put on great shows. I don't recall any posts on here where he was too drunk to put on a good show or delayed a show because he had to sober up. But that is not the requirement for membership in a twelve step program. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking and you are a member of the program when you say you are. If you look closely at the songs Jason wrote for Here We Rest it is obvious that he was getting tired of alcohol. At some level, perhaps, he realized that if he kept going he would end up like the guy in "Alabama Pines". In many ways that song is autobiographical, like the ghost of Christmas future. I've also considered "Go It Alone" to be his mea culpa to Shonna.

I don't think his calling out Dierks Bentley was the result of an alcoholic's resentment. The only differences between the choruses is due to the difference in the lyrics. Otherwise, he lifted it. Dierks is a Nashville hack who, in the years prior to that song, name dropped Drive By Truckers regularly in interviews. Apparently, being a Nashville hack wasn't enough for him. He wanted respect from the likes of us. He would have gotten it from me if he admitted that the chorus was the same and promised to make it up to Isbell (and us, his fans) by making "Outfit" his next single. But instead he tweeted something along the lines, "The best songwriters in Nashville and L.A. are out of ideas and have resorted to stealing Jason songs." Without realizing it, the first part of that tweet is absolutely true. Show me a single Nashville songwriter who, in the past decade, wrote ten songs as good as "Outfit", "Decoration Day", "Danko Manuel", "Goddamn Lonely Love", "Dress Blues", "Cigarettes and Wine", "Alabama Pines", "Codeine", "Elephant" and "Travelling Alone". Usually I don't take sides in musicians feuds but what Dierks Bentley said was a total lack of respect. I will NEVER listen to his music UNTIL he makes things right with Jason Isbell. These Nashville millionaire hacks have no right to belittle working musicians who bust their asses every night for a four way split of the door. Dierks can't carry Jason's jockstrap. Rocky Marciano indeed.


Two different threads on the same topic I can't keep up. I said on the other thread, that I didn't realize how bad his drinking problem was, and I've never seen him tank it for a show even before rehab. But, great post Rev, an incredibly interesting and thought provoking perspective. Though, I have to ask, would he still be trying to impress the girls in rehab, though he was dating Amanda at the time? Just curious, and I love your comment about the Nashville scene.

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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Tyler »

I don't think the mediocre comment is that outta line. Realistically, I think most serious critics would probably peg the first couple of solo albums at around 3 out of 5 - which by the old Rolling Stone scale indicate "
*** Good: a record of average worth, but one that might possess considerable appeal for fans of a particular style." I don't think that's unfair. For comparison, a 5 star record would be something along the lines of Astral Weeks or Revolver, and a 4 star record would be something a noticeable step down from that, like, I dunno, Help! or <random 2nd tier '70s Springsteen album.

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Re: NYTimes Magazine article re: Jason and the Drive-By Truc

Post by Smitty »

It's impossible for any of us to judge how great of a problem Jason had. If he was a functioning alcoholic, he was still an alcoholic. Kinda missing the point with this conversation.
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Gang Green »

Tyler, I agree with you about the first few albums, but I wish the article would have a acknowledged that some good songs came out of those albums.

Smitty, you're right, my comment was pretty pointless. I didn't realize how serious his issue with drinking was until I read this article and I was quite surprised. Proving your point, it's impossible to judge.

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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Zip City »

I'm not surprised withheld drinking problem. I did, however, think he had dried out earlier than the article indicates
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

Zip City wrote:I'm not surprised withheld drinking problem. I did, however, think he had dried out earlier than the article indicates


No, it was a year ago last February. He was quite public about it on Twitter as soon as he got out of rehab.
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Zip City »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
Zip City wrote:I'm not surprised withheld drinking problem. I did, however, think he had dried out earlier than the article indicates


No, it was a year ago last February. He was quite public about it on Twitter as soon as he got out of rehab.


Ok, that sounds right. I misread it as him getting sober in 2013, not 2012
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Re: NYTimes Magazine article re: Jason and the Drive-By Truc

Post by RevMatt »

Smitty wrote:It's impossible for any of us to judge how great of a problem Jason had. If he was a functioning alcoholic, he was still an alcoholic. Kinda missing the point with this conversation.

