BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER The Drive-By Truckers have a well-earned rep for consistently delivering grungy Southern rock operas set in places where red meets neck, where dubious characters lead self-inflicted lives of quiet desperation: unanswered prayers, unrequited love, and unmitigated semiprivate disasters. The DBTs’ just-released The Big To-Do is no exception, although it is quite exceptional in its capacity to sketch out the private hells of jaded pole workers, homicidal preachers’ wives, and modern drunkards in high-def whiskey-hued vérité. Everyone’s on something – booze, pills, God, or all the above – and before all is said and done, they’re gonna have to drag the lake. No matter. The Truckers are lifers. MORE

PREVIOUSLY: The Drive-By Truckers write songs about the dirty South, where life is hard and folks die soft and squishy and often emphysemic, dirty deeds get done dirt cheap, and everyone goes to church but nobody really goes to heaven. These songs are like the weeds in the cracks of the trailer park, or the pile of broken beer bottles in the woods, or the lipstick traces on the stubbed-out Kools overflowing the ashtray. Oh, the things they have seen. It also bears mentioning that the Drive-By Truckers totally rock, more specifically they rock in that sweet spot where Lynyrd meets Skynyrd. MORE

The Drive-By Truckers announced the first part of The Big To-Do tour, screenings of their documentary, The Secret To A Happy Ending and offer free MP3. The Big To-Do is slated for release on March 16, 2010 on ATO Records. DBT and ATO Records are offering up the first single, “This Fucking Job”, from The Big To-Do for free [CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD]. The premiere screening of the DBT documentary, The Secret To A Happy Ending, is scheduled for February 5, 2010 at AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD. This is a film about the redemptive power of rock-and-roll; it’s about the American South, where rock was born; it’s about a band straddling the borders of rock, punk and country; it’s about making art, making love and making a living; it’s about the Drive-By Truckers.

PREVIOUSLY: The Drive-By Truckers write songs about the dirty South, where life is hard and folks die soft and squishy and often emphysemic, dirty deeds get done dirt cheap, and everyone goes to church but nobody really goes to heaven. These songs are like the weeds in the cracks of the trailer park, or the pile of broken beer bottles in the woods, or the lipstick traces on the stubbed-out Kools overflowing the ashtray. Oh, the things they have seen. It also bears mentioning that the Drive-By Truckers totally rock, more specifically they rock in that sweet spot where Lynyrd meets Skynyrd. MORE

[tour dates after the jump]

Drive-By Truckers on tour:
Thu Jan 28            Huntsville, AL             Crossroads Music Hall
Fri Jan 29            Mobile, AL                        Soul Kitchen
Sat Jan 30            Tuscaloosa, AL            Jupiter Bar & Grill
Thu Feb 11            Greenville, SC            Handlebar
Fri Feb 12            Raleigh, NC                        Lincoln Theatre
Sat Feb 13            Raleigh, NC                        Lincoln Theatre
Sun Feb 14            Knoxville, TN                        Bijou Theatre
Thu Feb 25            Charlotte, NC                        Neighborhood Theatre
Fri Feb 26            Charlottesville, VA            Jefferson Theatre
Sat Feb 27            Charlottesville, VA            Jefferson Theatre

Thu Mar 04            Wilmington NC            Rox Nightclub

Sat Mar 06            Augusta GA                        Sky City

Fri Mar 12            Atlanta GA                        Variety Playhouse

Sat Mar 13            Atlanta GA                        Variety Playhouse

Thu Mar 18            Austin, TX                        SXSW

Fri Mar 19            New Orleans LA            Tipitinas

Sat Mar 20            New Orleans LA            Tipitinas

Thu Apr 01            New York NY                        Webster Hall

Fri Apr 02            Boston MA                        House of Blues

Sat Apr 03            Philadelphia PA            Electric Factory

Tue Apr 06            Toronto Canada            Lee’s Palace

Wed Apr 07            Toronto Canada            Lee’s Palace

Thu Apr 08            Detroit MI                        St. Andrews Hall

Fri Apr 09            Chicago IL                        The Vic Theatre

Sat Apr 10            Lexington KY                        Buster’s Billiards and Backroom

Sun Apr 11            Cleveland OH                        Beachland Ballroom and Tavern

Wed Apr 14            Towson MD                        Recher Theatre

Thu Apr 15            Norfolk VA                        The Norva

Fri Apr 16            Asheville NC                        The Orange Peel

Sat Apr 17            Asheville NC                        The Orange Peel

Fri Apr 30            Nashville TN                        Cannery Ballroom

Fri May 07            Los Angeles CA            Avalon

Sat May 08            San Francisco CA            The Fillmore Auditorium

3/6 , 3/12, 3/13 David Barbe and the Quick Hooks support

4/1 – 4/17 Langhorne Slim supports

4/2 & 4/3 with Lucero