In the span of three nights, the Drive-By Truckers will introduce you to the past, present and future of rock and roll. As if their riotous homecoming weren't enough, Patterson Hood and friends are bringing some surprising opening acts along for the ride—bands separated in age by about 50 years.

On night one, Hood presents the opportunity of a lifetime to a group of young musicians from Nuçi's Camp Amped program.

"I am really, really excited about it," he says. "I've been involved with Camp Amped the last two summers, and I was absolutely blown away by what they're doing." As usual, proceeds from the Truckers' three-night stand at the 40 Watt will benefit Nuçi's Space, and Hood thought it would be a perfect tie-in to highlight the organization's Camp Amped program. During Camp Amped summer sessions and after-school programs, kids aged 11–17 get music lessons from some of Athens' greatest talents (Patterson Hood being one of them), in addition to writing, recording and performing original music.

Camp Amped director Laura Ford says she was floored when Hood offered up an opening slot to the campers. She has seen Camp Amped alumni dive into the music scene, booking their own shows and playing out, but a gig of this magnitude is unprecedented. She helped pick a group of five campers she felt would work well together and who were mature enough for this massive debut. They will be followed by Bloodkin, another heavy-hitting local act that Hood says he recruited early on.

"Their last record was just phenomenally great," he says.

Ford sat in on the campers' recent rehearsal and says they are practicing really hard. "All the kids are really excited and nervous," she says. "They have a few covers and a few originals planned… songs they wrote at camp."

Hood can't help but think about his own childhood when looking at the opportunities afforded these young Athenians. "There weren't any peers doing what I was trying to do," he says of his early days playing music in Alabama. "I literally had the only band in my hometown playing original music. I had to reinvent the wheel… If only there was something like Camp Amped when I was their age. I think it could have made a huge difference and maybe saved me a few years of doing things the hard way or the wrong way."

Nobody knows about Patterson's early struggle with music more than his dad, legendary Muscle Shoals producer and session player David Hood. He was there from the beginning—making things extra hard for his son.

"Being a professional musician myself, I really didn't want him to follow in my footsteps," says David. "I thought Patterson would be better off as a pharmacist or lawyer… or some regular job."

Of course, Papa Hood is singing a different tune now that the Truckers are doing so well, and he's proud to share the stage with them on Friday and Saturday, opening the night with legendary Muscle Shoals band The Decoys. And while the father/son pairing is especially sweet, it's an honor just to see The Decoys play in Athens. To say these guys are seasoned musicians would be a gross understatement. David, for one, was a member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (AKA "The Swampers," as referenced in the song "Sweet Home Alabama"). He has worked in the studio with some of the biggest names in the business: Aretha Franklin, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Paul Simon… the list goes on for miles. He even spent some time on the road in the early '70s as a member of Steve Winwood's band, Traffic. But David wasn't the kind of dad who brought his work home with him.

"He wouldn't play the records he played on," says Patterson, "but I would, secretly, when I was supposed to be doing homework… and when I got older and understood what he had done and what he was doing, I was very, very obsessed and not too happy that he was discouraging me. It was a source of a little animosity in my teenage rebellious age. I thought, he gets to do this cool job in music and isn't helping me at all."

To make things worse, the other studio owner took the total opposite approach with his kid, bringing him around the studio all the time.

"I resented that bigger than hell. My dad's partner's kid was always talking about some cool concert he got to go to, hanging out backstage, rock star shit he was getting to do… I was pissed."

In retrospect, however, Patterson appreciates the distance his dad allowed early on. "He didn't want anyone to say he handed me this or that or that I got any short-cut," he says. "Of course, I was an abject failure for about the first 15 years," laughs Patterson, "so by that time people knew I had worked for it."

Father and son have collaborated a bit in the studio—Pop even appears on Patterson's recent solo record Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs). But despite David Hood's 10-year history with The Decoys and a lifetime in music before that, the 40 Watt gig is only the second time he's ever shared a bill with his son.

The first time The Decoys and the Truckers teamed up was last summer at the Muscle Shoals Theatre. David Hood was thrilled by the opportunity, but he was certainly skeptical at first.

"I thought it was a weird combination because we're from different generations, but we share a lot of the same music interests… and as it turns out, Truckers fans seemed to really enjoy us," says David.

"They rocked the place!" enthuses Patterson about The Decoy's opening slot. "Dad really plays his ass off."

And while the crowd response was great there, Patterson is confident the 40 Watt will blow that show out of the water. "There is nothing like a 40 Watt show. The level of intensity from the crowd will be well beyond that… I look forward to the Athens shows like a kid every year!"

Michelle Gilzenrat

WHO	Drive-By Truckers, Bloodkin, Camp Amped Showcase
WHERE	40 Watt Club
WHEN	Thursday, Jan. 14
HOW MUCH	$22.50 (adv), $25 (door)

WHO	Drive-By Truckers, The Decoys
WHERE	40 Watt CLub
WHEN	Friday, Jan. 15 & Saturday, Jan. 16
HOW MUCH	SOLD OUT!