Yes, and it is entirely up to the individual whether or not they choose to identify themselves as an alcoholic. It is not for us to go around labeling people as alcoholics. From our perspective, Jason Isbell hit the stage when he was supposed to and delivered great sets. He never seemed impaired and gave the fans their money's worth. From what I am reading, the drinking affected his personal relationships and friendships more than his work. He was unhappy and the booze was causing the unhappiness. What I object to is the implication that drinking made his work mediocre or that he was kicked out of Drive By Truckers for drinking too much. That would be like getting kicked out of The Grateful Dead for smoking too much pot.

Some writers write very well from the bottom of a bottle. However, they usually do not write for as many years as those who don't drink. Their health collapses and if they don't die young they often reach a point where they stop writing at all.

I've seen him twice since he stopped drinking. Both times were in small settings with Amanda Shires. To say he is happy would be an understatement. They enjoy working together onstage. He also seems to enjoy chatting about things like baseball with the fans after the show.
Last edited by RevMatt on Sat Jun 01, 2013 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by StormandStatic »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
Iowan wrote:I'd have to disagree with him on Spotify. I've bought a lot more music since I started using Spotify.


Me too, but I think we're the exception as hardcore music geeks. I think a lot of people use Spotify as a substitute for buying downloads or CD's. Myself I usually buy vinyl or CD and use Spotify both to check out new music and as my portable option.

I don't use Spotify, myself, but I know a lot of friends who use it instead of paying for music at all. It might be the fact that we're all in our 20s, and so have little in regards to income, but I don't know a lot of people who do both.

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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Gang Green »

Hey Rev, not to get off track here, but, as I understand, keyboard player Keith Godchaux was kicked out of the Greatful Dead for doing too many drugs. Of course, I think they were worried about his influence on Jerry at that time.

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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Zip City »

You can have a band full of drinkers and get kicked out for drinking. It's all about how you handle your drink, and from the sound of that article, Jason wasn't handling his
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by RevMatt »

Zip City wrote:You can have a band full of drinkers and get kicked out for drinking. It's all about how you handle your drink, and from the sound of that article, Jason wasn't handling his

I guess so, if you trust the article. I don't entirely. I don't think there was any single reason why Jason Isbell was asked to leave in 2007. A whole bunch of factors made it "feel" like the right decision at the time. Musically, Jason was moving in one direction and Patterson decided that he wanted to go where Cooley had gone with "Space City" and the newer songs Cooley debuted over the next couple months on the Dirt Underneath Tour. I mean, how many of Jason's songs on the 400 Unit album would have been compatible with what Cooley did on Brighter Than Creation's Dark? I think there were many factors and Jason's personality after he had a few too many might have been one of them. One of the more positive factors is that Jason is a natural band leader and no matter how much responsibility Patterson gives a band member, Drive By Truckers is Patterson's band. Patterson is Bear Bryant and Jason was the great young offensive coordinator who did his apprenticeship under The Bear but was destined to run his own big time college football program. That move may have happened sooner than Jason expected and it took him a few seasons to get the hang of being a head coach. But since Here We Rest he's had nothing but winning seasons and bowl appearances. Go Auburn!
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by John A Arkansawyer »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
Iowan wrote:I'd have to disagree with him on Spotify. I've bought a lot more music since I started using Spotify.


Me too, but I think we're the exception as hardcore music geeks. I think a lot of people use Spotify as a substitute for buying downloads or CD's. Myself I usually buy vinyl or CD and use Spotify both to check out new music and as my portable option.


Like all dealers, the music industry makes most of its money off the heavy users. Spotify kind of puts an end to that without putting much of a revenue stream in its place.

Sure is nice for the people who make, sell, own, and run the machinery that runs the internet, though. Profitability is going through the roof!
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Re: Isbell's NY Times article

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

For anyone in the Triangle area of North Carolina, this article apparently appears in a special edition of New York Times magazine that is an insert in today's News & Observer.

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